Spanglish helps to save a Life!

I just had an amazing day today. I took my friend Roxanne over to see some abortion clinics today (very early). We both have kids from Guatemala. Her son was adopted at 6 and her Spanish is much better than mine. Still neither one of us is fluent (BY A LONG SHOT). So, the plan was for my husband to baby sit and I would show her the clinics. We hadn't been together since Halloween. And we really don't see eachother very often these days. So, I do believe God had a plan for us to be together for a purpose with His perfecting timing. So, it was about 8:45 when we showed up to a clinic here in Raleigh. It is one of the slower clinics with about a dozen abortions today. The sidewalk counselors are from a Catholic church in town. They are very gentle in their approach. There are no graphic signs, tshirts, megaphones or shouting. They do hand out pamphlets to a local pregnancy center. Roxanne and I have been in situations before where we try to speak Spanish...We used to meet ocaissionally at a Mexican restaurant and try to talk to the waiters..We would laugh at each other. So, we show up to this clinic and see that one of the counselors had been chatting with a Hispanic couple in a blue truck. The couple seems to be conflicted. The counselor Mike hands them literature in Spanish. We pray in front of the clinic. We watch as the couple is still in their truck really talking. I asked the counselor if they were speaking Spanish to them. They say "no, I don't know Spanish. Do you know Spanish?" I laugh and say "Very little"...He says "well maybe you only need a little"...We keep praying and notice they are coming out of the truck toward the abortion clinic. At that point it felt like I had a giant rope around my waist that someone pulled for me to go directly to them. Most of the times they only want one counselor to talk to them at a time, but because Roxanne and I both only know a little Spanish we both instinctively went over together. We introduce ourselves. I stumble to say "Es no necesita tu camina en la clinica.." (it is not necessary to walk into the clinic...I wonder if they thought they should run instead) THen I say to the guy pointing to his girlfriend "tu esposa es muy bonita y tu muy guapo, tu nino muy bonita tambian" (your WIFE-maybe they weren't married- is very pretty and you are so handsome your baby will be pretty too). Then I speak in english a little. Then we say we can help...the pregnancy center (they had a brochure in spanish) can help you to keep your baby or give up the baby for adoption---whatever you want. I also said "Mi hija adopta donde Guatemala y ella es mi vida. Yo tengo muy felice porque me hija." (this is all very bad spanish..but I said my daughter is from Guatemala and she is my life..I have much happiness from her.) I continued to say you too will be happy with your baby. I also said "tu nino es Doctor or el presidente" (Your baby is doctor or president). So, they thanked me and we went the other way cringing over the awful spanish we just spoke..Roxanne said "did I just tell them I will buy their baby? I meant to say the clinic will help find money to help with the baby." She replays the phrase and realizes she said the right thing after all. Then I just prayed and watched them as they stood out of the truck on the sidewalk talking and talking...and then after about 20 minutes I felt that I had to tell them about my abortion on 2 semesters of spanish 20 years ago...."mucho anos pasado yo tengo aborto..Yo tengo much dolor en mi corazon por todo los dias en veinte y seite anos. Mucho dolor en mi corazon por siempre. Es no muy bien. No esposo, no employo, no dinero y piensar no nino...pero despues aborto much dolor en mi corazon por siempre..." In a nutshell I said "I had an abortion many years ago and now I will always have a pain in my heart. I had no husband, no money , no job and then I had abortion and after the abortion much pain in my heart forever." Then she had tears in her eyes and I went back to my spot and watched. Another 20 minutes go by...they are talking seriously, then they sort of laugh and flirt with eachother to let off steam, then they keep talking and talking seriously...and I am praying "Dear God, let them go home and have this baby." Eventually they go into the abortion clinic. My heart sinks but I knew that I had to get used to this. Many people will choose abortion even after our best efforts. So now I didn't want to leave. I wanted to see if they would come back out and i felt that I had to pray for them too. So I pray and pray and imagine that their grandmothers and mothers pray prayers of protection to save them. Another 15 minutes go by. I hear the door open. I look up and am praying "dear God let it be them." I see it is him and then I am praying "Dear God, please let her be behind him." and I look and she is there. Then I see him smile and wave to us. We get a nod from the senior sidewalk counselor who tells us to go to them. And then I ask them if they have what they need and know where to call for help and they say yes and smile...Roxanne had given me a phrase that I took "Con vida hay esperanza" With life there is hope. They seemed happy....got in their truck and drove away...right after Roxanne said GOD BLESS in spanish. I wanted to cry right there knowing that their baby was saved and that God used my testimony in very bad spanish to help to move them. This was the first time i had used my testimony as a means to talk to a woman going into a clinic to abort her baby. It was in very bad spanish. I remember telling myself for years that I would never ever tell a soul about the abortion and then hearing God tell me this year that I must tell my whole story. Once I started telling my story some would tell me that being transparent and exposing the pain would help lead others to life. I never really understood..But it dawned on me that if God can use my two semesters of spanish 20 years ago as one of His tools to save lives, He certainly could use the testimony in proper english. In the meantime , I will never forget this couple and hope we all pray that they can stay convicted to choose life, that the woman can get her education and that she has the courage to tell her mother and that her mother embraces her with love...Pray the baby lives and that they never go back to the abortion clinic. God is good! Today God saved a life with some really awful spanglish.....