WOW!

I just got off the phone with Shawn Carney on our national team who is in the midst of 40 Days for Life visits to New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

He also just returned from visits to Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska.

Shawn gave me an electrifying report on what he is experiencing at all these sites, and fortunately I was able to audio record the call so I could share it with you.

During this 17-minute high-energy update, you will also hear a deeply touching story of something that happened to Shawn earlier today related to a special needs child and the Special Olympics. Powerful.

Before doing anything else, take a quick listen to Shawn’s amazing update…

Listen to the Audio Online (click “Play” button to start audio):

Download MP3 (click to play, right-click to save to your computer):

http://www.40daysforlife.com/blog/audio/shawn1.mp3

Since well before this fall’s 40 Days for Life campaign began, I’ve been saying this is a critical time for the United States.

It seems it is also a critical time for the entire world, judging by the fact that two local campaigns are under way in Canada, and I am receiving notes of support from all around the globe.

Here are just a few…

There is much pro-life fervor evident in Latin America. Monica in Mexico City sent greetings and thanks to everyone participating in 40 Days for Life, asking God to “bless this campaign and all people involved. You have my prayers with all of you!”

“I live in Guatemala,” wrote Geraldine, “but I am so grateful for the 40 Days for Life campaign. I will be accompanying you in prayer.” Geraldine notes that a number of nations in Latin America are being pressed to legalize abortion. “Mexico has already begun falling into it, and Ecuador is faced with the approval of its pro-abortion constitutional amendment. But God has raised up soldiers to fight in Christ’s name all over the world.”

In Puerto Rico, Brunhilda has been praying and fasting. “We have also spread the word among Christians from different churches and they joined us in our prayers to end abortions,” she wrote. “Keep going and God bless you all!”

There are signs of hope in Europe. Gabriella wrote to salute her 81-year-old mother, who taught religion in Hungary for many years. “We started praying and fasting together for 40 Days for Life,” she said, “and now she is organizing two praying groups in Budapest.”

And there is breaking news coming out of Northern Ireland. We had received numerous requests for prayer for this country, where 40 Days for Life vigils were conducted in the spring. Abortion is not legal in Northern Ireland, however there was an aggressive effort to extend the United Kingdom’s abortion law to Northern Ireland to legalize the barbaric practice.

Eric Scheidler, the leader of the current 40 Days for Life campaign in Aurora, Illinois was there on the ground in Northern Ireland with Bernadette Smyth, the leader of the previous 40 Days for Life campaign, who organized a massive rally in Belfast on Saturday.

Following the rally, Eric e-mailed me this report:

“Victory in Northern Ireland! The U.K. Parliament in Westminster chose NOT to impose abortion on Northern Ireland. They could see that such a move would endanger the fragile political situation there.”

In the Pacific region, many of the cultural indicators Americans are concerned with are also being noted in New Zealand, where Sue Rowe has been working to organize a 40 Days for Life effort.

“All these pointers have brought abortion back into the public’s attention,” she told the New Zealand Catholic newspaper. “With all these things tying together, now is the time.”

“Thank you so much for allowing me this opportunity to be involved in 40 Days for Life,” said Fe in the Philippines. “God is so good! I know and I trust that with this worldwide effort, abortion will finally end in America and throughout the world!”

Isn’t it amazing what God has done with the tiny seeds that were planted just four short years ago with the first 40 Days for Life campaign in Texas?

WOW!

Here’s today’s devotional from Rev. J. Kirk van der Swaagh, Pastor, Conservative Congregational Christian Conference…

DAY 31 INTENTION:

For the medical community, that the truth they know about the human body may become awe and wonder at the God who made it.

SCRIPTURE:

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.

–Psalm 139:16

REFLECTION by Rev. J. Kirk van der Swaagh:

Human beings — God’s tapestries.

Psalm 139 is a psalm that reveals the enormity and otherness of God. His divine attributes are on display: omniscience (2-4), omnipresence (7-12), loving-kindness (17-18), justice (19-20), righteousness (23-24), and omnipotence. Yet, when it came to express this last attribute, what example did the psalmist use – God’s creation of mountains, seas, or far-flung galaxies? No, he used none of these. To express the wonder of God’s unparalleled creative power the writer mentions the fashioning of the human in the womb (14-16).

The Hebrew word used to express God’s forming of us in the womb, raqam, is the same term for needlework or embroidery. In other words, we are a tapestry that displays God’s artistic mastery. And, like the artist who knows his creation down to the last detail, God intimately knows us. This reality provokes the writer to awe and wonder. He proclaims, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

What is true for this psalmist is true for each human being. Each is fashioned by God and known by him and we can proclaim on behalf of each, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

PRAYER:

Gracious God, help us to appreciate the wonder and beauty of Your creation. Help us proclaim on behalf of every one of our fellow human beings, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” May the knowledge that we are intimately known by You shape our lives and actions. Amen.

Today’s 40 Days for Life devotional can also be downloaded at: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2008day31print.pdf

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

When I sent you the prayer request yesterday about the woman who is trying to get out of her job as a medical worker at Planned Parenthood…

…I had NO IDEA how incredible — and generous — your response would be!

E-mail messages poured in from people all across the country who are praying for this lady and nearly 100 people asked where they could send money to help her get out of the abortion industry.

Your compassion and willingness to help this woman is deeply touching!

I am in communication with the local 40 Days for Life leaders to see if funds are still needed, and if so, where to send them. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.

With the overwhelming response we have received over the last 24 hours, maybe a fund should be set up to help many more people escape their jobs at Planned Parenthood!

