ol-2000-2003 Reports

 
God's Servants Outside the "Orlando Women's Center" 

"Our men and women are over there fighting so that we can make choices like this."

Saturday, April 5, 2003 Orlando Women's Center abortion clinic  

A middle aged woman with a flag decal on her car AND sporting a giant flag sewn on the front of her denim dress wanted me to understand something. "We live in a country where we are free to do what we choose. Although abortion may not be a very nice choice, our men and women are over there fighting in Iraq so that we can make choices like this."

Is this true? Are our boys fighting so that we can kill Americans as we please? Have dozens of our soldiers lost their lives in the Middle East so that we can massacre 4000 today?

Twenty-three year old Tanya came from Mt Dora. When I asked what was the top two reasons she was aborting Tanya responded; "Time and money." She went on to explain that she already had two kids, 6 and 3 years old. Although both were living with their respective daddies, Tanya didn't want to deal with another child. Tanya and her Jamaican boyfriend Ray (who has two children of his own that don't live with him either) attend Leesburg Church of God. Both of them said: "I know that God will forgive me."

Is this true? Does God give us His Son's sacrifice so that He can forgive our sins? Do we go to church so that we can live as we like and depend on Him to dole out forgiveness and blessing? The abortionist is an elder in his church. The clinic workers go to local churches. Each of them is counting on the Blood of Christ to cleanse them from their sin.

I read Hebrews 10:26 & 27 to Tanya and Ray: "If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for our sin, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment."

Do you know what Tanya's response was? Ecclesiastes says that "There is a time to be born and a time to kill."

Mario and Lisa explained; "We've got two kids already. We can't afford any more." When I explained that adoption would allow them to choose a loving family for their baby, Mario said; "I would never give my kid away."

Delores arrived with her husband. "My doctor told me that I must come here. I am 8 weeks pregnant and have a bleeding problem. I have six children and have had two miscarriages. My doctor told me to come and have this done." I asked Delores; "What kind of a doctor sends his patient to an abortionist that he has never even met? If you are having physical problems, PLEASE leave here at once and see our high risk obstetrician."

I showed Delores's husband the 911 report from February. A 17 year old girl almost bled to death after an abortion at Orlando Women's Center. She had to be rushed by ambulance to Arnold Palmer, where she was given a blood transfusion. Several years ago, a young mother named Ladye Williamson experienced the same thing. She lost her uterus as a result of the injury she suffered as abortionist/clinic owner James Pendergraft was doing a suction abortion to remove her 11 week child.

Seventeen year old Nadia arrived with her big brother. "I don't want my mother to know that I am 6 weeks pregnant." Although I tried to reason with her Haitian brother to provide Nadia with support, I was unable to communicate with him because he only spoke Creole. We meet many Haitians and have been BEGGING Haitian Christians to come out to the clinic so that we don't lose opportunities to minister like this.

From the moment I arrived at 6:15am, there was a steady stream of women and their lovers and friends entering Orlando Women's Center to kill their infants. Jesse lost count after 17. Allura spent at least half an hour ministering to the Roy. As I overheard their conversation I was struck by the beauty, simplicity and wisdom of Allura's words to this young father. It always amazes me when God is so good to the lost that they take no counsel from Him. Like the fool, they perish in their ignorance and sin. (Even though they attend church regularly.)

We were looking forward to having folks pray while we reached out to the abortion bound women and men but were disappointed. Metro Life Church was scheduled to lead the intercession but no one came to pray except Allura. (Allura is already a regular part of our ministry team.) We left before our faithful Catholic brethren were to arrive at 10am.

I want to ask you a question: Is it a time to kill? Are American soldiers fighting for the right to disembowel 1.4 million babies a year, while they are still alive? Is the church teaching it's members to feel free to sin because that's why Jesus died? Does the church really believe that abortion kills human beings? Do Christians they think that trying to rescue those being led to slaughter through abortion clinic ministry is the same as any other ministry? Is there any other ministry where you can directly intervene to save the life and limb of a living child and bring life to the dead souls of their moms and dads, clinic workers and abortionists?

I am going to be gone for a week in April and I will be out of Florida for ten weeks this summer. Can I count on you to take up the gauntlet of the good fight for the lives and souls at Orlando Women's Center this summer? Don't wait . . . something will ALWAYS get in the way. Something will ALWAYS seem more pressing, more pleasant. NOTHING is more important that reaching the 10,000 lost people BEFORE they are killed each year in Orlando. You ARE fitted for this kingdom work by the very fact that Christ lives in you. He is your hope of glory. You live and move and have your being in Him. Don't think that you have to take a special class or workshop at church or that you have to go to seminary. You are prepared now because you are HIS. God doesn't CHOOSE the gifted and equipped, He equips and gifts the chosen. Believe it. Please contact me right away.

