Every Saturday, the Abortion Outreach Ministry sends out three shifts of student teams to pray and advocate in front of Allegheny Reproductive Health Center in Pittsburgh. Each team is led by two leads who organize their respective shifts and guide everyone throughout the ministry.

These leads work behind the scenes throughout the week to keep the ministry running and prepared, and then come bright and early each Saturday, greeting everyone on the team. Brother Matthew Ramos and Mariah Carter are two of the leads involved in the ministry.

When asked about how the semester has been so far as a lead, Brother Ramos remarked that he really enjoyed “being a lead as well as a religious brother and learning the balance between those, as well as being a student here.” He added how it has “been a learning experience” as he manages his time, studies, and work with his superior regarding the ministry.

Abortion Outreach Ministry, as Brother Ramos explained, “can be a very heavy ministry that can have some real spiritual weight.”

Other lead Mariah added on to this with how “one of the hardest parts is sometimes I feel drained after, mentally and emotionally.” 

But despite this, both Brother Ramos and Mariah were very willing to become leads and have been serving as such since the beginning of the spring semester.

Brother Ramos related how he was “recommended by a friend” to be a possible prayer lead. “It was all very seamless how God drew me to be a part of the ministry and then to take on this leadership role.”

Mariah expressed that she had started going to Abortion Outreach Ministry last semester as part of the prayer team, but after receiving training, has been a Sidewalk Advocate as often as she could. She explained how another lead had asked her if she wanted to lead in the following semester, and she “said yes after some prayer.” 

Brother Ramos described how the leads of last semester had always offered to listen and talk with students after ministry, especially since the Abortion Outreach Ministry can bring negative interactions with those at the clinic. After becoming a lead, he became “grateful to be able to be that ear to others if they may need.”

Mariah mentioned her favorite part about being a lead was that “I really love being able to give love to whoever we encounter on the streets,” explaining that she “want[s] to give them the love that I receive from Christ.”

Brother Ramos remarked that Abortion Outreach Ministry allowed him “to step into a very concrete way of living out my religious vocation,” and that it is an “ultimate joy that God has called me here to serve in this way.”

When asked about anything they would want to say to future leads or those in Abortion Outreach Ministry, Brother Ramos said, “God willing, with all difficult things if He brings us to them, He can bring us through them; all the leads are here to support you.”

Mariah added how “the effort that everybody puts into that ministry … God sees it all and the efforts that we put in is not going to waste.” She encouraged students to “believe in yourself … and believe in what God gave you.”

While being a lead can bring new responsibilities, the Abortion Outreach Ministry leads embrace them with joy and continue to minister cheerfully to not only those at the abortion clinics, but also to all the students who help with the ministry.