Pro-Lifers are Extenders of Mercy, Options Hope and Healing

Not all people are on sidewalk are helping the Pro-Life effort.  How do you help the Pro-Life effort?  Leave your comments and let us know.

Jo Anne and I bundled up for a pretty chilly day.  As seems to be usual, activity at PP on surgical abortion days is quiet for the first half hour, and then clients begin arriving about every 20-30 minutes.  Most are accompanied by a driver, but a few come alone.  Again, a professionally dressed middle-aged man showed up about 9:00 am and entered at the employee door, we assume he is a doctor but don’t know who he is.  We had no opportunities for conversation this time.  The vested escorts were inside MPP and came out only to escort a girl inside; they arrived about 8:30 and left at 10am.

The grim reaper group were there from about 8:15 until nearly 10:00.  At one point, one of the women moved over to the front Stanton lot and was loudly addressing clients and employees as they arrived with calls of “evil, evil, evil”, “you are murderers”.  Apparently Stanton called the police as a cruiser arrived and the officer spoke with her and her group, and she moved back to the public sidewalk on Franklin.

There was a young fellow who arrived alone in a car and went in and out of MPP 2-3 times to get something from his car — each time, the grim reaper group together called out names loudly … “sissy”, and “coward”, and “you’re not a man”.

Their group then began calling out loudly, apparently directed at us … “Catholics are idolators”, “Mary is not a redeemer”,  “only Jesus is a redeemer”, “Catholics belong to the whore of Babylon” … their name-calling to clients and us reminded us that we have much prayer and work to do to try to correct sad misunderstandings about our faith and to be extenders of mercy, options, hope and healing.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

JoAnne and I stood and prayed on Stanton’s back lot.  At first there were only 2 employee cars in the side PP parking area, and none in front.  The grim reaper group had only 2 or 3, and they left after about an hour.  Soon after we arrived, it appeared the 2 vested escorts arrived, but — if that was them — they left soon after (possibly when the grim reaper group left?)

Soon car after car arrived (staff) until there were eventually 8-10.  A middle aged man (with dark hair and wearing a gray sweater) arrived around 9:00 and parked in the staff area.  We took a picture from the distance but it’s not clear…

From about 8:30 until we left, there was approximately a patient (and most often someone with her) arriving every half hour.  We continued to say hello or wave (JoAnne was religious in saying “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” to almost everyone as most of them were wearing or carrying something green!)  One responded with a glance, and another looked and sort of smiled.

The Stanton mobile did not come at 10:30.  I left at 10:45 and as Clint was parked in front of Oak Tree Counseling, JoAnne and I walked over and stood by his car a moment, facing MPP and a car that was parked directly in front.  A young woman who had exited MPP minutes before was in the driver’s seat and a young man, who had been waiting there for quite a while, was in the passenger seat.  We held up our signs briefly as we stood there (one sign said “R U OK? … ” and the other said “…. we can help you both….” — and then decided we might be pushing our luck.  That’s when I left with Clint, and JoAnne walked back to her car and moved it to Stanton’s front lot.

As I drove away, our Meridian Police Officer Parsons called to say that MPP had just sent him a photo of “2 women standing across from their front door holding 2 signs”.  Of course, that was us, and the officer was kind in that he said he was just responding to their call, that we had not broken any laws, but asked if we were changing our game plan.  I said no, we just acted on the moment and that we were still planning on standing on the Stanton lots.  He understood and was fine, just asking.  It was good, though, that this “little moment” happened just prior to Saturday’s “walk around Jericho (MPP)” so that we can advise all walkers to just walk past and not stop there….

JoAnne’s story about “the rest of the morning”:

1. The girl in the car then went in. As the guy left, I rolled down my window and motioned him over to me; he waved but didn’t come over.  A guy with a long beard in a black truck  from 6B drove in and is still here. Another couple drove up; a girl in sweatpants got out and went into PP; the guy drove off immediately.
2. A girl is walking on Stanton’s back lot.
3. I drove over to where we were standing. Her boyfriend was in the car (parked on Stanton’s lot). I got out, asked her if I could give her some literature. She said yes, and seemed open to me talking to her. She seemed anxious – almost tearing up. I gave her a hug and asked if I could pray for her. I prayed aloud as I was hugging her. She said she was just here for an appointment. I pointed out the Stanton card and told her they could help and where it is located. I went back to my car and awhile later she and her boyfriend went in, where they still are. Her name is Paige, if you’d like to pray for her by name.
4. Was just leaving. Am in a different parking lot. I think the girl’s boyfriend just went back to his car.
5. He just moved car to in front of PP main doors. They probably told him to move his car.
6.  I drove by again (on my way to another appointment) around 12:50, and the car with Paige and her boyfriend was gone.

