Gratitude? Without Life, No Thanks -- A Few Stories of Gratitude From the Frontlines

A very happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends!

From Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his mercy endures forever! 

- Psalm 107:1

Dear Pro-Life Friends,

The life of a pro-life activist is a daily reminder to be grateful.  It is a difficult life, to be sure, but a very blessed one, as we see so clearly that God is holding each one of us in His hands every day -- both in the ways that he takes care of us in our daily needs, and in the ways He allows us to touch the lives of the people we encounter.  Because we rely on the generosity of others for everything - from purchasing office supplies, to providing meals for our team, to helping us plan our events and tours - we are blessed to meet some pretty amazing people.  Here are a few stories of the people we have encountered in just the last couple of weeks, that have inspired and encouraged us:

We met David and Hannah in Albuquerque during the final weekend push to get out the vote for the late term abortion ban.  They teach at a school about an hour and a half outside of Albuquerque, but had traveled into the city just to help with the campaign.  We recruited them to canvass and do activism with us, and they became fast friends with the team.  After the election, they invited us to visit their school to meet their students.  Remarkably, their elementary and middle school students were already aware of the problem of abortion.  In their prayer at the end of the school day, multiple students, as young as 8 or 9 years old, prayed for "mommies who are thinking about abortion," and "babies who are in danger of abortion."  They gave the team cards that said "thank you for saving babies." 

By the end of our first week in Albuquerque, we were invited to take volunteers AND their kids out with us canvassing.  In fact, when we left, our hostess told us that if she could, her daughter would hop in the van and leave with us.  She wished that she and her family could do more to end abortion, but they are simply too busy right now to do activism everyday.  She thanked us over and over for our amazing work.  

It is not uncommon for families that host us -- or even team members -- to get teary eyed as we leave.  When we left Albuquerque, one family told us that we need to send a Survivors team to Albuquerque to stay, so that they could shake up the city year-round.  They thanked us and prayed for us as we said goodbye.  

Sometimes, complete strangers will thank us while we are doing activism.  One woman  saw us praying in front of a Planned Parenthood near her home and got out of her car to give every team member a hug. 

After we returned home, our hostess from Denver, Colorado sent this email to me: "Kristina, you should be very proud. Your team is impressively respectful, dedicated, diligent and knowledgeable.  Thank you for staying with our family. It was an honor."

I am very proud of and grateful for my awesome teammates, but, we are thankful for all of you, our prayer warriors, our hosts, and our friends, who lift us up in the midst of the daily battle.  Please continue to pray for us.  May God bless you this Thanksgiving.

Fiat Vita,

Kristina Garza

Campus Outreach Director

Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust