TODAY, (Tuesday, April 23) I had the opportunity to take part in my FIRST Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) at Columbus State Community College! You can read more about GAP here.
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| Suited up in my armor. |
My friends Sarah Cleveland and Darius Hardwick were out there. I got to put faces with names among some of my Abolitionist friends on Facebook, and meet some more new people! One included a woman who brought her new baby girl she adopted from an abortion minded mom! It was great to be with a group of people committed to Christ and the work of fighting for pre-born babies.
It was a smaller scale than what I had seen online.
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| Photo Credit: Spencer Anderson |
Basically, I passed out brochures regarding abortion that contained a Gospel Tract as well. If people stopped, or were looking at the display, I would ask what they thought about it, what they thought about abortion. I did get the bird, BUT I also had quite a few encouraging conversations! The Lord knew I needed some encouragement, so He brought it to me. :)
When I first started handing out brochures and trying to talk to people, I had the anxious urgency I normally do when I'm at Founders. After a couple minutes, I realized I'm just here to educate people, I'm not standing between life and death for a preborn baby. So, once I got over that, I had a good time.
It was interesting how the people that were obviously for abortion had no interest in engaging in conversation. The people that were "pro-life" or against abortion were very open to talking.
One professor stormed by the display saying, "Don't you have anything else better to do with your time?! Just leave! No one wants to see this!"
Darius talked to a math professor who thinks human beings are just as equal in value as cows.......
Yea, college campus. You'll have that.
The first person I engaged with in conversation was a black woman with no top teeth, probably in her late 40's, early 50's. She takes care of her 5 grandchildren (I think that's right. The oldest is 16) and mother who is in diapers. And she's a student at Columbus State. It's hard work, but she says she wouldn't change it for anything. She was horrified by the display. We talked for quite some time. She spoke about all the options and resources out there for moms with unplanned pregnancies. Abortion is never an option in her mind. She said you can drop off your baby to a Police Station without having to worry about anything, so many people can't have children and would love to adopt! We got on the topic of sin and how messed up the world is. THEN, she said something I had never heard anyone say: "You know, so what if this child grows up to be a murderer, give him the opportunity."
That has just stuck so much with me.
I've heard people say, "what if my child grows up to be a criminal?". And of course, we try to throw a positive spin on in, " but your child could grow up to be a brain surgeon!!"
So what if they grow up to be a murderer, give them the opportunity.
Okay, moving on to conversation #2:
Alissa walked over to one of the tables in front of the display, cigarette in hand, getting out her laptop. I asked her what she thought about the display. She's pro-life.
She told me she has two children, one 5 1/2, the other 20 months old.
I said, "And you're going to school?"
"Yea, and working full time".
She said she thinks abortion is a cop-out. Her mom was single, worked, went to school. People are just lazy.
I gave her a high five.
Conversation #3:
I noticed a guy standing and starring at the display, so I walked over and asked what he was thinking.
"I think you need to get a new hobby."
I asked what he thought about abortion.
"It doesn't affect me. I don't have an opinion."
Well, I wasn't really sure how to respond to that, so I just walked away. Apathy...
Conversation #4:
I think this was my favorite conversation!! I was elated after I talked to these women!
Two black women (probably around my age) were standing by looking at the signs, so I asked them what they thought about it. They said it was awful.
One of them told me she had 2 children. She got pregnant shortly after having her first. She went to an abortion clinic to have an abortion. She didn't want to. There were people out in front praying ( I assume, or sidewalk counseling), and she looked at the people walking in the building. They were yelling at the people on the sidewalk. She was in her car looking at those going in the building and thought, "I'm not like these people." And she left! Her 2nd child is 4 years old now and she is so glad she didn't get an abortion!! I told them I go down to Founders trying to offer help to women and her story just blessed me so much! We then talked about how women have a lot of emotional issues after an abortion. We talked about how we don't have the right to take a life, it's worth it to live with some embarassment in the begining, than a lifetime of regretting an abortion.
It was fantastic.
Kim, a beautiful black woman, probably in her late 30's/early 40's. She couldn't get over the pictures! She looked at the aborted baby and said how beautiful she was. We talked about our worth in Christ, we were bought at a high price, these precious babies are made in His image... just another wonderful conversation. I was so encouraged to hear another woman speak about her love for the Lord and how she wants to honor Him in her body. She just recently broke up with her boyfriend because he did not value her like God does. She knows her worth in Christ! She knows she has value, that she is a treasure and no man will take that from her until she is walking down the aisle, waiting to say "I do".
I was just SO encouraged by all these conversations!! Discouragement began to creep in as I faced constant rejection at the abortion mill on Saturdays. The Lord revived my soul and gave me some fuel to addd to my fire!!
GAP was awesome! I hope to do more of these type of events whenever possible. The abortion mill is the last and final stop for a woman and her child. Educating on the value of human life and the evil of abortion is a great way to fight for the end of aboriton!!
Created Equal and Greater Columbus Right to Life will be hosting an (free) Apologetics class on Saturday, June 1st from 8:30-12:30. If you want to learn how to build a strong case against abortion, you should attend the class.
You can contact the director of GCRTL Beth, beth@gcrtl.org.
Woot!
-Ashley
Okay. If I can come to the next one. I'm in!
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