Orlando Reports 2003 3rd Quarter

 
 Orlando Reports 3rd Quarter
July - September 2003

September 20, 2003

Aborting for Religious Reasons

"Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate."
Romans 12:16b

Sanctuary Ministries Update
Saturday, 20 September, 2003
Orlando Women's Center abortion clinic
6:15a.m.-10am  
Sidewalk counselors present: Patte, Gina, Will, Scotty, Adam & his wife, Jennifer
Prayer Warriors present: 7am: Tony & Nicole

It was an exhausting morning of ministry and I'm still a little tired. This report is not going to contain all of what happened this morning, but will give you a taste of our time on the sidewalk in Jesus name.

* Tiwanna *   13 weeks pregnant, this young mother from Kissimmee was scared. Told by her doctor that she may have an ectopic or tubal pregnancy, Tiwanna was referred to Orlando Women's Center. I referred Tiwanna to Heritage Family Practice in Kissimmee for an evaluation. I offered her some financial help to have her cared for by a decent physician instead of an abortionist. Tiwanna and her husband Greg agreed. I prayed with them before they drove away from OWC.

* Celia * This married couple couldn't imagine having another child now. I squatted next to their car and spoke to them through their open window. 41 year old Celia was 6 weeks pregnant. Originally from Guyana (east of Venezuela , Guyana is the only English speaking country in South America ) Celia and Maurie had lived in NY for five years before moving to Orlando in June. Celia said: "This is not a good time for me to be pregnant." Maurie explained: "We are living with my mother and I only just started my job (as a machinist) a week ago." I spoke to the two of them about how we can help them to settle in here by seeing to it that they found a great doctor. Celia interrupted: "Look at me. I am too old to be having a baby now." I responded: "Obviously, Celia, you are not too old, but if you truly do not want to raise another child let me tell you about adoption." Celia was adamant: "No, I am not going to go through pregnancy and then give my baby away. If I have this baby I am going to keep this baby." She opened her car door and it brushed against my shoulder as I stood to get out of their way. Although I pled with them all the way into the clinic, pointing Celia to the graphic photo of an aborted baby. "This is what they will do to your baby. She will be dismembered, Celia. You simply can't do this." Throughout the morning, Celia and Maurie refused to listen to what is right.

* Gloria & Mick * As I counseled 20 some-thing Celia and Maurie, Will approached the couple in the black Jeep that just pulled in. "Mick" threatened Will saying: "Get away from us! Get away from us, do you hear me! I'm warning you, stay the h*%# away!" Will backed off and gave the couple some room. After they'd gone to the clinic door and found it locked, they went back to their Jeep and sat silently. Adam and I figured we'd give it a go. I walked slowly toward the Jeep, smiling and looking into the faces I knew were behind the darkened windshield. Hearing no cursing or warnings, I went to the passenger side and offered our ministry packet through the closed window. The window slowly rolled down. Gloria's lovely blue eyes looked straight into mine. I asked: "What is it the reason you are planning to abort your baby today?" Gloria said: "For religious reasons." Both Adam and I wondered what she meant. "Can you explain what you mean by that?" Gloria said: "I'd rather not go into it." From what we gathered, Gloria is adopted and has been raised in the Greek Orthodox church. We made a guess. "Are you worried that your religious parents will reject you if they find out that you're pregnant." No, that's not it. Her parents were aware of her aborting. "My religion is just f*%#ed up." Adam suggested that Gloria considered changing to another church. Gloria responded: "Oh, yeah, sure. Then I'd lose my entire family." She opened the car door and I walked the half block with her to the clinic. "You are not a child anymore. It's time you started making the right decisions for the right reasons." Gloria and Mick went through the clinic doors and in the mad rush of so many others aborting today, we didn't speak to them again. Her blue eyes are still with me as I write. What did she mean that she was aborting "for religious reasons"?

* Dianne * came to Orlando Women's Center from Ocala . Her father Bernie explained what his daughter was facing. "She is 15 or 16 weeks pregnant and she's aborting for health reasons. Dianne has fibro myalgia and multiple sclerosis. She is afraid that she will pass on her disease to her baby." Bernie told us that Dianne was "very religious". She had already counseled with her pastor and with the crisis pregnancy center in Ocala. Although pregnancy had thrown Dianne into a healthy state of "remission" from her symptoms (which can happen during pregnancy) her doctor had told her that abortion was "always an option". There was more than that. Dianne and her husband were separated and divorce was imminent. Could she make it on her own, raising her 9 year old daughter AND another child, knowing that her diseases could make her an invalid? Bernie said that he was a Christian, an Episcopalian who "went to Bible studies" and that this abortion was tearing him up inside. He began to weep as he said: "This is my grand-daughter that she is killing here.

