Emily's Closed for Day and a Half!

It was what we had been praying for all these days at the clinic. We showed up Friday morning and found that Dr. Emily's was not doing abortions! It was a sidewalk counselor's snow day. I brought a group of Fordham kids down this morning (Saturday), and again we pleasantly found ourselves useless outside the clinic (minus the prayers of course). Emily's opened up for a brief hour, between 11-12, so we counseled during that period. We found out from a secret source that the doctors were out learning "new procedures." Can't be good, but then again, can't be much worse than what they already do to these babies and mothers.

I wanted to share a quote I got from a Flannery O'Connor novel I'm reading. It's about a father who watches his mentally challenged son get murdered in front of his eyes.

"All he would do was be an observer. He waited with serenity. Life had never been
good enough for him to wince at it's destruction. He told himself that he was indifferent even to his own dissolution. It seemed that this indifference was the most that human dignity could achieve, and for the moment forgetting his lapses, forgetting even the narrow escape of the afternoon, he felt he had achieved it. To feel nothing was peace."

I think this quote captures alot of father's attitudes who walk their women and children into the clinic. It's an attitude of despair, followed by an indifference which is a solution to the pain and guilt they try so hard to suppress. Life sucked for them, it will suck for their child, and so for them it follows--what is the tragedy in destroying life if life sucks?

It's up to us to bring the hope of Christ to these people and help them realize that Christ loves them and we love them, and we want to do all we can to make life easier for them and their children. And who knows, as I'll often tell them, maybe your child will be one to make life a little better for everyone else.

At Emily's

Myself and Julie,one of our top counselors, were at Dr. Emily's.Julie had a girl in our mobil clinic getting a sonogram and a couple pulled up and parked near the fence.Initially they didn't seem interested in changing there minds.They were going in and the man hit his automatic car starter-I think by mistake-and I yelled at him that he started his car.They proceded into the 'clinic'.He came out a few minutes later and I asked to him to just look at our pamphlet which he did.He started reading it and seemed a little dumb founded by what he was reading and seeing.As he looked at the picture of an aborted baby I told him that was what they were going to do to his baby and to not let them throw his baby in the garbage.He started walking back in and I told him to get his lady out of there and he nodded back.About a half hour to 45 minutes passed and the couple came out I asked the man if they were keeping the baby and he smiled and shook his head yes.He started the car and they sat in the parking lot for several minutes.I prayed several memoraries that they would leave and they eventually pulled out and I gave them the thumbs up.Julie had a couple turnarounds so it was nice to see some of the fruits of our labors.We will keep this couple in our prayers as well as the other girls that turnaround as the devil will try and sucker them back to the killing center. Jeff Asmussen