From the Killing Fields of Orlando,
Patte Smith
Sanctuary <//><  

Women Who Kill: In Her Own Words

Friday, April 4, 2003

18 year old Janet murdered her pre-born baby of 4 1/2 months by labor and delivery abortion yesterday with the professional medical assistance of the staff of Orlando Women's Center. (Janet paid $1400 for their "medical care".) Her labor was induced at 9 am yesterday. Janet delivered her baby at midnight. I spoke to her by phone this morning.

Here is the story of the murder by abortion her own child in Janet's own words:

Patte: One of the last things you said to me was that you were going to go inside and give the clinic a chance to counsel you. You were going to ask to look at the ultrasound of your baby and then see how you "felt" about it. Why did you decide to go through with the abortion?

Janet: My counseling at Orlando Women's Center was really good. The lady went into everything about the abortion in depth. She was honest about the pain. The doctor even showed me the ultrasound.

P: Did a doctor care for you during the abortion procedure?

J: No, I only saw him for the ultrasound.

P: What was his name? (Note: Most likely clinic owner/abortionist James Pendergraft)

J: I don't remember. I have it written down somewhere.

P: How were you treated throughout the labor and delivery of your baby?

J: Everyone was very nice. Especially the nurse who helped me at the end.

P: Did you have the baby in your bed?

J: No, in the bathroom.

P: Did you have a boy or a girl?

J: I didn't look to see if it was a boy or a girl, but I did see it.

P: Sometimes the infant is moving when they are delivered. Was your baby alive?

J: They did tell me that there is a possibility that my baby would survive the procedure. But, no, the baby wasn't moving.

P: What color was your baby's hair?

J: There wasn't any hair.

P: Oh, my babies were little baldies too. Maybe her hair was very light peach fuzz, so you couldn't tell if there was hair. Tell me, what was the overall abortion experience like?

J: It was a lot more painful than I thought.

P: When did it get painful?

J: As soon as I started taking the medication. (note: Cytotec, vaginally and orally).

P: Why did you wait so long to have an abortion (4 1/2 months), Janet?

J: I didn't know I was pregnant until a few weeks ago. I had my period regularly all along.

P: Would you be willing to go through another abortion like this?

J: No, I don't plan on every getting pregnant again. (note: Janet had informed us yesterday that she is not interested in every having children.)

P: Janet, each week I meet people who had planned never to get pregnant again. I've met women who were using every kind of birth control: the depo shot, the patch, birth control pills. Even women whose tubes were tied.

J: I don't have to worry because my boyfriend was already fixed so he can't have kids.

P: How old is he?

J: He is 33. He had the surgery when he was 28. He already has four kids.

Janet, 18, plans to move in with her 33 year old boyfriend shortly. Although she is "dancing" four to five nights a week until 3am (while enduring the incredible fatique of early pregnancy), Janet makes it to school every day at 7:30am and is making good grades. She has been the sole financial support for her mother (who is a stroke victim suffering from short term memory loss and is legally blind) and her 11 year old brother. (Janet nursed her father until his death a few years ago.) She intends to continue stripping as she finishes at Colonial High School. Janet is preparing to attend Valencia in the fall.

Why am I telling you all of this?

These Sanctuary Updates are intended to be sort of a TRUTH campaign against abortion. They are also meant to invoke a sense of personal and corporate rage in the Body of Christ in Orlando.

Our desire is that Jesus' friends would become so concerned about the suffering and slaughter of our innocent neighbors (200 weekly, 10,000 yearly) that they would stream out to Orlando's four abortuaries en masse to expose the darkness with the God-given light and salt of their presence. With four thriving abortuaries plundering the incredible gifts of children here, it is EQUALLY OUTRAGEOUS THAT WITH VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS, THE THOUSANDS OF CHURCHES HERE, AND THE CHRISTIANS INSIDE THEM, KEEP A VIGIL OF DISTANCE INSTEAD OF A VIGIL OF PRESENCE OUTSIDE OF THE DEATH CAMPS. THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING.

My pastor Jim Fitzgerald recently lamented: "We (Christians) practice separateness to a fault. We are in danger of isolation and insulation from the earth we are supposed to be the salt of."

As you can see from the above story of Janet, even our most faithful witness can appear to "fail". Nonetheless, our missionary encounters with the lost who are running headlong into death, are never a "failure". Rather, when we confront and engage our neighbors at Orlando abortion clinics, we feel God's pleasure.

Romans 12:21 admonishes us with the clear command to " . . . overcome evil with good." The New Geneva Study Bible notes that "The task of the Church is to make the invisible kingdom visible through faithful Christian living and witness." That's what we at Sanctuary are doing and we want to help YOU do it too. We make it SIMPLE to be salt and light to Orlando's most notorious abortuary. And we're doing it again tomorrow!

