either. But nevertheless, if you're not familiar with Expectations Women's Center, there's two locations in central Pennsylvania. There's one in Lewisburg, and there's one in Williamsport. Expectations serves women particularly, and not just in crisis pregnancies, but also just to help them to to learn how to be mothers, and also to provide resources, whether it's through instruction or actual diapers, bottles. Actually, we had a drive here at Christmastime. Many of you donated things to Expectations— diapers, and wipes, and pack-and-plays, and bags, and bottles, and all that good stuff, and that is wonderful. That's a great way to participate in the ministry there. You see there's some statistics on the back of the insert there in the bulletin, and some of those numbers were not quite for the entirety of the year. They actually only represent from January to October, but this past year, expectations seen 366 new clients, that's people that had never prior visited either of the centers, and so individuals total that were served was 442, and there was a total of 2,193 in-office appointments. Another portion of that ministry, this is kind of where I come in and other men who are serving, not many, not many, but some, is the fact that there's a program called Pathways for Men, and it specifically is designed to encourage fatherhood and just so many different things that that are there available for men specifically to help because a lot of times abortion is driven by a man who doesn't want to be a father, who doesn't want to take responsibility for his part in bringing about that pregnancy. And this is an issue for sure. And this is a way that, again, for those who feel under-equipped, or as a father who doesn't feel under-equipped, but especially so, many of these people are not part of a local church, they're not Christians. And so there's just a great disconnect between their abilities. And these things are also directly connected to the reality that there are so many fatherless children today. We have a problem. in our world, but in our country specifically, that there are fathers who are not present and active and participating in the lives of their families. And the thing about the last two Sundays, as we looked at the encouragement that the Word gives us as fathers to be involved in the discipleship of our families, You know, that's what we need. It's really what we need. And I think especially that we, as the people of God, need to lead not just in word, but in deed, that we would give an example. And so that's, you know, another way that Expectations is dealing with this particular challenge. One of the things that maybe we'll talk about a little bit here more in a bit, is the battle against abortion has greatly, I'm not sure if I want to use the word evolved, but I guess I will. It's evolved before you had to actually have medical procedures to have an abortion. And now today, I believe it's 85, no, 70% Seventy percent, oh, and that's not the right number. Anyway, the vast majority, the vast majority of abortions today are taking place via pills sent to women in the mail. You can order them online, have them shipped directly to your door, and in the privacy of your own home, you can kill your own baby. And this is definitely the driving force behind the abortions today. And so, you know, there's a lot of statistics that you'll read about abortions today. And unfortunately, most of the statistics you see are grossly underestimated because of the reality that they're not required to report these things. And so the transparency level among the abortion industry is very, very poor. And so I just simply say don't believe the numbers. They're much higher than what you're actually seeing. But locally, Locally, there were reported in this past, this would have been statistics for 2023, in five county area, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union, reported there were 306 abortions that took place locally, and out of those, 56 of them were through the pills. One of the things that the people who are promoting these drugs, don't tell you are all the complications that surround that. I read about a woman who was from Georgia, took the pills in the privacy of her home and never went to a doctor and found out that part of the fetus was not expelled from her body. She developed an infection and she not only killed her child, she killed herself. Um, and these things are, they're real. And so it's, uh, it's not, it's not safe. It really is not safe. As a matter of fact, um, abortions in general are not safe. Uh, and, and, you know, again, there's always the, uh, uh, the exceptions. Well, what about this? And what about that? And the truth is that, uh, all of the, the exceptions are, uh, are, are such a minor, minor number in light of the, the, um, the total abortions, but the other thing is that when a woman specifically's life is in danger, as a Christian, how do we think about that? Well, the truth is we do whatever we can to save the mother's life. And so people that say, well, she has to have an abortion in order to save herself, that in some sense is almost true. And so again, the reality is you try to save as much life as you possibly can. And sometimes in saving mother's life, a child is lost. But when we're doing it the right way, that's up to God. You understand that we don't take that into our own hands and say, well, we're going to do this because it's going to increase the chances. And again, there's a lot of challenge there. But what's concerning to me is, and statistics are what they are, they can be manipulated, but currently, There are only 12%, 12% of Americans specifically that are fully pro-life, 12%. That is, it's amazing to me. It really is, not in a good way. But anyway. I don't want to bore you with just a bunch of numbers. Suffice it to say, expectations is in the battle, is in the fight, and I believe they're doing a lot of good, but I also believe that they could do more, and the way that they can do more is through our help. One of the things that is extremely valuable and important, I would say instrumental in saving life specifically is the use of ultrasound machines. I believe the number is 87%. 