Hard Cases: Helping a Coerced Teen

WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.040 --> 00:00:07.230 I Am Yours, I am yours, I am yours, and me, 2 00:00:07.589 --> 00:00:12.230 Lord, I am yours. Welcome to the Gospel Center prayer life podcast. 3 00:00:12.550 --> 00:00:15.269 This episode we're going to share a story of a young lady that was being 4 00:00:15.349 --> 00:00:18.870 coerced to a board and how God used our team to help her choose life. 5 00:00:18.910 --> 00:00:21.820 I'm going to share some principles that will encourage you, so stay tuned. 6 00:00:25.179 --> 00:00:36.969 I felt show passish, touch your heart, use me. Welcome to 7 00:00:37.049 --> 00:00:42.009 the Gospel Center pray life podcast. In this episode we're going to do much 8 00:00:42.009 --> 00:00:45.689 of what we had done in a previous episode and we talked about doing in 9 00:00:46.009 --> 00:00:50.679 some following episodes, which are dealing with hard cases and doing that with case 10 00:00:50.799 --> 00:00:55.759 studies, with actual experiences that we've had at the abortion center, actual women 11 00:00:55.840 --> 00:01:00.960 that we've ministered to, babies that we've seen saved and babies that we've unfortunately 12 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:03.750 seen lost, and just sharing our experiences to equip you guys. That's the 13 00:01:03.829 --> 00:01:07.670 intention here, is to equip you guys, to help you guys learn from 14 00:01:07.670 --> 00:01:11.870 our mistakes, maybe learn from some of the things we did right. And 15 00:01:11.030 --> 00:01:15.189 in this story that we're going to be sharing, this case study, we'll 16 00:01:15.230 --> 00:01:19.859 be talking about dealing with a teen who was coerced to a board. Right, 17 00:01:19.980 --> 00:01:22.939 and that is a very common situation. It is. So we're going 18 00:01:22.980 --> 00:01:26.579 to talk through, sharing the story kind of how things played out from our 19 00:01:26.780 --> 00:01:30.500 perspective, and then, as in our previous podcast about Kara and that high 20 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:36.329 risk situation or that hard case, I'm going to share some principles they had 21 00:01:36.329 --> 00:01:40.329 to do with the story. So with that, let's let's jump into it. 22 00:01:40.650 --> 00:01:42.489 This is a great story. Is One of my favorite stories. Yeah, 23 00:01:42.609 --> 00:01:47.840 of my experiences out on out on the sidewalk. So we'll call US 24 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:49.760 young lady Marissa. Yeah, yeah, and just keeping man gazes. We're 25 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:53.799 going through these hard cases and we're sharing the name of the mom or anyone 26 00:01:53.840 --> 00:02:00.280 else's name. Names are changed in these stories to protect the identity of the 27 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:04.950 person involved. That's right. So Marissa's going to be her name in this 28 00:02:05.750 --> 00:02:10.469 particular one. But right. Yeah. So Marissa shows up at the abortion 29 00:02:10.550 --> 00:02:15.659 center, pulls up in a car, laughing with two teenage friends. She's 30 00:02:15.740 --> 00:02:20.780 clearly young. They're all young, you can tell. They're all clearly under 31 00:02:20.939 --> 00:02:23.699 eighteen, probably in the sixteen year range, a boy and a girl, 32 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:30.090 and then Marissa. They're all laughing and joking. This is all one big 33 00:02:30.289 --> 00:02:35.250 funny thing to them, which is always a little hard for us sidewalk councils 34 00:02:35.409 --> 00:02:38.129 to watch. They rolled down their window for me, though they did stop, 35 00:02:39.050 --> 00:02:45.280 and my impression of courses immediately. They just think this is all a 36 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:49.199 walk in the park, this is all just a big joke to them. 37 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:55.159 So the moment that I indicate did that I was there to help for a 38 00:02:55.240 --> 00:03:00.229 choice for life, the young man who was driving, the father of the 39 00:03:00.270 --> 00:03:05.229 baby, is ready to zoom away. Yeah, but Marissa, who at 40 00:03:05.270 --> 00:03:07.629 that point I don't know her name and and I didn't know that she was 41 00:03:07.750 --> 00:03:12.069 the one having the abortion, she's in the back seat and that, while 42 00:03:12.229 --> 00:03:16.259 she's Giggling, she reaches for my literature and and takes it, thanks me 43 00:03:16.379 --> 00:03:21.099 and they're they're all just laughing and, you know, I just want to 44 00:03:21.139 --> 00:03:23.900 shake them. I just want to like say, wake up, this is 45 00:03:23.180 --> 00:03:29.169 serious. What you're in here to do is so serious. And but but 46 00:03:29.330 --> 00:03:32.530 instead of doing that, I kindly and listed all of the ways that we 47 00:03:32.610 --> 00:03:37.449 could help them, urge them to go on the mobile ultrasound unit which is 48 00:03:38.090 --> 00:03:40.560 parked on the curb, so that that they would be able to go and 49 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:45.000 see their baby. Yeah, that's kind of the scene, as I see 50 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:47.560 it, as they arrive. And this first principle that we want to touch 51 00:03:47.639 --> 00:03:51.240 on, and as you're listening through this podcast, maybe you're driving down the 52 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:53.919 road, or whether you can't do this, but as you're listening through, 53 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:57.270 maybe you're at home and you're able to take notes right down some of these 54 00:03:57.270 --> 00:04:00.629 principles, because these are principles that we learned in the midst of these situations, 55 00:04:00.750 --> 00:04:04.310 that we keep in memory and that we employ in the the following stories 56 00:04:04.310 --> 00:04:08.590 that we encounter and all of that. Like, you learn from these situations 57 00:04:08.710 --> 00:04:11.580 and the principles that are drawn out of these situations. And if you don't 58 00:04:11.580 --> 00:04:14.219 have a pen and you are driving down the road, we will post this, 59 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:17.379 