by Annie Whaley

“Why don’t you just go back to where you came from?  We don’t need any more @$$#*!=$ around here; we have enough as it is!” The abortion clinic volunteer snarled as she fastened her COVID mask.  She had intentionally parked her car in front of the abortion photo I was holding.  This was not an uncommon reaction to our presence outside the Preferred Women’s Health Center in Charlotte, N.C.

This was my first time standing outside an abortion clinic.  All summer, we had targeted motorists and their passengers at busy intersections, and in their faces we could see that our signs affected them.  But today, we watched as women were escorted from their cars into the child-killing center, and this had a profound effect on us.

I was overwhelmed with horror as I watched each woman enter that building with a tiny baby inside, knowing that either the baby would be killed immediately or the mother would be given poison to kill the child later.

My horror was heightened by the coldness and brashness with which the clinic volunteers carried out their duties.  At the entrance, they ordered the women not to stop for the Cities for Life missionaries.  They ushered the women from their cars into the clinic with colorful umbrellas and loud music to drown out the pleading  voices of the Cities for Life sidewalk counselors.

My immediate reaction was revulsion, rage, and disgust, but then God convicted me of my own pride.  I realized that these clinic volunteers and abortion-minded women probably do not know God and have not been  convicted by the Truth.  It is only because of God’s mercy and grace that I am not blind myself.

I pray that the Lord will continue to soften my heart toward them.  I pray that He will convict them to turn from the path of spiritual darkness, death, and destruction, to the path of light, life, and love!

Annie Whaley is a freshman at East Tennessee State University and was one of our outstanding 2020 summer interns.

As our summer interns were leaving in August, another kind of internship was just beginning. CBR has partnered with Thrive Ministry Leadership Residency, an integrative, 10-month Christian ministry training program for college graduates who sense that God is calling them into pastoral or non-profit leadership. Thrive Residency partners with local church ministries and non-profits in the Knoxville area and each Thrive Resident works 30 hours per week at one of these partner organizations. CBR is now blessed by Kennedy Harless, our very own Thrive Resident intern, for ten whole months (half of which have already passed, if you can believe it)!

Kennedy grew up in Indiana in a conservative Southern Baptist family. However, Kennedy herself only truly became pro-life during her freshman year of college. She learned how abortions are performed and realized that abortion is never acceptable.

Kennedy graduated in 2020 from Cedarville University with a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Education and Youth Ministry, with the intent to pursue Ethics/Apologetics/urban ministry in the future. Her desire to be an agent of light and healing draws her to ministries that deal with “real people and tough situations.” She has already proven herself to be a winsome advocate for the lives of the preborn by engaging with students at Liberty & Lee during our campus visits this fall.

Kennedy’s primary responsibility at CBR is our 2021 Summer Intern Program. She has been working tirelessly to identify and recruit potential intern candidates and guide them through the application process. She has also lent her hand to some of our new social media design, for which she has a particular talent. It really helps to have young people around, so they can teach me how to do the SnapFace thing.

When asked why she wanted to intern with CBR, Kennedy had this to say:

I like being involved with ministries that are raw and CBR deals with the darkest part of human depravity. Willingness to correctly educate the general public on abortion brings the pivotal question of life and death to the forefront of our conversation. Accepting ignorance, particularly willful ignorance, keeps us enslaved to our practice of sacrificing others on the altar of self.

Welcome aboard, Kennedy! We are so grateful to have you!