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As part of their Lenten observance, as many as 50 91����� Aquinas College students have taken part in the prayer vigils outside the Ventura, California, Planned Parenthood.

�I talked to the people running the campaign locally, and they said it would be great if we could do a couple of hours for one afternoon a week,� says junior Ryan Uchison, who organizes the student contingent. �I got thinking, between us all � even though the intellectual life is our primary goal � we could do a lot more than that.� So he began to schedule vigil shifts, recruit volunteers, and find drivers to make the 20-mile trip. As a result, for the last four Thursdays, 91����� Aquinas College students covered the entire day�s shifts, from morning to night.

�Nothing has stopped Ryan and his fellow classmates from 91����� Aquinas College from coming out to pray at the local Planned Parenthood in Ventura,� the 40 Days website recently . Adds Anna Murphy, a volunteer for the local campaign, �They come out super-early in the morning � I give God all the glory for their coming out and doing that.�

The nationwide campaign, which began on Ash Wednesday, includes regular prayer for the unborn, fasting, and all-day vigils outside of abortion clinics. �When we get there, we do so primarily to pray, to be peaceful, and to be a presence,� says Ryan. �We want to show that this is not an issue we�re sweeping under the rug. To show young people protesting Planned Parenthood is essential in today�s climate.�

Additionally the group also distributes information for pro-life crisis-pregnancy centers and health clinics that offer women�s medical services without engaging in the grim practices of Planned Parenthood. �We stand out there, we pray, we hold signs, and we bear witness to the wonderful life-giving message of 40 Days for Life,� says Ryan.

The students generally come to the clinic for two-hour shifts, including the 30-minute drive each way. �Some can come weekly, and some can only do it one shift here of there � every bit helps,� says Ryan. One group of eight dedicated freshmen has committed to a two-hour window every Thursday evening. �I try to encourage everyone to view it as Lenten sacrifice,� Ryan continues. �Maybe they had to read seminar early to get to the vigil, and to do that, had to miss a game they wanted to watch. In some way, they are making a sacrifice, and I think it�s good to view it that way.�

His fellow students� efforts, he has no doubt, are bearing good fruit. �Overall you can never know the lifesaving work of God, even if we don�t hear about it,� he says. �But it is good just to reach out to people. God�s work is being done underneath the surface.