A summer internship like no other

August 4, 2017

We are blessed to have two young women working as sidewalk counseling interns this summer. One is brand new and the other interned last year. Counseling on the sidewalk in the Texas heat can be quite a challenge for anyone. To see these young people take up that cross and watch their growth over just a couple of months in inspiring.

Some days no one stops to talk or is brave enough to go around the disapproving abortion facility escorts. But the situation on the street can turn on a dime. One moment a car is racing past with the driver yelling, “Go home!” And the next car turning into the parking lot slows down, a hand comes out, and gives a thumbs up. We see it all ...

The mothers insisting on their daughters’ abortions ...

The daughters who refuse to listen to their mothers as they beg for the lives of their grandchildren ...

The client who wants to know if we are Catholic because they need to find a Catholic Church now ...

The glorious moment when a boyfriend who brought his girlfriend to the abortion facility changes his mind and demands a refund ...

The driver asking us why we are there, and horrified to discover the building is an abortion facility (and then grateful we are there).

Then there are the especially difficult moments -- like when a young man approached one of our interns to tell her that we had no right to be there and bother people, since the decision was hard enough to make. The intern, with poise beyond her years, listened politely and calmly explained the help being offered to all the clients. Irate, he walked off. The intern’s only comment was, “At least he didn’t use bad language.”

As our interns complete these last days on the sidewalk, we know that, through the grace of God, they were a part of many miracles -- women turning away from death to embrace life. But only God knows how many hearts they have touched in the few weeks they have been with us. We do know they have touched all of ours.