Thanks For The Happy Birthday

Sixty nine years ago abortions were not legal. Of course that did not stop some from obtaining them, but it was certainly not as prevalent as today.  Birth control was also not quite as acceptable or easy attainable.  Sixty nine years ago you say.  Why would anyone want to compare today with that long ago?

A mother of two daughters, and a husband prone to drinking and struggling to stay employed might cause a mother today to consider an abortion for her third child. Especially since she is fed lies after lies about it being ok, legal and easy.  I am not saying, nor do I believe my mother would have chosen a quick fix of abortion or even birth control had it been so easily available as today.  What I am saying is that many today will choose to end a life and not think twice about what God would have them do. 

Laws that would stop abortion would certainly save many lives, and we should never stop promoting a change in our government, but getting to the hearts of men and women so they will see that legal does not always mean right, is what the PRC is all about.

 We are working to establish relationships with local churches, because we believe this is where God’s resources are that will change hearts and minds about the evils of the abortion industry.  We have a list of over 200 churches in our area.  Our board of directors have taken on the task of creating a relationship with them through the pastor, mission director, youth director, or member.  We call this person a church liaison.  If you would be interested in being a liaison for your church, please call the office and we will direct you to the board member who is heading up the group your church is in.

At the Center last week on Saturday our training for Receptionists went very well.  With two in attendance we were able to cover a lot of our receptionist and counselor procedures along with delving into the Intimacy before Impact manual.

Not to toot my horn about my birthday, but hey so glad God has chosen to give me another year.  Today God used this special day to cause a miracle and we don’t even know what else.  Nurse Becky came to the Center today to bring me a gift.  “Oh how sweet, you really didn’t have to do that.” I said.  Well looks like she did have to do it and it was all for good.

While Becky was here a mother and daughter came to the front door.  When I went to the door the mother was almost in tears and said, “I know you are closed but is there any way you can do a test for my daughter who may be pregnant, we really just need to know for sure.”

I was just about to say no you will need to make an appointment, when I realized Becky was here and if she could stay a few minutes we could do the test.

While the test was being completed I talked with this sweet 15 year old high school student, my heart went out to her.  As with all clients I asked her the question “Do you know if you were to die today you would be with God in heaven?”  Her answer was no, so we went over the Do You Know Booklet and then she prayed to receive Christ.  I asked her if she really understood, and that it was very important that she meant it.  She assured me that she did.  So we are praising God for her new life in Christ. 

After our session, nurse Becky came back to speak with her and her mother about the possibility of her having an ectopic or tubal pregnancy, and that she should see a doctor as soon as possible, and since she was having some bleeding and pains she recommended she go directly to the emergency room.  Her mother began to cry and we tried to encourage her that it would be alright and to please call us after she was done at the ER.  Please be praying with us about this young girl.

Thank you God for impressing on Nurse Becky to bring me a birthday gift today, and praise God for this young girl placing her trust in Jesus Christ today.  This is her spiritual birthday and as she signed her little spiritual birth certificate I told her tomorrow was my birthday and we would always share this date as a special day.

Coming up:
On October 17^th we will have our next Saturday training.  This will be focused on our Student Outreach ministry.  But if you would like to get involved in the Student Outreach before that day, please call the office.  We will be joining with the FCA on October 5^th to meet with the FCA leaders in the local schools to discuss planning a big abstinence rally.  We will be feeding approximately 40 students and sharing information about the Center with them.  Would love to have you come be a part of this and we look forward to working with FCA in some very exciting things pertaining to abstinence training for our local high school students.

October 1-3, a group of 5 ladies will be going to the Sound the Call Pregnancy Center conference presented by Florida Baptist Children’s Home.  We will be going to Lake Yale conference center in Leesburg Florida.  Please be praying for our safety and that God will renew our minds as to new and better ways we can minister to those in need in our area.  The Center will not be taking appointments on Thursday, Oct. 1 as our Thursday nurses and counselors will be going to this conference.

Run Baby Run applications are available on our facebook page.  Some have voiced that it is hard to find our page, but if after you log in to your facebook account do a search for friends and enter Pregnancy Resource Center and our page should come up.  Also check your newsletter for ways you can give to the Center through Amazon and Goodsearch.

