Care Net, Pro-Life Or Pro-Choice?

Hi everyone,
As many of you probably know I am very passionate when it comes to the abortion debate and I do not like when people claiming to be Christians undermine the issue of abortion and seem to treat abortion as a valid option for a pregnant woman. One organization that seems to treat abortion as something other than the murder of a baby is the National Care Net Organization. From here on when I reference Care Net I mean the National Organization not one specific center.

Some people may disagree with my position expressed herein but please know that I am not speaking in ignorance, I have taken a course put out by Care Net entitled "Pro-Life 101" I have read Care Net literature and I will link to a Care Net video. I also just signed up for another online course that they offer. I have written to someone from Care Net and to someone from the Pregnancy Decision Line. The man from Care Net did not answer my questions in one email and I am still waiting for a response to my recent email. The person from Pregnancy Decision Line never responded. This is not just an issue with Care Net. Too many pregnancy centers do not treat abortion as murder. We are not the only ones who have noticed the problems with the modern pro-life movement. If we truly wish to abolish abortion we must do more than take a back door approach. We must be bold in our message.

Here is a quote from Care Net in their material titled "Guidelines for Life Advocates Ten Things Not To Do When A Woman Tells You She Wants An Abortion". You can read the whole thing here.

Number 4 says: "A good Life Advocate recognizes that the pregnant woman is in a challenging situation and may be emotionally vulnerable. Manipulation is never an option. However, all of us benefit from being aware of the distinction between speaking persuasively and being manipulative. According to the Oxford Dictionary online, manipulate is defined as "to control or influence (a person or situation) cleverly, unfairly, or unscrupulously.” Effective Life Advocates avoid potentially manipulative tactics like overemphasizing abortion procedure terms, exaggerating abortion risks, or introducing words like kill or murder. Instead, remember how Christ reached out toward us in love before we knew we needed Him. It is always best to pray before it’s your turn to talk, even if its a quick silent prayer. Ask God what He wants her to hear from you. Ask Him to reveal the root cause of her decision to abort and trust that He will empower you to present the truth in the most loving and compelling way possible. Remember, according to Romans 2:4b, it is God’s kindness that leads people to repentance."

Realize it says that introducing words like kill or murder are potentially manipulative tactics. The issue with this is that abortion is murder and if you truly love the pregnant woman and her baby you will tell her the truth. Just think that if a woman has an abortion that will mean death for the baby and keep that at the forefront of your mind when talking to a pregnant woman who says that she is considering abortion. Remember to speak in love, but remember that though you can speak things out of love for a woman, she may not perceive it as love. However a person's wrong perception of what love is cannot prevent us from speaking the truth.

Part of number 9 says: "No matter how much we love someone, we cannot force anyone to do what we think is best for them. How does that transformation come about? Only through the power of the Spirit. As we behold something greater than ourselves (see the bigger picture), we are renewed. As a Life Advocate and a person she trusts, you are uniquely positioned to help her see the bigger picture. Don’t break that trust by short-circuiting the transformation process by telling her what to do. True transformation can only come from within her as God works on her heart."

I agree that a change of heart can only come about by the power of God's Spirit. However we have the duty to rescue those who are being taken away to death and to hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. (Proverbs 24:11) Why is it wrong to tell a woman that she should not murder her baby? While we cannot force the mother to do something, we must tell her that abortion is wrong and is not an option to be considered.

In this video from Care Net "Abortion or Baby: Before You Decide" realize that they are saying that you can have an abortion OR you can have a baby. When you have an abortion it is aborting a baby. If you are pregnant you have a baby already, in most cases the woman had a choice whether or not to engage in activities that could cause the formation of a baby. A woman's right to choose ends where the baby's body begins. Whether you have an abortion or deliver the baby, there is still a baby involved.

In describing the abortion procedures they use terms such as fetus and the video seems like it could have been produced by Planned Parenthood. They say things such as that a surgical abortion "will end a pregnancy by stopping the growth of your fetus and removing it from your body." They do not use the term baby. At one point they say "body parts". They list risks of abortion but they also list challenges of parenting.