this article, along with the pocket the link to the PODCAST, and 60 00:04:17.459 --> 00:04:23.060 we also post it at sidewalks for life dot. Yeah. Absolutely. So 61 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:28.449 the first, first principle is don't let first impressions deter you from offering truth 62 00:04:28.490 --> 00:04:31.730 and help these that's folks showed up and they were laughing and they were giggling 63 00:04:31.810 --> 00:04:34.129 and you can have a tendency, I know I would have a tendency just 64 00:04:34.209 --> 00:04:38.569 to write them off, saying they'd be like throwing pearls to Swane if I 65 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:42.839 gave them literature. Yep, but that's not always the case. Sometimes people 66 00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:47.519 use laughter and Giggling and acting Goofy as a mechanism to cast off some of 67 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:51.279 the guilt that they're feeling, some of the weight of conviction that they're feeling. 68 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:56.029 If you think about it in your life, I know from me I'll 69 00:04:56.110 --> 00:04:59.310 do that. You know, people make me angry. Sometimes I'll just laugh 70 00:04:59.350 --> 00:05:01.790 at all. I'll be laughing and really inside I'm angry. You know that 71 00:05:01.910 --> 00:05:04.550 can be the case with these MOMS. So don't let these first impressions, 72 00:05:04.589 --> 00:05:09.300 how they come across initially, deter you from doing what you're there to do 73 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:12.699 to all for help and hope and the truth of the Gospel. Yeah, 74 00:05:12.699 --> 00:05:15.060 really, no matter what we face, our response should always be the same. 75 00:05:15.100 --> 00:05:20.930 Are we glorifying God? Are We offering gospel centered help and tangible help? 76 00:05:21.410 --> 00:05:27.050 And we should do that in a way that is pleasing to God. 77 00:05:27.370 --> 00:05:30.370 Yeah, and making fun of them, shaking them even though you feel like 78 00:05:30.529 --> 00:05:34.689 it, or were being angry, or just ignoring them completely are would not 79 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:42.040 honor or promote the purposes of our prolife ministry. So, yeah, so, 80 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:46.279 anyway. So they park in the abortion center lot and Myressa and her 81 00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:50.670 friend went into the abortion center. We're continuing to call out, as we 82 00:05:50.750 --> 00:05:55.110 always do, offers of help, truth about God. Meanwhile, the the 83 00:05:55.230 --> 00:05:58.589 young man, parks in his car. I believe what he did was he 84 00:05:58.670 --> 00:06:00.509 went around the corner of the parking lot so he can't see us, he 85 00:06:00.670 --> 00:06:03.819 hoped he's trying not to hear us. He wants nothing to do with us 86 00:06:04.139 --> 00:06:09.779 and he stayed in the car. And then a few minutes later Marissa and 87 00:06:09.899 --> 00:06:14.699 her friend come out of the abortion center and they're still laughing and joking, 88 00:06:15.980 --> 00:06:19.889 but at which at that point they start walking towards me and I'm wondering if 89 00:06:19.930 --> 00:06:24.290 their plants or, you know, what do you call it? A MOLD? 90 00:06:24.410 --> 00:06:27.370 Yeah, coming in from the pro abortions that we're trying to get in 91 00:06:27.529 --> 00:06:31.089 and figure out what our operation is over, because they were just so not 92 00:06:31.529 --> 00:06:38.079 serious. But they're they're coming, coming towards me and they she said that 93 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:42.680 she wanted to go on the RV to see her baby. So they they 94 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:46.560 do. They come aboard the RV. Yeah, and the second principle in 95 00:06:46.680 --> 00:06:49.230 this is kind of like the first principle. Don't let the first impressions to 96 00:06:49.350 --> 00:06:55.550 turn you, even if they are pro abortion mold to come and infiltrate the 97 00:06:55.790 --> 00:07:00.029 operation on the mobiles or Sound Unit. Still nothing changes. Like we don't 98 00:07:00.029 --> 00:07:04.100 need to change right. So treat everyone is their abortion vulnerable, and that's 99 00:07:04.100 --> 00:07:09.899 so important, because they we they they will lie all I mean, I 100 00:07:09.980 --> 00:07:12.939 don't not all the time, but they they do. The people coming to 101 00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:15.009 an a portion center assumed guilt. So they will lie. And if you 102 00:07:15.170 --> 00:07:19.730 buy the lies and you don't treat them as so they're abortion vulnerable, you 103 00:07:19.850 --> 00:07:24.769 may lose the opportunity to plant seeds that later on are going to bear fruit. 104 00:07:24.850 --> 00:07:28.089 Yeah, and you think about it. kind of your concern was like, 105 00:07:28.209 --> 00:07:30.079 okay, so they're coming out of the abortion center of their laugh and 106 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:35.040 they're I mean, from all appearances, they don't really want the help this 107 00:07:35.160 --> 00:07:39.439 available, available on the mobile unit where they coming on there as like why 108 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:43.040 are they coming? And let's say they were. I mean we've suspected this 109 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:46.430 with a few women that have come on the mobiltra sound unit that have offered 110 00:07:46.589 --> 00:07:49.230 or that we've offered help to, is that they might be pro abortion moles 111 00:07:49.350 --> 00:07:54.470 trying to figure out the operation and how they can I don't know, use 112 00:07:54.550 --> 00:07:59.019 our words to quote, expose us or whatever. Yeah, but the more 113 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:01.779 I've like thought about that concern and the more we've talked about that concern, 114 00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:07.100 it's like, well, with they really even be able to expose anything? 