You know, whenever I mention Planned Parenthood in one of these messages, my mailbox immediately overflows with more stories about the abortion chain.

A 40 Days for Life volunteer in Memphis, Tennessee reports that four people were standing in prayerful vigil outside the building in which a Planned Parenthood abortion center is located.

A man walked up to the group and introduced himself as a Planned Parenthood employee. “He became upset and said they were harassing his ‘customers’ and blocking access. They assuredly were not,” said the volunteer. “The man said if he received one more complaint, he would call the police.”

The group remained in prayer, and no one called the police. “Note how the Planned Parenthood worker referred to these mothers as customers,” said the volunteer. “He was upset because he was losing business. Evidently, our prayerful presence is affecting Planned Parenthood’s ‘customers,’ and in turn, Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. God is melting mothers’ hearts. We are saving lives. Planned Parenthood is losing business.”

Don’t ever think for a moment, however, that Planned Parenthood is ready to throw in the towel. It is a huge, resourceful organization that always finds something else to try if one tactic fails to generate a response. It’s important to remain faithful, in spite of whatever Planned Parenthood does in an attempt to discourage you.

Mary in Sacramento focused on faithfully responding to the call to pray, even though she felt a bit overwhelmed when she first arrived outside a Planned Parenthood facility as part of 40 Days for Life.

She quickly noticed that only two people were standing vigil against this outpost of America’s abortion giant — herself and her 2-year-old daughter. “I thought I must look a little weird just walking back and forth with no other prayer warriors,” she said. “But I did it.”

Not long afterward, an 18-year-old girl arrived with her boyfriend. “They talked to me for a long time and were very open to listening,” she said. “They still kept their appointment. But I know she wants to have this baby.”

Mary felt like she needed some help, so she went to the building next door, looking for a man there who had been kind to her earlier. “I found him leaving his shift with five other men, so I asked them all to pray with me for the young girl. Immediately, they all bowed their heads and prayed.”

Mary told one of the men that abortion days at this Planned Parenthood center were Tuesdays and Thursdays. He sighed and said, “I wish I hadn’t known that. But those days will be different for me now.”

“It was a great experience,” Mary said. “These men stopped to pray for one of God’s special girls, and I know Christ was with all of them. I thought my time of quiet prayer would be uneventful — but I was wrong.”

Here’s today’s devotional from Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life…

DAY 30 INTENTION:

That those tempted to abort may understand that their child is already present, and already a real person.

SCRIPTURE:

And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

– Luke 1:41-44

REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone:

Jesus not only loves unborn children — He was one himself!

Think about this for a moment.

We often hear people speak of a pregnant mother by saying, “She’s expecting a child.” Now if one is expecting a package, the package is not yet there. As reflected in our verse for today, however, this is not the case with the mother.

Her gift is already there. The pregnant woman, a mother already, does not have a child “on the way,” but has a child, already present and in full possession of his or her human rights, starting with the right to life.

PRAYER:

Jesus, open my eyes to your presence in the life of every child. Open my heart to joy in the birth of every child, a birth that reflects the joy of your own birth in Bethlehem. As you shared life in the womb of Mary, so now send your protection upon every child still in the womb, and grant to their mothers the strength and joy that comes from welcoming the gift of life. We pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Today’s 40 Days for Life devotional can also be downloaded at: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2008day30print.pdf

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

P.S.- Thanks to several of you who caught my mistake yesterday when I put the wrong scripture passage in the daily message. Oops! The corrected reading for yesterday’s devotional is now online at: http://snipurl.com/4manj

I have an URGENT prayer request…

On Saturday a medical worker at a Planned Parenthood abortion center where a 40 Days for Life campaign is happening approached the prayer volunteers outside.

She said that Planned Parenthood had told its workers that they would be immediately fired if they ever talked to those on the sidewalk, but she felt drawn to them — and she shared that she desperately wants out of her job.

She explained that after she started working at Planned Parenthood earlier this year, the abortion business assigned her the gruesome task of counting the baby body parts following each abortion to make sure everything was removed from the mother.

What she has seen inside the walls of Planned Parenthood is horrific.

She then shared that several weeks ago a young woman sat before her registering for an abortion and said, “I’m so conflicted, should I do this or not?”

She leaned forward and quietly told her, “Don’t do this.” The girl left, her baby alive within her.

A co-worker overheard and reported her to the abortion center’s supervisor who wrote her up and put a stern warning in her employment file.

She asked the 40 Days for Life prayer volunteers if she could meet Monday with someone who might be able to help her — and the time she had available was the exact time that Jim Pinto, pastoral associate for Priests for Life, was there in town for his visit to the 40 Days for Life location.

Jim stopped everything else to pray for her, with her, and over her. He also connected her with an organization called The Centurions that helps to bring abortion providers out of the abortion industry where they can find forgiveness and healing in Christ and restore their sense of self-worth.

The 40 Days for Life volunteers are now taking up a collection to provide for her short-term needs so she can leave her job immediately and they are helping her find another job quickly since she is the sole provider for her four daughters and needs income.

There is a very real possibility that these faithful 40 Days for Life volunteers may be able to help her walk away from the abortion industry TODAY!

Praise God for what He is doing in this woman’s life, and please keep her — and this situation — in your prayers throughout the day.

Here’s today’s devotional from Carmen Pate, Co-host of the “Point of View” Talk Show…

DAY 29 INTENTION:

Praise God for His compassion in par‐doning our sins and forgiving our transgressions. Give praise that He delights in showing mercy.

SCRIPTURE:

Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgressions of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us; and will subdue our iniquities.

