Report on the First Week

The first week of the 40 Days for Life campaign has gone well. The weather has been good, with no rain. Early on, our microphone gave out during the proclamation of the word, but that problem was easily resolved. Of course we had the occasional middle finger and obscene comment, but we’ve also had words of encouragement.

Sunday, an annual Memorial Service for our police was held downtown. Streets were blocked off and the prayer vigil was in eyesight of the parade as 2,000 police officers marched from the Supreme Court Building to Parliament Hill. This was done to commemorate officers who died in the line of duty. These officers know too well how abortion traumatizes people’s lives, they see it in their every day police work. And we pay tribute to them for standing against the evils in society.

Bank Street has a continuous flow of buses. As I stood praying, one bus driver who stopped for the red light opened her door and gave me a big smile. It reminded me of the first day of the vigil when another bus driver gave us the thumbs up as he passed by.

Today, my former boss, Karen, came to pray with us, along with her husband and youngest son, John. John has angelman’s syndrome, a type of cerebral palsy that effects his walking and his speech. As he sat in his wheel chair, he happily waved at people passing by, especially the children. I was surprised at the number of people who waved back at him – whether or not they were pro-life, I don’t know, but he had an impact on them.

This coming week we have a couple of days where we need extra prayer warriors. Both Wednesday Sept. 30th and Friday Oct. 2nd are in need of having time slots filled. Please come and join us at the Bank Street vigil, if you can spare an hour.

Wanda

Wanda Hartlin

Co-ordinator

40 Days for Life Ottawa