New Sidewalk Advocates Every Day

Bob from Idaho Falls came for the weekend (as he does one weekend during each 40 Days for Life campaign vigil) and prayed at the Meridian Planned Parenthood from 1:00-5:00 pm.  Part of the time he was on the public sidewalk, and part of the time he was with Alice or Karen (both Sidewalk Advocates) on the sidewalk next to the back Stanton lot.  There was one woman who came to him and spoke nicely, saying “you know, they do other things besides abortions” and they talked briefly.  Another woman approached him to ask if he had a cigarette…

At about 4:45 a staff person came out of the employee door, leaned over briefly, then stood up and went back into the building.  About 10 minutes later, a Lab Corps vehicle arrived, the driver stepped out with a cooler, walked over near the employee door, used a key to open a white box there with the words “Lab Corps” on it (apparently the box that was accessed a few minutes earlier by a staff person), took out a pink bag to put into his cooler, returned to his vehicle and drove away.

That evening, Bob and 6 others from Boise and Vallivue took the first two training sessions of SAFL.  On Saturday morning, they returned to take the remaining two sessions to complete the training.  Following that, Bob spent the afternoon praying at State Street Planned Parenthood, because they are open the 2nd Saturday and Meridian Planned Parenthood is not.  He had permission to stand by his car in the Stanton parking lot where he prayed and had one interaction from a girl who also approached him and they had the same conversation as the one at Meridian Planned Parenthood the day before —  “you know, they do other things besides abortions”.  Then about an hour and a half after he arrived, the police were called by SSPP.  The officer was very nice, saying that PP owns property in that business development so “he couldn’t stand there”.  It’s true we have not “worked that angle yet at SSPP”, so Bob said “no problem” and finished his prayer time on the sidewalk between SSPP and State Street.  Thank you, Bob, for making the trip to Boise to join us in public prayer witness as we long for the day when there is an end to abortion.

Peaceful Presence is the Best Defense of Human Life

Here’s a quick recap on our prayer time at the Meridian Planned Parenthood clinic on Thursday, March 3 from about 12:30 p.m.1:45 p.m.

Scott and I parked in Stanton’s east side property parking space. I believe we were the only prayer warriors for the duration. There were about three cars at any one time near the Planned Parenthood clinic doors.

After only ten minutes a Meridian City officer drove in and talked with us only long enough to ask if we had seen a group with a megaphone earlier in the day.  We told him we had not. He said we were okay to pray where we were standing and left. I didn’t get his name.

There were at least three young women visiting the clinic that day. One was dropped off and the other two had someone waiting for an extended period of time for them. Another young woman was picked up and she seemed to be moving with some difficulty. It took her some time to get into the car. Most drivers returned our friendly waves.

The Grim Reaper is Back

And the Police seem to be just as sick of them as everyone else!

Street Sheet

by Karen

Grim reaper family group was out in force, very loud, oh-so-awful –(contact us if you’re interested in the video.  We were unable to attach it.)  They arrived at 8, left at 10.

MPP escorts were on duty during grim reaper time – 8-10.

It truly was a surgical abortion day… about 4 clients arrived from 8-8:30.  It appeared each was there about 2 or 2 1/2 hours, a couple of clients left at about 10:15, another couple of clients left about 10:30.  Each had a driver drop them off and come back to pick them up.

10 cars parked on the NW side of MPP appear to be all staff cars.  Escorts left at 10 in 2 separate cars, one right by us, the other directly across from us.

A client of one of the other development tenants arrived and stopped and had words with the grim reaper, and then after she parked by the office she was visiting, she stood there a long time with her hands over her ears, then made a cell phone call, and stood there again with her hands over her ears before going into the office.

Turns out that Mary Jo and Scott Dickson were at MPP from 12:30-2:00 and the police showed up right after they arrived… in response to a call from the client made at about 9:45 so it took the police 3 hours to respond… it looks like to me the police are getting tired of quick response to the trouble the grim reaper poses, because by the time they got to the Dicksons, they just “reported in, said thank you, and left”…

And the TV Teens 4 Life were out there praying at 4:00 today.  TVT4L Rock!

We need to think seriously about having SA’s and pwp’s out there early, which is when it seems there is the most activity at MPP…

Oh,  one last photo of Clint and Orlando a couple of weeks ago — trying to “point out” the strange crossbars on MPP windowing — see the crosses?

Week 5 Street Sheet

by Jo Ann

Joan Shay and I went last Thursday from 10 – 12. I stayed after Joan left until about 12:40 (in my car as I was alone), just in case Brenda was going to be there, I didn’t want to leave her there alone.

