Bill the Cat's Pick For Monday, October 25 ~

[Bill the Cat]

This an account of my first day sidewalk counseling. I wrote this on my blog and got a LOT of feedback (like 350+ comments).


Hello everyone. Boy, it's been a long day for me! As a few of you know, sometime last week I was called to minister to abortion-bound women. If you've been called to do something, you know what I mean. If you haven't, the best way I can describe it is you find every thought eventually ending up on what you have to do. This night owl was out of the door at 5:45 this morning before I could process much of my feelings on that matter.

My day began shortly after sunrise in a back alley behind an abortion mill. The alley was muddy, and the clinic was surrounded by a fence with two entrances. The first thing I noticed was that this clinic was in a prominent place on the freeway in Uptown Dallas, one block from my boyfriend's church. No one I've talked to at the church knew this was an abortion mill. It's not marked as such. These places of death are all around us...you just may not know.

I met two sisters in Christ there...strangers I'd never met before in my life. I learned from them. My job today was originally going to just pray while they counseled. I ended up counseling, myself. It was just too busy with women coming to the clinic. Just to clarify...this is peaceful, prayerful counseling. This is not picketing, holding signs, or screaming at people. It's smiling and asking to help.

The clinic has a full time thug employed...kind of like a bouncer. His job is to sit in his truck and watch the people in the alley. If we set one toe across the property line, he calls the police. If someone stops and talks to us through the window, he honks his truck horn. We have a little pamphlet with pictures of tiny babies at 5,11...15 weeks of gestation, along with a picture of some babies who have gone through abortion, and a sonogram picture. It also has numbers of local places that will help with everything you can think of: free pregnancy tests, sonograms, medical bills, rent, shelter, adoption, groceries, childcare...people who desperately care and want to help. I placed this brochure in the hands of a Jamaican sounding woman. She took it.

The thug in the truck stopped her and told he she couldn't bring it into the clinic.
The woman brought it back to me...I told her this was America and no one could tell her what papers she couldn't have in that clinic. The man who drove her yelled at her to hurry up. She gave me the paper and said she was sorry and went inside.

An hour and a half later she came out, totally devastated. She muttered "I'm through", got in the car, and the man drove her away.



-An adorable young Hispanic couple came in. The counselor talked with them and the situation seemed hopeful. They sat in the car for about 20 minutes discussing. When they finally got out, the man came to me and said "I'm screwed...I'll be back out". He came out about an hour later, his face like an etching of death and sadness. He wouldn't even look at me. He'd just lost a child that he wanted, and the mom didn't.


-I saw a young black couple drive in. The other counselor talked to them. They went into the clinic. About 10 minutes later they came out and drove to where I was. I asked them through the window if there was anything I could help them with. She said "Yes...a phone number". I showed her the free number for help on the brochure. She thanked me and left. I told her "God bless you!"

This is called a turn around...a couple who, for the moment, chose not to abort that day. They might be back. We pray to the Father in Heaven that they won't. Only the Holy Spirit can change hearts. Only God can bring light into darkness. All these acts of love today are not my acts. They are offerings of love to God. I'm not there to be right, or win an argument. I'm there to help these women however I can, every single way I can. Before, during, or after the abortion. I prayed for them when they went in. I prayed for them on my way home.


I am utterly exhausted in a way I've not been in a long time. This is partly because I'm a pasty white girl who was out in the Texas sun for 4 hours without sitting down. I also believe that a spiritual battle goes on around us all the time that we don't see. The abortion center is the front lines...the trenches, if you will. I know my enemy is unseen and doesn't want me there. Our enemy isn't the women, the guys who impregnated them, or even the abortionist. The enemy is Satan himself...who wants steal, kill, and destroy. Abortion destroys lives. As long as I know the Author of Life, I'm not going to stand idle any more. I ask you to join me in prayer for all these involved.

You better believe I'm going back.

This is just plain awesome!! Thank you Thespia for this report.

[Cow Poke]

Hallelujah

[Thespia]

Aww thank you very much for honoring me.

[Bill the Cat]

Aww thank you very much for honoring me.

Honor is in the ears who hear (or in this case the eyes that read) more than the mouth that tells. You have honored us with your report more than you could imagine.

[Jedidiah]

Aww thank you very much for honoring me.

Thank you very much for so serving.

[Thespia]

Thank you very much for so serving.

It's tough, and I wish more people knew about how they could help! We (sidewalk counselors) get portrayed SOOO unfairly by the media...as screaming, sign waving jerks. Since I'm nerdy enough to be an internet regular, I thought I'd use my tiny slice of the interwebs to make the true story known. This is just the beginning!

[Kelp]

Wow. Nice work

[Soyeong]

Whatever happened to Honor's Hall picks? I haven't seen any new ones in a while.

[mossrose]

They've gone the way of the blogs and custom smilies after the site re-vamp......

[Thespia]

This makes me sad.

[Cow Poke]

yellow makes me

[Jayaruh]

Threspia, thanks for ministering in this way. God bless you.