Romans 12:21 admonishes us with the clear command to " . . . overcome evil with good." The New Geneva Study Bible notes that "The task of the Church is to make the invisible kingdom visible through faithful Christian living and witness." That's what we at Sanctuary are doing and we want to help YOU do it too. We make it SIMPLE to be salt and light to Orlando's most notorious abortuary. And we're doing it again tomorrow.

WHEN? Saturday, April 5
WHERE? Orlando Women's Center abortion clinic
1103 Lucerne Terrace (Off Gore & Columbia, between I-4 & Orange Ave)
HOW?
7-9 am Join Metro Life Church as they provide a powerful ministry of witness and prayer 10 am Join a symphony of prayers for LIFE, including the rosary.

From the Fields of Blood,
Patte Smith & Friends
Sanctuary Ministries <//><  

Thursday, 19 January, 2002 Orlando Women's Center  

In the short span from 7:30 - 9:30 a.m Carl, Maria and I talked to 42 people as they went into Orlando Women's Center today. Twenty women came to abort their babies. Right as we were packing up to leave at 10 a.m. we met a 19 year old FAMU student named Mary Beth. (This is the second FAMU student we've met in a week.) She is 21 weeks pregnant and had come all the way from Tallahassee to have an induction of labor abortion (which involves 12-36 hours of labor and delivery).

Poor Mary Beth is frightened to death to tell her father about her pregnancy and she can't imagine how she is going to pay for the medical expenses of pregnancy and birth. She believes that her mom will be supportive so that is good. We managed to convince Mary Beth that God would work everything out in His time and in His own way. (Which is always above and beyond what we can guess.)

Finally the tears fell, which is a good sign that Mary Beth's heart was not steeled against her child. We prayed with her and her boyfriend Tom (who is VERY wishy washy about this baby to say the least), they gave us their phone number and we watched them drive away. Although we were glad to see them leave, Maria and I were extremely concerned that she might return and prayed all afternoon and into the evening.

We are very happy to report to you that Mary Beth cancelled her abortion appointment and we are now looking to get her some support and friends in the Tallahassee area! We may need to provide some financial assistance, which will be our pleasure! Praise God. Sidewalk counselor Judy in Tampa reports that Jenny called Judy at home after meeting her at the clinic. She is going to have her baby instead of aborting at 13 weeks! Three cheers for Judy's faithful witnessing at two abortion clinics in Tampa and Rejoice! for the Lord of Life is faithful to work in the hearts of women!

I was delighted to speak with Evita today, a woman I met at OWC a few months ago. She was being treated with medicine that jeopardized the life of her preborn baby, so she had come to the mill to abort. Sadly, Evita went ahead and took the first of her RU-486 pills and called me at home crying with worry about her baby. I called our high risk specialist for advice and he was pretty sure that Evita's baby would be okay. She has been seeing her ob/gyn for checkups and arranged an appointment with a perinatologist yesterday. The specialist gave her the good news that everything looks FINE on the ultrasound! She is halfway through her pregnancy at 21 weeks now. Evita and her husband are so thankful that she met sidewalk counselors on that fateful day that she came to the clinic. Everyone in her family is rejoicing, including her 18 month old daughter.

Evita is planning on coming to Evening of Remembrance next Friday the 18th. I hope to have many women we've met over the last year with us that night, so I hope that many of you will be joining us. Please pray for Evita, Jenny, Mary Beth and their babies. And pray for us as we look to Jesus to help US help THEM! This is what sidewalk counseling is all about . . . women's hearts being encouraged and empowered by LOVE and precious babies surviving! Hallelujah!

Blessings,
Patte
Sanctuary <//><

January 2, 2002

My Friends,

If Jesus returns in 2002 will He find us full of faith in Orlando?

I know the feeling of the Lord seeming near near at times and so very distant at other times. For years I struggled with this until I came to hold onto His holy and mighty presence as a constant. I liken it to overcast days. When the sun is obstructed by clouds, one could almost surmise that the great ball of fire isn't in the sky. People say: "There is no sun today." No warmth to shine on your face, no sparkling on the water. Many days without the bright rays and people begin to long for the sun to break through, maybe even start to wonder if it ever will. Truth is that the sun is right where it always was. It rose, spent it's day in the sky, straight up at midday and set slowly as usual. The difference is not in the sun, it's the circumstance. With the sun . . . the variables of weather and nature.

Our perception is seriously affected by what we see and feel. Here in Orlando we sidewalk counselors spend many hours each week reaching out to the lost and dying at Orlando's five abortion clinics. Though we have fasted and prayed and stood with our own bodies as shields for the innocent ones, tens of thousands of women have killed their babies in assembly line fashion all through 2001. We have experienced a deep frustration as we stood there on the sidewalk. We know what it's like to feel helpless. Worse than the feeling of helplessness, we know what it is like to wonder where God is when innocents are slaughtered in a kingdom that sanctions their deaths.