"The fetus is suctioned out." In later abortions "the Fetus has grown too large to fit through suction tubing." In later terms of pregnancy they say that it is possible for the fetus to survive outside the mother's body "The law requires that the doctor must make sure that the fetus is no longer alive before it is removed, this is done by giving an injection to stop the fetal heart before proceeding with the remainder of the surgical abortion."

At one point in the video they say "Now let's talk about having a baby" as if when an abortion takes place there is nothing happening to a baby. It merely ends a pregnancy, it is just a fetus. Not so. If a woman has an abortion she has murdered her child.

"If you choose to continue your pregnancy, your body will stay on it's natural course through the birth of your baby". See, when talking about abortion they call the child a fetus or other things but not a baby. But when talking about the decision to not have an abortion it is now a baby. The child is called different things depending on whether we are talking about murdering it or nurturing it.

I am not the only one who thinks that this video sounds like a pro-choice video. This was in the comments section of Care Net's video:






Realize people are saying that it is so nice to see a "pro-choice" video. Is Care Net actually so against abortion that they are willing to call it murder, or are they presenting it as an option so much so that people think that their video is pro-choice?

We as Christians in America must stand up and call abortion murder. We must obey the command to rescue those who are being taken away to death. We must stop treating woman who have abortions as victims but instead as murderers. We must realize that babies lives are at stake. I know that God alone can save, but we must also do as we are commanded and do our duty to be a voice for the voiceless.

Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Are you willing to love your pre-born neighbor as yourself? Will the American Church sit by as babies are murdered in our nation or will we actually open our mouths, give of ourselves, and do as we are commanded?

The issue of not seeing abortion for what is truly is, does not only affect other people. I myself need to realize the full weight of what is going on. May God make us all more aware of the reality of this holocaust and may he make us warriors in this battle, both at home in prayer, and on the front lines.

Remember that while it is important for us to cry out for the protection of these precious image bearers, the primary goal is to preach the Gospel. The only way our nation can be truly changed is by people's hearts being changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Preaching the Gospel is primary, saving babies is secondary and if someone is truly saved by God they will no longer have the desire to murder their children.

Go forth in Christ's name for the sake of His Kingdom and for the sake of your weak, defenseless, and voiceless neighbors!

With love in the Lord,
Virginia

Mormons

Hi everyone,
I know that I have not written a post for awhile now. As an update to my last post about Officer Bealls, since that day when our relationship seemed to be going so well, we have had a strained relationship. I do not know the whole situation behind the scenes of our relationship, but please be in prayer for her salvation.

A couple weeks ago now two Mormon missionaries walked down the sidewalk. Being that I cannot stand having Mormon missionaries walk past me without talking to them, I walked down to meet them. We talked for a little bit. Elder Kunzler and Elder Rice were planning to do a booth, the Book of Mormon Experience. One elder is almost done with his mission and the other one is only 6 months in. After talking for around 1 minute the one missionary said that I seemed to know a little about Mormons. He asked if I had any friends who were Mormons. I told them that the missionaries in our area would not meet with me anymore. When asked why I told them that I shared the Gospel with the missionaries and told them that Mormonism is false. After I told them that, the one missionary went on to tell me that there is a lot of confusion in our world today and that he is glad that we are doing what we are doing (being outside Planned Parenthood sharing the Gospel). They also liked our shirts that say "JESUS CHRIST IS KING!" I told them that they could come down on Fridays to talk and they took tracts and I told them that they could write to me. I have left them a message on their phone but they have not called me back. We will have to see what happens.

The missionaries in our area will not get together with me for a meeting. Caleb and Matthew were the missionaries that were here. They came once but then would not come again. I spoke with one of the other missionaries that is now here. Jaren talked to me once but after that I would call and they would not answer me and they would not return my message. I finally stopped calling on our home phone and used Daddy's cell phone. They answered. We talked and Jaren said that based on past experience and talking with Elder Petersen, (Matthew), that they would not get together with me for a lesson. Since then we have not spoken.

Mormons are a very interesting group of people. If you do not know how to talk with a Mormon things can be interesting because they use the same terms, Jesus, Salvation, Heaven, Repentance, they use the same words as Christians but mean very different things. If you do not know this you could think that we actually agree. For instance, a Christian and a Mormon can both say that Jesus is the Son of God. The Christian would mean that Jesus is the second Person of the Triune God. The Mormon believes that Jesus is the son of Elohim who is one god among many, and that Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer. Very different views described with the same words. When talking with Mormons you have to make sure you know what they mean when they use Christians sounding words.

