Read the most recent updates to Lia’s story.

YOPP! That’s the final word that made all the difference at the end of Dr. Seuss’ story Horton Hears a Who. May we suggest that it stands for Young Ones Praying and Prophesying. With that in mind meet Lia. She’s a 12-year-old seventh grader that recently decided to make a courageous stand in her school by giving a persuasive speech on the topic of abortion. Even when her teachers strongly encouraged her to choose a different topic, she decided to stick with what she felt passionate about. An email from her mother describes what led Lia to make such a bold move.

It was really a family thing. I saw Lou [Engle] speak at a conference several years ago. I came back to my family with the Life Bands, and we all wore them, made our covenant, and prayed the prayer for abortion to end… We were invited to participate in a “Life Tape Siege”. Once my kids heard of this invitation, they all agreed: “We have to do that!” Since then, Lia’s passion for seeing abortion end has continued. Being impacted by Lou’s words regarding Horton [Hears a Who], she was excited to watch the movie when it was released (and the rest of the family were too!).

In the email, her mother goes on to describe the challenges and consequences Lia faced.

As part of her class requirements, she needed to prepare a speech; however, the classroom presentations were also meant to enable the teacher to select the best speeches to go on to a more serious competition. As I mentioned, several teachers discouraged her from picking the topic of abortion; she was told it was “too big”, “too mature” and “too controversial”. She was also told that if she went ahead with that topic, she would not be allowed to continue on in the speech competition. Initially, I tried helping her find other topics to speak on, but, in the end, she was adamant. She just felt she wanted to continue with the topic of abortion. So she forfeited her chance to compete in order to speak on something she was passionate about.

We hope you’re as happy as we are and proud of Lia for taking a stand for God’s dreams. Please join us in praying for a newer and YOUNGER generation of prayer activists to arise and shake the nations with God’s truth. You can also join us in encouraging Lia and everyone else that watches by leaving some great comments on her YouTube video. Also, repost the video, and let’s blast this out everywhere we can.

Think Fast is the campaign God gave us to see the LIFE message and prayer go into schools. EVERY FRIDAY Junior High and High School students in more than 900 schools FAST LUNCH and use that time to get with friends to PRAY FOR ABORTION TO END. You can join the movement now, and who knows, maybe you’ll be the Y.O.P.P. that changes everthing.

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UPDATE 2/10/09: Lia’s teacher was so moved by her handing of the content that she decided to allow her to participate in the competition after all. THEN LIA WON for her class. Today Lia is giving her speech to her entire school. Please pray for her.

UPDATE 2/11/09 11:07 AM EST: I just received word from Lia’s father that the school principal and teachers all agreed that Lia’s speech before the entire school was the OBVIOUS WINNER. But the judges overall decided to disqualify her because of the topic and her position on abortion. Frankly, this is wrong wrong wrong.

UPDATE 2/11/09 4:31 PM EST: This was an eventful day for Lia’s family as they pondered how to proceed with how the school chose to handle Lia’s situation. I’ve just received word from Lia’s father that the whole thing led to a big disagreement with the judges and one offended judge chose to step down. The other judges reversed their earlier decision, and Lia has been declared the WINNER. Lia will now advance to compete regionally and represent her school with this amazing message of LIFE.

UPDATE 2/17/09 12:00 PM EST: Lia has advanced to the next round of competition with her speech. She will delivering it TONIGHT at 7 PM EST. Please pray.

UPDATE 2/18/09 11:00 AM EST: I heard from Lia’s mother that she did an outstanding job last night. "Her presentation was flawless and she was poised and passionate throughout." She did not win the competition however. Two teachers and others present felt that she was the strongest speaker and should have won, but they suspected that her topic of abortion is what kept her from winning. Read this excerpt from her mother’s email:

Lia wasn’t really that upset though, especially when she considered that the only difference between winning the competition and not winning was having a couple extra pictures taken and being given a small trophy. Lia has a much bigger trophy – somebody commented to us on our YouTube account that her aunt watched Lia’s video and decided to NOT have an abortion because of it. Yay God! Others have commented that they either never thought of the issue before or were pro-choice – but now they have changed their opinions. So, having a life saved is the best trophy ever!

We’re thrilled with Lia’s courage and conviction. And YES, the best trophy is a life saved. Please join us in continuing to pray for her YouTube video to spread virally and impact countless lives.