Saying Goodbye

As told by John Barros:

Folks, I don’t even know where to begin. Warren Marquardt, Bradley Spruill and I were blessed to have R.C. Sproul Jr., Lisa Metzger, and Jeremy and Jennica Reis and their families here to serve again today. It was a tough day of ministry and we had to say goodbye to them. Saying goodbye is tough, but we will get to spend a long time together in heaven! We also had a couple from New Hampshire come by to say hello and serve with us a while.

 

The day was just about as ugly as you can get. About eight ladies returned to complete their late-term abortions. Jennica was quickly overwhelmed and could only fight her emotions by pleading with the moms to come out.

We had a young lady come whose baby had died and was sent here by Winnie Palmer Hospital to have a D&C. We are going to have to look into why they would send them here of all places. Then a man came up to me and asked what they do inside. I told him, and he gave us a look of such sadness. His daughter had asked him to drop her and a friend there. He had suspected that she might be pregnant. His eyes welled up with tears and he got her back in the car and drove her out of there.

Then late in the day an unbelievable thing happened. Two people came at the same time. One on one side and one on the other. Lisa and the ladies spoke to a young couple heading inside for an abortion. On the other side I saw a lady being dropped off by her husband. I had spoken to them on Monday. She came for an abortion and apparently had the pill abortion. She walked up the walk with a hollow look in her eyes, cradling what looked like a little baby wrapped in plastic with a blanket around it. They tell girls to do that if they deliver at home. Well these two couples met in the lobby. Within minutes the young lady ran out sobbing looking like she just saw Satan himself. Following behind was her coward of a boyfriend yelling “You people should be ashamed of yourselves for being out here!” I have always said Stephen King couldn’t write a horror story that equals what goes on here.

We did get to have some awesome fellowship though, and the kids did a wonderful job of praying, praising, and even preaching. I can’t believe how good God is. I get to meet and love the most awesome brothers and sisters in the world. Thank you all for praying.

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46 ministering

As told by John Barros:

Well I have never seen a day like today before. We broke a record of sorts. We had 46 people on the sidewalk today!

 

The place was a mixture of late term and first trimester. There were almost 30 women who came today to have abortions. They even had a second shift of people coming at 3:00.

The Lord sent families from all over the U.S. to help today. We had Lisa Metzger, Jeremy and Jennica Reis from Charlotte. We had Don Shellie Martin here from Boise, and then Carrie and Derek Barbour here from Nashville as well as Jessica Woodroof, Bonnie Franke, and Bradley Spruill from RBC; and Philip Kinkopf and Amanda Sprague from Saint Andrew’s. Let me tell you, it was a pretty emotional day. The folks here were not happy to see us. There was so much vileness, pain, and sorrow.

There was a young lady named Ashley who had tried the pill abortion twice and it has not worked. Now she is at a point of changing her mind. Lisa and Amanda were working feverishly to get her in touch with a doctor to reverse it.

 

The only other one to leave said she was 19 weeks pregnant, but believe it or not even though there were so many of us there, after sitting out in her car thinking she drove out without any of us able to get to her.

There were three or four other couples who left but we couldn’t get to them because some kind of blowup happened inside later in the day. All we could hear was “Did they call the police?” and then these couples ran to their cars. We have no idea what happened.

Please pray that Ashley’s baby will survive and that the rest trust God and keep their babies. We had plenty of hecklers, vile language, and threats. A police officer had to straighten out a Haitian guy who called himself “god” about how we have every right to be there.

 

A lady screaming at Lisa about judging and a lady there to kill her baby threatened to call DCF after 11-year-old Jonah preached. She was upset that the children would be there and not in school. It was crazy but wonderful. Jesus was lifted high and we all got to see each other in person instead of just on Facebook. These folks and their children are unbelievably special. I am so thankful for them and the work they do in their cities. God is so good!

