Below is one of those messages:
I am celebrating with you in Omaha over the closing of the 46th Street abortuary.
It was always a privilege to stand with the saints on behalf of life! I cried many tears while witnessing the personal dramas of women crossing the threshold of that address to keep an appointment with an executioner. Our prayers at that location were always about life or death for an innocent and mercy for the guilty. While there are many redemptive stories of days when someone had a change of heart the overwhelming sense for me are all the unnecessary losses. The unforgettable scene of people taking determined or maybe even halting footsteps, but finally one foot after, another taking the last step inside the West glass door entrance is immeasurably tragic. I am grateful that we could honor the “helpless ones” by speaking up and showing up for them.
Many women here in Russia have had abortions and continue to use this practice with barely any social protest. The weight of guilt and shame in this culture has been increased by the endorsement of this practice over the last century.
It was always hard to show up and watch so many people make choices that were conceived in hell. I do remember clearly and gratefully that some changed their minds. Our gracious God gave us an opportunity to see the miracles of many held back from the edge of destruction. The mark of those days is still etched not only on our hearts but forever on the moms who took life and violently buried it at 46th and Douglas Streets in Omaha, Nebraska.
A compassionate God has brought a limit to the destruction at this site. The silent screams will no longer cry out here. May the Father’s heart be consoled along with our hearts.
Sharing these memories with you,
It was always a privilege to stand with the saints on behalf of life! I cried many tears while witnessing the personal dramas of women crossing the threshold of that address to keep an appointment with an executioner. Our prayers at that location were always about life or death for an innocent and mercy for the guilty. While there are many redemptive stories of days when someone had a change of heart the overwhelming sense for me are all the unnecessary losses. The unforgettable scene of people taking determined or maybe even halting footsteps, but finally one foot after, another taking the last step inside the West glass door entrance is immeasurably tragic. I am grateful that we could honor the “helpless ones” by speaking up and showing up for them.
Many women here in Russia have had abortions and continue to use this practice with barely any social protest. The weight of guilt and shame in this culture has been increased by the endorsement of this practice over the last century.
It was always hard to show up and watch so many people make choices that were conceived in hell. I do remember clearly and gratefully that some changed their minds. Our gracious God gave us an opportunity to see the miracles of many held back from the edge of destruction. The mark of those days is still etched not only on our hearts but forever on the moms who took life and violently buried it at 46th and Douglas Streets in Omaha, Nebraska.
A compassionate God has brought a limit to the destruction at this site. The silent screams will no longer cry out here. May the Father’s heart be consoled along with our hearts.
Sharing these memories with you,
Jamie Hejl,
(missionary, Evangelical Free Church of America - International Mission)
Kursk, Russia