I highly suggest James White and Jeff Durbin for resources on what Mormons believe and how to talk to Mormon missionaries. Both men have gone out to the Mormon Temple to witness to the Mormons there. I am just entering this world of witnessing to those of the LDS faith and let me tell you they have some strange beliefs that sound more like science fiction than a religion that people would actually devote their lives to.

Mormons believe that there are many gods and one day if you are a good enough Mormon man you can become a god yourself. They believe that there are 3 levels of Heaven. According to LDS theology we were all once spirit children of Elohim. There are many different things about Mormon beliefs that you can learn but one major issue is that of the nature of God. The Bible teaches that God was God from all eternity. (Psalm 90:2) Joseph Smith taught in the King Follett Sermon:

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!"

"In order to understand the subject of the dead, for consolation of those who mourn for the loss of their friends, it is necessary we should understand the character and being of God and how He came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see."

"It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God, and to know that we may converse with Him as one man converses with another, and that He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ Himself did; and I will show it from the Bible."

Hopefully it is clear to you that the teaching of Joseph Smith in this sermon is contrary to the Bible. 

"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. " Psalm 90:2. Joseph Smith says that "We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see." That is clearly in contradiction to the Scripture. Joseph also says that the first principle of the Gospel is to know that God was once a man. Whereas in Christian theology it is clear that God was never a man. He has been God from all eternity. So when a Christian and a Mormon talk about "Heavenly Father" the god talked about by Joseph Smith above, who was once a man, is the true "Heavenly Father" of Mormonism.

While there are many things that I disagree with Mormons about, the nature and character of God is definitely a big point. Joseph Smith says it is the first principle of the gospel. Again, I am just entering this field of witnessing to Mormons. Please check out this Youtube page which belongs to Dr. James White. Alpha & Omega Ministries: Mormon  And these videos by Jeff Durbin, Jeff Durbin: Mormon 

Please be sure to pray for those of the LDS faith. Some of them are very involved in the Mormon Church. Their live the Mormon  life, it is more than just Sunday morning Sacrament Meeting. They believe in their works. As Romans 10 says: "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

Mormons have a zeal for their god. The problem is their god is not the One True God. They seek to establish their own righteousness by their works. That is a sad life to live. They will never be good enough for God. They are dying in their sins. Will you love them enough to share the Gospel with these precious people? Some young Mormon men give up 2 years of their lives to spread the false gospel of Mormonism. Some young women give up over a year of their lives to do the same. That is commitment.

Christians, we could actually learn from their example. If they are willing to do that for a lie, what are you willing to do for the true Gospel? Are you willing to give up your time, your entire life, to serve the one you call King? Go forth with faith in Christ and love for the lost souls of the world! In Jesus' Holy Name. For He is worthy!

With love in the Lord,
Virginia

Love Your Enemies, Even If They Wear A Pink Vest

Hi everyone,
A few weeks we went to Planned Parenthood. On Thursday night my mom hurt her right foot. This may sound silly but in our family my mom is the only driver at the moment. She also has to wear leg braces when she wears her shoes. We did not know if she would be able to wear her shoes to drive and be in Portland with her foot hurt. But we decided we would still go to Portland though. Daddy  was not feeling very well either. We also were going to be some of the only people from our group to be out at Planned Parenthood. But God has some amazing plans in store for us.

James and Marguerite arrived at Planned Parenthood about the same time as we did. There was no Portland police officer out on the street with us. After a while the second shift of deathscorts (Planned Parenthood volunteer greeters) showed up. Officer Bealls is someone I have mentioned before. She is a Portland police officer and a Planned Parenthood volunteer. Officer Bealls is different than some of the other volunteers though. She actually talks to me. We have a weird relationship. We see each other at Planned Parenthood. She wears the pink vest of a Planned Parenthood volunteer. I stand there with my Gospel tracts. She walks people into Planned Parenthood and I stand there telling people that Planned Parenthood murders babies and offer them help and hope and life in Jesus Christ. Then we stand there and... talk. We can greet each other by name, give each other a hand shake, stand side by side. Believe me she has heard the Gospel. She stands there on the sidewalk while people preach. I write her letters and I am not just sweet in my letters, I speak the truth. And she takes my letters although she will not take a Gospel tract from me. She is not kind to me because she is never confronted on her sin. I love her enough to tell her the truth.