115 00:08:07.100 --> 00:08:09.939 I mean the discover were really nice people who are offering a lot of real 116 00:08:11.060 --> 00:08:15.290 health. Yeah, they'll discover that the stuff that we're actually offering we actually 117 00:08:15.329 --> 00:08:20.129 carry through with, and so may it. Let it be a moment. 118 00:08:20.250 --> 00:08:24.129 So maybe this is kind of like a subprinciple. Yeah, is don't worry 119 00:08:24.170 --> 00:08:28.240 about infiltration from pro abortion people as long as you're consistent and you got nothing 120 00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:31.519 to hide, like you know. I mean I'm thinking even like it's kind 121 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:35.360 of a personal scenario of to my if the FBI busted up in my house 122 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:39.200 and started did like a thorough search of my house, right, I mean 123 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:43.629 they'd be probably they probably fall asleep because it'd be so bored at what they 124 00:08:43.669 --> 00:08:46.389 found. Like they wouldn't find anything. You know I'm saying. So it's 125 00:08:46.389 --> 00:08:50.269 like if you're not guilty, you have nothing to worry about. Exactly. 126 00:08:50.389 --> 00:08:52.710 So, if we're not lying to these women, we're not manipulating and we're 127 00:08:52.710 --> 00:08:58.019 not offering things that we don't actually carry through with. Right then we would 128 00:08:58.019 --> 00:09:01.059 have a concern, but since we are consistent Christians, there's no concern there. 129 00:09:01.100 --> 00:09:05.139 Anyway, the principle is treat everyone as though there of abortion vulnerable when 130 00:09:05.139 --> 00:09:09.009 you encounter them at the abortion center and just carry on with the ministry that 131 00:09:09.049 --> 00:09:11.850 God has called you to right, right, a little sort of side story, 132 00:09:11.889 --> 00:09:16.570 but it was funny happened today where one of the pro abortion people was 133 00:09:16.009 --> 00:09:20.570 videotaping. She was like tipping open our blessing bag that we have on the 134 00:09:20.610 --> 00:09:26.120 sidewalk, videotaping the contents, and we're like why, why are you doing 135 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:28.759 this? You're going to discover that we actually give sort of Nice things. 136 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:33.080 Yeah, and in the blessing bags out anyway. Yeah, don't don't worry 137 00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:37.320 about that. Basically, just do your job, do it what God has 138 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:41.309 called you to do. So so she's comes on the RV and I did 139 00:09:41.389 --> 00:09:45.789 what I always do, still wondering she might be a mole. She certainly 140 00:09:45.870 --> 00:09:50.269 doesn't seem like she's taking this whole thing very seriously. But but I found 141 00:09:50.269 --> 00:09:54.500 out the situation. I asked a bunch of questions. I found out she 142 00:09:54.620 --> 00:09:58.899 was sixteen years old. She was being urged by her Guardian, who was 143 00:09:58.980 --> 00:10:03.419 her grandmother. Yeah, to have the abortion and her boyfriend and friend were 144 00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:09.450 obviously also counseling abhorred person. But she said she wanted to see the baby 145 00:10:09.610 --> 00:10:13.129 first, and when she said that there was a change like I could tell 146 00:10:13.169 --> 00:10:18.649 that was a sincere statement. She wanted to see this baby first. So 147 00:10:18.690 --> 00:10:22.519 I listed, as we always do. I listed the many resources that we 148 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:26.919 could provide. I talked about God, asked her if she knew God. 149 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:31.519 She claims she did, but she was clearly not following God's commands, which 150 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:35.600 is usually the case. She you know, if they're following God's commands are 151 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:39.629 not going to be at an abortion center. Yeah, but I asked her 152 00:10:39.669 --> 00:10:43.990 if I could share some truths about God and she immediately said yes, but 153 00:10:45.149 --> 00:10:48.870 the friend didn't want anything to do with that and the friend said I gotta 154 00:10:48.909 --> 00:10:54.820 go and goes tearing off of the RV. She doesn't want to hear truths 155 00:10:54.860 --> 00:11:03.370 about God. But surprisingly Marissa did stay and listened and told us that she 156 00:11:03.690 --> 00:11:09.730 was being forced by her grandmother, but she knew, which is why she 157 00:11:09.850 --> 00:11:13.009 was laughing all the time. She knew, although her friends didn't know. 158 00:11:13.529 --> 00:11:18.440 That because she was sixteen and underage, therefore she would not be able to 159 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:24.000 get the abortion without her grandmother's written permission, or I think the grandmother would 160 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:31.279 actually have to be there and sign the legal guardian. And so Marissa knew 161 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:35.110 that no abortion was going to happen. Yeah, to that day. Her 162 00:11:35.190 --> 00:11:41.710 friends didn't know that, though. I shared the Gospel. Asked Marissa if 163 00:11:41.950 --> 00:11:48.820 if she wanted to follow God and she said she did so, following sharing 164 00:11:48.899 --> 00:11:52.779 the Gospel, she actually wanted to commit her life to Jesus and did so 165 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:56.700 right right then and there. Yeah, on on the RV, which happens 166 00:11:56.899 --> 00:12:01.970 actually not infrequently. Yeah, especially often times with younger people who have they've 167 00:12:01.009 --> 00:12:05.009 come to the end of the rope. They they they know they're in a 168 00:12:05.090 --> 00:12:07.809 bad place and they know they need they need help. So as at that 169 00:12:09.090 --> 00:12:13.649 point there's a banging on the RV door and the boyfriend is screaming. He's 170 00:12:13.929 --> 00:12:18.519 furious. He now has discovered, oh, she went on the RV. 171 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:22.960 He figured out she had