– Micah 7:18-19

REFLECTION by Carmen Pate, “Point of View” Talk Show:

Micah had been sent to declare God’s judgment and call the people of Judah to repentance. The people had become spiritually and ethically corrupt.

Prosperity had hardened the rich, the poor were oppressed and the heirs to David’s throne were practicing abominations and idolatry.

Is it not easy to see the parallels of God’s people in Micah’s day and God’s people today in America?

Through Micah, God corrected His people by demanding justice, not burnt offerings and sacrifice. He told them to love mercy, and to walk humbly with their God.

In speaking of Old Testament stories of God’s people turning from God to sin and idolatry, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10: 11, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

Many biblical scholars believe God has removed His hedge of protection around our nation in response to our sins of immorality and abortion. Let us cry out in repentance for His mercy once again. And may we honor His faithfulness by doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God.

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, eternal, changeless, and faithful Lord, we recognize that we are in need of forgiveness as a nation, for turning our hearts away from you. Hear our prayer of repentance Lord and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We praise you for your tender mercies and your compassion that never fails.

Lord, it is only by Your grace that we can live lives that are just, and merciful. May Your Holy Spirit enable us to walk humbly in Your presence and may You be pleased to restore America so that a generation not yet born may praise you. In the name of Christ Jesus, who has done great things for us, Amen.

Today’s 40 Days for Life devotional can also be downloaded at: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2008day29print.pdf

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

P.S.- Two weeks from today, Americans will wake up with our national elections decided. If ever we needed to pray, fast, and put our faith into action… that time is NOW. Let’s do everything we can over these final days to keep building the momentum of this 40 Days for Life campaign!

The focus of many of these daily messages has been prayer and fasting, as well as the constant vigils which are being held outside the doors of abortion facilities — things that are central to the 40 Days for Life effort.

But there’s a third component of a 40 Days for Life campaign as well — grassroots community outreach, especially through door-to-door advocacy.

This requires stepping outside one’s comfort zone, but it’s an effort that has contributed significantly to bringing pro-life concerns to the forefront in a number of communities.

In College Station, Texas — where 40 Days for Life began in 2004 — the door-to-door campaign has reached thousands of households and always generated positive impact. That effect is being noted yet again in this fall’s local campaign.

“Pro-life advocates who were already aware of the 40 Days for Life campaign were even more excited to see us at their doors,” said one volunteer. One man in particular laughed as he noted a Halloween display right next to a 40 Days for Life yard sign, which suggests that this life-saving campaign is making inroads with people who might not normally be at the forefront of pro-life work.

Allison said the door-to-door campaign has helped raise awareness for those who simply have not taken notice of the issue in their towns and at the national level. “Several people have asked for more information simply because they feel they have not heard enough about it,” she said, “and admitted they had not acknowledged it as a serious issue until we approached them about it at their front doors.”

There are, of course, a few who disagree. Erin found this out when she knocked on a door and was greeted by a man who told her that “babies are polluting the planet and Planned Parenthood offers good preventative services.” Erin gave him some information about Planned Parenthood that made him think, and seeds were planted.

Another volunteer knocked on a woman’s door and told her the story of 40 days of prayer, fasting and peaceful vigil. The woman ran inside and came back with a 40-day prayer packet, something that has been provided by a faith-based group for another 40-day prayer effort (40 days of prayer is a biblical concept; it’s wonderful that others also embrace it). She enthusiastically agreed to offer her prayers for the campaign and learn more about 40 Days for Life through the web site.

The door-to-door effort can also help strengthen existing relationships within the pro-life community. Robert saw a board member of a local pregnancy center who was working in her garden as he passed through her neighborhood. She expressed excitement about the relationship that both the pregnancy center and the local Coalition for Life share and without hesitation asked about the 40 Days for Life yard signs she keeps seeing all around town.

Yes, prayer at the abortion center or Planned Parenthood location is crucial; this is where the evil is centered, and this is where the prayerful vigil must be focused.

But there are many people in your town who never drive by those places who still need to know how abortion is harming the community. And door-to-door outreach helps to bring that message home — literally.

Here’s today’s devotional from Rev. Ben Sheldon, President Emeritus of Presbyterians Pro-life and National Pro-life Religious Council…

DAY 28 INTENTION:

We pray for the conversion of abortionists and all abortion advocates.

SCRIPTURE:

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.”

– Isaiah 1:16-17

REFLECTION by Rev. Ben Sheldon:

God is just.

Inscribed around the inside of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC, are the immortal words of Thomas Jefferson: “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.”

If the deist, Jefferson, knew in the depths of his being that God is just, how much more ought we Christians to reflect on this profound truth?

The justice of God, like his holiness and his purity, encourages us to seek justice for all people. It is the evil deeds and wrong, selfish attitudes of our modern society that have led to the cavalier acceptance of abortion and euthanasia.

But, as Jefferson also said, “his justice will not sleep forever.”

God is calling us today to seek justice, to encourage the oppressed, and to defend the orphans and widows of our society.

It is a noble calling! It is one which every true believer, every God-fearing man and woman, should heed with no hesitation and no reluctance.

To follow the God of justice and truth is to stand unequivocally for the right to life of everyone, especially the unborn, the physically disabled, and the terminally ill.

God’s word through the prophet Isaiah is as relevant in today’s 21st century world as it was in Isaiah’s 8th century BC world. May God’s grace help us to defend the unborn’s right to life as well as that of the already born.