It's awful." Jennifer stepped in to counsel Bernie about MS. She shared the story of how her brother and sister have the disease and are doing very well with the latest treatment and special diets. Scotty was wonderful with Bernie too. She recognized that Bernie was a little intimidated by his strong willed daughter's determination to abort. Scotty prayed with Bernie and asked God to give him the right words to speak into his daughter's life and heart. Then she sent him back into the clinic to get his daughter out. We all prayed. It wasn't long before Bernie started up his van and his daughter got inside with him and drove home to Ocala . Dianne didn't abort her baby!

* Leah * At 26 this mother of one had aborted once before. She said: "I can't have another one."

* James * I sat on the stoop of the building next door and talked to James for quite a while. He explained: "I love her and I told her that I didn't want her to do this. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't give her any money toward it." I discovered that James and 26 year old Thea had been together for a little over a year. Thea has two children with another guy and had aborted before, just before they met.  James went on: "We've talked about marriage, even about having kids some day. I get the feeling that there is a hidden agenda here." I gave James the print out from the story of the 26 year old who was seriously injured by abortionist Pendergraft at this very same clinic. I encouraged him to go back inside and do everything in his power to stop her from killing this, his first (and perhaps only) biological child. James thanked me and went back in.

The women who arrive after 9am are coming for their 3 week post- abortion check up. We met all of them on the sidewalk three weeks before. We offered each of them a special "after abortion" packet. This contains the name of a local support group and a strong message of condemnation for the evil of what they did to their babies, together with their only hope of forgiveness and redemption . . . the gospel of Jesus Christ.

* Justina * arrived past nine. She stopped and I spoke to her about the legitimate guilt that she carried for murdering her innocent child. She seemed thankful and took our post-abortion packet.

* Melissa *  I spoke to a pretty woman as she left the clinic and got into her car in the back parking lot. "Oh, I'm not here for an abortion. I just came to get information about it for a friend." Melissa went on to explain that her 17 year old family friend was visiting her Christmas home from Panama . Having recently been orphaned, young Elena was trying to figure out what to do. She was 6 weeks pregnant after being date raped. Melissa had already taken her to a crisis pregnancy center in Christmas. She also wanted to adopt her friend's baby, but her husband wouldn't hear of it. "This is making for major problems in my home. I am on the verge of leaving my husband because he refuses to consider adopting Elena's baby." We gathered as much information as I could and asked for Elena's telephone number. I was afraid that Melissa was going to bring her friend right back to orlando Women's Center to abort first thing Sunday morning. (Yes, abortions are also committed every SUNDAY, beginning at 8:30am ) We made an attempt to reach Elena by phone, but have been unsuccessful.

Abortionist Harvey Roth arrived on time. All of the women lined up to offer their infants up for sacrifice. He killed them one by one until they were all dead.

We missed many of the women who arrived to abort. There are too many of them. We need FAR more Christians to be with us so that every single woman and man can be engaged one-on-one.

Scotty and I went out for breakfast and talked for a few hours. We talked about life and death, about evil and how insidious it is, inside and outside the church. In his insightful book on evil entitled "The People of the Lie" M. Scott Peck describes goodness as always being life affirming. Evil is the opposite. It always seeks to devour, to destroy, to kill LIFE.

Edmund Burke wisely said:
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." As horrifying as it is to murder the innocent, neglecting to protect the innocent is equally as heinous, because it ALLOWS the evil to flourish. Evil accomplishes far less when good is there to stand sentinel and oppose it.

"Abhor that which is evil: cleave to that which is good." Romans 12:9

Our time outside the clinic this morning was a time on the wall. We stood our post, affirming goodness, hope, truth and LIFE. We spoke about the value of every human being. No child is too small. No infant is insignificant. For us, out of sight is NOT out of mind. We believe that mandate to love our neighbor must be taken to the least of these. These tiny little people deserve to be appreciated and protected. I wish that more Christians cared enough to be an advocate for the innocent and helpless in Orlando . In the past few months several "friends" have promised that they'd come and help us meet the dozens and dozens of people coming to kill their young. I am sorry to say that they have NEVER SHOWN UP or even called to say what was so important that they couldn't be where they were needed most.

We impacted a number of women and men this morning. It's hard work, but each one of us on the Sanctuary Ministry team know how important it is to show up and do our best for Him and for our neighbor. We sense how much it pleases God that we take the time, expend the energy, pray the prayers, and give up our otherwise leisurely Saturday morning time for these, our young neighbors.

Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Romans 12:21

Join us next time, won't you?

