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“Not Everyone Spends Twenty Years
Saving Lives…”
The Twentieth Anniversary of Small
Victories Ministry
June
2012
written
by Angela Michael
 Over
100 prayer warriors made the pilgrimage to celebrate the
Christian-based, family-run ministry of Small Victories that for the
past 20 years has been embedded daily outside the
Midwest
’s largest, late-term abortion mill, Hope Clinic. Hope
Clinic is located in
Granite City
,
Illinois
, once known for its steel mill industry which brought families from
across all 50 states. Now,
Granite City
is known for the late term abortion mill. It still brings families from
all 50 states, unfortunately to dump their unborn babies.
This was a special day as we brought our rescued and adopted
children also to bless the crowds of supporters. It
was an overwhelming sight as we made our way through the redshirted
prayer warriors with our youngest children to the front sidewalk where
our Ultrasound Van is located. All
of the new faces were stopping us, smiling, and asking if these were our
babies. “Yes,”
we replied as we greeted and thanked them for being here. Our
youngest daughter donning cowgirl boots and a cowgirl hat appeared to be
a little overwhelmed at all the attention she was receiving. Our
youngest son Isaac just seemed to go with the flow as his daddy held
him. The crowds just
couldn't take their eyes off or keep from offering sweet comments to
them.
We found Pastor Todd, founder of Church Without Walls, and
greeted and thanked him for leading the charge. Everyone
kept coming up to us and thanking us for our ministry as they began
doing a
Jericho
March around the abortion mill. At
one point, the pastors present instructed the prayer warriors to stand
silently and hold hands to form a prayer chain. There
were so many proclaimers this day, including young children, that we
were able to completely surround the slaughterhouse walls. We
could feel the Holy Spirit as we silently stood in prayer in the hopes
that abortion would come to an end here in
Granite City
.
Many years ago, I remember standing in that desolate, lonely
alley with four old men that would come on Saturdays and prayed the
rosary. I remember
being outside there when groups from all over the area would stand
outside Hope(less) with giant skeletons and Grim Reapers when it was
just the old wooden slaughterhouse. It
has since reinvented itself and is now a $2 million state-of-the-art
abortion facility. I
remember how I stood and watched groups of women who had to park at the
end of the alley by the lounge and endure the three minute walk up to
the slaughterhouse doors. There
was no one…no agency…no pregnancy centers there to intervene. It
was awful. These
abortion-bound women looked like herds of cattle being led to the
slaughterhouse.
I remember getting up off my knees, and I began the legacy of
Small Victories. Once we
started talking women out of abortion, we needed somewhere for them to
receive help. However, there
was no one available. We
called the pregnancy centers; they refused to help us or to even perform
ultrasounds. It appeared
that we were beating our heads against a brick wall in
Granite City
, where the resources were few and far in between. Abortion-bound
women who were changing their minds and choosing life were falling
through the cracks. One was
simply too many. So instead of being consumed by what other cash cow
centers were not doing, we equipped ourselves to do what was necessary
to save lives. We started
operating out of our family van, and eventually over the years we worked
up to obtaining a used recreational vehicle. Basically
we turned it into a pregnancy support mobile unit equipped with
ultrasound and dedicated our family and our lives to be embedded outside
this abortion mill as an alternative to women seeking abortion.
We realized many years ago in our Christian walk that it is easy
to say that you are pro-life; however, it is another thing to “do”
pro-life. That is what saves
babies. When we stand outside an extermination center witnessing
families being destroyed once child at a time and telling mothers not to
kill, we had better have answers to an abortion-minded woman’s
reasoning. We did not know
it 20 years ago, but God had a plan and His hand was on this idea we
were pregnant with. We
birthed the ultrasound movement you are currently hearing about across
the nation where abortion centers are located. We
pioneered the first ultrasound to be embedded in front of a
slaughterhouse to be an actual “Window
to the Womb” so mothers can see and hear the truth of the humanity
nestled in their wombs before their scheduled appointments inside the
slaughterhouse. And God
blessed us, and we blossomed, and others took notice…even bad people.
All kinds of trials and tribulation came against us, but we
overcame them all. We made
national history and news as we exposed and lifted the sewer lid on the
abortion industry. We have
continued with God’s vital work in
Granite City
. And all this work has been
accomplished without a 40 Days for Life campaign.
Today, we could embrace all of the sweet victories and years of
blood, sweat, and tears as our ministry paved the way for others to do
the same. But especially, we
celebrated the over 4200 babies that have been rescued from abortion
through our efforts and prayers and the 42 babies that have been adopted
through our ministry by Christian couples. Pastor
Todd gathered everyone around us as we held our babies and he gave us
special recognition for our faithfulness. He
introduced us to the new faces and shared how much he, other churches,
and pastors appreciated our work and how much they support us and
respect our ministry. The
compliment of respect stood out.
Pastor Gavin asked us to speak to the crowds where we were handed
a dozen roses and a large plant to show a little of their appreciation. We
began by thanking them all for coming and sharing how much they bless us
on the firing lines. Many
years ago, there was no one to intervene, and the pro-life movement from
the 80’s seemed to disappear from the sidewalks surrounding this mill
until we began in that lonely alley years ago. Someone had to make a
difference. Someone had to
step up. People had to be
willing to lay their lives down for their little brothers and sisters
being led to their slaughter. Proverbs
24:11-12.
We then announced to the crowds that we wanted to bless them this
day by showing them a couple of the fruits of our labors that were
destined to die had someone not intervened. We
held up our youngest children to the crowds where applause went up and
filled the skies.
“These precious children
would not be here had someone not cared. I thank you all for being those
first responders today with your prayers and your bodies. You are saving
lives and making a difference every time you make the sacrifice and show
up on the frontlines of this battle.
We are the last lines of defense for these precious children, and
just like our youngest children, who knows what they will grow up to be,
but at least they were given a chance. And
that is what is most pleasing to God: at least we tried. And
if there is one more thing I would like to leave on your hearts this
day, it is what many years ago the Lord spoke to me when I questioned
if we were doing any good: ‘At
least Angela, you were there, as these innocent babies were being led to
their slaughter. At least
you brought them some dignity by being their voice. And above all, you
let them know they did not die in vain, and they didn’t die alone. You
were there.’”
I thank God that He has used this ministry for His glory. I
did not know it before God rescued me from my sinful ways that I was
worthy of His forgiveness and love. I
never knew how to love, let alone give it.
I was never afraid to die, but that is exactly what I had to do
in order for God to live in me. We
had to lose everything in order for God to work through this ministry to
rescue
babies, change hearts, and save lives.
“Innocent blood has a voice, and that voice cries out for
justice” Genesis 4:10
Be encouraged,
~Angela
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