When I got there, Joan was already standing where we stood before at the back of MPP. We had no signs and were just standing there praying. There were two PP Volunteer Escorts wearing yellow vests patrolling the PP sidewalk. The Stanton Mobile wasn’t there yet. When the Stanton Mobile did arrive, we just continued to stand there until a representative from Stanton arrived and told us to move.

We moved to where we parked (the front Stanton lot). Then Angie, from Stanton, came (in her car) and told us we needed to stay at least 50 feet away from the Stanton Mobile (at least I think that’s what she said). A little odd, as we had moved long before that.

Also, before we were asked to move, the PP escorts walked a patient (a somewhat older woman – maybe late 30’s or 40’s) to her car which happened to be parked right next to where we were standing. Remember, we had no signs and were just standing there praying silently. We didn’t say anything at first, but finally as she was getting into her car, I simply asked “Are you ok?” She abruptly responded with a Bible Verse (I think it was James 2:13, but it could have been something else) and said “Judge not . . . ” (not sure exactly what she said (James 2:13 is about judgment and mercy, whereas Matthew 7:1 is about not judging so you will not be judged).

Anyway, I started to politely say, “I’m not judging, we’re just here to help,” but she closed her car door and that was it.  I don’t think she heard my response. The escorts said nothing, just went back to continue patrolling. Strangely, they went in shortly after we moved to the front Stanton lot, and never came back out.

On another subject, I was thinking we really should have a vest like the PP escorts do.  I found this one with 5 pockets for $14.49 on Amazon:  Misslo 5 Pockets High Visibility Zipper Front Breathable ….  Yes, it’s neon yellow (just like the PP escorts, but then Sidewalk Advocates’ logo is the yellow sun), though it looks kind of greenish to me.   Just a thought.

God bless,

Jo Anne

Are you called to peacefully save lives and help mothers-in-crisis at the abortion center?

• Every day in Ada County, three children are lost to abortion.  (1,089 in Ada Co.)
• In Idaho, the number of abortions reported by Idaho H&W in 2013 was 1,353.
• In the United States, we lose about 3,500 children every day to so-called “safe and legal choice.”
• Since the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision – that translates to over 56 million children who have lost their lives.
• Each time this happens, it means another mother, father and family wounded by a choice they will never be able to take back.

At times, does it seem to you that the tragedy of abortion feels overwhelming…. ?

If you can no longer ignore the ache in your heart when thinking of these innocent lives lost in our community each day, then we ask you join us for a training to learn more. Discover what we’re all about and why this ministry is seeing miracles happen every day.

If you would like to answer the call to speak up for God’s precious children in the womb, won’t you consider joining us at the next training?

Each training, on DVD from SAFL, is comprised of 4 1-hour sessions and a workbook for participant interaction..

During last summer and fall, and in 2016, 30 prayer warriors have trained and we are “on the sidewalk nearer the doors of MPP”.

Our next training will be in two sessions of 2 hours each on March 11-12, 2016, at Cloverdale Memorial Park, 1200 N. Cloverdale, Boise:

• Friday., March 11, 7:00 pm
• Saturday, March 12,  8:00 am

The cost of these two training sessions will be $10.00 and includes the workbook.  There will also be available a 13-pocket expanding file with materials for 13 subjects that are included in the training — for those who complete the training and wish to    have these materials available as well,   there is a cost of an additional $10.

Once you take the training, you may decide to become an active Sidewalk Advocate (SA) – or not – or just to become a prayer warrior partner of another SA.

To sign up for the training or to ask questions about this program, contact  us!

Street Sheet ~ A Report from our Sidewalk Advocates

Emily Naugle and Joan Shay were stationed as sidewalk advocates at Meridian Planned Parenthood Friday, 12th of Feb., 2016, 10:20a.m.-11:05 a.m.

We observed 4 female patients enter and 3 exit during that hour of time. Emily was holding a sign that read simply:

There is Help.

There is Hope.

At about 10:45, a Meridian city policeman drove up alone and spoke with us. We explained who we were, what we were doing (and not doing), and that we had permission to stand on Stanton property. I gave him the name of the officer with whom Karen was in contact. He explained almost apologetically that they have to respond to all calls, but he could see we were doing nothing wrong. As we spoke to him, a female patient wearing loose comfortable clothing exited the front door. She had parked near us. Joan smiled and waved at her; she waved back and got in her car. The officer left without going into the building.

The blinds of a window at the back of the building dropped loudly and suddenly. Emily had noticed that someone was watching us speak with the policeman from that window. Is it just our imagination…or did Planned Parenthood staff just use the police to provide an escort of distraction for that patient to get to her car?