87% of the time when a mother sees their child in the womb, they will choose life because they cannot deny that heartbeat that they see and hear. They cannot deny the form of that body that is shown there on the screen. And so it is absolutely an invaluable tool in the life of those who are helping in this cause. So this morning, to go with the Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Exodus 1. Exodus chapter number one, our call to worship this morning was a very favorite text of the pro-life movement, and you can see why. But Exodus chapter one, I think, gives to us a little bit different perspective of the battle that rages around us as it pertains to life. One more plug-in before I forget. Next Sunday, the last Sunday before I leave Lord willing for Mexico, I want to preach a sermon on music, a theology, a biblical theology of music. And so you pray for me as I prepare for that, a topic that there's a lot of conversation in that area. So anyway, let's think about that next week. But Exodus chapter number one, if you found that, would you stand with me this morning in honor of reading God's word and to change your positions? I promise I'm going to be quick today, but we're going to look at Exodus chapter number one, verses eight through 22. And the word of God says, now there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them lest they multiply. And if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land. Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh, store cities, Python and Ramesses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied, the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service and mortar and brick and all kinds of work in the field. In all their work, they ruthlessly made them work as slaves. Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Sifra and the other Pua, when you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on their birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live. The midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, Why have you done this? And let the male children live. The midwives said to Pharaoh, because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them. So God dealt well with the midwives and the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, every son that is born to the Hebrews, you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever and pray that the Lord would bless it to the reading of our hearts today. Thank you for standing. You may be seated. titled the message, A Battle Unfinished, The War Against Abortion. The fight to preserve and promote life has always been carried out by those who fear God, always and forever, and it will continue to be carried out by those who fear God. But at the front line of this battle for literally ages, you'll find a class of people who have a tenacity and boldness that is both beautiful and inspiring. I'm talking specifically about women. Women who have a disposition of love and fear of God. Women who stand upon principles of biblical truth. Women who do not back down from the evil of this world. Women who embrace the high calling of being mothers and they take it seriously. Women who will lock arms with other women to encourage them to fight the good fight and to run the race that is set before them with confidence in the power of God and the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Women who value life, women who love God so much that they're willing to get involved with the lives, the messy lives of other women who may not have made the best decisions in their own lives, but nevertheless know the key to finding forgiveness and restoration through the precious blood of our Savior and King, Jesus Christ. These women are not those who look for validation from pop culture. As a matter of fact, these women focus on being a positive influence on the culture rather than being shaped by it. Where do you find women like this? You find them simply in the body of Christ. You find them as precious stones among the crown of God's creation. You find them living among and lovingly serving the people of God. In another place you'll find these women are standing on the front lines of the battle for life. While not all these women are serving in what have become known as pregnancy care centers, it is indeed one place where you can find them and this kind of women that I've just described. Women who fear God, women who love people, women who defend life, who get involved with messy lives, who share the love of Jesus Christ, who offer hope to the hopeless and help to the weak. And here in our text this morning, in Exodus chapter number 1, we see two women, Sifra and Pua, who are frontline defenders of the image of God, specifically through the preservation of life. So a little bit of background to understand as we jump in here in Exodus 1. Aaron this morning read Genesis 26, and you'll find as we go through the entirety of the book of Genesis that God is going to be very kind to His people, specifically through the children of Jacob or Israel. as