Deathscorts escort babies in to the abortion mill to be murdered, they are evil people, they are enemies of God. But we were all once evil people who were enemies of God. And somebody loved us enough to share the Gospel with us. It is okay to be angry at the actions of the deathscorts, it is perfectly acceptable to be angry that someone so hates God and rejects His commands, and hates their neighbors so much that they would murder them. But the Bible says to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:44) This is what we must do for the deathscorts. Love them so much that you share the Gospel with them. Love them enough to talk to them. Realize that apart from the saving grace of God you would be just as bad off as they are, dirty, hell-deserving, rotten sinners. But God... those are two amazing words. We were evil people deserving of the just wrath of God but God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to save us.

That particular week I went up and hugged Officer Bealls. This may sound strange to some but that is what I did. When we were leaving I told Officer Bealls that I loved her. Try it sometime. Maybe God will show off how great He is and you too will get the reply from the deathscort, "Love you too." God is amazing!

Now, let's start a revolution. Love the deathscorts. Show them that you love them. I know that it is hard when the deathscorts will not talk to you. Most of ours do not talk to us. Even if they do not respond, share the Gospel with them. Pray for them out loud. If you learn their names, when you walk up to them, greet them by name. Offer them tracts. I know this may sound weird but one of them has actually taken them from me.

Tell them that you love them. Verbally tell them "I love you". Even though we love the deathscorts by sharing the Gospel with them it may not seem like love to them. That does not mean you should stop sharing the Gospel with them but just saying "I love you" can be good. Do not love them with the fake love that our culture has. Love them with biblical love. As a brother in Christ says: "Love is an act of the will, accompanied by emotion, that leads to action on behalf of it's object". More than all share the Gospel with them and pray. God alone saves. Which deathscort can you show love to? Maybe give them a hug. (Important note: If you think you will be charged with assault for hugging them I suggest you just speak to them instead of touching them in any way. But if you have a good relationship with them and think it would be okay, go for it.)

With love in the Lord,
Virginia

The Views Of A Planned Parenthood Chaplain And The Christian Response. A Battle Of Two Different Worldviews.

Hello everyone.
On Friday while our family was at the Planned Parenthood in Portland a man arrived with a paper for us. It was part of the Portland Press Herald Newspaper. The article was written by Marvin Ellison. A Presbyterian minister and one of the local Chaplains at the Portland Planned Parenthood. Here is his article: For Me As A Chaplain, Planned Parenthood's Name Is Blessed

I just finished writing a response to his article. My response is posted below:
"It is my hope to respond to a recent article "For Me As A Chaplain, Planned Parenthood's Name Is Blessed" by Marvin Ellison. 

In his article Mr. Ellison says that patients are sometimes surprised to see his face in the Planned Parenthood in Portland. But if Planned Parenthood is merely a health care facility that only provides beneficial services for people, why would it be strange to see a Reverend in such a place? Hospitals have Chaplains. Is there anything strange about that? I propose that the reason it is strange to see a Reverend there is because people know that Christians are against Planned Parenthood and abortion. I believe that all Christians are against abortion and those who are not against abortion are not actually Christians. Christians strive to walk in the footsteps of Christ and to glorify God in all that they do because their heart has been transformed by the Holy Spirit of God who dwells in them changing their desires so that they love God and want to serve Him. However, supporting an organization that destroys children created in the image of God, such as Planned Parenthood, is not glorifying to God. Planned Parenthood is a organization who hates the One True God and rebels against His commands. This is why it is strange to see a professing Christian volunteering at Planned Parenthood. Because they go against the teaching of the Christ they claim to follow.

Mr. Ellison states that the chaplains undertake their work not it spite of, but because of their faith and values. I agree. However the faith and values of these chaplains are not the faith and values of the Scripture. Jesus Christ teaches that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, (Matthew 22:39). Genesis 1 teaches that man is created in the image of God. Exodus 20:13 states, "You shall not murder." In an abortion an image bearer of God is murdered. Murdering someone is not loving. Therefore when an abortion is performed it breaks the commands of God. When a person's faith and values support such actions that person's faith and values are not in accord with the Scriptures. But the faith and values of the world that hates God.