Another patient exited soon after and stared at us for awhile from near the front door. It seems our presence and the policeman’s presence were being openly discussed to patients inside. Joan

Transitioning to Sidewalk Advocacy

Many of our readers are loyal 40 Days for Life Prayer Warriors.  Many of our Prayer Warriors bemoan the fact that staying on the public sidewalk keeps us away from the vulnerable women entering the abortion facility.  Being a trained sidewalk advocate offers a solution to this.

It is important to pray for the children that are in danger of being aborted.  It’s important to pray for the people that would choose to do that to them.  And it is important to pray for the people working and profiting from this death sentence.  Our prayers are compounded when we allow people to see us praying.  It reminds them that they too need to step up and doing something about the holocaust in our community.  Offering a public, peaceful prayer witness forces people to notice and think.  Abortion exists because good people refuse to think about it.  It ‘depresses them’ ‘is none of their business’ ‘too big of a problem for us to deal with alone’.

But that’s just it we’re NOT alone!

Don’t give up on praying!  If you are interested in adding another aspect to your work for the unborn Contact Us at Idaho United 4 Life to get trained as a Sidewalk Advocate.  Here’s a report from two of our Advocates.

Street Sheet

by Joan Shay:

Karen Simkins and Joan Shay were stationed near Meridian Planned Parenthood (on Stanton property north of PP) Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, 10:20a.m. to 12:25 p.m.

Working from prior information that Thursday is one of their surgical days at Planned Parenthood, we observed that females were leaving the building 1.5 – 2.0 hours after arriving, wearing loose clothing and moving slowly.

We were surprised to see at least 2 patients were driving themselves home!

During the 2 hours we were there, 6 patients went in and 5 came out. By watching who came and went, it looks like scheduling is arranged to allow about 3 patients per hour, staggered for the visiting doctor’s convenience. There would be waiting time, prep time, and maybe allow a doctor in with a patient for 20 minutes? Recovery time would be anywhere from 30-60 minutes? This is only our theory, based on what we already know about medical procedures. We welcome being corrected on these points.

One slow-moving woman emerged and got in a vehicle near us, so Karen greeted her. After entering her vehicle she didn’t immediately drive away. Karen realized she wasn’t well, and stepped over to check on her. The woman had her truck door open and had vomited on the pavement. She said she was okay, just lost her breakfast.

An AmeriPride van pulled up at one point and delivered a very small bag to the building. AmeriPride is a uniforms and linens company.

A professionally dressed woman in a silver minivan parked and entered the back of the building carrying a tote bag and a messenger style bag (like for a laptop). She was a few feet away, but didn’t acknowledge us. Another woman with dark hair exited from the rear and waved and smiled at us after Karen waved at her. These occurred around noon. The office had been open since 8 a.m.

I (Joan) have participated with 40 Days for Life for a few years, praying on the sidewalk along Franklin Road. This time, as a Sidewalk Advocate, I could actually see the people going in and out…..a teenager with her mother, a black couple, women alone, a Hispanic woman picked up by a Hispanic male who hugged her when she shuffled out. It was a real heart wrencher knowing that while we stood outside, inside at least 3 little lives were extinguished.  The people coming out each had their own stories of personal anguish and confusion. The knowledge of that made it more real for me…and more urgent to pray, intercede, educate, be on the sidewalk, and not give up hope!

We Have Support

With the couple of uncomfortable encounters a few prayer warriors have experienced it may feel easy to walk away and find something more fun to do.  It is important to remember that we are helping those in desperate need with our prayers and our presence and we have support from the community too!  Read about these encounters:

Blaise,

Yesterday I went down to walk outside PP there on State St. I guess I got there around 11:30, there were four others there. Anyway, it was the usual people drive by honking in agreement and the others who gave us not so pleasant a gesture.  Then a big burly man approached us, you never know what someone might say to us sidewalk prayers,

he said “God put it on my heart that I should stop and pray for you guys”.  (Wow!!!)

He said, ” Would you like me to pray for you?”

Well, that was a no brainer!  “Yes” was our reply. He prayed and then he was gone.

Just thought I would share.

Regards
Carole

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Carole,

I too saw this man yesterday!  He pulled up and got out of his truck in front of us.  My prayer partner from St. Mary’s said he looked like Hagrid from Harry Potter- and he did!  I got my phone ready for photos or to dial 911, and he came up and asked if he could pray with us!  This gentle giant is a student at the Boise Bible college and as soon as he left, I checked my email and you had posted this encounter from the day before.

Blessings,
Blaise