left the abortion center. So He's screaming at her 172 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:26.919 come out and do what you see, we came here to do. Come 173 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:31.629 out and aboard, and we actually locked him out Marissa was shouting leave us 174 00:12:31.669 --> 00:12:37.549 alone. She she said she's not going to abort and she's not coming out. 175 00:12:37.230 --> 00:12:41.750 And at that point I assure Marissa that I will drive her home, 176 00:12:43.110 --> 00:12:48.700 okay, and a fellow counselor who hears me say that. I don't know 177 00:12:48.779 --> 00:12:50.460 if she would. I think the fellow counselor was on the RV at the 178 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:54.980 time and she said, well, you're not going to go alone. I 179 00:12:54.019 --> 00:12:58.179 think she was shadowing me, so she's watching what I do. Said I'll 180 00:12:58.179 --> 00:13:01.090 go with you. Yeah, I'll drive home from home with you, and 181 00:13:01.409 --> 00:13:05.929 so we bring the the up signed nurse Brings Merca back to see her baby. 182 00:13:07.049 --> 00:13:11.330 This just further solidifies her choice for life. She loved the baby. 183 00:13:11.610 --> 00:13:16.600 Yeah, okay. Well, the next principle in this is exactly what you 184 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:20.200 did and what's an important thing for you to do, and this requires listening, 185 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:24.919 but it's develop a relationship and try to understand the dynamics of the reason 186 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:28.309 why the mother is there at the abortion center. So you have to listen. 187 00:13:28.350 --> 00:13:31.509 Yeah, and that's the thing that many of these women are not used 188 00:13:31.549 --> 00:13:37.750 to, someone that actually listens and cares. Yeah, you're supposed to be 189 00:13:37.870 --> 00:13:41.269 listening and that helps you build a relationship, and you can build a relationship 190 00:13:41.269 --> 00:13:45.779 with these MOMS and ultimately earn their trust, right, by letting them know 191 00:13:45.940 --> 00:13:50.820 you care. Yeah, and, of course, hearing at what the the 192 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:54.179 things that are actually going on in her life, the stuff she struggled with, 193 00:13:54.340 --> 00:13:56.889 the pressure, the coercion that's coming from the people that she trusts, 194 00:13:58.330 --> 00:14:01.850 her guardian, her grandmother, the boyfriend who she's obviously at least in some 195 00:14:01.970 --> 00:14:07.570 way, intimately involved, right. Yeah, those people have really betrayed her 196 00:14:07.610 --> 00:14:09.519 trust. You want to try to earn her trust? Yeah, by building 197 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:15.240 that relationship and, of course, in this situation, one of the touch 198 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:18.200 points, one of the basis is of that relationship is really the Gospel. 199 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:22.639 It was sharing the Gospel. It was she knew that was something that she 200 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:26.429 needed. It often is. Even when they say I don't want to hear 201 00:14:26.470 --> 00:14:30.549 about God, oftentimes they will come back circle, back to God. If 202 00:14:30.950 --> 00:14:35.389 if you pray to God to open that door. But in terms of trust 203 00:14:35.669 --> 00:14:39.460 and the betrayal, you wouldn't believe what happens next. I mean really, 204 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:46.340 the betrayal of the people who were supposed to protect her was so devastating, 205 00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:54.330 and not only in what had happened that day. So the but after the 206 00:14:54.450 --> 00:14:58.929 ultrasound, I we she did not want to get back in that boyfriend's car. 207 00:15:00.009 --> 00:15:03.649 I didn't. I didn't want her to either. Was I don't know 208 00:15:03.769 --> 00:15:09.600 if that was wise or not. We've got this angry boyfriend who's literally banging 209 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:13.320 on the sting, on the door exactly. So obviously a bit. It's 210 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:18.279 got an angry issue and possibly violent. But I was not going to send 211 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:22.230 her home with with this angry boyfriend in the car, the angry boyfriend. 212 00:15:22.950 --> 00:15:28.750 So I hurried her to my car with my fellow counselor, and the boyfriend 213 00:15:28.909 --> 00:15:31.230 spotted us and he got he was coming around the corner. So he's out 214 00:15:31.230 --> 00:15:35.980 of his car. So as we jump in my car, he's running to 215 00:15:35.139 --> 00:15:41.340 his car, Aligne I know now, and chases on and and so I 216 00:15:41.899 --> 00:15:46.899 I take off as fast as I can and just turned a lot of corners, 217 00:15:46.980 --> 00:15:50.929 quick corners, into to lose him. And then we waited and we 218 00:15:50.009 --> 00:15:54.490 knew that that we had indeed law most him. We saw him go by. 219 00:15:54.529 --> 00:15:56.929 Actually, yeah, so we did. And he's going a thousand miles 220 00:15:56.970 --> 00:16:03.490 an hour and didn't see us. So I had Marissa take me to her 221 00:16:03.649 --> 00:16:07.120 home by circuitous roots, so in case he caught up with us, that 222 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:15.200 he would he would never find us. And it did occur to me as 223 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:19.509 I'm driving, I hope I'm not doing something stupid, Uh Huh, and 224 00:16:19.990 --> 00:16:25.750 as it turns out, I probably was. But but it got more stupidest 225 00:16:26.789 --> 00:16:32.149 as the story progresses. But all that it is in my head is this 226 00:16:32.350 --> 00:16:37.460 is a desperate teen who needs our help. Yeah, and I am determined 227 00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:41.259 to help her. Yeah, I mean she obviously didn't want to abort. 