From the Fields of Blood,
Patte Smith
Sanctuary Ministries
http://www.sanctuaryministries.homestead.com

August 28, 30, 2003

"This world is fading away. These evil, forbidden things will go away with it. But whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever." I John 2:17

Sanctuary Ministries Updates
Thursday, 28 August 2003
8:20 - 10:30am
Sidewalk missionaries present: Patte & Gordon
Prayer Warriors: None

Seven months pregnant, Carmela was too far along for any abortionist in Savannah to touch her. So, she asked her friend Maggie to drive her to the place where over a thousand women a year go for late abortions: Orlando , Florida . Once she arrived at the curb in front of Orlando Women's Center, she casually grabbed her pillow, blanket and overnight bag and went inside. Her friend Maggie wouldn't look me in the eye. I asked her to take our special packet of information inside to Carmela. I urged her to talk to her friend about adoption. "I can't help what she wants to do. There's nothing I can do about it. Please, don't talk to me about this."

I explained how Carmela would have to labor and deliver her infant to abort her. Maggie grimaced. I brought out the gruesome post abortion photo of "Little Mary" (the baby that was murdered at 4 ½ months gestation at Orlando Women's Center). Pointing to the dead infant I said: "THIS is the reality of what you have brought your friend here to do." Maggie quickly turned her head away. "I don't want to see that. Don't show me that." She motioned to the young boy in the back seat, who evidently was forced to tag along with Grandma on the long drive from Chatham County , Georgia to Disney town. "I don't want my grandson to hear what you have to say. He's only four years old."

Maggie left with her grandson and bought back a nice fast food snack for Carmela to enjoy while she waited for her infant to be delivered. What kind of city is this, where we casually eat and drink as we kill the children?

Gordon and I reached out to every woman who came for late abortions that day. One mother after another brought their daughters to help them murder their grandbabies. Each woman's belly was round and full of the promise of life. As usual, Gordon and I felt helpless, sad. Our hearts were heavy as we drove away. We knew that no one else would be reaching out to these women as they labored and delivered their infants into the toilet in then next 12-36 hours. Another night of sorrow lay ahead.

Saturday, 30 August, 2003
6:15 - 9:30 am Sidewalk missionaries: Patte, Chris & Ken
9:30 - 11:30 am Sidewalk missionaries: Mark, Jennifer
Prayer Warriors Present 7-8:30 am: Jamie, Nicole, Tony

It was deadly quiet when I arrived in the dark at 6:15 . It was strange to find the abortionist Randall Whitney's van and a truck already in the parking lot. Normally, the killing doctor doesn't arrive until 9:30 . Could it be that someone was inside having a special VIP appointment? At Orlando Women's Center you can be a VIP! For an extra $500 you can receive "exclusive treatment" when murdering your child. You can avoid the crowds and choose a time when nobody else will be around, insuring
that you can kill your own baby without the hassles of waiting in line. They will even let you in the back door!

Thirteen pregnant women came to have their infants pulled out of their bodies.

Darcy, a very attractive woman and her lovely 21 year old daughter Eve were the first to arrive at 6:30am . I asked what their number one reason for aborting this baby was, Darcy turned to me. Her eyes looked strained and very tired. She politely explained: "You see, my daughter already has three children." Taking care of Eve and her three children had taken a toll on Darcy. She didn't want to go through this all over again. When I explained that Darcy could help Eve choose a loving adoptive family for this new grandbaby, she said: "We've already talked to someone about adoption." They took our ministry packet and rolled up their window. Imagine, Eve, at 21 is pregnant with her FOURTH child. I wondered how many babies and abortions will Eve have had by the time she's 35?

At 6:50am 20 year old Callie came alone. She hurried past us with her head down. The second time I spotted her she meekly came and took the packet from my hand. I asked Callie why she was aborting and her eyes filled with tears. She whispered: "I was date raped." When I responded how important it was for her to receive the care that she needed and for the man who raped her to be held accountable for the rape, Callie shook her head. "No one can get to him now. He's in Iraq . He's one of our soldiers." Imagine, Callie was enduring the pain, the shame and now the fear of carrying a child who was conceived from rape all by herself. I spoke softly to Callie the next time I saw her. I pressed two wonderful brochures, especially written for rape victims who become pregnant, into her hands. And we all prayed that Callie would trust us enough to allow us to be there for her through her pregnancy and the process of bringing charges against this American soldier.

Women and their companions, lovers, family and friends came from all over. From Brevard County , from Polk County

Susannah and Felix arrived at 7:15 . They'd driven all the way from Madison, a town near Tallahassee . Felix gave Ken one story and me another. "Don't worry, we're just here to apply for jobs." "It's okay, she's only having a pregnancy test." He was trying to distract us. He didn't succeed. They took our information packet and went inside.

