Snow, Crosses, and a Saved Baby!

Saturday’s protest at Planned Parenthood was another great success! Over two hundred dedicated pro-lifers came out despite wind, snow, and below-freezing temperatures. Everyone was excited to be there, standing up for life. There is no weather bad enough to dampen the spirits of Aurora’s determined faithful! Not only was it an invigorating morning of fellowship and telling the truth about Planned Parenthood, there was a baby and a mother spared the pain and destruction of abortion that morning! More on that below.

No police problems

Things seem to be settling into a working routine between pro-lifers and the Aurora Police Department. We followed the law to the best of our understanding and ability, and they didn’t interfere with our expression and made sure no on else did either. In short, it was how it should be.

Memorial crosses back up!

I’m sure you remember our huge rally Oct. 27 where you yourself might have sponsored a memorial cross in memory of an unborn baby lost to abortion. You may also recall from this article and this article that twice the police have desecrated this perfectly legal memorial, first taking the crosses down and then absconding with them to their garage where we had to take time out of our schedule to recover and re-stake them.

What you may not know is that after the last time the crosses went back up someone not only took them down again but broke these beautiful memorials into pieces! Not to be outdone, Nate and Sam Scheidler rebuilt the crosses with bolts and wing nuts, making them both harder to break and easier to store if they are desecrated again.

So, out in the snow we went with the crosses, many of which now stand proudly in the frozen ground, yet another reminder to Planned Parenthood and the city that We Are Here For Life!

Picket saves a baby

The most exciting aspect of the day was, without a doubt, the saving of an unborn baby! Our sidewalk counselors were providing their usual consistent witness for life and the other options available to mothers. At one point a young couple who had gone into the Planned Parenthood earlier, were leaving and stopped by our counselors. The young father rolled down his window to inform us, with tears in his eyes, that they could not go through with the abortion, in his words “…after seeing all this”, gesturing to our presence in prayer and protest.

They had realized what they had was a beautiful baby, and were saved from the destructive clutches of Planned Parenthood and the far-reaching consequences of abortion. Our counselors said they seemed very firm in their resolve to choose life. Praise God who uses our mere presence, even when we can’t get words to those poor young women!

Crowd excited about upcoming Caroling Day

Everyone gathered on the corner of Oakhurst and New York for a closing prayer and a verse of Silent Night led by Eric Scheidler. In this inspiring moment, as the snow continued to fall, Eric reminded us about next weekend’s Empty Manger Caroling day.

We’ll be touring four DuPage county abortion facilities spreading the love and hope that come only from the child born in that manger by singing His praises and remembering His incarnation. Babies have been saved by our caroling presence before! Don’t miss this great opportunity to sing, fellowship, and spread the love and hope of the gospel. An overview can be found here and and more details here. I hope to see you there!

With such wonderful results I’m very excited for our next monthly protest, the first of the new year, January 19, 2008! For more photos of this event, go here.