Dear Partners and Friends,

In this issue, we want to report on our trip to Temple University, part of our Fall 2002 Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) tour. It was one of our best GAP experiences … ever. We had a great location, and lots of people expressed a change of heart as a result of seeing the pictures and speaking with GAP volunteers. God is using you, through your gifts, to make a real difference in the lives of others. We thank Him (and you) for letting us tag along!

Fletcher and Jane

GAP Leaves Temple Owls Much Wiser About Abortion
On October 14-15, 2002, GAP returned to the state of Pennsylvania for the first time since GAP debuted at Penn State University in 1998. This time, we were at Temple University in Philadelphia.

It was difficult for a Temple student to go anywhere without passing the GAP exhibit.
Location is everything.

Well, maybe not everything; but as any real estate broker will tell you, the 3 most important factors are location, location, and location. Temple is perhaps the most urban campus we have ever visited, sitting in the geographic center of Philadelphia. Although Temple’s main campus serves 22,000 students, it is very compact campus.

We were right in the epicenter of campus: in front of the library, next to the main bus-stop, a block away from the subway station, and within a block of two dozen eateries. To use a military metaphor, we were in a “target-rich” environment. Our ammunition was simply the truth, aimed squarely at the hearts and minds of the Temple students.

Taxpayer-funded private school???

Temple Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance president Lydia Keaney was incensed that pro-life speech was present on “her” campus. “It's our private campus,” she was quoted as saying. But Dean of Students James Fitzsimmons clarified the confusion, "We will not discriminate against people having demonstrations or campaigns on campus. … We are a public school."

Converting the neutral.

Many of our volunteers spoke to students who changed their minds as a result of GAP. One such student (a young male) told us, “I've never seen pictures like this. I was never really pro-choice, but now I definitely am not. I'm really glad I saw this." There were many more like this one!

Activating the converted.

Some people are already pro-life, but they just need to be activated. Pictures do that. Joseph’s marriage (not his real name) had ended in divorce because of his wife’s abortion. After seeing GAP, he said, "I never really knew what abortion was. I am now compelled to do more to defend the unborn because of this display."
Intelligent people will listen to pro-life arguments, even if made by a dumb hillbilly like this guy in the blue jacket. But we have to go to them and force the debate. GAP is the best way to do this on a college campus.
The “sink-in” factor.

The pictures don’t necessarily work their magic overnight. Many people need time to reflect on what they have seen. Ted, a math major, told us, “I saw some abortion pictures last year and I was angry at the people showing them. Today, a year later, I am angry that abortion is occurring. The pictures are different to me now; they have changed my mind. I have not been this outraged in a long time." Note that given some time, the pictures had moved him from a position of indifference all the way to one of outrage.

Janet.

 God makes appointments for certain people to see GAP, and we are sure Janet (not her real name) was one of them. She spoke to several of our volunteers for over an hour, skipping class to do so. She said that she was pro-choice, but that she was dismayed at the closed-mindedness of many of her pro-choice friends. “If you are going to be pro-choice,” she said, “you have to know why you are not pro-life.”

She asked excellent questions and was eager to understand the pro-life arguments. When she got around to the “woman’s right to control her own body” question, she patiently listened as Fletcher explained how rights of one person may sometimes be in conflict with the rights of another. Such cases can be resolved only if some rights are held in higher regard than others. For example, the right of a person to live his life is held supreme over property and convenience rights. For that reason, one person’s right to drive down the street is suspended when a pedestrian is in the way. The driver may not run over the pedestrian, even if the pedestrian is jaywalking at the time. She didn’t leave pro-life, yet, but she had made good start. Please pray that God will continue to work in Janet's heart.
Jane explains how abortion may be compared to other forms of mass killing.
Community support was great!

 We can’t do this stuff all by ourselves. GAP at Temple was sponsored by Generation Life, a group that conducts abstinence and pro-life education in the Greater Philadelphia area. Our host on campus was Owls for Life. Chris Josten of Generation Life gave us a hearty endorsement:

Never in my pro-life career have I seen the hearts and minds of so many change for the better, for the truer, so quickly. … The gravity and the magnitude of this issue do not afford time for laxity or deficiency in firmness. The use of GAP is indeed one of very few innovative and effective ways to win the culture war more quickly. … In addition to being fun to work with, the CBR staff is very professional and thus made the preparation and the execution of the project very smooth. … As a result of GAP, the Owls for Life membership increased almost fourfold. … GAP was the topic of conversation all over campus for weeks afterwards. Hearts and minds were changed right in front of our eyes like I have never seen.

We pray that the fruit of this trip will be multiplied when Generation Life obtains Mini-GAP signs and displays them, not only at Temple, but at other Pennsylvania schools as well. Chris went on to say this:

GAP is undoubtedly one of the greatest blessings that has been bestowed on the city of Philadelphia throughout all of its rich and blessed history, and she has God (and the CBR staff) to thank for it.

Here are Fletcher and Jane in the same place at the same time–proof positive that Fletcher and Jane are not the same person.
We thank Chris for his kind words, but the real thanks goes to you, because it is your financial partnership—your sacrifices—that make our work possible. If you keep giving, with God’s help we will keep saving lives and changing hearts and minds. Thank you!