Twenty five minutes later, Susannah and Felix stepped out of the clinic. Finally, the truth. "Susannah has 3 children already. I'm a truck driver here in Orlando . She lives in Tallahassee . We're not sure we can make this work." Ken and I spoke with the couple for a while. I gave them all of my contact information and assured them that we had friends in Tallahassee . As it turns out, Susannah and Felix are considering marriage. They left for home!

We met 15 year old Jenny and her boyfriend Gavin at 7:40am . Jenny said: "I'm too young. If my mom finds out, it will be awful." When Jenny revealed that she was 13 weeks pregnant, I put a fetal model of her baby's gestation into her hand. She turned it over in her hands, marveling at how small and perfect the child was. Ken read to them from Psalm 139: "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made . . .Your eyes saw my substance . . ." "After 10 minutes with them, Ken and I were almost certain that this young couple was going to keep the 11:30am appointment for an ultrasound I'd made for them. But to our dismay, Jenny and Gavin turned and went inside the clinic.

We plead with the Scriptures, crying aloud to the dozens of people in the waiting room: "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing,: therefore choose LIFE, that both you and your seed may live." (Deut. 30:19)

Mark Hall arrived as Ken and I packed up to go home at 9:30am . A few minutes later, Jenny and Gavin came outside! They weren't aborting! I sent the couple packing with plenty of wonderful things to read as they made their way to have a look at this incredible human being that God had given them.

When I got home there was a message waiting from Mark. ANOTHER couple had changed their mind after we'd left! James & Margarite had come to abort this, their fourth child. Although they were married, this Caribbean couple felt that they would be hard pressed to care for another baby. Mark counseled with truth and assured them that he would do his very best to help them find their way to joy over the life they were carrying. Margarite was scheduled to have her first ultrasound today!

I write these stories to you to tell you that there is a MISSION FIELD right in your own backyard. There are FIVE OTHER DAYS WHEN NO CHRISTIAN MINISTERS OUTSIDE ORLANDO 'S MOST NOTORIOUS HOUSE OF DEATH! We invite you to GO so that no one is left to walk those steps into the abortion clinic without a Christian witness.

One of the most common reason I hear for NOT going out to where our innocent neighbors are being viciously brutalized by abortion is this: "It is just so hard to find the time. We are so busy." Is that really so?

This weekend the Christian community will make their way en masse to Disney's "Night of Joy" & "Rock the Universe". Many thousands of believers from greater Orlando will take the time, make the effort and spend the money to be entertained. While thousands experience a "Night of Joy" this week, hundreds of innocent little ones will suffer through their own "Night of Sorrow". Neglected by the Christian community, who consistently chooses entertainment (albeit sometimes "christian" entertainment) over ministry, hundreds will perish this week with no one who loves Jesus to stand up for them. Much to our shame we have long neglected God's command to: "Deliver those who are drawn to toward death, hold back those stumbling to the slaughter."  (Proverbs 24)

********** First Annual NIGHT OF SORROW ************

Candlelight Vigil
7 pm
Thursday, September 4, 2003
Orlando Women's Center
1103 Lucerne Terrace (off Gore between I-4, Orange Ave & Columbia)
Orlando

Please take the time, make the effort and spend the gas money to be a witness for Jesus Christ. Bring your candle and a heart of prayer. Invite everyone you know. Be an ambassador for Christ as you kneel in the dark and pray. Bring a witness of life to the lost and dying in your own community. Don't be afraid to do what is right and good! You know how to pray ---- now just do it!

From the Mission Field of Blood,
Patte Smith
www.sanctuaryministries.homestead.com

Saturday, August 16, 2003

Sanctuary Update

When I arrived on the sidewalk outside Orlando's most notorious abortion clinic it was still dark. It was 6:30 am and I could barely make out the shadowy figures of three people on the sidewalk. I was glad to see that it was Ken, my missionary companion of many years. He was standing with Amy and her mother, who had driven over 1 1/2 hours to get to Orlando Women's Center before daylight.

Amy and her mom were casual and friendly. Amy explained that she'd ended her baby's life over 3 weeks before and was only there for a "check-up". I pressed our ministry packet into her hands anyway, explaining how incredible the tiny life in the womb is. I also gave her the special pamphlet that I wrote . . . the gospel for women who kill and we talked for a good ten minutes. About life, about adoption, about the horror of abortion.

It wasn't long before one car after another pulled up to the abortion clinic. Women and men piled out of their vehicles. Ken and I tried our best to reach everyone with our offer of help, but there were just too many.