PRAYER:

O God, our heavenly Father, give us courage and wisdom as we seek to eradicate the evil in our society. Help us to realize that your divine Spirit alone can change hearts and minds so that all your human creatures may enjoy the fullness of life you intended for them. I pray this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, Amen.

Today’s 40 Days for Life devotional can also be downloaded at: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2008day28print.pdf

I wanted to let you know about a pro-life event going on today, Tuesday, October 21. Students from over 4,000 school campuses are participating in Pro-life Day of Silent Solidarity to raise awareness about the injustice of abortion.

Those participating in this effort will give up their voices for a day in solidarity for the 4,000 children who die from abortion each day. Red arm bands and duct tape will identify them as taking part in the Pro-life Day of Silent Solidarity.

Learn more and find out how you can participate at:

http://www.silentday.org  

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

P.S.- I just flew back from Memphis, Tennessee a few hours ago after standing vigil with the local 40 Days for Life team that has endured aggressive attempts to silence their campaign by those who profit from their collaboration with the abortion industry.

I hope to share more with you in the coming days, but for now I posted photos and short audio interviews from this visit, as well as my recent trip to the 40 Days for Life in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Enjoy!

Listen to the Audio Online (click “Play” button to start audio):

Download MP3 (click to play, right-click to save to your computer):

http://www.40daysforlife.com/blog/audio/nj_tn.mp3

Phillipsburg, NJ 40 Days for Life

Memphis, TN 40 Days for Life

How about some GREAT NEWS to start off your new week?

The total number of confirmed reports of lives saved since the beginning of this fall’s 40 Days for Life campaign is now up to…

…306!!

And here are just a few of the amazing stories pouring in from across North America.

An abortion worker wrote a long letter to the local 40 Days for Life coordinator in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The writer began by admitting there should be more adoptions, and then she made an unusual request: “Would you please stop calling here and pretending you are pregnant? We have had a lot of girls canceling their appointments.”

“Personally, I don’t know anybody calling and pretending they are pregnant,” said Cynthia in Tulsa. “So those can celled appointments are the real deal.”

It isn’t just Tulsa.

“The most noticeable thing for us has been a 50 percent decrease in abortion patient visits from the first week,” reports Audra in Boulder, Colorado. “We saw five or six women go in two weeks ago. But last week, we only saw three. The abortionist and staff all left rather early last week, too. He usually stays until 5, but he left around 2 pm. The staff was mostly gone by 4:30. Business must be slow, huh?”

In Fargo, North Dakota, Colleen points out, “The normal amount of abortions each week is 20-30. Since the 40 Days for Life campaign started we have seen no more than 10-15 girls go inside the building on abortion days.”

“We have seen a 30 percent decline in patronage of the abortion facility,” said George in Charleston, South Carolina. “Saturday is generally the busiest day.” But on a recent Saturday, the clinic was closed — the first time this has happened.

Tim in Bakersfield, California is noting the same trend. “In fact, the number of abortions at this point in this campaign — based on our best estimates — is exactly half of the number of abortions at this point in the spring 40 Days for Life campaign.”

This is amazing news! But what’s happening? If these women aren’t going to the abortion facilities, where are they going?

Well, there’s good news here, too. They’re often turning instead to pro-life pregnancy centers and keeping their babies.

In Jacksonville, Florida, the 40 Days for Life vigil is at an abortion facility just down the street from a pregnancy resource center. Pam said a girl had come to this center after seeing the volunteers praying outside the abortion clinic.

“She decided not to go to the abortion clinic first, but went to the pro-life center and asked for an ultrasound. We continue to pray that she will keep the baby after seeing the little body on the screen.”

At another such center in Falls Church, Virginia, “The phone has been ringing off the hooks,” said Ruby, the local 40 Days for Life coordinator. “About 18 women have come by for pregnancy tests this week. Normally they have one person coming in a day.”

Of the abortion-minded women who came in, 60 percent have decided to keep their babies. “Praise be to God!” said Ruby.

This follow-up work is crucial to make sure that these women have the support they need to take care of their children — and themselves.

Here’s today’s devotional from Ernest Ohlhoff, Outreach Director for National Right to Life…

DAY 27 INTENTION:

We pray for humility in our work for God’s Kingdom.

SCRIPTURE:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

– Philippians 2:5-8

REFLECTION by Ernest Ohlhoff:

There is no limit to what we can accomplish when we don’t care who gets the credit.

Jesus Christ’s life on earth exemplifies a total submission to the will of the Father. His humility, compassion, gentleness and thoughtfulness are reflected over and over again in the New Testament. He was God incarnate, yet He chose to be born to a humble, working class home.

How absurd it must have seemed to the rich and powerful that the Son of God, the Messiah, the one foretold by the prophets, the ‘King of the Jews’ was born and raised as a simple peasant.

During His thirty-three years on earth, He sought no riches, claimed no secular power and gathered no possessions. Yet, His short time on earth changed more lives, softened more hearts, and gave hope to more people, than all the rich and powerful human ‘kings’ combined.

And, at the end of His life on earth, by dying on the cross, He opened the door to eternal life for those who heed his words and follow in his footsteps.

PRAYER:

O Lord, help us follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Let us humbly and diligently work to restore legal protection for the unborn, the disabled, the medically dependent and all innocent children of God whose lives are threatened. Let us remember the old adage that “He can never lead who has not first learned to obey.” And, Lord, grant us a peaceful heart as we labor in your name. Amen.

Today’s 40 Days for Life devotional can also be downloaded at: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2008day27print.pdf

Thank you SO MUCH for all of your prayers and efforts that are making such a life-saving impact.

I appreciate you!!