Mr. Ellison states "Clergy were among the earliest supporters of Margaret Sanger and other pioneers of the family planning movement." The problem is that just because people supported Margaret Sanger does not make it right or a Christian thing to do. Margaret Sanger was a eugenicist and racist. Any professing Christian that supported her was not following the Scriptures.

The article states that a vocal minority "has long objected to sexuality education and family planning and resorted to punitive, shaming language and scary images" to try to prevent people from "seeking the health care they need." But all that the people outside the Planned Parenthood in Portland aim to do is to glorify God through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, offer help to women, and tell them the truth about Planned Parenthood; that they slaughter children and reject God's blessing of children, contradicting his command to be fruitful and multiply. We do nothing to prevent people from receiving necessary health care.

Mr. Ellison applauds what he calls Planned Parenthood's "life-affirming values". But Planned Parenthood is not life-affirming. Planned Parenthood does not affirm life, it destroys human life.

The message of the Christians is that we must humble ourselves before the Almighty God. Everyone is a sinner and we deserve an eternity in Hell because of our sins against a Holy and Just God. One day we will have to stand before God and give an account of our lives. We are all guilty of breaking God's law. We can do nothing to save ourselves from an eternity in Hell. But God sent His only Son into the world, Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a perfect life before God His Father. He was crucified not for his own sins, because He had never sinned, but for the sins of all who will repent and turn to Him in faith, trusting in Him alone for salvation. Christ then rose from the dead three days later and will one day come again and bring His children home with Him to Heaven. When God saves a sinner that person will no longer be seen as guilty before God, but will be seen as a person clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
~Virginia Cowperthwaite, age 15"

Persecution May Be Closer Than You Think: Mike Stockwell

Hi everyone.

This week in our series "Persecution May Be Closer Than You Think", we will feature Mike Stockwell.

Mr. Stockwell is a street preacher from New York but he travels around the Country and even out of the Country to bring the Gospel to the lost. He will preach anywhere from America, to Jamaica, to England. Mr. Stockwell is with Cross Country Evangelism. I have had the privilege of meeting
Mr. Stockwell and he is a wonderful man of God. For those of you who have read some of my older blog posts, you may have read about Mr. Stockwell and the persecution he faced.

On July 6th, 2016, Mr. Stockwell was on a missions trip in Bristol, England. On this day Mr. Stockwell and 3 other men went out preaching. They were right outside the John Wesley Chapel. They set up to preach in the open air. Everyone took a turn to preach the Gospel. When the last man got up to preach, the police arrived. Someone had complained about the men preaching. The police asked one man to step down. The man complied and stepped down and talked to the officer. Another man then stood up to take over for the other preacher. The police told him to be careful what he said, and the man started preaching. Soon the police told him to stop preaching and told him that he was not welcome there. The police said that he was trespassing and needed to go, but the man said that he was going to continue to preach. The officer told him that if he did so he would be arrested, the man continued preaching and the officer put him under arrest. While he was being arrested they also arrested the other man who had been preaching before him. 

Mr. Stockwell and his friend Don Carns were standing off to the side. When the men were being taken away no one said anything to Mr. Stockwell and Don. These two brothers were wondering how they could not be part of what was happening and see what was going on. So they went up to the police to ask what was going on. The police asked if they were with the men and when they said yes they arrested Mr. Stockwell and Don as well. 

Mr. Stockwell did not know what they were being accused of or what charges were being brought against them when they were arrested. They were taken into custody and were held for 7 hours. They were all held in different cells. But not to be stopped from sharing the goodness of Christ while in jail, the men sang songs. After 7 hours they took the men in and took fingerprints, mugshots, and they took a DNA sample. After 7 hours Christian Concern got them out of jail. 

A few days later they had to go give their testimony. The inspector questioned them and when they were done he said that they would be notified whether or not they would be prosecuted for the charges that were being brought against them. Later they were charged. At this point Mr. Stockwell still did not know really what the charges were. When it started it was things like Islamophobia and Homophobia and Hate Crime. A few months later Mr. Stockwell and 2 other men had to go to court. Before court, Don Carns' charges were dropped so only the three men had to appear in court. Mr. Stockwell still did not know what the actual charges were. During court they dropped another man's charges so only two men were left to stand trial for these charges that were being brought against them. It was a four day trial.  

