40 Days for Life in Fredericton: Some Highlights

From Daily Blog by Peter Ryan

Day 40:  "Commit your way to the Lord and He will act."  At 8 pm we had over 100 for our closing hour! What a beautiful sight it was, seeing the procession of vigilers with candles lit stretching down Brunswick and up Regent. Bishop Robert Harris led us in prayer, we sang several hymns, prayed aloud for the closing of the abortuary, and offered one last time our silent prayer, fasting and witness for the cause of life.

Day 38: The presence and peace of God.  John from Oromocto was at the site for another long haul, this time six hours straight! He says 40 Days has been like a retreat for him, a rejuvenating experience. He does not find it difficult to pray along a street with all the traffic. The presence and peace of the Holy Spirit is really something.  

Day 31: God made them too. The public reaction to our vigil is much more positive than negative. But the negative is hard for our vigilers to ignore. I suppose not an hour goes by but someone gives us the finger. A few times a day, we get yelled at. Father, all these ignorant young people who give our vigilers a hard time, they=re hard to take. Yet with the love you=ve placed in our hearts we lift them up to you. You know them. For you have indeed created them.

Day 28: God moves. Tuesday is abortion day at the Aclinic.@ Last night, as I prayed, I found myself wondering if the Lord might move today upon this temple of death. Today, He did!

A woman approached along the street this morning, getting ready to go in for her scheduled abortion. She later told us that, seeing our signs, she just could not go through with it. She came in our pro-life house and asked to speak to someone. She had a long session with Martha. She has decided to have the baby and is exploring adoption! She cancelled her abortion appointment. Thanks be to the God of life!

Two other women entered the Aclinic@, apparently for abortions. But they left without having them! It appears as though the lives of three children were spared! We have never seen anything like this before.

Day 26: Evil speaks. It seemed to be a day when evil spoke. "Thank God for abortion!" was the message someone left on Suzie=s windshield while she prayed at the vigil. "God is fake," yelled a girl driving by. As Scripture says, the fool says "there is no God." I sensed the evil spirit taunting us behind all these words. As someone said, maybe the fact the evil one is stirred up is a good sign that we are threatening his power.

Day 24: The unending pain of abortion. Rosalie was there when a young woman, aged 19, came by and shared how she had an abortion at aged 15. She said not a day goes by but she regrets the abortion. The pain just does not go away.

Day 22: Your witnesses, Lord. Rosalie sent me a report of last Friday=s 40 Days vigil across from the Dr. Georges Dumont Hospital (Moncton): AAn elderly couple called from their car, ==Good job!== A bus driver gave us the thumbs up. Two Native women walking by, stopped to read Lise's sign and chatted about their respective miscarriages. Many purposely slow down so they can read all the signs. Only the Good Lord knows which onlookers will be touched.@

Day 15: Heavenly tears. Another rainy day. I joked with some vigilers: "Do you suppose God will mind if we ask for less rain?" Some soberly commented: "That=s not our priority." Lord, if offering you our discomfort with the weather helps in some spiritual way for the saving of lives and souls from abortion, let it rain.

Day 7: Baby saved! Maybe two! Between 9 and 10, as most of us stood in the rain across the street from abortion site, Marti stood a short distance from the Aclinic.@ Not long after 10 I met a beaming Marti. AA baby was saved!@ she said. She recounted how this mother and daughter ) passed by her going toward the abortion site. Marti was able to speak a few kind words about how they didn=t need to go in there, help was available next door etc. Marti said she felt an Aunctioning of the Holy Spirit@ as she spoke. The two women, however, continued on and entered the Aclinic.@But 5 minutes later they re-emerged! They passed by Marti=s way again. The older woman looked at Marti intently and said, AThank you.@ It was obvious something had happened! The Holy Spirit had gotten through!

Day 6: Stories of life triumphing over death. At the vigil were Melanie with her baby Harmony, and Crystal with her baby boy. When both Melanie and Crystal were pregnant, they had to resist doctors who repeatedly suggested they have an abortion. They chose life! What a smile our God must have had to see them and their precious little ones witnessing to the gift of life.