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

It is not unusual for people standing vigil outside an abortion facility during 40 Days for Life to be the target of “drive-by anger.” You may think the people who offer you an unkind word or gesture simply don’t care for you or what you’re doing.

But often, there’s much more to it.

“We have had the expected negative response from passersby,” said Kelly in Severna Park, Maryland, “but I just like to call this response ‘ripping off the band aid.’ People are angry because they are trying not to think about the pain they are in. By us being there, we are ripping their band aids off and so they project their anger at us.”

Who’s doing this? People who had unresolved abortion experiences — sometimes decades ago — that may have left them with feelings of guilt and anger. So they lash out.

“I know that this may in fact be their first steps to healing and so I don’t mind,” Kelly said. “I’ve noticed that when I hold my sign with the personal statement, ‘I regret my abortion,’ people get really upset. So upset they feel the need to call me mean names and yell to me that they don’t regret their abortions, but their anger tells me otherwise.”

Through 40 Days for Life, however, many of these people are taking that first step towards healing.

“A woman heard an interview I had done at a local radio station about our 40 Days for Life campaign,” said Alejandra in Orange County, California. “A couple of hours later she called me, saying that she wanted to be part of this campaign and that this was what she needed.”

The woman told Alejandra that 17 years ago, she had two abortions. Ever since then, every time she sees a 17-year-old she wonders about her children. “It is a scar she has in her heart and that she hasn’t healed. She is now ready to go to an abortion recovery group and has begun to find healing.”

With 50 million abortions over the past 35 years, there is an unfathomable number of people who need healing — including people who didn’t have abortions themselves, but somehow participated in one.

Marti in Little Rock, Arkansas said one of the local 40 Days for Life volunteers confided in her that shortly after Roe v. Wade, she took a friend for an abortion. “She has struggled with guilt for all of these years,” Marti said. “She feels 40 Days for Life has given her a way to begin to make amends for assisting in an abortion.”

This woman became excited about 40 Days for Life — and much more. “She told me she went to church this weekend for the first time in nine years,” said Marti. “She will be at the vigil for the first time tomorrow. 40 Days for Life has given her renewed passion for life, both hers and all of the yet-to-be born babies.”

Thank you for all you’re doing to bring the healing hand of Christ to those who’ve held so much guilt inside for so many years.

For more information about post-abortion healing, please see the online resources of Abortion Recovery International at:

http://www.abortionrecovery.org  

Here’s today’s devotional from Vera Faith Lord, Director of the Alpha/Omega Life Ministry and Representative of the Orthodox Church to the National Pro-life Religious Council…

DAY 26 INTENTION:

That those who have forgotten their purpose may discover it in God and therefore have the courage to choose life.

SCRIPTURE:

These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season, what you give them they gather in; you open your hand they are filled with good. You hide your face, they are troubled; you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. You send forth your Spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the earth.

– Psalm 104:27-30

REFLECTION by Vera Faith Lord:

“I am a feather on the breath of God.”

As the quote above portrays, we are upheld by the power and purpose of God. Our very existence on earth, from our body’s first breath to its last, when we leave it to return home, is our Father’s choice and happens only by His willing to do so.

He who created the universe also created that which is “me.” I do not “have” a soul – I AM a soul, as well as a body. My entire purpose in this life is to find my way back to my Creator.

PRAYER:

Beloved Father, remind us today that there is no truth but you. Do not let us fall prey to the evil one’s lie that we may choose death. Remind us right now that you, who created all life, are in control of all life, and let us know right now that you who created all life, are in control of all life, and let us choose life always.

Father, please let us hear your voice more today than yesterday. Keep lighting the pathway home, for us and for all who participate in this 40 Days for Life campaign. Father, we’re on our way. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Today’s 40 Days for Life devotional can also be downloaded at: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2008day26print.pdf

A few nights ago I was hosting a pro-life conference call and had the opportunity to briefly talk with Eduardo Verastegui, star of the movie “Bella.”

During the quick conversation, he discussed his participation in the 40 Days for Life for the past three weekends in Los Angeles — and how God has used him to save TEN lives there!

Here is the inspiring three-and-a-half minute recording of Eduardo’s comments. Enjoy:

Listen to the Audio Online (click “Play” button to start audio):

Download MP3 (click to play, right-click to save to your computer):

http://www.40daysforlife.com/blog/audio/eduardo.mp3

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

P.S.- Two weeks from today the fall 40 Days for Life campaign will draw to a close. The finish line is now in sight — let’s pull out all the stops to finish strong! The stakes have NEVER been higher.

The term “abortion clinic” gets thrown around so freely that we sometimes lose track of the fact that not every abortion takes place in what the multi-billion-dollar abortion industry refers to as a “reproductive health center.”

Some abortions take place in hospitals and others in private doctors’ offices. This makes it harder to reach the women who may be seeking abortions there, but a prayerful pro-life presence at these locations is just as crucial.

Matt in Alexandria, Virginia is taking part in one of the 40 Days for Life vigils that is not being conducted outside a stand-alone abortion facility. The location is in an office park near a gynecology clinic and an infertility clinic, both of which perform abortions.

“A young married couple came up to us and asked us what we were doing,” Matt said. “We explained that we were praying to end abortion and that the clinics behind us performed them.”

The woman said she had an appointment for a routine exam and she didn’t realize that they performed abortions. She said, “You just don’t think about it.” She couldn’t understand how a doctor who delivers babies could also end their lives. She canceled her appointment and is now searching for a medical practice that does not do abortions.

