In the May 18, 1994, Calgary Sun business personals, one small ad stood out amidst such services as Erotica Video Exchange and Live XXX Shows and videos. Its message, "Bring home flowers, not STDs! For information, call 282-8411," was penned and paid for by Pat Collins, a grandmother and sales manager from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Disgusted with column after column of sex ads in the classifieds, Pat decided to fight back. With the support of her husband of forty-two years, Scott, she ran two different ads in the newspaper. And she did get responses.

"One caller said, 'I thought a condom was safe.' Another asked, 'What's a person like me supposed to do?,' " Pat said. "I tried to encourage them to talk about their situation. Surprisingly, most were willing to honestly open up, to talk about how hard it was to have self-control." It's a subject Pat knows from personal experience; she and her husband, who met as teenagers, waited until marriage for sex. Often, Pat's conversations would end with prayer and the names of support groups the callers could contact.

Pat sees this outreach as a great--and accessible--evangelism tool for almost anyone. But she offers this advice beforehand: Use a separate phone line and keep your identity anonymous. "The ad that mentioned our church's name didn't receive any phone calls." Let a mature, compassionate, non-judgmental listener field the calls. "Someone who is not easily shocked." Present hard facts and statistics to callers, particularly health risks. And finally, refer callers to support groups, counseling services, or local churches for further help.

"Even if they never responded to my ad, I may have made someone think twice about escort services. Making people think twice--that's important, too."