Christian Concern stated "They were charged under Section 31 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 for using"threatening or abusive words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress, thereby, and the offence was religiously aggravated." They also wrote concerning the charges against the other men, the "remaining three were additionally charged with offences under the Public Order Act 1986."

The prosecutor in the case said that publicly quoting parts of the King James Bible in modern Britain should "be considered to be abusive and is a criminal matter". The prosecutor also told the court: "although the words preached are included in a version of the Bible in 1611, this does not mean that they are incapable of amounting to a public order offence in 2016." The prosecutor also argued:  
"To say to someone that Jesus is the only God is not a matter of truth. To the extent that they are saying that the only way to God is through Jesus, that cannot be a truth."

Both men were charged guilty under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 at Bristol Magistrates' Court. The men were both ordered to pay 2,016 pounds each, in fines and costs.

Mr. Stockwell said:
"Our motivation for public preaching is love. We want people to have access to the good news about Jesus Christ. I am shocked that God's message of love, is now considered hateful and dangerous. Today, speaking God’s truth seems to be a hate crime, according to some.

"There is a very disturbing pattern here. We declare Jesus' message and critique rival beliefs such as Islam. Some people don't like what we say, and threaten violence to silence us. Then, instead of defending free speech and protecting us, the police shut down free speech to avoid public disorder. And then a court convicts us of provoking disorder and risking violence!

"Something has gone badly wrong. This gives a green light to Islamists and other groups to silence speech that they don't like, simply by threatening disorder or violence.

"Freedom of speech is under assault. People should be free to express their beliefs in public, without risk of harm, violence or other repercussions."

Mike Stockwell and Robert Gray with my sister and I at
the Fellowship Conference New England.

On June 29, 2017, almost a year after being arrested in Bristol both men were acquitted in an appeal hearing at Bristol Crown Court!

Praise God for acquitting Mr. Stockwell of these charges. But again you can see in Mr. Stockwell's story that persecution does not just happen in the Middle East and Asia and Africa. It happens in countries like America and England. The world hates God and hates those who share His message. Sin is everywhere. Those who hate God are everywhere. Pray for the messengers of Christ throughout the world as they spread the Gospel to the lost, pleading with them to turn to Christ in repentance and faith!


Pray for Mr. Stockwell as he continues to preach throughout the country. That he would be given favor in the eyes of the authorities but if it be in God's plan that he again faces persecution from the authorities for preaching the Gospel that the trials would be used by God to conform Mr. Stockwell more to the image of Jesus Christ his Lord and Savior! Mr. Stockwell says that if he is in court he wants to be able to say "Thus saith the Lord". He wants to be guilty for preaching the Word of God, not speaking his own opinion. We should honor such men who are faithful to preach the Gospel no matter the consequences!

 

Back row, left to Right, Jimmy Hamilton, Mike Stockwell, Don Carns,
Myself, Mommy, Robert Gray, Scott Smith, James, Marguerite,
Front row, left to right: A friend's son, 2 of my siblings in the
stroller, my sister behind the stroller, my little brother and
Daddy.

"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."  2 Corinthians 5:20
With love in the Lord,
Virginia

Persecution May Be Closer Than You Think: Brian Ingalls.

Hi everyone,
People know that Christians are persecuted in other countries but what about the Christians who are persecuted here in America? I am starting a series of posts about Christians who are being persecuted by the government, both here in America, and in England.

The post this week will be about Brian Ingalls. Brian is a street preacher here in Maine. He is faithful to be outside Planned Parenthood in Portland and his presence and actions there have caused a little commotion.

Before my family was involved in abortion ministry in Portland, the city put in a 39-foot buffer zone around Planned Parenthood, that was succesfully challenged and deemed unconstitutional. Now Christians have been restored their right to stand on the public sidewalk directly outside Planned Parenthood.

