Stand True's March for Life and Inauguration Recap and Slide Show

Stand True's March for Life and Inauguration Recap and Slide Show

If you can't see the slide show here - Go here: http://www.slide.com/r/HavAxZjJ7D9owzT68KbJkvuYw-92z-hq?previous_view=lt_embedded_url

You can also see the pictures on Facebook here:

Part 1- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57009&id=501983555

Part 2 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57014&id=501983555

This is probably one of the most depressing parts of my job: writing the recap for yet another March for Life which starts another year of decriminalized child killing in America. While I know that we had some amazing ministry, fellowship and outreach in Washington D.C. last week, I am saddened that another year of the American Holocaust has begun.

Our week started out with the drive to Washington D.C. on Monday, January 19th, the day before the Inauguration. We gathered with friends from Survivors, Christian Defense Coalition and other to prepare for Inauguration. At least 20 of us squeezed into two small rooms and attempted to sleep on hardwood floors for about 3 hours before our adventure began.

At 3:30 we started to wake up and pile on the layers of clothing as we prepared to make our way towards the Inauguration parade route. I have never seen so many people up and walking at 4:30 in the morning in my life; it was a very strange morning to say the least. As we met with the Secret Service to be escorted to our permitted spot, we were ushered by thousands of people who had been waiting in line for hours. We were not that surprised by the booing we got from the crowd as we were taken right to the front of everyone.

I can honestly say that I have never been as cold in my life as I was that morning.  By the time the sun came out I could not really feel the big toe on my left foot. By 7:30 AM we were in our spot for the parade and now it was just a matter of waiting several hours for President Obama to pass by. We spent time in prayer and talked to people around us about why we were there. When President Obama passed us he was seen reading the banner, "53,000,000 lives lost through abortion, President Obama end the violence".

We know that his first week in office was spent doing the opposite of what our banners pleaded but that will not deter our determination to stand for our brothers and sisters who need a voice. President Obama has already opened the floodgates for funding of embryonic stem cell research and funding abortion overseas and he has not even been in office for a month. We must continue to pray for and admonish him to stand for life and live out the faith he claims to believe in.

The Inauguration may have been over, but our week was just beginning. We were up bright and early the next morning to set up the Stand True booth at the March for Life convention. We welcomed in the rest of the Stand True team as we prepared for the March and other events we had planned.

Thursday morning we got up early and headed out to the White House to pray for our new President on the anniversary of Roe vs Wade. We prayed for him to embrace life and the sanctity of all human life from the moment of fertilization to natural death. Later we met up with many of the other organizations from the Youth Life Alliance and marched together as a unified youth pro-life movement. We were excited to see over 300,000 people gather in Washington for the March for Life, the biggest I can remember since 1994 when I started coming.

Friday morning we were up bright and early again as we met at an abortion mill near George Washington University for the start of our prayer walk. We were so blessed to have over 350 people join us for this event. We prayed at the first abortion mill for about 45 minutes before walking to the Planned Parenthood a couple of miles away. After a time of prayer and singing at Planned Parenthood we walked to the White House for a time of prayer and a talk from Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  I was honored by the chance to speak and pray next to Dr. King and join her as we laid down 1,400 flowers at the White House, commemorating the number of African-American babies that die each day through legal abortion.

Later that day we finished up our activism with a display of Life Development signs near Union Station in the heart of D.C. We ended the afternoon with prayer and then got some much-needed rest before the Students for Life Conference the next day.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early again to set up our booth at the Students for Life conference. I was speaking at the conference that afternoon and was excited to see the place so full. It turned out to be a great conference and we talked to hundreds of students who were excited to be more active in pro-life and get involved with Stand True.

The staff and I probably got about 10 total hours of sleep the whole week, but it was so worth it. We know that God was glorified, His word was proclaimed in love on throughout the streets and His people came together for the voiceless.

My prayer is that we do not have to return next year for the 37th March for Life (I refuse to say annual, because it must end). While I don't want to come back, I will if necessary and I hope you will join us.

Bryan Kemper bryankemper@standtrue.com

They, Too, Are America - A Commentary by Bryan Kemper

They, Too, Are America - A Commentary by Bryan Kemper

Langston Hughes wrote a poem entitled, "I, Too" in which he dreamed of a day when African Americans would not be shunned. This simple poem speaks volumes about personhood and the struggle to attain equality.

Corrie Ten Boom wrote a book entitled, "The Hiding Place" in which she talked about her days in a concentration camp. She was not Jewish; she was imprisoned and tortured for hiding Jews in her home because she believed they were equal human persons.

Rosa Parks sat down and refused to get up from a seat she was told she had no right to sit in. She decided that she was no longer going to be told that she was less human than anyone else on that bus.

Anne Frank wrote in her diary, "I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains" – this coming from a young woman having to live in a hidden apartment for two years because she was declared a non - human person.

Martin Luther King, Jr. cried out, "I have a dream." He believed in a world where men were not looked at as black or white, but as men. He believed we could live as equal human persons and destroy the prejudices that plagued mankind.

What do all these people have in common?

Some may say oppression. Oppression is certainly a word that can be used to describe all of their lives. Can you imagine yourself as young girl like Anne Frank living in a small hidden apartment for two years, never allowed to leave for fear of certain death?

Some may say determination. Langston Hughes was determined to see a day when our African American brothers would not be seen as less than any other American.

Some may say courage. I can't imagine the courage it took for Corrie Ten Boom to risk her own life and freedom for total strangers. She endured years of torture and even found a way to thank God for her bunk being infested with fleas, knowing it saved her from abuse.

Some may say resolve. Oh, to see the resolve in the face of Rosa Parks on the bus that day! To see her claim her spot as an equal human person and refuse to be dehumanized.

Some may say passion. Passion is one of the best words you can use to describe Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. When you hear his speech you can't help but be moved.

While all of these words are truly things these great humans had in common, there is one other thing that makes them stand out from others who have been dehumanized: their voice. They all had a voice and were able to use that voice to cry out for their lives, their freedom and their humanity. A voice is something that thousands of innocent people every day in America will never have.

Can you imagine if a child in the womb could write a poem about how one day he too would be called an American?

Can you imagine if babies that were not going to be killed by abortion could hide others that were scheduled for death?

Can you imagine if when the abortionist tried to kill a young little girl she was able to sit down in the womb with resolve and say, “I will not be killed”?

Can you imagine the speech a young child would give proclaiming the day all innocent pre-born children are counted as human?

While we know these things are impossible for the children in the womb to accomplish, they are not impossible for us. We do have a voice; we now need to find the courage, determination, resolve and passion to fight against the oppression of innocent children.

Some may say, "How dare you compare abortion with the holocaust or oppression of African Americans!" I say how dare we not. How dare we look back at some of the most brutal, inhumane and dehumanizing acts in history and not also include the killing of innocent babies?

We are ushering in a new era in America this year. With the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency, we are seeing something many people believed would not happen in their lifetime. We are witnessing something that we should all be proud of regardless of our political views. America has taken one more step towards equality and wiping out racial prejudices.

So many people do not believe they will see the killing of innocent children stop in their lifetime either. So many people have accepted the abortion holocaust as status quo. I refuse to accept or believe that we cannot defeat this evil.

It is time, my friends, to adopt the words that describe these great humans I wrote about. It is time to believe that we will usher in an era where pre-born children are considered full human persons. It is time to use our voices to proclaim life and freedom for the thousands of our brothers and sisters who die needlessly every day.

It is time to say: They, Too, America.

Bryan Kemper bryankemper@standtrue.com