The world came knocking when 40 Days for Life launched in the United States. Now 61 countries have done 40 Days for Life--many of them are in Latin America!
Five years ago, Lourdes Varela launched the first 40 Days for Life campaign in Mexico. "I was afraid," she said. "But I had faith."
Her trust in God paid off big time as more than 3,000 people prayed at her vigil in front of a Marie Stopes abortion facility in Mexico City.
The effort quickly spread across the country. Lourdes now serves as our coordinator of Latin American affairs and she has helped spread 40 Days for Life campaigns to 145 Latin American cities!
God has answered a lot of prayers in Latin America.
One of the highlights came when campaign participants watched the Marie Stopes sign loaded onto a moving truck after the abortion facility in Iztapalapa, Mexico City became the 96th to close following a 40 Days for Life campaign.
The sign was quickly replaced by a 40 Days for Life banner as well as a banner celebrating the facility's closure.
Duitama, Colombia
A woman at the Duitama abortion facility found herself in quite a difficult situation. She was pregnant, and the baby was NOT her husband's. The child's father wanted her to have an abortion.
The mother told vigil participants she chose life after seeing volunteers praying for abortion-vulnerable babies and mothers.
Not only that, but she told her husband the truth about her pregnancy. He forgave her and accepted the baby as his son.
Argentina
Last year, Argentina's Senate shocked the world by voting NOT to legalize abortion. Pro-lifers across the country have stepped up to lead campaigns to keep abortion out of their land.
In Reconquista Santa Fe, an angry passerby shouted, "I am against what you do. You never defend women. You always discriminate!"
A vigil participant explained that the prayer warriors were out to empower women to live a dignified life without having their children killed. The passerby's demeanor changed as she agreed to help love both women and their babies.
I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness, and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.
— Ephesians 4:1b-2
Dear Heavenly Father, we are humbled that you have called us and appointed us to be ambassadors of Christ in a world that is not our home. We pray that your Holy Spirit will empower us to walk worthy of the calling. We pray that Your unconditional love will flow through us to those who desperately need Your saving grace.