228 00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:45.220 She was obviously being coerced, which is illegal. Which is illegal? Yeah, 229 00:16:45.500 --> 00:16:49.769 yeah, and so you're helping her to to protect that baby and to 230 00:16:49.889 --> 00:16:52.529 do the thing that she wants to do, which that's R that baby. 231 00:16:52.649 --> 00:16:57.210 That's right. So we reach her home and as we pull in, it's 232 00:16:57.250 --> 00:17:03.960 kind of a really sketchy apartment, probably a kind of a project, and 233 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:10.599 there is a whole line up of angry looking young men and the grandmother with 234 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:17.230 their arms cross as her pulling into the driveway and and Marissa and they're kind 235 00:17:17.230 --> 00:17:22.150 of blocking my car and then they start to walk towards my car and Marissa 236 00:17:22.269 --> 00:17:26.869 said, I can't, I can't, I cannot kill this baby, and 237 00:17:26.069 --> 00:17:30.819 I can't get out of the car and I and so I just slam the 238 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:37.220 car into reverse and we take off. They came storming, running, running 239 00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:40.900 after us. But you know, of course I'm in a car. So 240 00:17:41.980 --> 00:17:49.130 I take off and I am driving down the interstate now having no idea what 241 00:17:49.450 --> 00:17:55.089 to do, and I had the counselor with me start to make some calls 242 00:17:55.650 --> 00:17:57.680 to look for a safe house. You know, just call, call our 243 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:04.160 network, find a safe place where I can bring this poor young teen. 244 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:10.839 And, as God would have it, God is amazing. God always has 245 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:18.509 his plan worked out. There was a family that had been praying specifically that 246 00:18:18.950 --> 00:18:25.549 an abortion minded teen would be brought to their home for safety, and one 247 00:18:25.630 --> 00:18:29.819 of the people that we called told us about this family. Yeah, and 248 00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:34.339 so that's our plan. We, the counselors sitting next to me, is 249 00:18:34.380 --> 00:18:38.980 making the calls and making the arrangements and we're going to bring Marissa to this 250 00:18:40.180 --> 00:18:44.089 family. Then I got a call on the telephone, on my phone, 251 00:18:44.130 --> 00:18:48.089 and I answer it. It's the police and they said, is this Vicky 252 00:18:48.210 --> 00:18:53.250 Soandso? Yes, that's that's me. Are you harboring a teen? They 253 00:18:53.329 --> 00:18:59.920 asked me, and I said, well, that's not what I was thinking 254 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:03.640 I was doing. But I do have a young woman in the car with 255 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:08.640 me who is being coursed by her grandmother to abort and she does not want 256 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:15.750 an abortion. We do have a safe house and that's where I was going 257 00:19:15.829 --> 00:19:19.549 to bring her, and the police suggested that instead I bring the team to 258 00:19:19.670 --> 00:19:25.180 the police station and they would they would take care of it. So, 259 00:19:25.500 --> 00:19:30.460 once we get there, they take both me and my counselor friends driver's license 260 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:36.140 and tells us that we would probably not be charged with kidnapping a minor, 261 00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:40.250 which entailed jail time. Yeah, you were, you were. We were 262 00:19:40.289 --> 00:19:42.730 sweating it out there a bit. What I want to know before we share 263 00:19:42.769 --> 00:19:45.529 the principle that has to go with this. How in the world that they 264 00:19:45.569 --> 00:19:51.690 get your phone number, because that's a mystery. Well, I had given 265 00:19:51.769 --> 00:19:56.880 the information, I'd given the pamphlet. That's a very good question and it 266 00:19:56.079 --> 00:20:02.000 never even occurred to me. I had g given the pamphlet to the girl 267 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:04.960 in the back seat. She left it there when she went into the abortion 268 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:10.390 center. Okay, so and on that pamphlet is my name and phone. 269 00:20:10.509 --> 00:20:14.789 Okay, so that's how they figured out. Yeah, okay. Well, 270 00:20:15.230 --> 00:20:18.630 the principle that goes along with this part of the story. This is important 271 00:20:18.670 --> 00:20:22.500 one, guys, is have a clear understanding of the law, because if 272 00:20:22.539 --> 00:20:26.779 you don't have a clear understanding of the law, and even now it's still 273 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:32.140 some of the guess understanding and nuances of the law as it concerns harboring a 274 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:36.289 team are still not clear. But at least having a clear understanding of what 275 00:20:36.329 --> 00:20:38.609 you're doing, what you're getting yourself into. I think this is this is 276 00:20:38.730 --> 00:20:42.769 probably a principle that we should have known at this point. This is kind 277 00:20:42.769 --> 00:20:47.170 of one of the mistakes that we have learned from and how to handle these 278 00:20:47.210 --> 00:20:52.240 situations moving forward. Yeah, so that when you're when you are talking to 279 00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:56.160 the police, you can kind of give them an understanding of the perspective that 280 00:20:56.200 --> 00:21:00.000 you're coming from, what you understand the law to be. And then even 281 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:03.470 with the teen and considering giving her ride home and all of that, and 282 00:21:03.589 --> 00:21:07.230 understanding what you're getting yourself into, or potentially getting yourself into. Now, 283 00:21:07.269 --> 00:21:10.869 again, this is a life and death situation. Yeah, and this is 284 00:21:11.109 --> 00:21:15.789 very clearly not coercion on your part. This is coercion on the part of 285 00:21:15.869 --> 00:21:18.230 the grandmother, right, and the fact that you were able to go to 286 00:21:18.269 --> 00:21:21.420 the police station and help kind of, because coercion is illegal. Right. 