God’s providence is incredible. We were at Planned Parenthood talking with “Z,” a Christian in the area who talks to us about the Catholic faith. As we spoke to Z, a woman walked out of Planned Parenthood. We called out to her, but she did not seem to want to come down to the sidewalk to talk. Then, Z continued to urge her, and she decided to come over to us. Without Z there, I do not know if she would have decided to hear us out.

We learned that “Mary” had recently immigrated to America with her son, leaving another child in Brazil. Her morning sickness was so terrible that she could not work. She had sold her car to pay for an abortion. She spoke Portuguese, but we were able to communicate in some broken Spanish from both ends. We tried to get her to go to a pregnancy resource center, but she had already been to one and was still pursuing an abortion. She had not eaten anything all day, so we continued our conversation over food and a phone translator. We told her that we could help refund her, get her car back, and find a new job. We kept reassuring her that God would provide for her and her children. That He has placed us there to reach her. As she left, we felt very confident she wanted to choose life.

We reached out to several ministries and individuals to get her help. We connected with the priest who says Mass for the Brazilian community. We were ready to connect Mary with so many resources. As the days went by though, we never heard from her. She had our number, but we did not have hers. It was the evening before her abortion, and we were losing hope.

As a last-minute effort, we reached out to friends of Mary’s who we knew were against the abortion. We also reached out to the priest who speaks Portuguese to see if he could meet that evening, but he had a meeting with other priests. Mary’s friends had a son who speaks Portuguese and English. He was going to translate for us. One of the saddest things we have seen was watching his parents explain to him what abortion was. He had no idea. After finding out though, he was adamant to do all he could to help Mary. The family friends were able to get a hold of her, but Mary told them she could not talk to us until the day after we knew her abortion pill regiment would be complete. It seemed that she was set on the abortion. 

Her friends kept urging her though and by God’s grace she agreed to meet with us all that night. We got dinner for everyone. We offered her a gift card to refund her non-refundable abortion consultation. We tried to tell her about help we had found, but she was feeling so sick and seemed so numb. It was hard to know where her heart stood on the abortion. Then, in a turn of events, the priest who speaks Portuguese dropped a commitment he had and showed up! He immediately sat down with Mary and started to minister to her in the most Christ-like way we have ever seen. We saw her start to come alive again and hope restored. We know the Holy Spirit entered the room in such a powerful way with the entrance of His minister.

The next day, Mary canceled her abortion appointment. The Brazilian community rallied around her. A huge debt she had was paid off by many generous people. They have helped her with food and other needs. She has her car back. They found her a new job. They are going with her to prenatal appointments. She just moved into a new apartment they found her. Now, she has her own place for her and her children. Greatest of all, she returned to Mass after many years and is now talking about having her children baptized. Also, Mary’s friends that met with us have not been to a church for years, and Father was able to invite their family of four to come back! Not only did God save a baby, but He is now pouring grace into eight eternal souls in all! Praise be Jesus Christ!

Along with Mary, we were able to minister to over 50 other pregnant or post-abortive parents (including one who is planning to bring her family to church with us)! We had two other mothers cancel appointments and three others confirm they were choosing life! Thanks be to God! Twice we had a couple visit the pill-only facility and talk to our counselors there before leaving for the surgical facility as they were too far along for a pill abortion. When they arrived at Planned Parenthood, they encountered more of our volunteers! One of the couples turned-away without ever going in! The father of the other couple got out of his car to hug us as he is desperately trying to talk his wife out of aborting their baby! A man who sees us frequently when he goes to his laundry also asked for help as he just found out that his girlfriend is pregnant.

In August, we had seven new volunteers come on. We sidewalk counseled at a different Planned Parenthood facility that temporarily saw abortion clients. Our street evangelization reached the homeless, fallen-away Catholics, and others with the Gospel. Lastly, as we reviewed State Medical Board documents, we saw that two mothers did not finish the abortion pill regiment and continued their pregnancies! We had people praying on the sidewalk for both women’s appointments, yet we had no idea this had happened! Nonetheless, we know God used our prayers and sacrifices to fill their hearts with grace! How many lives and souls are impacted by your support that we will never know of this side of heaven! To God be the glory!