“Not only are we saving babies and mothers from abortions,” said Matt, “but we are also helping to raise awareness about the ob/gyn facilities. It is becoming a bad business decision to incorporate abortions in these practices!”

The 40 Days for Life vigil in Halifax, Nova Scotia is taking place on the public sidewalk outside the fence of a large parking lot surrounding the very large hospital. It makes it much harder to reach abortion-minded women, but the local team knows there’s a reason to be there.

“Whether we actually impact any women going for abortions, we do not know,” said Julie, the local campaign director. “It seems that our main purpose is to bear public witness to the fact that abortions are occurring here — which many people don’t know.”

Julie said 40 Days for Life in Halifax is a big walk of faith because there is so little feedback. “We trust that the results will come in the future and may not be in the form we are looking for. If we raise awareness of abortion here, that will be good.” Many of the passersby are students, so the vigil team is able to witness to them.

A number of the students at that local university in Nova Scotia are from China. “I can’t help but think that this is a double whammy for these young Chinese students,” Julie said, “first, that we have the freedom to do this in public, which they wouldn’t have in China, and second, most of them will be single children whose brothers and sisters have been aborted. Many of the girls may have had abortions too — a fact of life that is routine in China. Perhaps we are there for them.”

Here’s today’s devotional from Rev. J. Kirk van der Swaagh, Pastor, Conservative Congregational Christian Conference…

DAY 25 INTENTION:

We pray for the conversion of all those who refuse to acknowledge that human life belongs only to God.

SCRIPTURE:

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

– Jeremiah 1:4-5

REFLECTION by Rev. J. Kirk van der Swaagh:

To be or not to be? There is no question!

The question of “being” is something philosophers have long pondered.

What is the meaning of being and what is the source? In the passage before us, we have our answer. We have being because we are known by God.

For God to declare that he knows and sets apart the prophet Jeremiah even before he is conceived indicates that our being rests in God’s own being. Because He is and because He wills we, therefore, are and do.

The Apostle Paul says as much when he declares before the philosophers of his day, “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

One of the tragedies of the abortion culture is that life in the womb has been so heartbreakingly devalued. To embrace the arguments of the “pro-choice” crowd one must conclude that the child in the womb doesn’t exist, isn’t there, has no being.

But nothing could be further from the truth. That child is known by God and, as such, has being.

PRAYER:

Lord God, we confess that in You we live and move and have our being. Because You are, we are. May we find grace from You to affirm the being of every human and may we labor to make this truth known to the world around us. Amen.

Today’s 40 Days for Life devotional can also be downloaded at: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2008day25print.pdf

Hope you have a blessed weekend!

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

One of the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil participants in Kalamazoo, Michigan tells an amazing story of what God can do with two guys standing in the rain.

On a recent morning, he went to spend time in prayer in front of the abortion facility. When he got there, it was pouring.

“I decided I would stay in the car and pray and when it lightened up I would get out and to stand in front of the abortion clinic and pray,” he said. “After all, I could pray just as well in the car as in front of the clinic.”

But then his prayer partner arrived. “I told him to get into the car — we could pray here.”

“No,” he said politely. He wanted to pray in front of the clinic. “I didn’t need any more convincing.” As they stood there praying in the rain, “we must have been an odd sight! What were we thinking? What good could be accomplished standing in the rain?”

The rain came down even harder as a young couple drove in with a baby in a car seat. One of the men made eye contact with the woman and he knew immediately — she was there for an abortion.

She went into the clinic, but came out ten minutes later. The two men rushed to her with their umbrellas. She was pregnant, she told them, and the child was not her husband’s. It was he who insisted on an abortion.

“She was a fallen away Christian who had just returned to God,” said the volunteer. “We told her that God had never left her and that He was always with her and would always be with her in all of her decisions. She felt pressure from her husband, the abortion staff and the doctor and that’s when she asked to go outside to see us.”

It turns out the woman had made an appointment with her pastor that morning but something came up and it was canceled. So she kept her appointment for the abortion. Her pastor was her last chance, she thought, and that had fallen through. Maybe God did not hear her prayer. Now, she said, it was too late.

“But just as they were turning into the abortion clinic she had seen us,” said the volunteer. “Two guys standing in the pouring rain, wet and soaked — praying. She knew we were praying. She couldn’t believe it; God had answered her prayer after all! He sent two strangers to stand out in the rain and wait for her!”

The men consoled her, told her God loved her and that she was not alone. “We held hands and the three of us prayed the Lord’s Prayer.” She went back inside, and two minutes later, they all came out and drove away. She waved to the men as they left.

“What a powerful God we have!” said this 40 Days for Life vigil participant. “God had made his love and presence known to all of us that morning. Many lives were touched; a life may have been saved.”

Meanwhile, it kept raining. College students passed by as they ran to a nearby bus stop. “Some of the students looked at us kind of funny,” he said. “After all, we were just two guys standing in the rain.”

Here’s today’s devotional from Carmen Pate, co-host of the “Point of View” radio talk show…

DAY 24 INTENTION:

Pray that God will continue to bless the efforts that have gone into the 40 Days for Life campaign, as we trust Him for the results.

SCRIPTURE:

Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name.

– Nehemiah 1:10-11

REFLECTION by Carmen Pate, “Point of View” Talk Show:

Nehemiah provides an awesome blueprint for volunteers in God’s service, particularly those responding to the devastation abortion has caused our nation.

Nehemiah grieved for God’s reputation as he witnessed the condition of the city walls of Jerusalem. The walls were broken down which was seen by neighboring people as a sign of weakness on the part of Jerusalem’s God. No wall meant no security for the city and its people.