287 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:25.660 Yeah, driving a team from point a to point B is not necessarily illegal 288 00:21:25.700 --> 00:21:27.500 if they've asked you to, and all of that right right now. If 289 00:21:27.539 --> 00:21:33.329 you were intentionally keeping them away for their family, took them to your house 290 00:21:33.369 --> 00:21:34.970 and locked them in your house or something like that, that would be a 291 00:21:36.009 --> 00:21:37.450 different story. But that's not what you were doing. All the things that 292 00:21:37.569 --> 00:21:41.569 you were doing, even when you left her house, that was all her 293 00:21:42.250 --> 00:21:48.119 her word, her request, right, yeah, and and so just understanding 294 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:51.240 the law, having a clear understanding of these things before you get into these 295 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:55.720 things is very helpful. And you know, just in general, when you've 296 00:21:55.720 --> 00:22:00.710 got a minor in the situation, that does become a fairly complicated situation. 297 00:22:00.910 --> 00:22:03.670 It does, because you know in retrospect, what would I have done? 298 00:22:03.750 --> 00:22:07.910 What could I have done differently? I don't know that I would not have 299 00:22:07.990 --> 00:22:11.710 offered the ride of because I think you start calling police with the young, 300 00:22:11.869 --> 00:22:18.180 scared teen with a dysfunctional family, which clearly it was, they might just 301 00:22:18.339 --> 00:22:22.460 bolt and that might be the last you're going to hear from them. Yeah, 302 00:22:22.740 --> 00:22:27.460 but when I was actually driving, I probably should have just immediately thought 303 00:22:27.819 --> 00:22:32.329 I need to bring her to the police. Yeah, so she didn't want 304 00:22:32.410 --> 00:22:38.089 that, she didn't want to get DSS involved, but ultimately DSS was involved. 305 00:22:38.130 --> 00:22:42.250 So that that is actually what happened. It's the police promised me that 306 00:22:42.369 --> 00:22:47.559 DSS would be called and actually Marissa wanted that more than being returned to the 307 00:22:47.599 --> 00:22:51.559 grandmother. Yeah, because she wanted that baby. She knew that she couldn't 308 00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:53.400 kill the baby and she knew if she goes home to granny, Granny's gonna 309 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:59.750 and says she killed the baby. So I thought I was leaving Marissa safe 310 00:22:59.750 --> 00:23:03.349 and sound at the police that she was going to call me to get the 311 00:23:03.509 --> 00:23:07.750 help that we could offer the baby, shower whatever. DSS was getting involved 312 00:23:07.869 --> 00:23:11.950 and she would be safe that night. The police assured me she would be 313 00:23:11.990 --> 00:23:15.539 safe that night. Yeah. Well, the next morning I'm on the abortion 314 00:23:15.619 --> 00:23:22.059 center sidewalk again and I get a call again from Marissa and she is sobbing. 315 00:23:22.619 --> 00:23:27.210 The police had returned her to a grandmother the night before. I don't 316 00:23:27.250 --> 00:23:30.930 know why. I don't remember why if they tried to call the SS or 317 00:23:32.009 --> 00:23:34.329 what happened, but she was returned to her grandmother. In the morning her 318 00:23:34.450 --> 00:23:38.849 grandmother woke her up early in the morning. Marissa had diabetes, I believe, 319 00:23:40.009 --> 00:23:42.960 some some terrible disease where she had to have regular medication. Yeah, 320 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:48.480 her grandmother woke her up, did not give her her medication, takes the 321 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:52.880 Groggy Marissa throws her in the car, or tells her get in the car. 322 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:56.190 I'm she said she's taken her to a doctor appointment and convinced her it 323 00:23:56.269 --> 00:24:00.309 was a doctor appointment to see the baby. But as they're driving, Marissa 324 00:24:00.470 --> 00:24:04.990 quickly begins to discern they're on the same route back to the abortion center. 325 00:24:06.109 --> 00:24:08.109 She knows what her grandmother is doing now. The grandmother has figured out she 326 00:24:08.190 --> 00:24:11.779 has to go with Marissa to sign the papers and she's going to make sure 327 00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:18.099 Marissa has has the abortion. So when Marissa realizes this, as the car 328 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:22.019 slows to a stop at part way on the way to the abortion center, 329 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:26.809 slowing for a stop light or whatever, while the car still moving, Marissa 330 00:24:26.970 --> 00:24:32.970 jumps out of the car, rolls down an embankment and runs to the near 331 00:24:33.210 --> 00:24:37.049 wrist hiding place, which was a lows department store, and was hiding in 332 00:24:37.210 --> 00:24:41.880 one of the aisles where she called me. Well, so this time I 333 00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:45.799 knew, okay, I'm not going to go rush to the rescue. I 334 00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:49.200 need to call the police. So I told her, you know, this 335 00:24:49.319 --> 00:24:53.789 is abduct abduction and coercion. Clear, clearly drinking the law of the grandmother. 336 00:24:53.869 --> 00:24:57.990 So I said call the police, stay hiding, call the police and 337 00:24:59.190 --> 00:25:02.349 then call me back. Tell the police we have a safe house for you, 338 00:25:02.750 --> 00:25:07.180 and then I want you to call me back. So so the police 339 00:25:07.299 --> 00:25:10.700 pick her up, they bring her to the station, they contact the grandmother 340 00:25:10.940 --> 00:25:15.859 and the grandmother said keep her, I don't honor wow. And the police 341 00:25:17.059 --> 00:25:21.609 then called me instead of calling DSS, which I thought was pretty impressive. 