University Student Turned Pro-Life Thanks to Training Our Donors Gave Local Seminarians
When Joy stepped out of her dorm in the morning, she was a pro-abortion progressive.
When she came back that afternoon, she was a passionate pro-lifer committed to living chastely.
What happened in the middle was the Nigerian pro-life march.
Our donors sponsor this march every year. But the most important thing they do to make it successful is provide pro-life training to the local seminary.
Our Donors Trained the Seminarians Who Made this March a Success
Our donors gave pro-life training to these seminarians. Now they’re hitting the streets to change hearts at the Nigeria March for Life.
Seminarians have a lot to learn, and practical pro-life training isn’t always a part of the curriculum. Some priests aren’t prepared to help their parishes say no to abortion, contraception, and euthanasia.
Our donors are filling that gap by sending expert trainers to seminaries all over the world.
HLI missionaries help seminarians understand the fullness of Church teaching on life and family. We give them practical pastoral guidance tailored to the needs of their area. And we help them get started defending life through clubs like Seminarians for Life.
This year, the Nigerian March for Life was led by 230 seminarians our donors trained.
Their joy and enthusiasm were infectious. As they came by singing about the great gift of human life, people on the street dropped what they were doing and joined the march.
When they met people who disagreed, they knew how to give kind and potent testimony.
Joy was one of those people.
The March Turned Joy Pro-Life
Thank you, HLI donors, for sponsoring the Nigeria March for Life! These seminarians taught Joy how precious every human life is.
Joy is a student at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka. She’d been taught that sex is ok outside of marriage, and abortion is a mercy to women. She didn’t know that it always kills a child.
When she came across the marchers, she tried to tell them why they should support abortion.
They listened to what she had to say. Then they used the training we gave them to paint a picture of God’s vision for human life and sexuality.
Joy had never heard the whole message before. For the first time she saw how beautiful relationships can be when they’re based on love, not use.
She said, “I’m so glad I received the light of God’s grace today. I used to think that it was ok to engage in pre-marital sex and to use abortion as a back-up if contraception fails but now, I realize that’s evil. I hope to help make a difference in the lives of my fellow students by dressing modestly, living a chaste life and by helping to spread this Gospel of Life.”
Joy wanted to tell her friends about the value of human life. So the seminarians gave her some pro-life educational materials to take back to her dorm.
Thank You, HLI Donors, for Making Conversions Possible
Joy isn’t the only person whose life was changed that day. The march affected thousands of people in Awka and Okpuno cities.
Some renewed their conviction in the pro-life cause. For others, the message planted a seed of truth in a mind full of misinformation. And some, like Joy, grabbed ahold of that truth and let it transform their life.
All these conversions, big and small, happened because of our donors’ support.
The president of the local Seminarians for Life wants to say thank you. He says, “words are not enough to express our deep sentiment of gratitude for providing us with all necessaries for this march. Our prayer is that God Almighty will continue to bless you in this important work of winning souls for Christ.”
Another seminarian said simply, “this was the best march for life ever.”
We’re so thankful to all our donors for making it possible.