We learn from his story that he covered every detail in prayer; inspired others to join the cause; organized others to help do the work; confronted opposition directly and turned to God when discouraged; and finally celebrated what was accomplished and gave God all the glory!

Like Nehemiah, we must acknowledge God’s sovereignty as we serve Him before a mocking world. We too need to be reminded that we are “fighting” for our families. We too must have an attitude of confession and repentance before a Holy God. We must pray for strength, refute slander, and not be diverted from our work.

Like Nehemiah, we will draw attention from the enemy when we are seeking to protect the well-being of God’s people. We too must stand firm and seek God’s help to persevere until the task is done. We too will be victorious.

PRAYER:

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in heaven and in the earth is Yours. We pray for your continued guidance and protection throughout the remainder of this 40 day campaign.

May we be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in Your work, knowing that our labor will not be in vain. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Today’s 40 Days for Life devotional can also be downloaded at: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2008day24print.pdf

I’m in New Jersey now, where I will be visiting the local 40 Days for Life vigil site in Phillipsburg in a few hours. Earlier in the week, I was fortunate to be able to visit three 40 Days for Life vigils near our nation’s capitol with Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life.

Here are the photos and short audio interviews with the local leaders from the visits to Manassas and Falls Church, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Enjoy!

Listen to the Audio Online (click “Play” button to start audio):

Download MP3 (click to play, right-click to save to your computer):

http://www.40daysforlife.com/blog/audio/va_dc.mp3

Fr. Frank Pavone speaks to Manassas, VA 40 Days for Life

Falls Church, VA 40 Days for Life

Washington, DC 40 Days for Life

DC Planned Parenthood closed, knowing we were coming (typo & all)

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion chain, does NOT like 40 Days for Life.

The billion-dollar organization — that rakes in $336.7 million tax dollars each year while aborting 289,750 children — is always fighting to protect its bottom line.

And it has brought out one of its tired old ploys for this fall’s 40 Days for Life — a campaign it calls “Pledge-a-Picket.”

Planned Parenthood supporters are asked to make a donation for each person who prays outside its facilities, claiming that pro-lifers are helping them to raise money for their abortion business.

Planned Parenthood has been using this tactic in numerous cities across the country where 40 Days for Life campaigns are disrupting customer income.

To further demonstrate how much 40 Days for Life is impacting Planned Parenthood’s revenue stream, the organization has now rolled out a national campaign attempting to counter the impact of 40 Days for Life while raising funds for the abortion operation.

They use an online blog called, “I am Emily X,” which uses a made-up character that represents, “a small group of Planned Parenthood employees,” who continually accuse 40 Days for Life participants of “harassing” clinic workers and customers.

To give an example, the blog reported this Tuesday from Nebraska where the abortion workers have counted more than 350 volunteers participating in the 40 Days for Life campaign thus far. (Great job, Nebraska!)

“Emily X” then condemns a group of Catholic priests and lay people who came out to peacefully pray the rosary together outside their doors, saying, “I worry about how intimidating the sound of all those voices at once can be,” before claiming that the rosary, “has been corrupted as a tool to frighten women.”

That’s what they call intimidation?

First of all, if Planned Parenthood tries Pledge-a-Picket in your community, please don’t change what you’re doing!

You are NOT raising money for Planned Parenthood. This is a deceptive campaign meant to dissuade faithful people whose prayers are cutting in to the abortion chain’s bottom line. You are praying to end the evil of abortion — PLEASE DON’T STOP!

Devanie Cooper, the local 40 Days for Life coordinator in Memphis, gave a great answer when a WREG-TV reporter asked her about Pledge-a-Picket. “Prayer and fasting works better than money does,” she said. “We’re going to win this; God’s going to win this.”

The 40 Days for Life team in Manchester, New Hampshire is noting the real effect this campaign is having on Planned Parenthood.

Mike and his wife pray outside near the end of the business day. “We observe that the people working at the clinic leave all at once and very quickly in order to avoid any interaction with us,” he said. “I believe that deep down in their souls they know that what they are doing is evil.”

I suspect that the 40 Days for Life team in Spokane, Washington is having a similar impact. Why else would Planned Parenthood send eight of its own employees outside with signs promoting “choice”?

“Two or three more joined them within the next half hour,” said Inga. “They lined up on the curb on either side of our prayer volunteers, with an ‘in-your-face’ attitude, mocking us with their looks and laughter. This was the first time in either campaign that we have encountered this kind of persecution.”

Inga said only two people were signed up to pray at the vigil when this happened, but God had other plans. The people who were scheduled to leave the vigil stayed and kept praying — and other people kept arriving to join them until more than two dozen faithful believers were gathered in prayer outside of Planned Parenthood.

When 5 o’clock came, the Planned Parenthood employees gave up and went home. But the 40 Days for Life team continued to pray.

“We all felt great cause for rejoicing that we had been found worthy to suffer for truth and life,” Inga said. “Truly, this is a sign that we are somehow getting under their skin, disrupting business, causing women to not keep their appointments, possibly even saving lives of babies and keeping women from a lifetime of regret.”

Please keep Planned Parenthood and its employees in your prayers. A call to conversion can be extremely unsettling to those being called. But the call is strong, and it is real.

Here’s today’s devotional from Dennis DiMauro, the Lutherans for Life representative to the National Pro-Life Religious Council…

DAY 23 INTENTION:

We pray for the strength to love those who do not love us.

SCRIPTURE:

But the Lord said “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in the night and perished in the night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, and much livestock? Should I not be concerned about that great city?”