I was very frustrated not to be able to communicate with a Haitian woman in her native Creole. (I have been begging my Haitian friends to come to the clinic with me.) She was more than willing to listen, but I couldn't make myself understood, so I mostly pointed to the photos of the developing babies.

Ken and I were very encouraged and thankful to see our dear prayer warriors assemble across the street from the clinic at 7am. Tony, Nicole and Clare began to pray the rosary. Clare got down on her knees.

Ricardo & Christy were happy to stop and speak with me, but Christy only spoke Spanish. (I have been begging my hispanic friends to join me too!) I took out my prompt card and read to Christy:
Tango algo para ti . . . I have something for you. ( I handed Christy our spanish ministry packet.)
Es muy importante . . . It's very important.
Puedo ayudarla! . . . We can help you!
Este es un sitio de muerte . . . This is a place of death.

Ricardo explained to me that they were married and had come for a pregnancy test. They weren't sure what they would do if it turned out Christy was pregnant. Sadly, no crisis pregnancy center is open at 7am and they didn't want to wait til True Life Choice opened at 9:30am—so they went inside.

Dozens more poured into the clinic. Most refused to take our material. Things went from bad to worse.

Ken and I approached an SUV jammed with five people, two men and three women. As they parked, I gave them an information packet and offered to be a help for the woman who was aborting. One of the men shouted at us, "I wish I had a gun!"

Before long there were at least 15 men and women sitting on the stoop of the abortion clinic., hurling taunts and profanities at Ken and I. We had three lit cigarettes thrown at us. The crowd began exchanging stories, telling jokes, mocking us. At one point the man who'd said that he wished he had a gun pointed to the poster that I display on my Jeep. It's a disturbing image of a real baby aborted at 10 weeks gestation. He said something that I will never forget: "I'd like to eat that motherf-----!" Although we've heard comments like this before, we never get used to it.

For a moment there was a hush in the crowd. Then he said: "Well, I'm hungry!" A stifled chuckle followed, then everyone was laughing. As I rushed to get my video camera (I have begged to have someone come and film our ministry times) I asked him: "Would you be willing to repeat what you just said on video?" When I came back and turned my camera towards him, everyone was up in arms. "You can't film us without our permission!" "There are minors here!" "If you put that camera on me I'll beat the living s#*% out of you!" The man who'd made the comment about the aborted baby ran into the clinic to get the police officer/security guard. I actually was kind of surprised. I really thought he WANTED the attention a video camera would give him.

A pretty young girl said: "Why don't you go somewhere and protect real people? My aunt was gunned down on the street!" When I said; "Now you can DO something to prevent an innocent person from being murdered.", her mother had to hold the pretty girl back. "I WANT to kill this baby . . . I have a right to kill my baby!"

I explained to the laughing, mocking crowd (a carnival atmosphere is very common outside the clinic) how different the scene would be when the abortion was done. All of the aborted women would be bleeding and weak and barely able to make it to their cars. That's when Amy finally showed her true colors. She said: "I don't care, I'll be all f*%#d up by then anyway." She laughed and then went on to say: "Hey, if these babies are going to heaven anyway, why not just help them along the way?!!!"

The pretty young girl spoke up again: "Don't you see that you are just wasting your time? Nobody is listening to you. You are not changing anybody's mind. You are just making a fool of yourself."

That's when it happened. Ryan and Felicia pulled up in front of the clinic. Ken spoke with them and was very concerned and came to get me. I looked into Ryan frightened eyes as he said: "She is so sick. She can't take it anymore. I don't know what to do. The doctors have not been helping her." Poor Felicia was bent over in the back seat, vomiting into a plastic tub. Her face was covered with perspiration. Felicia didn't take a breath without moaning in pain. When her eyes met mine, I saw desperation. I said: "Felicia, have the doctors told you that you have hyperemisis?" A look of recognition came to her lovely but contorted face. She nodded: "YES!" As Ryan ran a cool moist cloth down his precious wife's arms he explained that Felicia had been suffering like this for the entire 16 weeks of her pregnancy. She vomited 24 hours a day and had been hospitalized for dehydration and malnutrition several times already.

Rick introduced me to his 8 year old son, who suffers from autism. "Our little boy, he needs us. He requires a lot of care. My wife can hardly lift her head. How can she care for our son? I know that abortion is awful, but I love my wife and I can't stand to see her suffer." I looked Felicia in the face and assured her that I understood how sick she was.