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Yuck

As told by John Barros:

I am sure not looking for any sympathy, but the only word that can describe today is “YUCK”. I came home, took an extra long shower, and feel like I need another one. It just won’t come off.

I was so happy when Patte Smith said she was going to join me today. I thought we would have a great time ministering together. but soon we were in the thick of it. There were so many battles going on.

First a lady named Lindsey showed up. Beth Goble and I were able to spend a lot of time with her, including some prayer time. She told us she was working with one of the crisis pregnancy centers here. It looked like she was going to leave when she said she just wanted to see what it was like inside. She wouldn’t listen to us and went in. We called the director of the CPC and tried to get Lindsey to come out and speak with them. She woukdnt and went through with the abortion.

We began preaching and you could literally see the effects of a war going on. I mean, people really began going crazy. One guy came charging out at me, screaming in my face that I was scaring the @#$% out of everyone inside. I told him it wasn’t me; it was God applying His word to their hearts. These folks were really falling under heavy conviction.

One man, C.J., became overcome with the fear of God. He began pacing, trembling, crying, and saying he didn’t want to go to hell. We kept working with him. He went in to try to get her out. He did on several occasions. He tried to get their money back and of course they wouldn’t do that, so he called the police to come help him. Of course there was nothing they could do because she still wanted the abortion. Then he was forced to sit out back in his car because they wouldn’t let him back in.

 

Then there was a law enforcement guy who brought his lady. He told Patte a bunch of garbage as to why it was okay for him to do it. At the end a lady came out with her friends and made me want to believe she didn’t do it but I think she was just mocking us.

 

There were other stories as well, but it was just a nasty day. I have never seen so many come under such strong conviction and not one choose life. C.J. tried, and I would ask that you all pray for him. He went way farther than most ever will. Pray also that the fear God placed in their hearts would not go away but rather would bring them to repentance..

“I don’t hurt all my patients…”

As told by John Barros:

Well, I had to say goodbye to Don Karnes today. He asked the abortionist Randall Whitney when he was going to start paying his lawsuits. Randall yelled back, “I don’t hurt all my patients!” I couldn’t believe it.

During the preaching a young lady came out, thanked us, and chose life. The Lord was convicting people inside so they called in a “counselor” from their other clinic.

The highlight of the day was when J.C. brought Jacey down to say hello. Thank all of you for praying for them. Jacey is so beautiful one of the workers stopped to take a look. I can’t believe what God has done in J.C.’s life. He and Lacey came to Christ, turned away from drugs, have gotten married; and he has turned into one of the most loving fathers I have ever met. The highlight of his life is to come to Saint Andrew’s to worship. It is absolutely amazing what God is doing in them. They sure appreciate your prayers.

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A Great Light

As told by John Barros:

The Lord shined a great light into hearts that were in an extremely cold, dark place today. There were over 20 people who came down here today. Most were very, very hard indeed but Jesus began working right away.

There was a young couple who pulled in. She began tearing up right away. They went inside but she kept coming out. After a while she spoke to Jessica Woodroof and Bonnie Franke. She said she didn’t want to kill her baby, but her boyfriend was pressuring her to do this.

During the Preaching a young lady named Megan came out and walked up to me. We had a great talk and a time of prayer. She took the information and headed off to Choices. As the preaching went on a young lady came out who was angry that we were there. She went back inside saying she was a Christian, but came out again. She spoke with Don Karnes and told him she was going to choose life for today. She didn’t really know what she was going to do ultimately. Don gave her information and she left.

Then the door burst open and the young girl who didn’t want to have an abortion came out. Her boyfriend was right behind yelling out, “Thank you; I get it… we are keeping our baby!” He had such a massive smile on his face as he was giving us thumbs up.

A bit later another couple of girls went out back to think about it while Don was preaching. After what seemed like an eternity, they pulled up and rolled down their window but we couldn’t get over there in time.

A couple of hours later Callie, the awesome ultrasound princess over at Choices called and told us Megan had in fact chosen life and wanted her to call tp thank us. When asked why she left she said it was because of the Word that was being preached.