Where is God? Does He really care? Does it matter to our Holy God that the souls He sovereignly created in the wombs of women are murdered?

I believe with all of my heart that it DOES matter to the Father! Over and over again He has visited our souls with His faith, His power, His blessed peace in the midst of the bloodshed. Jesus has been our anchor in the storm of hatred, mocking, jeers and even physical attacks. Like Eric Liddel from Chariots of Fire, while we are ministering in Jesus' name on the sidewalks outside the abortuaries in Orlando, we "feel His pleasure."

If we NEVER helped a woman through her pregnancy, if we NEVER coached a young mother through her labor, if we NEVER held the sweet innocence of the babes we met at the abortuaries, I'd like to believe that we would STILL hold fast our confession that Christ is Lord of all, even over the kingdom like Orlando that is in direct rebellion against Him.

In 2001 we encountered dozens of women whose hearts were encouraged by our presence and our bold confrontations of the truth with love. We have had the utter joy of cradling in our arms the very infants who were scheduled to die in Orlando abortion mills. Our missionary work as sidewalk counselors has saved the lives of Alejandro, Joseph, Dilano, Jose, Destini, Joshua, Marisol, Theresa, Jada, Giovanna, Jonathan and many others.

Don't miss our third annual "Weekend of Remembrance 2002" January 18 & 19! Please mark your calendar and join us as we look back at 2001 and ahead to the New Year. We at Sanctuary Ministries want you to come and meet some of the women and their babies who were saved from abortion through our sidewalk counseling. We want you experience our journey of faith as we work FOR women and babies and AGAINST abortion in Orlando. We believe that in time God will honor our labors and make our city a safe harbor, a Sanctuary, for women who are with child.

"Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by Hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by Faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone, therefore we must be saved by Love." ~ Reinhold Niebuhr

Come and join us in our faithful labor for His glory and our neighbor's good!

Patte Smith
Sanctuary <//><

Saturday, May 12

It was cold inside the building and it had a bad smell. They watched as women strode up to the reception area and plunked down their IDs. Nicole and Carme turned to each other and said: "Let's get out of here." When they came outside, Jane embraced them and brought them right over to Pregnancy Outreach's mobile unit. Once inside Nicole was introduced to her 11 week gestation baby. Nicole said: "When I was inside the clinic, I felt the chill of that place, I was uneasy and restless. It's horrible in there. But when I was inside the mobile I was able to relax. I got to see my baby and Mark prayed with us. I am so glad that God got through to me!" Nicole and Carme embraced us over and over again. (It was hard getting them to leave!) Nicole has plenty of support and she will be fine. They left with smiles, knowing that they were going to have a very special Mother's Day!

Alexia's story is almost unbelievable! During her counseling session this morning the clinic worker could tell by her tears that she had very mixed emotions about aborting her baby. This very special clinic worker did something powerful. She took Alexia into a back room and showed her the body of an aborted baby saying: "Is this what you want to happen to your child? Can you live with this?"

From the waiting room Alexia heard me speaking in front of the clinic. I urged the ladies to be courageous and open those doors and come outside so we could help them. I offered them the opportunity to see their pregnancies through ultrasound. The doors opened up and Alexia walked right up to me. "I want to leave this place. I want to accept your help." We escorted her right into the mobile unit and she took home a photo of her little one, only 5 weeks gestation. Maria is going to make an appointment for Alexia with Dr. Young, help start her on prenatal vitamins and then take her to the medicaid office next week. She may not qualify for Medicaid as she is here illegally. We will need to be prepared to offer some financial assistance for prenatal and delivery expenses.

Diana (who we met a few months ago ready to abort) came by the mill (in the new van that Pregnancy Outreach has provided for her) to pick up some lovely maternity clothes that Maria had for her. She was able to see her baby, very exciting at 5 months of pregnancy. Diana has been feeling pretty well these last four days and she is so happy about that! Diana has some immediate needs for underwear, so we took up a collection. Dear Yudit came with Maria to minister with us today and gave Diana money as well! Diana is blessed by all of the concern and affection displayed toward her through our ministry.

Crazy Mary showed up with tarps and poles. She erected a blinder in front of Orlando Women's Center! She also put up a big sign against the building that said: "Keep moving, park car around back" or something like that.

Gina, Jane and I were the first to arrive. Maria came with a very cute (and very pregnant) Yudit. Peter Anderson came after a while. Jesse Gusse and his friend Chris from UCF came to join us and so did Laurel (Lolly) Hughes. Mark Hall came with a delightful friend named Joanne (who also goes to UCF, so the young people exchanged telephone numbers). Carl came with his precious 8 year old daughter Maggie. (Alexia really enjoyed Maggie, who wanted to feel her belly, and Yudit's belly and all of the baby models too!) We had about 5 or so gathered to pray at 10 a.m. for "A Mother's Heart" vigil.

