At the Mill, 3.16.2013

Rain was in the forecast, but the Lord was gracious and we didn’t have a drop while out there on the sidewalk! The roads were wet so that posed a challenge as far as speaking with people and being able to hear them.

People lining the sidewalks to pray.

We had SO many people out there praying!! Mark counted 55!!!

There was a group praying between 7:45-9. Then there were more folks stretching across the sidewalk praying. 4 Friars came out to pray as well.

Tim, Christina, Bonnita and Elizabeth came out.

We also had Kim, Mark, Paul and a couple newbies- Marybeth and Angie.
Kim brought her 14 year old niece. She was doing a presentation on abortion for school. She couldn't help but call out to people.

No hostile people this week. A lot of people that didn't want to talk. Most people did not take any literature either. I stayed up front primarily with Kim.

There were two couples I recognized from last week. Last week was their consultation. This week was their appointment to kill their baby.

The one couple drove up in a taxi, just like last week. Mark had talked to them last week, showed them the fetal model, told them they were already parents.

I said as they walked up, " I remember you from last week! I know you know you're parents and you have a baby growing inside you! I will give you a ride down to Kinder! Please don't go in there!!"

"It's just germ cells"

They went in anyway. The guy came out to smoke later and Kim talked to him. He said "it was just a clump of germ cells." 

Kim told him the "fetus" is just a stage of development, it does not make the baby any less human. Her niece asked the guy if she was any less of a human than Kim because she was a teenager? 

BAM! How bout them apples?!

Sorry.  Anyway...

Mark, Kim and a Friar talked to one man (all at separate times) bringing his girlfriend in. He sarcastically responded to our pleas upon entering. He parked right in front. He was smoking the whole time. His windows were down, he heard all of us, every person we called out to.

After he talked to Kim, we found out this was his 3rd child to be aborted. I think they were from different girls. He told his girlfriend he would take care of the baby. But she wanted to get an abortion. I had more compassion on him afterwards. I waved to him as I left.
AND stupid me, I had literature about post abortive healing and one directed to fathers of aborted babies... totally slipped my mind to give him that!

Learning experience...

There was a couple that came in, the woman was 14 weeks along. We begged her to not go in. The man she was with came out a bit later. He was her fiance.
Mark talked to him for close to an hour, breaking down every stronghold and excuse the man had for killing his baby.

He said he grew up in poverty, he already has a 2 year old, he and his wife are both in college. It just wasn't the right time, he said.
Mark asked him if he understood it was a human being, and he would be killing a human being. The man responded, well, I haven't developed a relationship with it yet.
Mark responded saying so it's okay for me to kill a 2 year old on the street because I have no relationship to the child?

Mark pleading for the life of this man's baby.

This type of dialogue continued for quite some time. Mark pleaded and pleaded through tears.

I interjected for a bit. I grabbed Elizabeth and said to the man, " She has a little baby brother who was adopted by a woman in your fiance's situation! She was going to law school, already had another kid. She was going to abort, but changed her mind. She was able to choose what family her baby could go to. His name is Valiant and he has a beautiful life with lots of people that love him!" I showed him Pastor Mark's Facebook profile picture with Valiant and Gideon on his lap.

He said not all kids get so lucky. And, he said he didn't want someone else raising his child.

Mark continued on. At one point, they were both on their knees crying.
Mark asked him if he had any heroes in his life.

The man said not really.
Mark continued, A hero is someone who does the right thing even when it's hard. You could be a hero today and save your baby from death!

Even after the man admitted abortion was wrong, even after Mark said he would raise this man's child, even after Mark broke down every strong hold... He walked away from the building, as his girlfriend sat in the lobby, waiting for them to call her name so she could murder her precious child.

Yet another testimony of God's sovereignty, and only He can make a heart of stone into a heart of flesh.

There were a few times where there wasn't any traffic coming in or out of the building, so I began to call out to the people sitting in the waiting room.

Again, people moved away from the door.

Remembering Laura's words of "you may have said it 10 times, but it's the first time they're hearing it", I gave a similar plea:

Please come out and talk to us. We are waiting to help you! You are a mom already and while you sit in that room, your baby is growing and receiving nourishment from you. Please don't do this! Have mercy on your child! You will live a life of guilt, shame and regret. There is a place down the road that will help you with anything you need! Please come out!

Jesus What a Friend of Sinners!

Tim, Christina, Bonnita, Elizabeth and I sang a couple hymns towards the end of our time there.

There was a Muslim family that was coming in for an appointment (by family, I mean, husband, wife and two small girls). Kim called out to them saying that is no place to bring in children, they do abortions here. The wife was pregnant and definitely looked too far along to have an abortion. I don't know what kind of appointment she had, but they cancelled it!! They didn't know that place did abortions.

Although we did not save any babies from slaughter, a worker at the mill came out to talk to some counselors in the back about quitting!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! They gave her information on Hazel's Hope. A place where she can stay and be paid while she looks for employment elsewhere!!!

We also had some great opportunities "seeding the culture".

Kim and I had a chance to talk with 4 men walking by on the street about Founders.

The conversations usually start like this,

"Good morning, how are you today?"

"Do you know what this place does?"

"They kill babies."

"So we're here to pray and try to help these women to change their mind and keep their baby"

The first man we talked to got pretty fired up.

"Why ain't ya'll going in there?!"

"We'll get arrested sir."

We told him the abortionist has been killing babies for 40 years.

"Where he at?! Is he in there??!!"

Kim and I are both getting kind of nervous because he might just actually walk in the building and raise some hell.

He started yelling at the people walking in the mill, "Don't go in there! They in there killin babies! Don't go in there!"

The next man was a bit smaller in stature, he had a tool belt slung over his shoulder, smoking a cigarette. It was hard to understand him at first.

He asked why we all were out here. After I told him, he said, "Ain't this legal? Don't these women have a choice?"

I said, yes sir, unfortunately it is legal, but that doesn't make it right.

He eventually got into a conversation with a woman standing next to me. She started telling him about Margret Sanger and Planned Parenthood.

The next man that came by Kim asked him how he felt about abortion. He said it was against his religion. I noticed he has a crucifix coming out of his sweater. He is homeless for the moment, but he said he was about to get a place soon. He sold and used drugs for 20 years, but his life turned around.

He liked what we were doing out there. I told him we're out here every Saturday and he should come join us. He said he would.

Kim also gave him some information on a place a friend of his who was pregnant could stay. They homeless shelter he was at would not accept her because she was pregnant.

The last man that walked by was deeply saddened about the abortions done. Kim and I told him to let his friends know about this place and to come out and pray with us some time. He said he would.

You never know talking with people if you can expect to see them out on the sidewalk. I pray we do. It would be wonderful to get more people from that neighborhood out on the sidewalk!

It was a good day!

A worker wanted to quit, seeding the culture, LOTS of people out there praying, got to sing some hymns.

In closing, I'm going to link to an article written by a man whose family goes out to their local Mill on Fridays and Saturdays. His wife, Lisa, brings all 10 of their children if they are all healthy!

His article (here) highlights why they bring their children to the Mill. Good read.

Go in peace to serve the Risen and Reigning Lord Jesus Christ!

-Ashley