In the middle if all this Sabrina walked over from the hospital to say hello and encourage us. Jessica and Bonnie couldn’t let that be enough; they wanted to go back with her and play with baby Makenna for a bit. We had another surprise today as well: Heather and her wonderful children came by for an hour. I haven’t seen them in a long time.

 

It has been such a blessing serving with my dear brother Don Karnes. He is amazing. He just got back yesterday from preaching every day for three weeks in Jamaica. He will be back with me in the morning, and then heads to another venue. And what can be said of Jessica and Bonnie? I have never seen such prayer and praise warriors. Hearts that burn for Jesus and those who find themselves here.

At 4:00 a young lady named Tracy came down. Don spoke with her. She ended up not even going inside. Instead, she took off for Choices, trying get there before they closed. To make a long story short, she has decided to keep her baby. God is so good. His word is life. Please pray for all these folks. Thanks for praying..

A Bit of Opposition

As told by John Barros:

There were a lot of folks here today and we had a bit of opposition. A lady was driving down the street, decided to stop, and begin yelling at Tracey Sarnicki and Chris Raymond. She said she is a “Christian” and thinks it is wrong for us to be in front of an abortion clinic. She said she couldn’t imagine how much worse her daughter would have felt if people would have been on the sidewalk when she went to have her abortion. We said “Maybe she wouldn’t have done it.” Tracey and Chris tried to reason with her, but she left saying “You all are going to hell for being here.”

 

Then a guy and his lady came. He stood outside mouthing off and when they left they pulled up by the wall and threw all of our things they could reach all over the driveway. It was great having Chris down here for his first time. He just moved here from Las Vegas where he did this. It was great to have Philip Kinkopf back as well. He’s an awesome young man.

There were a couple of turn-aways we were not able to talk to, and there was one Hispanic couple who said they were Christians. Finally, after talking to everyone several times they came out, took the information, and said they were going to Choices.

 

The coolest thing though was that Abby brought her baby and daughter down to thank us for bringing her to Saint Andrew’s yesterday. I have known and been friends with Abby for years now. Some of you may remember praying for her son about a year ago. He was born with only one chamber in his heart. He passed away last year. She goes to a place down the street every day. She has heard the gospel countless times and been invited to church many times. Well, last week she asked if she could come. She said she loved it and her children did as well. Now she wants to find midweek Bible studies and other things the church is doing. I love Abby. I have never seen her smile as brightly as this morning. Saint Andrew’s was built to be a special place, a holy place set apart from the profane. Please pray for Abby and her family as they begin this journey. If you are a member of Saint Andrew’s please introduce yourself to them.They are wonderful..

Abortion by Pill

As told by John Barros:

Today was so different down here. Several weeks ago they started doing a new pill abortion. The idea is that they give you a pill to begin labor, and send you home to deliver the baby there. You are told to come back and they will do a sonogram to see if the baby is gone. If not, they will surgically remove him. The first girl I know of who did it came back with something wrong. They had her marching around out back trying to move things along. When Randall went in to remove the baby he punctured her uterus and she had to be rushed to the hospital.

Today many of the girls I had seen over the last week showed up again. At first I thought they were here for checkups, but after a while I realized what was going on. These abortions take a long time for them to complete. It was hours and hours before the first one came out. There were still eight inside when I left in the late afternoon. This is a new low for this place. I can’t even believe they do this. It is much more difficult to preach when you realize so many of the babies are most likely dead already. The people look at you like they are just shells of a person.

Today has sure lit a fire in me to truly try to reach each person individually through the week so you don’t see them all show up like this. There were a couple of turn-aways early and a couple came for information in the late afternoon. They took our info and sat in their car after speaking with us. Then after what seemed like eternity, they started up the car and left. Please pray they make it to Choices and don’t come back.

