| Dear Deacon, I just returned from a visit to the Memphis, Tennessee 40 Days for Life campaign and am getting ready for a trip to California, where there are currently 33 vigils -- the most of any US state! 40 Days for Life has spread to many places, as God took this effort from Texas to 481 cities. But there was one place I never imagined it would go -- the continent of Africa. The first African campaign wrapped up in Uganda last November. This time, there are two on the continent -- Cape Town, South Africa and Abuja, Nigeria. Don't miss these amazing details about the Nigerian campaign ... and some great pictures. ABUJA, NIGERIA  Abortion is supposed to be illegal in Nigeria, but Marie Stopes – one of the world’s largest abortion businesses – has entered the country under the guise of “family planning” and has already made inroads in 9 of Nigeria’s 36 states. “I can testify that abortion is common and practiced quite secretly. Several factors such as poverty and shame of being a single parent give rise to this,” said Kelechi Anyaghara, one of the people who brought 40 Days for Life to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. Kelechi became aware of 40 Days for Life after seeing it action in Milton Keynes, England, where she was working as a volunteer for a British pro-life organization. She then joined with others to launch the Save the Unborn Babies Pro-Life Initiative in Nigeria, which just started in December. From that effort, the 40 Days for Life campaign began.  She was in England recently, where she talked about the group’s work – and met with 40 Days for Life’s national director, David Bereit, as well as 40 Days for Life leaders from across the UK. “I noticed a few others were getting tissues out as Kelechi told us of her work in Nigeria, holding as many as four church talks per day to hundreds of people hungry to hear about abortion, purity and contraception,” said Andy Burton, who directs the Milton Keynes campaign. “Kelechi has many stories to tell of babies being saved and mothers helped.”  “Our group was invited by Dominion City Church in Abuja for two days pro-life training for their church members,” Kelechi said. They also visited Out Station – a rural area – for another training session. The pharmacist there meets many young pregnant women in his job who come seeking abortion. The message of rejecting abortion and embracing abstinence is greatly needed, he told her. “He linked us to a pregnant lady seeking abortion,” Kelechi said. “The coordinator in Nigeria said he is still trying to discourage her from abortion -- and by God's grace, this will be our fourth saved baby if we succeed.”  The educational effort will also be moving into schools in the area. They’ve received an invitation from one secondary school and are hoping to be approved for other visits. After a series of four presentations at one church, she noted that "their positive response was very overwhelming, which shows that Nigerians love life.”  I am humbled by all of this … and grateful to God for all he has done – and all He continues to do.
Today's devotional is from Rev. J. Kirk van der Swaagh of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.
We pray for the conversion of all those who refuse to acknowledge that human life belongs only to God.
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." -- Jeremiah 1:4-5
To be or not to be? There is no question! The question of "being" is something philosophers have long pondered. What is the meaning of being and what is the source? In the passage before us, we have our answer. We have being because we are known by God. For God to declare that he knows and sets apart the prophet Jeremiah even before he is conceived indicates that our being rests in God's own being. Because He is and because He wills we, therefore, are and do. The Apostle Paul says as much when he declares before the philosophers of his day, "In Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). One of the tragedies of the abortion culture is that life in the womb has been so heartbreakingly devalued. To embrace the arguments of the "pro-choice" crowd one must conclude that the child in the womb doesn’t exist, isn't there, has no being. But nothing could be further from the truth. That child is known by God and, as such, has being.
Lord God, we confess that in You we live and move and have our being. Because You are, we are. May we find grace from You to affirm the being of every human and may we labor to make this truth known to the world around us. Amen.
To download today's devotional as a formatted,printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/spring2013day21print.pdf
Yours for Life, Shawn Carney PS: As always, if you have an interesting story about your 40 Days for Life campaign, please share it! You may add a reply to today's blog entry at: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=4151
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