Miramar+PyramidThanks to the 30 or more prayer warriors that came out this third Saturday during 40 Days for Life, we had one save and five turn-arounds.
At one point early in the morning one of the counselors noticed a car pull up close to Family Planning Associates. An older man got out with a young girl. It was pretty clear that this was a father and daughter. The counselor talked to the girl about the horrible medical record of the doctor at FPA. The girl became very concerned. The counselor immediately noticed she was wearing a beautiful rosary around her neck. The counselor told the girl how nice her Rosary was. The girl looked down at the rosary and told the counselor she didn’t know what she was going to do. The counselor gave her information about a better doctor who would counsel her on all options. At that point her father asked what we were talking about. He did not speak English.

The counselor immediately called over another counselor who spoke Spanish and he began to talk to the father. As the counselor talked to the father the other counselor asked the girl when her last period was to get an idea how far she was. She said it was November. The counselor told her she was getting far along and showed her a model of what her baby looked like. At this point the father was crying as he was talking to the other counselor and he began to talk to the girl in Spanish.She then started crying. This went on for some time. Even as other couples walked by to go to FPA, both counselors stood in silence and prayer as father and daughter cried and talked.

They eventually thanked the counselors for giving them information and turning them away from the abortion center. It was clear that the father did not want his daughter to have an abortion. All agreed that one of the counselors would follow the father and daughter to Culture of Life Family Services. Once at COLFS the father began to cry again. He told the counselor that on the way down to FPA, he told his daughter that he would support the baby but he left the decision up to her. They did not know what to do, so they asked for a sign if they should go through with the abortion. Meeting the counselors was their sign not to go through with it. He hugged the counselor many times and thanked everyone. At COLFS they were greeted lovingly and were able to see her 14-week-old baby on ultrasound!

Soon after the counselor came back from COLFS, a van pulled up, and out jumped a young mother who had a toddler in the car with her husband who was driving. The counselor tried to give her information but she seemed in a hurry. The counselor told her of how grave the situation was at FPA. The counselor gave her information on other pregnancy centers and she thanked the counselor, got into the truck and they left.

Soon after, a young couple got out of their car. The woman immediately told the counselor that they had a hard decision to make this day, and in a nice way told the counselor to back off. The counselor told her that all she could offer her was information on the doctor and the record he had. The counselor also said she could offer her words of what she sees week after week, as women leave FPA either in tears or in pain. The counselor told the woman that she wished she could see all that they see every week. The woman thanked the counselor for not being aggressive. They walked a few feet toward the elevator and then got back into their car and left.

In the afternoon there were several different prayer warriors/counselors. A young African-American lady walked past them and smiled when one of the counselors waved at her. She could hear the prayer warriors, including three small children, praying the Hail Mary. As she climbed the steps to FPA, she sat down and waited, looking down at the prayer warriors. When they finished the rosary, the counselor waved again to her and started to walk up the stairs to speak with her. The woman got up and walked down the stairs, back to her car where her mother and sister were waiting, but she would not take a picture of a six-week pre-born baby that the counselor offered. The counselor gave her the contact information for COLFS, and the car drove away.

Later, a couple in their early 30s walked past the prayer group as they prayed. As they climbed the stairs, the lady slowed. When the couple approached the door, the man held it open, but the woman grabbed his arm and led him back down the stairs, and they got into their car. They slowed their car when they approached the prayer warriors, and smiled at them as they left.

One of the prayer warriors observed another couple go in and suddenly come back out and leave.

As another group with 40 Days for Life was praying, a women pulled up next to the prayer warriors in her car. She said, “Excuse me.” Not expecting what she wanted, one of them turned to her and asked if they could help her. She began to say, “I just want to tell you that all of you out here that praying makes a difference. Some time ago I came here to have an abortion, and before I pulled into the parking, lot I saw you all praying and so I turned away. When I found myself pregnant I was discouraged and I didn’t know where to turn. I realized that after seeing you all praying that I needed to trust that God would work it out, and He did. It is amazing because it has all worked out and I don’t know how. Now I am very happy because I have a beautiful baby girl.”