342 00:25:22.089 --> 00:25:26.690 They called called me and said we understand you have a safe house and this 343 00:25:26.890 --> 00:25:32.049 girl is traumatized. She she needs a place. Would you be willing to 344 00:25:32.089 --> 00:25:36.680 come and get her? The grandmother is willing to sign over temporary it wasn't 345 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:40.480 custody, I can't remember what it was called, but just the temporary rights 346 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:45.480 to bring her child to the safe house. And so the grandmother was there, 347 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:52.630 signed Marissa over to me and we with the police. I went with 348 00:25:52.789 --> 00:25:57.150 the police and Marissa to the grandmother's house, where she got the essential things 349 00:25:57.269 --> 00:26:03.630 she would she would need eat and we drive her to the safe house. 350 00:26:03.230 --> 00:26:07.180 And that family actually had agreed to as long as it took, but we 351 00:26:07.299 --> 00:26:11.299 all thought it was going to be just a few weeks because I had already 352 00:26:11.380 --> 00:26:15.819 lined up, or our counselors, as I can't remember who was me specifically, 353 00:26:15.819 --> 00:26:18.650 or the network of people helping me head lined up a maternity home that 354 00:26:18.809 --> 00:26:23.490 takes teams and could keep her till age twenty one, which really solved all 355 00:26:23.569 --> 00:26:30.849 the problems. But but because of her residency there, there it took months 356 00:26:32.049 --> 00:26:34.480 and as safe family had to find she was in a different state than the 357 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:40.000 family and also in the maternity home. That's correct, and so it complicated 358 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:42.359 things. The paperwork was taking month. She was literally with that safe family 359 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:47.000 for months and finally it was just too much. The same family had agreed 360 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:52.789 to weeks and here it's going on month. So at at that point she 361 00:26:52.910 --> 00:26:57.549 actually was moved into a maternity home in her home state and and that was 362 00:26:57.630 --> 00:27:03.299 where we temporarily lost touch with her. Yeah, and so the principle here 363 00:27:03.539 --> 00:27:08.180 is as best we make plans, and we should make plans and arrange things 364 00:27:08.259 --> 00:27:12.460 and, like we talked about in our last podcast about this utilizing team members 365 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:17.769 and getting people to make appointments and and set things up, and you did 366 00:27:17.890 --> 00:27:22.970 that. But plans can go awry sometimes. To the principal was take one 367 00:27:23.089 --> 00:27:29.009 logical, God given step with the goal of keeping the baby safe, one 368 00:27:29.130 --> 00:27:32.599 step at a time. May Make plans and yeah, and connect with the 369 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:37.559 eternity homes and find a safe home house, like you did, but just 370 00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:41.000 be ready, be flexible that sometimes plans don't work out like we hope that 371 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:47.549 they would. Sometimes the even issues can arise with like the maternity home and 372 00:27:47.549 --> 00:27:52.109 then not being able to transfer her over from state to state. Right, 373 00:27:52.190 --> 00:27:56.789 there's complications. Listen, the enemy is going to get in wherever he can. 374 00:27:56.430 --> 00:28:00.539 Yeah, with the goal of getting that young lady back to the abortion 375 00:28:00.700 --> 00:28:03.500 center, getting her trusting an abortion rather than trusting in the Lord. Right. 376 00:28:03.940 --> 00:28:08.579 So just be flexible, be ready to change plans, be ready to 377 00:28:10.619 --> 00:28:14.569 operate on the fly sometimes, yeah, and in the Lord will give you 378 00:28:14.650 --> 00:28:17.769 grace in those situations. You will in another principle. We talked about this 379 00:28:17.930 --> 00:28:19.930 with our other case study, but I think it bears repeating. It's such 380 00:28:19.930 --> 00:28:25.450 an important one as to use team members. I certainly could not have even 381 00:28:25.450 --> 00:28:30.720 begun to have done what what did transpire all on my own. There there 382 00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:34.279 was a whole network of people behind the scenes working and helping and making calls, 383 00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:37.680 even the council that came with me. That kept me calm. The 384 00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:44.869 whole team was called in to play and was really, really important for for 385 00:28:45.029 --> 00:28:49.430 us to to work together as a team. So Marissa actually didn't totally lose 386 00:28:49.869 --> 00:28:53.349 lose touch. She did stay in touch. She had my name and number. 387 00:28:53.990 --> 00:28:59.099 We knew that she was happy at at that maternity home and she actually 388 00:28:59.500 --> 00:29:03.740 had a beautiful baby who she loved deeply. Love Life. At the time 389 00:29:03.900 --> 00:29:07.460 it wasn't love life yet. So cities for life, I believe, with 390 00:29:07.619 --> 00:29:12.329 the help of truth and mercy ministries, which is a a baby shower ministry, 391 00:29:12.410 --> 00:29:18.809 through Sheryl Chandler, through her a wonderful baby shower for her baby and 392 00:29:18.690 --> 00:29:26.319 the story really became one of redemption. That grandmother. Turns out that she 393 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:30.400 had dementia, which was worsening and worsening and worsening. I guess they didn't 394 00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:34.640 know it at the time. Yeah, but that was what all that craziness 395 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:44.150 was in part, was mental illness. And Marissa actually returned to the grandmother's 396 00:29:44.190 --> 00:29:47.990 home and ended up taking care of the grandmother. And so there was a 397 00:29:48.950 --> 00:29:53.420 full kind of circle, yea of redemption that came about in the grandmother was 398 00:29:53.500 --> 00:29:59.140 at the baby shower and she was so in love with that little baby, 399 