In spite of the tremendous joy of the morning, we saw many others kill their babies today. "Suzy," 18, is in high school and concerned about being able to make it with a baby in tow. Her friend Wendi was pushing her to go ahead with the killing. (When I walked Suzy to her car after her abortion, a single tear was on her cheek. She took the information about Healing Grace as she sat in her car and then closed the door behind her. From the driver's seat Wendi reached over, grabbed the packet from Suzy's hands, pushed the door back open and threw it out onto the street.) Shame on her.

Ilga is a 38 years old Russian woman who came with her Russian boyfriend. Ilga was 8 weeks pregnant. This was her fifth abortion (she had three in Russia and another abortion at Orlando Women's Center two years ago.) Her reason for this killing: "I have many medical problems and my son is already in high school." Her boyfriend's reasoning: "No children now, maybe later. I'm sorry."

So, as always our joy is stained with the bitterness of knowing that many little ones suffered as we prayed and ministered outside that death camp.

Come with Me and I will make you fishers of men... Matthew 4:19

Patte

May 3, 2001

This morning we had the heartbreaking experience of praying over a mother (Raquel) and daughter (Mari) who flew from Puerto Rico to Orlando to kill their baby at 4 1/2 months gestation. Mari is only eleven years old! A little girl... our hearts are rended. We did EVERYTHING we possibly could to win a stay of execution for Mari and her little one. Poor Mari just sat quietly, occasionally wiping silent tears from her cheeks. When we first began to pray over Raquel she would let out short whimpers and her eyes would fill up. Then I opened my eyes and watched as she hardened her heart, bracing to do what she WANTED to do all along. We watched helplessly as Raquel led her daughter into the death mill, young Mari hauling her luggage behind her. Maria went inside to reason with Raquel. When Maria came out she said "Patte, you should've seen Raquel's face. Gone was any tenderness, any compassion, any conscience. In its place was a hard, vacant stare. The transformation is frightening."

It finally dawned on Maria and I that Raquel's concern was not for her daughter (and certainly not for her grandbaby), Raquel's concern was for Raquel. Raquel didn't want to have to get up in the middle of the night, she didn't want to watch the baby while Mari went to school, have to feed and clothe another mouth and deal with her husband, who wanted no part of this poor unwanted, undesirable infant. Since we talked a lot about adoption (and offered the two of them a safe haven here in the states until the baby was born) Raquel didn't want the inconvenience and "stigma" of the adoption route. What a sad and bitter thing to know that a mother is wiling to sacrifice the well being of her own flesh and blood daughter to keep from having to deal with the consequences of pregnancy and birth of a grandchild. Maria pleaded with Raquel to consider the devastation of laboring and delivering a bloody dead baby for dear clueless Mari. We called a Spanish speaking Catholic priest and a member of Respect Life (Catholic diosese right to life group) and THEY CAME! How grateful we are to these two missionaries!.They brought their faith with them today and reasoned with Raquel. We prayed that Raquel would be overcome by the fear of God, but her countenence was hardened. When the clinic workers asked Raquel if she wanted Father Miquel and Deborah to stay, she answered quietly, turning to Fr Miquel she said; "No, Father, I want you to go."

Raquel and Mari were not the only mother and daughter inside for late overnight abortions. "Kelly" and her mother "Susan" sat side by side waiting for the induction of Kelly's labor. Susan spoke up to Fr Miquel and Deborah while they gave godly counsel, saying "You are making things worse."

Fiona is a tall and slender girl with a lovely brown face. Her round and firm belly betrayed the fact that she was with child. She came by bus with a friend to kill her baby at 20 weeks of pregnancy. "My uncle told me not to do it, but I told him that I will do what I want." I questioned Fiona: "What terrible thing has happened to you that you would be willing to give birth to this baby before he is ready to be born?" Fiona became thoughtful and with a faraway look in her eyes she answered; "Yes, I have been through a lot of things." "I believe you, Fiona" I said, "but you have never killed anybody before." It was hard watching Fiona and her friend walk slowly towards those cursed white doors. Just before Fiona stepped inside, she turned back to me. "Thank you. Thank you for all that you are doing and for being willing to help me." With that she disappeared inside the hellhole that is Orlando Women's Center.

Robert brought his shy girlfriend Nina, whom he kept from taking our information saying; "I already have 2 kids!" Robert went in and out of the aborturary many times, cursing us as we offered him a vital information packet for his girlfriend.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs.1:7

All these faces remain with Maria and I. They will be the stuff of our dreams (and nightmares) tonight. Mari, Kelly, Fiona, Nina . . . We picture them laboring, crying out, bleeding, pushing and delivering their sons and daughters in that infernal place of death. They will labor anywhere from 6 to 36 hours before their infants are placed in ziplock bags and put in the freezer for pick up by BFI. And all we could do was stand there with arms outstretched and cry.

