"Spring Called In Sick, But the Messengers Went Forth..."

Saturday, March 26^th- What a day! Spring called in sick, so ole’ man winter arrived with a snowstorm just in time for our big speaking engagement. Half of our ministry was arriving outside the abortion mill in Granite City. We headed out for the long drive to our conference in hopefully the “last hurrah” of winter : ). We arrived and tip-toed inside the darkened room as the first speaker had just begun by showing projector clips of their work with pregnancy loss. We remained seated until the speaker had finished. Then, we were quickly greeted by the chairpersons and Pastor who was putting the event on this day. They called a short break while we quickly set up for our speech; we were next. The room was full of many faces and various informative booths. We recognized a few familiar faces and smiled. It was show time. Pastor gave us a gracious introduction and went over our ministry biography handout. He then turned the microphone to me.

            We began by thanking the host, committee, and pastor for inviting us to speak. We thanked everyone for coming, especially in the inclimate weather. It was about that time. I looked at the windows and the big snowflakes were coming down heavy. We went into the history of our ministry and what brought me to the Midwest, my background and education, how we and our large family started in the pro-life movement, my volunteer work, and what motivated me outside the abortion mill in Granite City over 18 years ago.

            “I volunteered at a local pregnancy center. The problem was a valuable lesson. We unfortunately were not seeing a lot of clients. We barely did a pregnancy test. Once in a while we handed out some diapers. These women were not seeking abortion. The only time we were called was for fundraising. So I went to where women were killing their babies: the Midwest’s largest late-term abortion mill dubiously titled Hope Clinic.”

            I told them of my relationship with the chief abortionist and how shocked I was to learn of his fall into the dark side of this so-called “medical field.” We went over the history and daily operations of this abortion mill. I filled them in on: the baby body parts industry and how our ministry exposed that atrocity; the criminal activity inside this abortion mill unreported unless our ministry pursues; the underage abortion abyss and all the national stories we have provided by exposure. Hands were going up in the audience. I went ahead and took a few questions, but tried to persuade the audience to wait until our Q and A session after our speeches.

            I gave them statistics and we went over the legislation and political aspects of abortion. We told them how there were no resources in this town to help these pregnant women on the spot, and so we turned our family van into a pregnancy mobile unit and eventually advanced to an ultrasound van. “By being a Window to the Womb we can show a mother the humanity growing inside her womb. Once they see the heart beating or fingers and toes, the love story begins. Our motto is, ‘We do whatever it takes to save that unborn baby,' such as driving our "Special Forces" ultrasound van through East St. Louis to provide transportation to a pregnant girl for her prenatal visits; or being the birthcoach for a middle of the night delivery of a saved baby; or helping pay rent and ultility bills."

            This led into the heartfelt testimonies of our youngest children we recently rescued, saved, and adopted from this abortion mill. “We have thirteen children who all pitched in at one time or another to help us raise our family and run this ministry. Many babies have been saved and hearts touched due to our diligence and perseverance outside this abortion facility. We have enjoyed many employee and client conversions. We are to be Jesus to the lost and needy, not scream Jesus at them."

            We touched on the importance of the 40 Days for Life campaigns we have led and their results. One woman in attendance stood up and gave her personal testimony and experience of being at the abortion clinic with our ministry; it was very positive. She referred to us as warriors on the frontlines bravely intervening and saving lives right in front of her. She recommended for others to come join us.

            We pointed out to the audience how precious and full of endless possibilities each person in this room is and we express this to each abortion-minded mother as she approaches the entrance; we prayerfully and softly let her know how precious her life and her unborn baby’s life are to God. The pastor who hosted our engagement shared his personal testimony of having been adopted and went on to become a pastor who honors the sanctity of life. In between each speaker this day, the pastor expressed what I called, “Little nuggets of wisdom,” honoring life along his life’s journey. In our speech we pointed that out and how endearing his testimony and faith is, especially today. We then pointed to different individuals in the audience and asked, “Where would the world be without Pastor or Angela had our mothers aborted us? Would we be having this event? Can you imagine there would be no one outside the Granite City abortion mill with the ultrasound van saving babies for the past 18 years? ‘Every baby born is full of endless possibilities,’ is what we try and communicate to the abortion- minded mothers.

            We then darkened the lights and viewed a video showcasing our ministry outside this abortion mill. Applause was given when the lights came back on. In closing, we shared a praise report and testimony of how God continues to have His hand on our ministry and our personal lives. It brought tears to some eyes. We broke for a delicious luncheon and entertained with  praise and worship musicians and came back for a short Q and A period with Pastor fielding questions from the audience. We seemed to be getting more of the questions. The other two speakers at different times took some questions, but then turned to Pastor and said they had a question for Angela. Both speakers’ questions were very positive and complimentary. The audience was in awe of how we look so young and how we manage such a large family. The doctor asked if I was 5 when I began having children. Ha! Laughter roared from the audience. The other speaker commented how all week long the media has been all over the now deceased Liz Taylor and her beauty. She said, “Liz Taylor has nothing on this gorgeous speaker and mother of thirteen.” More applause and laughter from the audience. I was blushing at this point.

            It was really snowing pretty well by the looks of things from the windows. We thanked everyone for their hospitality and graciousness. Several attendees asked for us to pose for a picture with them; we then did a group pose with chairpersons, the host, and other speakers this day. We were unexpectedly presented with a nice donation from the committee president. More people from the audience asked if they could get involved and help us with baby supplies or other needs. We gladly accepted. We exchanged our contact information with others who wanted to help us and keep in touch as we packed our things up and made our way into the snow covered parking lot.

          We cautiously drove back home. Along the way, we stopped to help a young girl who slid off the highway. We finally got back home to our family where they were anticipating getting out to play in this white stuff. We made snowballs to our youngest daughter's delight, and gingerly placed them in our freezer for those hot sultry days in July to remind us of the blessings of winter: As each snowflake is wonderfully made, no two are alike. Even snowballs have a purpose. Just like babies, they are fearfully and wonderfully made.