he preserves their life through the unfortunate circumstances of the next youngest brother, Joseph. Joseph is sold by his brothers into slavery. He is sent off to Egypt, where he finds himself first in favor, then in prison, and then back in favor, and so much in favor that he's able to invite his entire family to come and to live during the famine that is taking place in their land. And God saves them. Providentially, Joseph makes the comment that his brothers meant for evil, God meant it for good. In other words, there's a lot of times, circumstantially, we look at it and we say, this is horrible, but in reality is God is working good out of it. That's exactly what happens here. Now, Joseph and his family, some 70 people, according to Genesis 46, chapter 46, that there was about 70 people had made the journey to Egypt specifically. Pharaoh gives them the choice land, and once they get there, settle in, their population explodes. They explode. They were very good at multiplying because they were very blessed by God. In other words, multiplication is a blessing from God. You realize that there are people who cannot bear children. And as difficult as it is to say this, it is God who opens and closes wombs. And we don't understand all that, but we know that God's plans and purposes are good and right. But nevertheless, God was very kind to the children of Israel, and they multiplied greatly. Well, their multiplication greatly caused them challenges by this king, this pharaoh. And so we see here that as the new king comes to town, this new power has taken over in Egypt. And this new king, he didn't know who Joseph was, nor did he care much to know who Joseph was. As a matter of fact, he felt more threatened by Joseph and his people than he did glad that they were there. He was not glad they were there. As a matter of fact, Begins to make a plan just to oppress these people and and the first attack he puts on them is persecution Because he sees verse verse 9 says behold the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us He sees them not as somebody who would who would participate in defending them or helping them or strengthening them He sees them as a threat he sees them as as somebody who could potentially join up with their enemies and overtake their land and And so what does he do? Well, he persecutes the people he deals. It says, uh, the, they dealt shrewdly with them, uh, so that they would not multiply. Um, then also it says they set taskmasters verse 11 over the people to afflict them, uh, with heavy burdens and, uh, verse 13. Um, they made them ruthlessly work as slaves. Uh, they made their lives bitter with hard service and brick and mortar and brick and all kinds of work in the field. and all the work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves." In other words, Pharaoh just beat the tar out of these people. He punished them because they were so many, and it didn't work. As a matter of fact, look at verse 12. Again, it says, The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied, and the more they spread abroad, and the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. So the more that the persecution was laid upon the children of Israel, the more that God blessed them, and the more that they increased. And so this is a great reminder to us, specifically, Let's work from greater to lesser. Specifically, the way that persecution historically has worked within Christianity is that the more the church is persecuted, the more it spreads. If you read Acts 8, immediately following the stoning of Stephen, it says that the disciples and the apostles, they were spread out, and they go into these other places, and they didn't just go there, sit down, and shut up. No, they went there and they stood up and they spoke up and they began preaching the gospel and what happens? God increases the number of Christians that are that are being seen spread across the land and and it was the seed of of martyrdom, it was the seed of Stephen's death that brought about the spread of the gospel. And this is exactly what we see here, that God was blessing his people in the midst of their persecutions. And an interesting statistic concerning pregnancy care centers. Pregnancy care centers have been the target of much persecution. Some of you probably remember a few years ago on the news, there was after Roe versus Wade took place, and it was thrown down. And even prior to that, in the battle of this, of life, Pregnancy care centers came under attack. They they literally were were defacing these properties destroying these properties some of them Torched down and and one in particular that are in Florida, especially it was taking place one place in in Florida they they defaced the building and they wrote on the side of the abortion centers this if abortions aren't safe than neither are you and and messages like, we're coming for you. They made it abundantly clear, made it abundantly clear that this was a personal matter and they were willing to spare no avenue of persecution. But what's interesting is if you look at the number of pregnancy care centers from 2020 to present, In 2020, there were some 2,700 centers. And now today there are 3,000 plus. That's quite the increase. That's more than 10% increase in pregnancy care centers across the country. And so listen, evil does not stop good work. It fuels it. Evil does not stop good work. It fuels it. And so God uses the persecution of good in order to bring about more good work. And so we just are so thankful for this reality. It's an ever-present thing that there is a real oppression, there's a real persecution