However, even though we are allowed to stand close to Planned Parenthood, the persecution has not stopped. Maine Attorney General, Janet Mills, filed a civil rights complaint, against Brian, threatening fines of up to $5,000. What was Brian's crime? He was preaching too loudly outside Planned Parenthood. In the Attorney General's previous complaint she did not only want Brian to have to quieter outside the Portland Planned Parenthood, she asked that Brian not be allowed within 50 feet of any Planned Parenthood in Maine.

"Under the Act, it is illegal to make any noise that can be heard inside an abortion clinic after being warned by a police officer." Since Brian was being so loud in preaching outside Planned Parenthood, he was issued a preliminary injunction. Later, in a huge legal victory, a United States District Judge issued a preliminary injunction so that the Attorney General and Portland Police officers could not enforce the noise provision of the Maine Civil Rights Act against Brian. This was a huge victory for free speech. Before this, Brian stayed away from Planned Parenthood because he did not trust Planned Parenthood or Portland Police to treat him fairly or honestly so he stayed away from Planned Parenthood until the judge put a preliminary injunction against the police.

Later that District Judge's decision was overturned. Brian still has the preliminary injunction. He is not allowed to preach so loudly that he can be heard within any Planned Parenthood building in Maine. If he can be heard inside any Planned Parenthood in the state he can be arrested. No warning, just arrested. The noise ordinance is not applied to other people but only the pro-life group. This restriction on free speech is unconstitutional because it is applied based on the content of Brian's words, not merely how loud the speech is.

Brian is extremely careful how loud he is outside Planned Parenthood. He does not preach anymore, he is afraid that if he says something too loudly, he might get in trouble. However that does not stop him from coming out to Planned Parenthood and being a voice for life and for the Gospel. He just keeps his voice quieter. But there are other preachers to take his place until justice is served.

Brian will soon be going to court, hopefully justice will prevail and the injunction will be dropped.

We hear of persecution in other countries, but America is different, right? But we are not exempt from persecution here in America. Our government that was founded on Christian beliefs is now trying to silence free speech. They pervert justice. They try to silence the preaching of the Gospel. And as we will see in later posts, they will even arrest Christians for preaching. America was once a land where we had liberty, but now the liberty to preach the Gospel is being taken away. But nothing will stop the spread of the Gospel in our land! Though they may be few, God will raise up preachers of righteousness who are willing to risk their freedom, who are willing to fight the legal battles to secure our rights, men who are willing to be arrested for preaching Christ and Him crucified for the sins of His elect! God will raise up men and women of faith who love Christ more than their own freedom, who love the lost more then their own comfort. Are you one of these people? Are you willing to sacrifice your time to take the Gospel to the lost people of our country even if it means you are threatened and maybe even arrested? Is the Gospel worth that to you?

Not everyone will have to face the persecution Brian is going through. But the question is, are you willing to face that kind of persecution for Christ? Because this is what our country is coming to. Christ is worthy of all of our lives. He has commanded to preach His Gospel and that is what we will do by His grace until our dying breath!

With love in the Lord,
Virginia

Talk About Abortion And Then Prepare Yourself For The Responses And Be Prepared For Names Like "Predator Cult Leader"!

Hi everyone,
As I wrote in my last post, I had written a letter about the school walkout on Wednesday, April 11th to honor the victims of abortion. I posted that letter on a Facebook page "Informed Citizens Of RSU 13". I am a student in RSU 13. I also posted that the students had a right to walkout because they were allowed to participate in the walkout to honor the victims of the Parkland shooting. I said that if the school applied a double standard I could get them some legal help.

Someone liked the post and some put an angry emoji on it but that was fine. Daddy then posted a comment and people started talking. There were disagreements but that can be expected when you talk about abortion in our culture. However, it then turned into people saying things like, "Call the ACLU", "Get a lawyer" and accusing us of making children run out in front of cars because we stood on public property and passed out literature. The post received over 30 complaints and it was taken down.

This was then posted:

People started commenting. 

Actually the law agrees that our family is allowed to do this. The thing that we dare push on children? A Gospel tract by Paul Washer. So intimidating. 

Why am I focusing on organizing children? Because they are not being told the truth about abortion but are given the liberty to go around doing things that could lead to pregnancy and when someone tells them to have an abortion they need to know that is not an option. 

We have every legal right to hand Gospel tracts to children and in our state we also have every legal right to take a video of anyone we wish in a public place, even if they are children. 