 

It was awesome as always to work with Beth Goble. I am so thankful Daria Monroe brought coffee and stayed to encourage and pray with us. Amanda and Jonah Sprague came back this afternoon, and Jonah jumped right back into bringing the light of the Word to a dark, dark place. We were blessed to have Shannon MacLean, who has just recently moved here from Las Vegas, to serve. It’s a very small world. She went to the.same elementary school I did! Thanks for all your prayers.

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Renewing Your Mind

Today is the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s decision that made abortion legal in the United States during all stages of pregnancy. John was featured on Ligonier Ministries’ blog with this video:

John was also interviewed on the radio program Renewing Your Mind with Dr. R.C. Sproul and Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr. Listen free online.

John’s comments:
It was an unbelievable honor to be asked by my pastor to be on Renewing Your Mind. I would never have dreamed of this in a million years. I am so blessed to belong to a church where our pastors lead and equip us to fight the fight of faith. It is so awesome to know there is a safe place for the widows and orphans to come under the shelter of His wings. The goal of this interview was not to promote me. I am quite honestly a dirt bag who has sinned greatly in his life. I am just so thankful that Jesus’ blood is greater than all my sin. The interview was to lift up Jesus as our only hope, and to get more churches and brothers in the fight. It seems to be working as the Lord has had people contacting us wanting to know what to do. Please pray that this happens!.

RBC Kids Are Back

As told by John Barros:

I am so very thankful to have the Reformation Bible College kids back to school. They came back here and it was like they never missed a second. They do so much ministry with so much passion. It was an ugly day as far as people coming here but God moved in a couple of different people.

 

The first was a couple of young Russian girls. They never even made it inside. They listened and then they couldn’t get out of there fast enough. When they left we really couldn’t understand them because they were talking so fast, but they asked for the info and said they were going to the crisis pregnancy center.

Then a young lady named Ouasia, an Iraqui girl, came. She listened and became quite moved. She let us pray with her but went inside. During the preaching she kept coming in and out. After that was over, she came and sat on the wall. We spoke and she said she was Muslim but believes some in Jesus. We went through the gospel and she said she couldn’t do it. We were all able to pray with and for her. She got her ultrasound and it seemed to be actually just a picture of the top of her baby’s head. She is 21 weeks pregnant. She told us she had come on Saturday but of course was too far along for n abortion Saturday.[OWC does late-term abortions on Wednesdays.] She told us people were down here on the sidewalk offering $50 to anyone who would talk to them. And just like I’ve seen so many times before, the people take the money offered and oftentimes end up using it to pay for part of the abortion later.

It’s definitely crazy down here. Please pray she stays strong and does not return and that the Russian girl gets the help she needs..

People Getting Harder

As told by John Barros:

People just seem to be getting harder down here if its possible. I am so thankful for Tracey Sarnicki and Shayne Russell coming down to help.

 

There were two who turned away. Shaniqua lined up to get in and after people rebutted the fact that some sins are worse than others she was startled to see that it took different sacrifices to cover different sins in the Old Testament. After about 30 minutes she came out and said she was going to go pray about this. Sarah came down with 8-day-old Christian to show folks what they were giving up and killing. People began saying “Jesus told me to do this.” Others yelled out that they hate God.

Shayne came during his lunch break to call out in pain to those inside. He shared how his wife miscarried during her first trimester, and how he held his baby. He told them he had all his fingers, toes, etc. and that his baby was a person. His testimony was very moving, but the folks remained hard.

There were a couple of ladies saying “I just want it out!” Then Shaniqua returned a few hours later, saying what we told her doesn’t apply to her and she “just had to do what she had to do”.

You know everyone who does this type of ministry expects attacks on themselves. It just goes with the territory. I mean, Jesus said it would be this way. The thing that still sucks the air out of my lungs, though, is when they attack and say such unbelievable (unprintable) things about Jesus. I don’t look down on these people because I don’t know anyone who has sinned any worse than me. I just fear for them. Please pray that the gospel they hear will come to their remembrance and Jesus would bring them to Himself..