Our first Banquet Committee meeting is set for Friday, October 30 at 8:30AM.  Last week’s email gave instructions on what areas we are in need of.  So please mark your calendar if you want to be a part of this important part of this ministry.

Last year about this time, I spoke at St. John’s Catholic Church.  The following week a sweet lady came to the Center and said she wanted to talk about volunteering.  When I learned she was a nurse I was thrilled.  After she came a couple of weeks, I learned that one of our nurses who had been signed up to do the ultrasound training had dropped out due to illness.  I asked this new nurse if she would be interested.  She accepted and when January came she went through the ultrasound training.  Then she followed up with Dr. Ingram’s training and became a very dependable nurse with the training needed for our ultrasound ministry.

We had four nurses go through the ultrasound training.  Two left un-expectantly, and one did not complete her training.  That left one, but this one nurse was very faithful and dedicated to this ministry.  It soon became very evident that she would make an excellent Nurse Manager and was offered the position.

Becky Byron has been the most energetic, dedicated, and exciting nurse manager anyone could ever ask for.  She is always here early and willing to stay late.  She is always looking for more information about pre-natal care and stays on top of all our medical needs.  She cleans and does things way out of her job description without one complaint.

Today God used her as He has many times before to help a woman or girl who is in distress, or even considering abortion.  She loves these women who come to us for help.  She is truly a god-send and we are so thankful for Nurse Becky at the PRC.

“In the way of righteousness there is LIFE and along that path is immortality.”   Proverbs 12:28 (NIV)

No Other Gods

The cool mornings have reminded us that Fall is coming, but we are also reminded that living in paradise sometimes means it is later than in most places. So we keep the AC going and enjoy the cool mornings more than

most people. Isn’t this just how God works. I know warm fall weather is not really a problem, but doesn’t it help us appreciate the cool times even more? From the words of a song our choir once sang, “If we didn’t have a problem, we wouldn’t know God could solve em.” Praise God he answers our prayers, solves our problems and supplies all our needs.

This week at PRC we have enjoyed working hard to get the newsletter ready to mail and getting 250 baby bottles ready for pickup. The client load was light, and, I believe, that was God giving us a little breather to get some office work completed. However, we were reminded on Thursday that we are not only in the fight for life, but that we continue daily in a spiritual battle.

On our intake forms there is place where clients can check what religion they considered themselves. One of the check boxes is next to WICCA. It was surprising to see two clients on Thursday, who did not know one another, had both checked this box. I knew that Wicca was just another name for witchcraft, and that it is perpetuated by Satan himself, but in order to understand it a little better I did a search on Wikipedia and this is what I found:

“Wicca is typically duotheistic, worshipping a Goddess and a God. These are traditionally viewed as the Moon Goddess and the Horned God, respectively. These deities may be regarded in a henotheistic way, as having many different divine aspects which can in turn be identified with many diverse pagan deities from different historical pantheons. For this reason, they are sometimes referred to as the "Great Goddess" and the "Great Horned God", with the adjective "great" connoting a deity that contains many other deities within their own nature. These two deities are sometimes viewed as facets of a greater pantheistic divinity, which is regarded as an impersonal force or process rather than a personal deity. While duotheism or bitheism is traditional in Wicca, broader Wiccan beliefs range frompolytheism to pantheism or monism, even to Goddess monotheism.”

One of the clients refused to discuss God and although she signed up for Earn While You Learn classes, stated she would not be attending the Bible studies. The other client was open to hearing the gospel and listened intently to the counselor. She also signed up for classes and stated she may attend the Bible study class. Please be praying for these two women, that Jesus would rebuke Satan while they are with us and that their eyes will be opened to the truth.

“And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:1-3 (KJV)

Newsletters:
The newsletters went out yesterday (Thursday). You should have yours in your mailbox today. If you do not receive it, please let us know, so we can correct our mailing list to include you.

Coming up:
Tomorrow our Saturday training will be from 8:30 (breakfast) to 12N. We have three new volunteers signed up to attend and we will be focusing our training on what a receptionist does at the Center and then we will cover information about how to welcome and know who our clients are. The position of receptionist is very important as she is the first to greet the client and although she may or may not have the opportunity to counsel her, she needs to know how to relate to her, as well as the policies and procedures of the Center as they pertain to our office administration. If you are not signed up and want to attend, please come on. We would love to have you.