– Jonah 4:10-11

REFLECTION by Dennis DiMauro:

God doesn’t value people and things like we do. Jonah loved a shade tree more than an entire city of sinful people. We love our dogs more than a terrorist. We love our cars more than a beggar on the side of the road. And sometimes, we love our money more than a child growing in a desperate teenager’s womb.

But God isn’t like us. Genesis 1 tells us that humans were the capstone of God’s creation. We were created on the sixth day after God had completed the land, the stars, the plants and the animals. Therefore, His love for us is greater than His love for a plant, an animal, or any other created thing.

And the book of Jonah tells us that He loves even the most sinful people and seeks to bring them into His merciful arms. And it’s a love that seeks to touch all of his created children: that desperate teenager, the baby growing in her womb, even tyrants and terrorists.

So it’s up to us to imitate God’s merciful love by helping and praying for those who persecute us, and those who don’t love us back.

PRAYER:

Gracious God, loving our enemies seems like one of most difficult things you could ask of us. Please remind us that this is how you love and that if you ask it of us then you will give us the grace to do it. This we ask through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Today’s 40 Days for Life devotional can also be downloaded at: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2008day23print.pdf

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

A few hours ago, a record 2,004 people from coast-to-coast participated in the 40 Days for Life “Midpoint” Tele-Rally and Webcast.

Here are just a few of the unsolicited comments sent to us by participants after the call:

“What a blessing your webcast was to me and several of my friends. I just can’t express with words how much this really encouraged me and my friends to go all the way with Jesus for saving unborn babies.”
–Joan

“Beautiful, thank U for the testimonies and prayers for this wonderful mission. Tonight’s message on the web was awesome.”
–Emily

“Thank you for the amazing, inspiring teleconference this evening! It was a blessing for so many people. I am looking forward to the second half of 40 Days!”
–Malori

I think you get the idea — the call was really inspirational!

Our twelve dynamic presenters — national and local leaders — poured out an hour and 25 minutes of hope-filled success reports from across North America…

…and we shared the breaking news about the number of confirmed lives saved during the first half of this fall’s 40 Days for Life campaign:

268!!

This call contained such vital information for this crucial moment in history — that we quickly worked to post the entire recording online, and it’s now ready for you!

You, your friends, and family members can listen via streaming web audio or download the MP3 file to your iPod or computer (even if you only have a dial-up Internet connection). Just go to:

http://www.instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=4586745  

If you are sick of hearing all the negative news every time you turn on the radio or television and want to get a renewed sense of HOPE — then you need to listen to the recording of this call in the next 24 hours.

I have NEVER been more optimistic than I am today!

Here’s today’s devotional from Georgette Forney, President of Anglicans for Life…

DAY 22 INTENTION:

May those who hold life as trivial realize that we live because God wills it so.

SCRIPTURE:

Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, in His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

– Job 12:9-10

REFLECTION by Georgette Forney, Anglicans for Life:

Job was a man acquainted with grief, trials and tribulation. He had everything taken from him, including his family. He endured sickness, ridicule and judgment from his friends. Everyone gave him advice about his situation, questioning his spirituality and his God.

Job’s circumstances were bad but he never loses faith. Why? Because “the hand of the Lord has made all life.” Created by God, he knows his life has meaning and purpose, regardless of the circumstances.

In our present culture, we’ve lost that basic truth; every life is made and allowed to live by God’s sovereign authority. As people who pride ourselves on our independence, we have a hard time acknowledging our dependence on God.

From our creation, when we were knit together in our mother’s womb to our last breath, God’s word is clear that “in His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”

It’s time for us as individuals, and as a society, to recognize that we exist by God’s grace and turn back to Him, honoring His word and His teachings. Why? Because our world is full of Jobs, people who are dealing with trials and tribulations and hurting desperately.

Job’s response should be ours as well. Regardless of what we face (even an unplanned pregnancy) God in His wisdom and mercy will redeem it.

How do I know? Job’s friends who doubted God’s sovereignty cry out to God asking for help, God instructs Job to pray for his friends and after he does, God restores all that Job had lost.

In other words, because Job never lost faith and knew and trusted His Creator, the Lord blessed Job.

PRAYER:

Thank you Father God for being the Creator of my life and every life. Please give me, and the society in which I live, an appreciation for your gift of life. Please help us set aside our pride and acknowledge that we need you.

Show me how I can honor you today in response to all the blessings you bestow so freely. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Today’s 40 Days for Life devotional can also be downloaded at: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2008day22print.pdf

One of the important pro-life battles going on in America during this 40 Days for Life campaign is the Colorado Personhood Amendment Initiative.

This effort began when 19-year-old Kristi Burton launched an effort that gathered more than 130,000 signatures to place on this fall’s Colorado ballot an amendment that would add these simple words to the state constitution:

“The term ‘Person’ or ‘Persons’ shall include any human from the time of fertilization.”

Simple, yet POWERFUL.

These 14 words would establish protection for the most helpless in our midst — innocent children in the womb.

Though it is not a 40 Days for Life event, you can learn more about the Colorado initiative — and its implications for the rest of the country — by participating in a conference call briefing tonight, Wednesday, October 15, at 7 PM Mountain (9 PM Eastern, 8 PM Central, 6 PM Pacific).

On the call, I will be joining Eduardo Verastegui (star of the pro-life movie “Bella”) and the leaders of the historic Colorado Personhood initiative — and you’re invited to join us!

Learn more at:

http://www.coloradoforequalrights.com/node/28

Hope your week is full of blessings!

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life