that is related to, connected to, not just being a Christian, but specifically those who will be a mouthpiece and get involved in the fight for life in pregnancy care centers. Then look in verse 15 and 16, what takes place next. Verse 15 says, Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Sifra and the other Pua, when when you serve as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him. But if it's a daughter, she shall. live. So Pharaoh's approach to oppressing and suppressing the children of Israel was to go from slavery to execution. So he employs these two women, Sifra, whose name means beautiful one, and Pua, whose name means splendid one. It says they're Hebrew midwives. There is a little bit of debate as to whether or not they were actually Hebrews, or if they were people who were just simply employed to be midwives to the Hebrews, and I think that the debate about it is kind of strange because Sifra and Pua are Hebrew names, so I think it's abundantly clear that they were not only midwives to the Hebrews, but they themselves were Hebrews, and isn't it interesting that the Pharaoh would choose among the Hebrew women to be midwives to them, but nevertheless, his mistake, God's reward, right? And rather than allowing this murder to take place before them, they're not going to participate. Good reminder to us right you can legislate evil But if you participate in it, you're you're joining with the evil in other words Just because something is legal doesn't make it right. Amen. I Hope you believe that Just because something is legal just because the king has said so doesn't mean that God agrees with it And so the the Pharaoh tells pure and Sifra to to kill these children And they would not. And notice why they would not. It says, because the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them. So literally, The driving force behind their resistance to the Pharaoh was their fear of God. They literally would not participate because they would rather suffer the consequence of an earthly king than stand before the creator and authority of all the universe and be found guilty, right? That's the reality of these women. And so we can't overlook, though, the fact that this was a providential preservation, but it was also distinctly attached to God's promise himself. In other words, God used these human instruments to bring about this preservation, but again, it was driven by the reality that some generations prior, God made a promise to a man named Abraham. Right? That he was going to multiply them, that he was going to make their descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand in the sea. And so God's covenant faithfulness is at play here through the means of Sifra and Pua. And so again, just as they were participating in the preservation of life, we can't sit back idly by and say, well, God's going to do what God's going to do, and we're just going to let Him do it, and we don't have to get involved. That's ridiculous. That's absolutely ridiculous. If that's what you think the sovereignty of God entails for you and I, you have a wrong understanding of sovereignty. We have a sovereign God. Yes, indeed we do. But he also calls you and I to get involved. Amen. We need to be in the fight and the battle of pushing back against this darkness and resisting evil tyrants who have an agenda that is driven by death. But specifically, notice that in this battle, they're singled out the male children. Now, again, there's speculation over why that would be specifically. I think it's quite clear that if you remove the male portion of a population that it's going to cease to reproduce, but also understand that them being living in Egypt, that the Egyptian men could take the Hebrew eyes, and the next generation was not going to become Hebrews, they were going to be Egyptians, okay? And so there's a portion of it as well, but I think there's something deeper here. I think there's something more transcendent than just simply trying to to change the ethnicity of a people. No, I think this is driven by the reality that from Genesis 3, in verse 15, we see there's a battle against the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, right? And so, can I just say this? I'm going to make a giant leap here, but it's really not that hard to connect. That the battle for life has always been and will always be a spiritual battle. It's a spiritual battle. And so those who are advocating and promoting death are directly connected to the seed of the serpent. In other words, they are doing the work of the devil himself. When the male children were being attacked, specifically singled out, this is prior to the coming of Christ. And again, let me just remind you that Abraham's seed were the chosen offspring, not just for salvation, but they were specifically chosen to bring about the child, the son. Uh, and we all know this, right? We just, we just studied Galatians and the apostle Paul in Galatians made it abundantly clear that the seed of Abraham or the offspring of Abraham was the Lord Jesus Christ. So get this every single time that a male child was, was to be destroyed. It was the evil trying and, and plotting to, to cease bringing about the offspring of Abraham. Or in other words, the coming. of the Lord Jesus Christ. Uh, I find it interesting. Also, Aaron's going to get to this in first John and chapter number three, Cain is referred to as being of the evil one. Now he had the same mother. He had the same mother that Abel did, but, but when the apostle John inspired by the Holy spirit of God refers to Cain, he says his mother or his, he was the seed or, or of