“The Lord had placed me in the right place at the right time,” Kiedra Thompson said, describing the interaction with a mom who chose life on the sidewalk of a Queens NY abortion center. “The mom told me you were here for a reason…talking to you helped me so much. I am just going to go home.”
Having served on the sidewalk as part of the Love Life Queens sidewalk outreach team (SWO) for just ten months, Kiedra had not had a significant interaction with anyone yet, nor seen a baby saved. Until that day in late August.
The mom stepped out of her car to the spot where Kiedra stood. She told Kiedra she was there for an abortion. The reasons she listed were significant and common: Trouble providing for the kids she already had, feeling all alone in parenting already, overwhelmed, financially and emotionally tapped out, family members pushing for abortion. Kiedra may not have had many interactions up to that point, but she was willing and ready.
Kiedra was unsure she was SWO material when first asked to join the team. “I am not married, never had kids, a new Christian, never had an abortion…how can I connect with the moms? But the Lord showed me that I have a voice, and the joy of the Lord is my strength. People need to see the joy of the Lord. I value life, how intricately the Lord has created us, made in His image. Abortion is of the enemy. I wanted to be on the Lord’s side in this, to tell them about the beauty of family, the beauty of life, that the world misses out with every aborted soul.”
So she said Yes to God.
That is in itself a miracle. Four years prior to meeting the mom on the sidewalk, Kiedra had been what she described as a “white witch”. She practiced witchcraft thinking there was power in crystals and the like, believing she was doing good despite dabbling in the occult. She said that during that time of darkness and confusion, she had a good friend who did not give up on her. That friend continued to share the Gospel and point her to God.
“Even when I had no interest in what she was saying, she was persistent in prayer and pursuing me for God. Finally, the Holy Spirit revealed to me the darkness in what I was doing. I stopped, called my friend, and asked her to tell me everything she knew about Jesus.”
The persistence of her friend is a quality Kiedra recognizes as key in being involved in SWO.
“For ten months out there, I never really had a great encounter. You get a lot of rejection and hate out there. You must be persistent because you will take a lot of blows. So you have to persist.”
And persist she did. She talked with the mom on the sidewalk for an hour. Over the course of that time, the mom’s heart began to visibly shift. The team talked with the mom about the obstacles she faced and did not minimize those concerns. However, they helped her to embrace the vision of what God had in store for that little person, the incredible blessing of that unborn child to the mom, and the wealth of resources and support they could offer her. Krista, the SWO Director, held her 4-month baby as she shared the joy of motherhood. Yes, it is hard, but it is worth it. Kiedra is sure that beautiful example of a mother with her baby was important in helping the mom make a decision. As the team persisted, the mom made a total pivot from death to life.
“Afterwards, I felt so much joy,” said Kiedra. “This baby was created for a purpose. The Lord created that life and chose that mother to bring life in. That life is already written in the book of the Lord. Just to see the enemy defeated and the Lord prevail…so incredible.”
Kiedra urges anyone who may be considering SWO to never think you are not qualified. “You ARE qualified. Why? Because you are a child of God. You are on His side. It doesn’t matter how old you are, male or female, if you have kids, have abortion in your past…you need only to share the truth of the Lord. It is not a YOU thing…it is a GOD thing. The same heart God has for us, you can have for other people. That is what you need.”
The team has invited the mom to their church. They connect with her regularly, and have even already had play dates for her children with team members’ children. They are showing her the love of the Lord with intention and perseverance.
“She needed a Godly community…and we are being that for her.”