There is some good news . . . Sharon, the young lady we met at the clinic last Thursday, is doing well. She has spoken with her mom and is considering returning to her home state for the remainder of her pregnancy. Sharon was very happy. "How can I thank you for what you have done? I am so glad that you and your friends were there that day!"

One of the clinic workers has been referring the patients who aren't sure about abortion to ME! This is reason to rejoice! "Emily" has proven that she has a desire to keep women who are waivering from killing their children. Today she asked me for more of my cards, since she has given the others away. Today "Emily" told me: "I have sent a girl named "Annie" to you. She doesn't have medical insurance and will need financial help to pay for her prenatal care and delivery." Oh, Lord, bring us those who desire to be volunteers and supporters so that we can keep our promises to the women you are pleased to send our way!

I spoke with "Dinah" on the phone today. I met her at the clinic a month or so ago and she decided to carry her baby to term. This is in spite of being very sick with a disease of pregnancy that has brought complications (and multilple hospitalizations) and damage to her liver, stomach and gallbladder. Would you be willing to be a friend to Dinah?

The Standard
"When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." Isaiah 59:19

Sometimes I wonder if you are immovable objects. So few of you are responding to our pleas for help. And you are the cream of the crop! We are looking for few good men and a few good women to answer the call. Wherever there is a need, there is a call (like Judy Johnson says: "The need IS the call"). Don't wait for lightning flashes, thunder booming and writing on the wall. Don't wait for your pastor or anyone else in your church to join with you. Your flesh is resisting this call, isn't it? It's only natural. The flesh desires what is nice and comfortable and whatever goes along with the status quo at your church. It is easier to go to the Major's Prayer Breakfast than stand in the rain as Jesus' friends talking to women and babies. It is more pleasant to sit at a potluck supper at your church than light a candle in the dark outside Orlando Women's Center. Today was the National Day of Prayer. There are meetings galore that many of you find the time and money to attend. If going these various and sundry Christian gatherings is taking the time that you could give with us, DON'T DO THE OTHER THINGS.

Our mission is a matter of life and death.

Laboring without you in the Field Of Souls,
Patte Smith

April 26, 2001

We met 19 year old "Sharon" today at the abortion clinic. She is 9 weeks pregnant and concerned that due to drug use, her baby will not be normal. Also, she attends a local college and is afraid that her parents will no longer support her if they find out she is pregnant. (Her parents live in another faraway state.)

Sharon came with a sweet friend. They both shed many tears as we ministered and prayed with them. I am happy to say that they left the clinic without aborting.

Please pray for Sharon and her friend Sheila. They are still fearful and being tempted to return to the clinic. Pray that Sharon's parents, whom she says are wonderful, open their arms to their hurting daughter and that they walk through this time of waiting together. And pray that Sheila continues to encourage her friend to do the right thing.

I will be calling Sharon and Sheila to see how things are going, but in the meantime . . . PRAY!

Together in the Field of Souls,
Patte
Pro Life Action Ministries

April 20, 2001

We had a save. A 19 year old (who has a 6 month old baby) who had come for a second trimester killing allowed Anna, a sidewalk counselor, to reason with her and she left the death camp!

Blessings to you,
Patte Smith

April 6, 2001

Yesterday was one of those long and trying days in our ministry outside Orlando Women's Center death camp. We were blessed to call inside and cancel two late abortion appointments for women who changed their minds! Maria spent over 14 hours ministering to Juanita. There are many difficult and painful elements to her pregnancy. Please pray for Juanita, her baby boy and her family as they deal with Juanita's pregnancy and the ramifications of this little fellow's conception.

There will be much more opportunity for ministry in the life of Juanita in the days, weeks and months to come. These are the times when we feel the desperate need for support and volunteers to come alongside the women we are helping.

Isabelle left with her friend after we spent time pleading with her for the life of her unborn child. She was married but her husband deserted her when he learned of the pregnancy. They already had one baby and he "didn't want to deal with the responsibilites." We urged Isabelle to keep the appointment we made for her for a sonogram at 10:30 a.m., but she and her friend said "maybe another day." They drove away from Orlando Women's Center with information about crisis pregnancy centers and Dr. Young's number for Isabelle to call for her first pre-natal appointment. Please pray that Isabelle grabs a hold of Jesus' lifeline for her and her dear baby.

