“This is fertile ground,” I told Matt, a seminarian in our diocese, who had been praying with us during a monthly Youth Hour of Prayer outside the Center for Choice, a Toledo abortion clinic. He had just returned from pushing Keith, a wheelchair-bound man, back to the nearby nursing home.

Matt nodded in agreement when I explained, “We come to pray for the end to abortion, and God does so much more with our prayers!” Here are a few examples:

We met Keith during the 2010 40 Days for Life campaign when he came to beg for money. He still comes by now and then, but instead of getting angry like he used to when he didn’t get what he wanted, Keith often sits quietly and listens briefly while we pray — and sometimes even joins us!

Chuck was involved in pro-life activity in the early years of the movement. He loves the peaceful approach we use now and often joins us in prayer. Chuck left the church decades ago, but instead of leaving when we pray our “Catholic devotions,” he joins us! I’ve had discussions with Chuck about why he left the church and have even told him that I’m praying for his return “home” to which he’s responded, “That’s great!” And he means it.

Mimi is a woman who walks near us on her way to a nearby food ministry for meals. When I ask Mimi how she’s doing, she never fails to answer, “I’m blessed!” She always has a smile and a hug for me.

Others we’ve come to know include workers from the dental clinic across the alley from the abortion center: Jayne, a Lutheran, once shared that she loves to listen to Annunciation Radio on her drive to and from work. I told her, “We have more in common than we have differences!” and she heartily agreed. Ben always rolls his window down as he leaves work, smiling and asking about us and commenting, “You all are doing good work! Keep it up!” We’ve helped a worker when her car battery died, hugged and prayed with another when her eyes filled with tears as she talked about her now-deceased mother, and have charitably steered clear of some who have made it known that they don’t agree with what we do.

It is certainly fertile ground for evangelization when people pray outside the Center for Choice. We never know when and where God will use us to bring the light of Christ to others. We also can never imagine all the blessings He bestows on us through those same people. Truly, we serve an awesome God who can never be outdone in His generosity!

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Ann Barrick is the founder of ProLifeConnection.com and the campaign director for Toledo’s 40 Days for Life. She may be contacted at ann@prolifeconnection.com.