Now taking videos in public places and posting them on Youtube is exploitation. I never knew. Some police officers wear body cameras. Why is Daddy a sicko for using a body camera? I have been assaulted on the street before and the camera is for protection and can come in useful for legal matters. 

This lady was reported to Rockland Police Department for Social Media Threat. People can try all they want to try to shut us down but we have the legal right to do these activities. We have now moved our location though so that we are not as close to the crosswalk. Even though we were within our legal right to stand where we were, we moved and now hopefully one accusation will be taken away. Our tracts are not threatening or disturbing except for the fact that they expose the truth about our sin and tell you to repent. The Gospel can be a great offense but we will continue to follow the command of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and preach the Gospel that God may be glorified!

There was a lot more on that post and we have screen shots of the whole discussion. However the post has now been deleted because after comments were disabled someone was still going on and editing previous comments and adding more content. Pray for the salvation of this woman who has such a hatred for God and His messengers.

Just for clarification, my father is the "predator cult leader" mentioned.

That was just some of that Facebook conversation. I also posted my letter, (see my last post) to some newspapers. It was posted in 3 of them as a Letter To The Editor. Portland Press Herald titled my letter, "Join school walkout calling for end to killing of fetuses through abortion". That is not what I said in my letter but they got to pick the title. But they also took the liberty to change my letter and still put my name on it even though they changed data of the number of abortions that take place.

Here is what I wrote, "Every day in our country over 3,000 babies are murdered by abortion. The death of these 17 students is tragic and never should have happened. Tragically the answer to the question "Am I Next?" is "Yes" for 3,000 children who will never have the chance to live outside the womb of their mother."

Press Herald's version said, "Every day in our country, nearly 2,000 babies are murdered through abortion. The deaths of the 17 students in Florida are tragic and never should have happened. Tragically, the answer to the question “Am I next?” is “yes” for 1,788 children who will never have the chance to live outside the womb of their mother."

They also edited what I wrote which they have the right to do but they took liberty to change the numbers. My number agrees with WHO (World Health Organization,) and their number comes from the CDC. 

Bangor Daily also edited the post. Here is their version.

But this is what you get for submitting a letter to the editor to someone who does not share your beliefs. The newspapers have the right to edit it though.

The school walkout went okay. My family were the only ones on the public sidewalk. Students may have walked out but we did not see them. The school never answered whether or not students would be allowed to walk out anyway.

Pray for those of my generation, that they would be filled with a passion to see abortion abolished in our generation! But more importantly pray that they would repent and believe in Jesus Christ! That they would have a desire to protect the unborn children because they are created in the image of our Creator God! That they would realize that the Gospel is the answer to ending abortion!

On Friday we went to Planned Parenthood in Portland. It was our family, Jeremy, Dan, and James. We had a police officer on duty this week. His name was Matt. He was a nice guy besides the fact that he was standing there without protecting the unborn who were being murdered, perverting justice, and not fulling his oath to protect human life. Besides that he was a nice guy.

Daddy got to have a discussion with a man named Will. He was talking to Daddy and they are supposed to go out for coffee next Friday morning. The discussion is in the video below.

Will part 1
Will part 2

After the discussion Daddy had a spell. His spells can make him not able to walk or talk. This causes concern among Portland police officers when they see it happen. I have written before about officer Bealls who is a Portland police officer and a volunteer deathscort for Planned Parenthood. She was there yesterday as a deathscort. The officer on duty, Matt, held Daddy's walker when he was trying to sit down. Officer Bealls is the one who will talk to me while we were at Planned Parenthood. She wants to make sure we do not need her to call a medic when Daddy is not feeling well. I bet most people involved in abortion ministry do not get sympathy from the deathscorts, but somehow Daddy does. We do not know how God is going to use this whole situation, but we would appreciate prayers.



Next week, our family will be going to spend time with friends. Then we will be driving 3 friends to the abortion mill for ministry on Friday.

Prayer
Please be in prayer for Daddy as he meets with Will for coffee Friday morning. Daddy does not do well with stress, and after a stressful situation he can shut down and not be able to speak or walk. Pray that he will not shut down and will be able to think clearly during the discussion. Pray also for the salvation of officer Bealls and Will.

With love in the Lord,
Virginia