the evil one. making a distinction, because there's only two. Today, you're either of the seed of the woman, which is in Christ, or you're the seed of the serpent, that is, of your Again, using the words of Christ, of your father the devil, right? There's only two categories, and here there was a spiritual battle taking place, and this king of Egypt was no doubt, and the people of Egypt by and large were the seed of the serpent, They were attacking not only the image of God, but they were attacking the Messiah himself. And so they upped their game. There's a persistence here, but Pua and Sifra would not participate. As a matter of fact, they reaped a benefit that they didn't foresee when they Chose to resist a tyrant and obey God They are questioned in verse 18 why have you done this and let the male children live and their response was because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women for their vigorous and Give birth before the midwives come to them now Tracy and I had a conversation about this she said did they lie did they lie there to the king and and I mean, we all can agree that one of the commandments that God has given us is that we're not to bear false witness. In other words, we're not to lie. And so here we have an instance where we have two women who it sure would seem to me that they were not being truthful, right? So my thought, and it's just my thought, on how Sifra and Pua handled this was they were just conveniently late. when there was a child being born, and there the child was, and maybe they were even coaching from afar. I don't know. I don't know. But I do know this. I do know this, that if in fact they did lie, their lie was honored by God, because here's the point. Their resistance was for the good of mankind and for the glory of God. You understand the difference? If you lie for personal gain, that's not honoring to God. But if you're involved in preserving something that God holds very, very precious, Right? And it's for their good and God's glory. It's something that God himself honors and he did honor them. Notice what it says in verse 20, God dealt well with the midwives, Sifra and Pua, and the people multiplied and grew very strong. But not only that, look at the blessing that came upon their lives specifically. Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. Again, what an incredible reminder that it is a blessing from God to have a family. It's a blessing from God to be able to reproduce. And so God blesses these women in this profound way. and they reaped the benefits of their disobedience to a tyrant and their obedience to God. Now, finally, finally, I'm skipping over a ton of things here to get you guys home this morning, but notice the last verse there in our text this morning, verse 22. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, every son that is born to the Hebrews, you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live." Again, there's this emphasis upon the seed. Again, we didn't touch on this prior, but this was about a son from start to finish, and the reality is that the son would ultimately come, reminding us that God's plans, God's purposes cannot and will not be thwarted. Christ has come. He has conquered. He is victorious. But this is also a reminder to us that even in the midst of victory, there's a continual battle. We're living in a period of time that I often would refer to it as the already and the not yet. If you have put your faith in Christ and you've received the forgiveness of your sins by grace through faith in Him, and you've received the righteousness, the justification, again, through faith in Christ, you're saved. But you're also being saved, right? You're being sanctified. You're growing in the likeness of Christ, and you're overcoming the power of sin and its grips upon your life. And so there's this reality that there's both a victory won and a battle that continues. And evil doesn't just simply roll over because it's lost the battle here or lost the battle there. No, in fact, it continues to persist. And so, notice again, Pharaoh commands all of his people. It doesn't say the Hebrews, right? He commands his people. In other words, uh, the evil is getting their orders from the evil one. And, and we receive our orders from the good, glorious, perfect one. And, and his instruction to his people was, well, we can't stop them when they give birth now, just go ahead and grab them on the streets, right? That's what he's saying. If you see a Hebrew woman with a boy child, take them and throw them in the river. Now, I have experienced some pretty wicked things in my life. I've seen some things that I could not explain and would never care to see again. And I hear of things that are just absolutely sickening. But I, for the life of me, cannot imagine people grabbing babies and throwing them into a river. Can you? I can't imagine it. But, but listen, Not only were they told to do so, they did. You can guarantee they did. And, you know, if we would follow the narrative, we're going to find out that there was people, again, they just simply would not comply and along comes a baby by the name of Moses, right? But here's the thing. The opposition to life itself has always been driven by a hatred of God and a hatred for His people. You need to understand that. That every time that there is a culture that is driven to kill others, to bring about the death, whether it be born or unborn, it's driven by a hatred of God, and His people. And so the attacks on sons, again, it's an ongoing war against the glory of God, the image of God, and the seed of the woman. This is, again, why we