00:29:59.220 --> 00:30:04.140 the baby that she had so desperately wanted to kill. So it just showed 400 00:30:04.420 --> 00:30:15.410 that the power of God to to redeem anything, including Marissa, really could 401 00:30:15.410 --> 00:30:22.240 have been very rightfully furious with that grandmother, but turned around and showed the 402 00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:25.720 love of God, yeah, and took care of that grandmother. Yeah, 403 00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:29.839 absolutely, and that's listen, guys, you're going to hear this throughout all 404 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:33.240 of these hardcase stories, all of these case studies, because we're a gospel 405 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:37.309 centered ministry, unapologetically right, we're there to bring the Gospel and bring help 406 00:30:37.349 --> 00:30:41.869 and hope. Yeah, yeah, but this, this last principle, was 407 00:30:41.950 --> 00:30:45.309 the most important principle to remember in all of these hard cases. Nothing is 408 00:30:45.349 --> 00:30:49.259 impossible with God, right, we have to lean on the Lord. Yeah, 409 00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:56.660 we can make connections and we can come up with plans and schemes and 410 00:30:56.819 --> 00:31:00.259 ideas and try to navigate through things, and God gives us wisdom, God 411 00:31:00.339 --> 00:31:03.930 gives us mental capacity to be a bit of figured some of these problems out 412 00:31:03.930 --> 00:31:08.769 and navigate through some of these things. But ultimately we've got to trust in 413 00:31:08.809 --> 00:31:14.049 the Lord. We've got to stay, as the Bible says and John Chapter 414 00:31:14.210 --> 00:31:18.880 Fifteen, attached to the true vine. Jesus has wisdom that we got right. 415 00:31:18.440 --> 00:31:22.240 He's got the ability to see behind the scenes and to work these situations 416 00:31:22.359 --> 00:31:26.680 through that we don't have. We don't have that ability, but he does. 417 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:30.400 And so, just for the Lord, I mean this is just prim 418 00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:33.910 evidence that the Lord is fateful, that he's good and that nothing is impossible 419 00:31:33.910 --> 00:31:38.150 with him. Whereas you shared just before, this grandmother wanted that child dead, 420 00:31:38.430 --> 00:31:41.630 so much so that she tricked her granddaughter to get into the car since 421 00:31:41.630 --> 00:31:45.789 she could drive her to the abortion center and further pressure her to have the 422 00:31:45.829 --> 00:31:48.940 abortion that obviously didn't want. And yet God can take that situation and turn 423 00:31:48.980 --> 00:31:52.779 it right side up, so much so that that grandmothers at the baby shower 424 00:31:53.220 --> 00:31:57.220 delighting in her great grandchild. Yeah, that's amazing. It's amazing how God 425 00:31:57.380 --> 00:32:00.819 can do that, but God can. And so, guys, I want 426 00:32:00.819 --> 00:32:06.049 to encourage'all trust in the Lord. We can never get as your prolife 427 00:32:06.170 --> 00:32:09.609 ministers, we can never get into this mentality that we've got it figured out, 428 00:32:09.890 --> 00:32:15.450 that these practical principles, and we shared some practical principles can somehow supersede 429 00:32:15.529 --> 00:32:20.240 the wisdom of God. They cannot. Practical Principles, preparation, training and 430 00:32:20.359 --> 00:32:22.920 all of that stuff that, all that stuff can be great, but if 431 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:28.599 that stuff excludes God, then that stuff is going to leave you deficient and 432 00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:31.269 stand in a major way, and so we need the Lord. That's why 433 00:32:31.309 --> 00:32:36.549 I always encourage with our local volunteers, with our cybwalk missionaries around the country, 434 00:32:36.549 --> 00:32:39.230 around the world, stay in prayer, stay in the word and stay 435 00:32:39.269 --> 00:32:43.309 in church. These are some of the means that God has given us to 436 00:32:43.349 --> 00:32:46.019 stay in close fellowship with him so that we can stay, as John Fifteen 437 00:32:46.059 --> 00:32:51.059 again says, attached to the true vine, because we need what God has. 438 00:32:51.460 --> 00:32:55.259 Wisdom, grace, ability, all of these things that we need God 439 00:32:55.460 --> 00:32:59.289 has. And so that's our encouragement. Do you guess? Yeah, and 440 00:32:59.369 --> 00:33:01.049 I hope this story was a blessing and encouragement. Do you guys? Hope 441 00:33:01.049 --> 00:33:06.329 you learned from some of our mistakes and I hope you'll continue to learn as 442 00:33:06.369 --> 00:33:08.369 we share some of these case studies with you, guys. Again, if 443 00:33:08.410 --> 00:33:12.529 you, as we've often shared and we always will in these podcasts, share 444 00:33:12.569 --> 00:33:15.480 our contact info. If you have questions about this story or if you have 445 00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:17.960 subjects you'd like for us to cover, you can reach out to me, 446 00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:21.720 Daniel a love life dot org. You can reach out to her, Vicky 447 00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:24.240 at Love Life Dot Org. We'd love to hear from you. Our website 448 00:33:24.279 --> 00:33:30.869 that we post these articles on is www dot sidewalks for lifecom sidewalks. The 449 00:33:30.869 --> 00:33:36.990 number four lifecom. You can look under equipping articles and that's where we share 450 00:33:37.390 --> 00:33:39.950 the articles that kind of are the framework for these podcasts, and you'll see 451 00:33:40.069 --> 00:33:44.259 a bunch of them there. Those are to equip you to be effective on 452 00:33:44.339 --> 00:33:46.700 the sidewalk, and so again, you reach out to us. Please leave 453 00:33:46.740 --> 00:33:52.220 a review on the PODCAST, please share it with other people and until next 454 00:33:52.220 --> 00:34:05.690 time, God bless give me our love for love, give me our love 455 00:34:05.930 --> 00:34:17.360 for gratitude. I know it will cost me my life. Nothing's too precious 456 00:34:17.639 --> 00:34:20.000 in some you