It took more than nine hours to drive from Michigan to Tennessee, which gave Calvin Zastrow, his wife Trish, and their daughter Eva Zastrow, time to think, pray, and talk. On Monday, they were headed to the now-familiar federal courthouse in Nashville, where, in January, Mr. Zastrow was among six pro-life defendants found guilty of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. They await sentencing in July and face up to 11 years in prison.
This time, the trip was for Eva Zastrow, 25, who, along with three co-defendants, is on trial this week for the same incident but on lesser FACE charges that could result in six months to a year in prison. Her co-defendants are her brother, James Zastrow, 27, of Missouri; Paul Place, 26, of Tennessee; and Eva Edl, 89, of South Carolina, a survivor of a communist concentration camp. Ms. Eva Zastrow, Mr. Zastrow, and Ms. Edl will face trial again in August in Michigan. They could receive an additional 11 years in federal prison each for another charge of violating the FACE Act.
The Nashville case stems from a March 2021 incident when a group of 12 people read from the Bible and sang church hymns at Carafem Health Center in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, an abortion business that closed in August 2022 around the time Tennessee changed its law, making abortion illegal in most cases. Some stood in front of the door and according to police court testimony, the group was peaceful and moved from the door when asked.
They were there to convince pregnant women to change their minds and not abort their babies. In October 2022 President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) sent FBI agents to their homes and charged them with FACE Act violations.
Missing Missions
“It’s harder to watch my kids suffer, than for me to suffer myself. That’s harder,” Mr. Zastrow told The Epoch Times. His daughter has spent much of her time as an overseas missionary serving in many countries including Mória Refugee Camp in Greece. But her passport was taken away due to the federal charges. She has had to turn down many mission opportunities, and it hurts, especially in Ukraine where, after the war started, many foreign missionaries fled the country.Leaving during a crisis gives the appearance that missionaries are there for “religious tourism,” he said. At that time Mr. Zastrow and Ms. Eva Zastrow went to Ukraine to bring medical supplies to people.
“We jumped in and found the churches that were running to where the bombs hit and were pulling people out of the rubble, evangelizing and preaching and discipling,” Mr. Zastrow said. They arranged for more supplies and food to meet immediate needs.
“There’s people that need the ministry and the supplies that we bring,” said Mr. Zastrow, who was on a mission in Ukraine when he learned he was being charged with FACE Act violations. He has not been able to return.
“We see that we could be doing some tremendous good over there in Ukraine right now. Not enough others are rising up and filling in the gap. And that’s very painful because there’s a lot of unmet needs,” Mr. Zastrow said.
He is surprised by how many Americans tolerate abortion and the life-altering FACE Act violations that the DOJ has cracked down on since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The organizers of Black Lives Matter understand that mobilizing thousands of people gets the attention of prosecutors, judges, and attorneys, he said.
‘He’s got my back’
“God’s heart is for vulnerable people and that’s played out in my life,” Ms. Eva Zastrow told The Epoch Times. “God gave me a heart for orphans and for refugees, but also for our unborn neighbors. He personally identifies with what happens to weak and needy people. And I just want to love like he loves, and I want to care about what he cares about.”It is possible she won’t be in the car on the ride back to Michigan. She could go directly to prison after the trial. This has happened to some charged with FACE violations. But Ms. Zastrow says she feels an immense amount of peace and she is prepared to obey God, even if it leads to prison.
“I love my neighbors, whether they’re born or unborn, and I don’t regret loving my neighbors. I hope and pray I‘ll continue to do that. No matter what the cost may be. When we ask the Lord to break our heart for what breaks his, he will. And then with that broken heart, maybe he’ll call us to action. Maybe, he'll first call us to prayer. And then as you’re praying, maybe God’s going to use you to answer the prayers you prayed.”
Prison is intentionally unpleasant, she said, and she has been thinking about that.
“I also think about: God loves the prisoner too ... I want to be willing to go wherever he calls me. Maybe my mission field isn’t overseas; maybe it’s behind bars. Maybe it’s the people that the world kind of rejects or looks down upon, or often forgets. Maybe he wants to send me there, and I want to be willing to go, to learn their language, to adapt to their culture, to live like them. You know, that’s what missionaries do,” Ms. Zastrow said.
She has been told there are many Spanish-speaking prisoners so she has been studying Spanish to prepare.
“I’m just a 25-year-old girl. When we serve Him, He’s going to bless us. I believe that more than what I see, or feel, or even experience in this physical world. My Redeemer lives, and I am his. And He’s going to work all things for my good no matter what that is, no matter what experiences or suffering I might face here. He’s good, and he’s got my back.”