"I'm so sorry that you are suffering the way you are. Hyperemesis is a horrible disease of pregnancy. I have a dear friend who suffered like you. She explained to me what a nightmare it is to have this disease. You are miserable and you can't stand it any more." Felicia looked like a frightened animal. She stared at me in desperation: "Yes, yes! I can't take this . . . I can't take it. Please, I MUST go through with the abortion!" She began to moan and beg Ryan to take her inside the clinic. She lay out flat on the back seat of the van. Over and over she moaned and begged, clutching her abdomen. It was so hard to watch and I felt so helpless. Although Ryan didn't want her to have an abortion, I understood why he had brought her to that place.

I wanted to help Felicia. I wanted to make her pain go away, but I couldn't. I stretched out my hand and laid it on her outstretched legs. "Oh please, Lord . . . I am begging You to reach out and touch Felicia. Help her, Lord, I pray! Soothe her pain and ease her nausea and vomiting. Give her rest, we pray, O Lord Jesus!" I could feel Felicia's body began to relax. The moaning stopped. She began to rest. I was then able to explain some of the ways that we could provide help for her. I promised Felicia that Sanctuary Ministries would put together a caring team of people to help at home. Someone to clean the house, look after Drew, someone to prepare a few meals for Ryan and Drew, someone to wash and brush her hair, someone to CARE.

A phone call to a high risk ob specialist at Arnold Palmer, my friend Ashli who suffered from hyperemisis gravidarum (HG) and to Life Savers ministry to get started on a care team and we were on our way. Ryan and Felicia left the abortion clinic, headed to the ER at the advice of our good OB. Ashli was able to speak with Ryan by phone and assured him that in taking her away from the abortion clinic, he had done the right thing. Ashli said: "Hyperemesis ends, abortion never does."

Ryan kept saying over and over again how grateful he was that we were there at the clinic when they pulled up. He senses that God is the One who has orchestrated our meeting. Ryan is rejoicing. He keeps saying: "God saved our child at the eleventh hour!"

Now the labor of love begins. Hyperemesis is a grim reality for some unfortunate pregnant women. It is debilitating, devastating and relentless and it only ends when the woman is no longer pregnant. (Ashli has compared the hellish pain and sickness of HG as: "Chemo on crack.") The temptation to abort will continue to be a problem. Felicia's mother is working on a visa to come over from their native Bangladesh, but it may take some time. This family needs our compassion and "hands on" "Good Samaritan" love for our neighbor NOW! Felicia and Ryan live in Lakeland but Felicia is probably going to be needing special care at an Orlando hospital on a regular basis throughout her pregnancy.

Felicia was admitted to Lucerne Hospital for bedrest and IV med and fluid. Women: Would you be willing to visit Felicia a? Men: Would you be willing to be a friend to her dear husband Ryan? Men and Women: Would you be willing to spend a day with their precious son Drew?

What began as a morning of ugliness ended in beauty. It's true that Orlando Women's Center is "un sitio de muerte", a place of death ----- but it's also true that the Lord comes with us to make 1103 Lucerne Terrace a place of LIFE and HOPE! Jesus makes a way where there is no way, He lights the darkness . . . and it is nothing short of a miracle.

Ken showed me this scripture and I wanted to share it with you. Psalm 78:6 says: " . . . so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children."

God calls the preborn "Children" . . . not embryo or fetus. Won't you take the time to care for this next generation in Orlando, a generation at risk of death in the womb? These are stories that we can tell our children, and our children will tell their children and so it goes that our faith gets put into practice and into words that spread faith and fame for the Lord God Creator!

Don't wait . . . contact me today and I'll help you get into the battle for God's glory and your neighbor's good!

From the Heart,
Patte Smith
http://www.sanctuaryministries.homestead.com
407.830.8274

For more information about hyperemesis gravidarum, please go to:
http://www.hyperemesis.org

Belated Sanctuary Update

From last Thursday, 14 August, 03 (late abortion day: 17 weeks through the end of pregnancy)
Sidewalk Missionaries: Gordon and Patte

Sheila rolled her window down to greet me as she pulled into the abortion clinic driveway. Her face was wet with tears. (Even her glasses were steamed up from crying!) She took my ministry packet and thanked me over and over again. This was NOT the typical abortion bound woman!

Sheila had come with her mother to Orlando Women's Center from Kissimmee to have a late (labor and delivery) abortion. Although she and her mom are professing Christians, they had reluctantly decided to go through with killing their baby. The reason? Sheila was about to start her Masters at a fine university in London. She and her mom thought that having a baby would prevent her from pursuing her graduate degree.