are plagued with this reality today. Abortions continue because the last enemy to be defeated is death. One day there will be no more abortions. One day there will be no more dying, and evil will be fully and finally defeated, destroyed, and forever, forever God will rule and reign in perfect righteousness and holiness and sinlessness. And so, until then, until then, We have a fight. We have a battle. And again, we have to be participating in it. So here's the question. How can you, how can you and I be involved in this battle for the preservation of life? Well, I would encourage you first and foremost, that this is a battle that it requires much prayer. I get text messages. Just like we have a phone system here at OneCall, now I get text messages as well from both Lewisburg and the Williamsport office for clients that are coming in. And most of the time, most of the text messages or prayer requests that I get, are for people who are coming in and they are contemplating to have an abortion. And I can't wait to get to heaven and meet people that are gonna have this testimony. I'm here today. because somebody prayed, and because somebody served, and my life was spared. They convinced my mother and father that it was better to have me. I was sharing this past week with a man who, just basically telling him what we were gonna be talking about this Sunday, and he said, wow, that really resonates with me. He said, my wife was adopted, and he said that that he come to learn that her mom, his wife's parents were contemplating abortion, but there was somebody who was willing to take their child. Amazing. So another thing that you and I can do, hey, how serious are we about it? Would we adopt the child? If we were bold enough and loving enough to encourage a woman to keep their baby, would we also be loving enough? Sacrificial enough to say, you know what? If you don't want that child, I'll take it. Listen, I don't want you to think that that's for everybody, because it's certainly not, okay? It's not. But it may be for some, amen? It may be for some. You can pray, or you could get involved in a deep way by adopting a child. You could also give. This past year at the annual banquet for Expectation Women's Center, they shared that their ultrasound machines are in need of being updated. And so I think they said something to the sound of $38,000 a machine, and they have one at each office. You do the math, that's $76,000 in just two machines to what? To save how many lives? Wow. You can give. You can give. But here's another way you can get involved. Maybe you're here today as a woman and your schedule may be a little full or maybe it's not. Expectations is constantly looking for women. You don't even have to be a mother. You don't even have to be a mother. to go and to get involved in the ministry work. As a matter of fact, you don't even really have to sit in a room like I do, face-to-face, one-on-one with a person. There are all kinds of things that go on in that center, and the vast majority of the work is being done by volunteers who go in and sacrifice two, four, five, six hours a week of their time to help. And you can do that. You can do that. Men, men all praise the Lord this past year. I was the only man at the Lewisburg office until this year, this past year. And God sent two men. You pray for John and Craig. John and Craig went through the training and they are plugged in and they are seeing men. They're meeting with men. And it has been such a blessing to see how God is using them. You know what I've noticed is that the more that there's an availability for men in that location, the more God sends them there. Amazing. Praise the Lord. He's there making a difference. God is making a difference through them, and God can make a difference through your life. So if that's of interest to you, please, please, please talk to me or take that sheet that you were handed out today. And there's phone numbers on the bottom on the front. of both Williamsport and Lewisburg. Obviously, it's closer for you all to get involved at Lewisburg, but call them, call them. There's a woman by the name of Shawna, who happens to be a first cousin of Chrissy, and she's just as sweet as she is, and she would love, she would love to talk to you about how you could serve there. And so please pray, please pray for expectations, but also please understand the battle we're in. This is real. And God is not going to be defeated. Amen? He will not be. And so let's continue to persevere in this way. Let's pray. We thank You, Lord, for Your Word, and we thank You, God, for the truth that is never changing, and we thank You, God, for the application of even this very hour. And so, Lord, I pray that maybe there's somebody here today that, God, You would impress upon their heart to get involved. At the very least, Lord, help us all to be prayerful for these ministries and for these lives. but maybe some that could give and send money to them, or some that Lord could offer their time to go and to serve. Lord, I just pray that you would move us to be obedient in these ways, and God, that you would bring forth much fruit from it. We praise you, God, for all the lives that have been preserved. We praise you, God, for the lives that were not only saved physically, but God, how you have used volunteers and staff there to lead people to faith in Christ. And so, Lord, we pray for this as well, that God, you would give us fruit for our labors, and Lord, that you would be glorified in all these things. We do love you. Thank you, Lord, for what you've done and everything you will do. We pray it all in Jesus' name. Amen.