Tina came laughing into the abortuary with her mother. "I know that I am going to labor and deliver my baby but this doesn't bother me at all, I am the type that likes to kill puppies." Sheila kept her head down. Her mother explained that she was a "good girl" from Minnesota but had been raped. We prayed with a sense of urgency for Sheila, and her mother squeezed our hands and finished the prayer with "In Jesus' Name". Cassandra and a few others arrived without speaking to us, rushing in with their overnight bags and four changes of underwear. All those women spent many hours laboring to deliver their dead children at Orlando Women's Center last night. It weighs so heavily on our hearts that the weak and innocent suffer at the hands of the cruel and powerful.

In the midst of the life and death struggle for Juanita's infant son, I had the privilege of meeting baby Melissa. Melissa is the newborn daughter of a precious young lady I met outside the abortion clinic in September named Darcy. Tiny and beautiful, Melissa is just one of the many reasons why we hang in there. Darcy is a high school student who was too frightened to tell her strict Catholic parents of her pregnancy. She arrived at Orlando Women's Center with $390 in her pocket, ready to let the abortionist pull Melissa out of her womb. It took me all day to help Darcy find the courage to tell her folks about her pregnancy. Now I wish you could see the look of love on Darcy's face as she cuddles her daughter and the proud and devoted grandparents as they show me hundreds of photos they took of their sweet Melissa!

We are in this for the long haul and will do whatever it takes to see that each tiny life is protected and preserved, as God gives us grace.

Blessings,
Patte Smith
Pro Life Action Ministries

March 15, 2001

I John 4:17 "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world."

Jenna and Jon were sitting in front of the Orlando Women's Center abortion clinic as I drove up at 8:15 this morning. Quickly I grabbed my packet of materials and headed over to the young couple. Jenna is fifteen years old and afraid to tell her parents that she is over 4 months pregnant. Seventeen year old Jon had taken the money he'd been saving for a car to pay for this abortion. $1300 is a lot of money, but that's how much it costs for the labor and delivery abortion so late into the pregnancy.

"I can't tell my father that I am pregnant, I just can't." Jenna couldn't imagine having to tell her dad. Jon agreed; "There's no way . . . Jenna will get kicked out of her house." I placed our beautiful model of a baby at 20 weeks gestation into her hands. She marveled with Jon over the size and perfection of the baby that was just the size of the child she was carrying. I assured Jenna that we would find a wonderful home for her so that she would have a safe environment to finish school and have her baby. I offered to come with her when she told her father. I asked if she went to church and had a pastor she could go to. "Yes, I go to St. John Vianney. When I confessed that I was pregnant four months ago, the priest gave me the name of a place where I could go and get a sonogram, but I never went." "Let me take you to Dr. Young. He can do an ultrasound and you will see the miracle of your baby and his beating heart."

Jenna was polite and demure, but insisted "I have to be able to go on with my life. When I finish school I have to get a job, I just can't have this baby." I told Jenna that she and Jon could plan for the life of their baby through adoption, explaining that they could even meet perspective parents so that they could choose the best home for their child. Jon's reaction to the idea of adoption was all too familiar; "If we have this baby, I am going to keep it. No way would we do the adoption thing." This answer never fails to shock me ("You'd plan your child's death rather than his life in a good family?").

Then I brought out the photo of Little Mary, a real baby girl aborted at Orlando Women's Center on November 5, 1999. "I don't like to show you this, but it's important for you to understand your child's fate if you go through with the abortion. You see, you will labor between 12 and 36 hours to deliver your child inside this cold, dark place. He will have suffered and died at your hands. You simply cannot do that. God has sent you two messengers. He is serious and this is serious business. Trust Him and He will make a way for you and this child. "

Jenna said; "I'm sorry, but I've got to go in." Jenna went inside Orlando Women's Center, but Jon stayed behind. I encouraged Jon to do everything in his power to keep his baby safe. "Please, you must be brave. In the name of Jesus Christ, I ask you to go in and get Jenna." Jon was willing to go to do what he could to stop Jenna. I asked him to allow us to pray for him before he went inside. I took Jon's hand in mine and called Jane and Pete over. One by one we asked the Lord to give Jon courage. We asked Jesus to empower Jon with an anointing from the Holy Spirit that would capture Jenna's heart and help her to believe that God was there to walk with her through this pregnancy.

As Jon turned and walked the path to the doorway of the clinic, we all watched and prayed. Minutes ticked by. So many other women arrived for their late abortions. Susan came all the way from Georgia. Rita, Vicki, Shawna, Cheyenne, Dusty, Jacquie, Lara, Joan and Cindi all brought the familiar pillows, blankets, snack foods and 4 changes of underwear in preparation for the long night of waiting to deliver their stillborn babies at Orlando Women's Center. Then we saw something that we'd never seen before. A van marked Orange County Corrections pulled up just before 9 a.m. A woman with long lovely hair entered the abortuary in shackles, accompanied by two female corrections officers. Is it right that Orange County should supply transportation and overnight chaperoning so that an inmate can abort her child late into pregnancy? Shouldn't they provide quality prenatal care while she is incarcerated instead? Does the County pay the thousand dollars it costs to kill a baby well into the second trimester?