It took only a moment before Sheila and her mom were out of their car and speaking with me in earnest. Their hearts were tender toward one another and toward this baby as well. Sheila said: "As I rounded the corner to the abortion clinic I realized what I was about to do. How could I hurt this little child I was carrying? I am bonded to this baby. I feel him moving inside me." That explained her tears. Unlike most of the women I meet going in for late abortions, Sheila's heart was not hard. Her eyes were gentle and receptive. Sheila was not dead inside, she was alive and desperate for hope. Hope is something WE ALL NEED to keep from despairing when things are hard. It didn't take a lot of convincing. Sheila and her mom believed me when I promised that, with God's help, everything could be worked out.

The three of us went to a nearby coffee shop and talked for over an hour. What a delightful time I had with these two intelligent, sensitive, women! We prayed together before parting and I began my search for help HERE and a caring group of friends in London. Praise God I have networked with dozens of Christians in the UK and the Lord is going before Sheila to prepare her way to have her precious baby in peace!

I received this e mail from Sheila the a few days later:

Hello Mrs Smith,
I have to say after meeting and chatting with you I have had a comfort that I hadn't had since I had come to learn about my pregnancy. As soon as my mum and I returned home we began to discuss any further options we might see for the future. We both came to an agreement that anything is possible and I just need to believe and trust in God for him to make a way for me and this baby.

Yesterday, I went to see the physician you recommended. The moment I meant him I could see how wonderful and kind this man was. I was able to have a sonogram done but unfortunately I'm still unsure of the sex! I was so excited to see the baby's face.

Again, thank you for your kindness and good heart. Thank you, for giving me hope again!

Love,
Sheila

There are MANY things to be sorted out in Sheila's life, but if you could only see the way believers in the UK have responded. Gordon and I are blown away! God IS faithful! When we obey His command we can patiently expect that He will be with us as we walk through the consequences of our obedience.

Please pray for Sheila and her baby. She will need extra finances to pay for child care and loving friends to welcome her to London when she arrives in early September. If you would like to donate funds to help provide for Sheila, please send your tax deductible contributions to the following address and mention Sheila's name!

Covenant Presbyterian Church
4800 Howell Branch Road, Winter Park, Fl 32792
Attention: Sharon Leigh
Please attach a note saying:
"For Sanctuary Ministries"

Blessings,
Patte Smith
Sanctuary Ministries
www.sanctuaryministries.homestead.com
407.830.8274

Ultrasound for Life/Orlando, August 13, 2003

Please pray for us! Sidewalk counselors continue to labor outside Orlando's four killing places WITH NO ULTRASOUND capability. We have the potential to engage 10,000 aborting women a year in our city. Not a single one of our MANY Crisis Pregnancy Center's has sonogram capability. This lack is a gaping hole in our missionary work to save lives here.

We have one dear brother who travels from HOURS away to help us on an occasional Saturday. His time with us is always remarkable. We see many more saves from abortion when we have this mobile sonogram with us! We DESPERATELY need a MOBILE ultrasound with a steady, committed ministry team that includes a certified songographer.

There is a mobile available for sale right now! PLEASE pray that the Lord raises up a team of believers IN OUR CITY to meet this incredible need as soon as possible.

From the Heart,
Patte Smith
www.sanctuaryministries.homestead.com

Update on Joseph
10 August, 2003 - (See the Aug. 9 report below this one for full story)

I just spoke with Joseph. His wife is fine now. The ER physician assured Tara that her pain was nothing more than normal post abortion discomfort. By last evening she was feeling much better.

Joseph sensed the Lord giving him peace as he walked through caring for his wife and he expressed how thankful he was to have Jesus to go to. He continued to pray through the evening as he worked at his second job. Joseph is looking forward to being God's man to his contentious wife and his dear children.

I am sending Joseph a book written for men who suffer an abortion against their will. I am also including the special pamphlet I wrote for women who have taken the life of their child, with another piece offering free post abortion counseling at a local pregnancy center. My prayer is that Tara would experience a deep, godly sorrow that leads to true repentance. There is nothing I would like more than to know that Tara's child was the instrument of God's grace. My hope is that his tiny life cruel death at the hands of his mother and abortionist Harvey Roth was not in vain.

At the end of our conversation Joseph said: "I thank God that I met you." Our encounters outside the mill are not by chance. I believe that the Father directs our ways and our paths through our obedience to be where the children are being led to slaughter.

Thanks for being with me in this labor of love . . . you all are such a gift to me!

From the Heart,
Patte

"The Spirit of God hath made me, & the breath of the Almighty has given me life."

Job 33:4

Saturday, 9 August, 2003
Sanctuary Update

Joseph's heart was on his sleeve. He was feeling desperate. His wife of 10 years was determined to abort the child she was carrying. Six weeks pregnant, they had driven from Kissimmee. Tara didn't want another baby. When I asked her why she was ready to abort, she hesitated, mumbling; " I have three children already and my youngest is only 8 months old."

Tara stared straight ahead as I encouraged her to consider the beauty and wonder of the living child inside her womb. When I discovered that they were regular church go-ers, I explained to Tara that it was time for her faith to become more than sentimentality. Quoting Jeremiah, I told Tara that the Scriptures reveal that God knows us BEFORE He forms us in the womb, that this infant was a purposeful gift given at the Father's perfect time. I also explained that the Lord strictly forbids the shedding of innocent blood. Tara refused to look at me and casually picked up a newspaper and turned the pages. When the doors of Orlando Women's Center abortion clinic opened up at 7am, Tara stepped out of her car and headed straight toward the entrance. As she walked, I came along beside her and said: "Tara, you are directly disobeying a command of God. It's a serious thing to take the life of your child. You'll live under the shadow of this terrible act and it will follow you like a curse. You need to be afraid of taking the life of this innocent baby." She didn't miss a step.

Joseph stayed behind the wheel of their car, staring with amazement. "You know, I have been arguing for weeks with my wife about her awful plan to have this abortion. Until this morning, I couldn't believe that she'd actually go through with it. When Christ took me, everything changed. It is not that way for my wife. She has been going to church for much longer than I have, but she has no real faith. I prayed that God Himself would intervene and send a messenger to reveal His will to her. I still can hardly believe that you were here to speak to my wife. How can it be that Tara would resist so great a sign? How can she be so hard?"

At my insistence Joseph called his pastor, his missionary brother and one of the deacons of his church. I pled with them myself, begging them to COME to the abortion clinic to confront Tara, to reason with her, to counsel her against ending her baby's life. I prayed over Joseph and sent him into the abortion clinic with our ministry material and a fetal model the size of the 6 week child she was carrying. He came out saying that he didn't see Tara because she had already been called.

When we left the sidewalk, it was with a heavy heart. Tara had never left the abortuary and we all feared the worst. When I arrived home, there was an emergency call on my answering machine. It was Joseph. He had picked Tara up after the abortion at 10am and returned to work. At 2pm he received a frantic call from his wife. She was crying and in tremendous pain. Something was terribly wrong. Frightened, Tara begged Joseph to come home at once. I prayed with Joseph as he drove into his driveway and now, I am waiting to hear what has really happened to Tara. (There are serious physical risks to abortion, including perforation of the uterus, hemmoraging, infection, even death.)

Our prayer was that her pain, whatever the cause, would remind Tara of her sin. We asked the Lord to use her experience to awaken Tara to her lost condition and that she would cry out to Him to forgive her. We also prayed that if this child had survived the abortion (it is rare, but this DOES happen) that no harm would come to him, but that he would be spared through the care of good physicians at the hospital.

As I type, Joseph is taking Tara to the emergency room. Brothers and Sisters in Christ would you join our prayer?

Maggie is only 18 and frightened. She came to the abortion clinic to "solve" the problem of being pregnant. The teenager felt unprepared and unequipped to have and raise a baby. She took our material and read through it page by page as she waited for her name to be called.When Maggie discovered that she was actually 13 weeks pregnant, she couldn't go through with the abortion. As she left the clinic she took a few minutes to speak with me. "How can you kill a child that is already moving inside you? I just can't do it."

Maggie confessed that she is very frightened of the process of childbirth itself. (This is a common fear.) We exchanged numbers and I am looking for friends to mentor this vulnerable young mother. Might YOU be willing to walk with Maggie as she prepares for the birth of her son or daughter?

Sharon explained to us that she was a Christian and had "tried to convince her friend NOT to abort her baby." She felt embarrassed about being at an abortion clinic. (It is always upsetting to us when professing Christians accompany women to murder their babies.) Sharon said that her friend had the ministry packet and was reading through it in the waiting room. I asked Sharon to keep pressing her friend with words of hope and a promise to be with her through the pregnancy. She went back inside and came out again asking for information about our ministry. We gave her a Sanctuary Ministries brochure and she thanked us.

Our dear friends at Church of the New Covenant Episcopal in Winter Springs were to arrive at 10 am to pray. Would you please consider coming JUST ONCE to see with your own eyes the incredible opportunities that there are to have a significant encounter with the lost outside Orlando's most notorious abortuary? There aren't anywhere near enough of us to reach them all. We are currently ministering on Thursday and Saturday mornings. Ask me how you can become a Sanctuary Missionary, reaching the lost and perhaps helping to save the life of a precious child.

Tara, Joseph, Maggie, Sharon . . . Being there makes a difference.

In His Kindness,
Patte Smith
Sanctuary Ministries

www.sanctuaryministries.homestead.com

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

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