At 9 a.m. Jon and Jenna came out of the abortion clinic together. Jenna approached me shyly: "Did you say that you could help us get a sonogram? We would like to see the baby." Jon smiled and said "we would like to know whether it is a boy or a girl." With one quick phone call to Dr. Thomas Young, we were off in my Jeep to his Winter Park office. I was there when Dr. Young explored Jenna's full, round belly. "See, here is your baby's head. Look, this is the baby's beating heart. Here is the bladder and it is full. Would you like to know the sex of your baby?" Jon and Jenna responded in unison: "Oh yes!" "Well it looks like you are having a little boy." The young couple exchanged smiles. Dr. Young added; "Your baby is 21 weeks and 2 days gestation. You are over half way through your pregnancy!"

By the time we left Dr. Young's office, Jenna and Jon had fallen in love with their unborn son. I took them to get prenatal vitamins and promised to help them with medical expenses of the pregnancy and with a place to live if the need arises. Please pray for Jenna and Jon. Pray that their parents would be ready to hear the news of their grandbaby's conception. Pray, too, that little Jon would be kept safe and sound, away from the threat of abortion.

Can this be what it means to perfect our love toward our neighbors? We see the need, we know the horror, the affliction, the shedding of innocent blood, and we respond by loving our neighbor with the truth and the practical help that is needed (as Jesus explained to us in the parable of the Good Samaritan). You see what can happen when we become more than bystanders! Later in the morning, Jane was able to witness to two women who were professing Wiccans (they had stopped their car to hassle those who were ministering). Opportunity for ministry abounds outside the abortion clinics.

We would like to present a consistent witness at Orlando Women's Center, where they kill babies every day of the week, including Sunday. To cover the late abortion times on Thursdays we need to have at least two ministry partners from 8:15-11:15 a.m. as well as two from noon until 3 pm. Ideally we should have a witness the entire day and evening, as the women are laboring through the night. (Note that we are planning an evening prayer vigil in April.)

We have told you about the pressing needs, now we ask you to respond. I would like to invite you to join us so that you can see for yourself.

In His Kindness,
Patte Smith

September 11, 2000

I met Darcy outside Orlando Women's Center. She had strict instructions from her boyfriend; "You gotta get rid of this baby."

Darcy poured at the pictures of babies at 7 weeks gestation. She was especially disturbed by "Little Mary", the big baby who was aborted at Orlando Women's Center in November.

I took Darcy to True Life Choice crisis pregnancy center. We spent the rest of the day together. Darcy decided to continue her pregnancy saying; "After all, this isn't the baby's fault. She shouldn't be punished for what we did."

Every week at Orlando Women's Center and the four other abortion clinics in Orlando, hundreds of girls just like Darcy walk the path to the doors of our death camps. These are our neighbors. Their babies are our neighbors. We are to love these, our neighbors, as ourselves.

Darcy's parents have completely embraced her and her little one. They were horrified to think that she almost aborted their first grandchild and very grateful that she didn't. They are looking forward to meeting their grandbaby face to face in early spring.

On a recent Saturday we encountered 63 people outside the abortion clinic.That's more than a crisis pregnancy center sees in an entire week!

We need you. We simply cannot reach them all without you. There aren't enough of us.

"The labor of the righteous tendeth to LIFE." Proverbs 10:16

Patte Smith,
Sanctuary Ministries
Chairos@juno.com

April 10 , 2000

Jill and Patte Smith, both great street witnesses

Our consistent witness is making an impact upon that hellish place. There are days when we become weary of the mocking and jeering. Many times our humble attempts to reach the hearts of women and men at the clinic have been harshly rejected dozens of times in one day. Often the stench of blood and death is so thick we feel sick to our stomachs. It is only by His grace that we remain standing. Recently, though, Jesus has allowed us to SEE the difference our united testimony is making. "Nevertheless, He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven & fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food & gladness." Acts 14:17

I wish that I could have every one of you in my living room for a few hours to tell you ALL of what is happening. "Sandra", a nurse at the clinic who used to be hard and paranoid with us, is softening. She actually sat quietly and gave us space while we spoke to a couple going into the mill. You see, they had stopped their car in the driveway, blocking Sandra from entering. In the past few years Sandra would always honk her horn and scream wildly when we were talking to someone in the driveway. I believe that she is coming to really understand that we are HELPING some people. We had our first pretty good conversation with her a few weeks ago. Please pray for "Sandra" and all the workers and abortionists at the clinic. Jesus is a big enough Savior for them.

Blessings,
Patte

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