Our next Saturday training will be in October. The present date is set for the 17th. We will then focus on our Student Outreach ministry. We are presently working to get schools lined up for our lunch room presentations and should have a list by that day. If you would like to be a part of this part of our ministry, don’t miss this training. We will also be discussing ways we can reach our youth through churches and youth organizations. If you have ideas on this subject or want to work toward reaching our youth, please plan to make this training.

Run Baby Run is set for October 24. Check out the information on our facebook page, call us for information or call Living Word Fellowship church to register for this run. This will be a fun time of fellowship and exercise. All proceeds will come to the Pregnancy Center.

Our first Banquet Committee meeting is set for Friday, October 30 at 8:30AM. If you are interested in helping with the planning of the banquet, please plan to attend. These are some areas we will be needing assistance with. Decorations, Table Hosts, Reservations Coordinator, Prayer Coordinator, Computer Coordinator, Telephone Callers, Program Coordinator, and oh yea did I say Table Hosts. Hope to see you at the meeting. Ladies, you know you like to plan special occasions, well here is your chance. This is fun and exciting, but more than that it is our biggest fund raiser of the year, and even more importantly than that - it is a time when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is lifted up and glorified. For truly all of this cannot be done, or held together without Him.

Ultrasound update:
We are still working toward getting a new ultrasound and our Go Fund Me account is still in force. However, if you wish to donate to this fund you can do like some have done already, and send your donation directly to us. We presently have $1500 toward our goal of $25K with some grants that we are praying will come in. Please pray with us about this new machine. Our current machine is getting grainier and grainier.

To shift gears now, I want to tell you about another one of our very special ladies here at PRC. She is so very faithful to her commitment to the Center. Since I came in 2012 there have only been one or two Wednesday mornings she has been out, I can always know she will be ready and teaching her class of pregnant or new moms. Her heart is with these ladies and it shows. She has nothing but love and respect for and from her students.

Yes in 1983 Karen Napier was one of the founders of Bay County Crisis Pregnancy Center, now known as

The Pregnancy Resource Center of Panama City. She has been here through four Directors and countless volunteers, and many, many changes. Some of these changes have been in our procedures. Some of them were good and some just didn’t fly. But Karen was always ready and willing to give it a try, no matter what my new way of doing things would be.

When someone donates a car seat that is in good condition, Miss Karen will take it and look it up on the internet and see if it is expired or had any recalls. Then she prints out the paperwork that goes with that particular model so we can be sure the seat is in nearly new condition before we let one of our moms have it.

Today she dropped off a couple of car seats and when I told her I would be writing about her, I asked if there was anything special she wanted me to say. She first said no, but then came back to say something very kind.. What she said was very sweet and humbling, but I must say, my admiration is so great for this strong, faithful woman of God.

I value her experience and godly wisdom and often call on her for help when a decision needs to be made concerning our students. She exhibits a spirit of love and at the same time knows just how to be fair yet firm. The PRC is privileged to have Karen Napier every Wednesday morning for our Earn While You Learn.

Sometimes I wish I were a little girl and could take ballet and be in Miss Karen’s class. I bet she is just as good at teaching ballet as she is at teaching pregnant moms and new moms how to be godly mothers.

God is soooo good!!!!

PS If you haven’t seen the movie “War Room”, GO SEE IT!!!! God is in that movie.





“Pray without ceasing” I Thess. 5:17 (KJV)

Glorious Week

Hello everyone,

Just a few words today about this glorious past week.  God is always showing up here at PRC.  I wish each of our volunteers and each of you who read this could be here to see the great things God does through this ministry. 

Last Sunday our pastor spoke of how God speaks us.  It is in a still small voice, and we are sometimes so busy or distracted by the world that we miss His voice.  This is sort of what happens here at the Center.  Sometimes we get very busy and miss the blessing that another is receiving.  Or sometimes we get slow and begin looking for something to busy our hands, and miss the blessing God is wanting to bestow on us by simply reading and studying His word and all the many resources available to us. 

I said this to emphasis that there are always blessings and the workings of God here at PRC.  Some of us may not see them because we are simply not here or busy at the time.  Some of us may get discouraged because we come to work only to find no clients for us to help that day.  Some of us may be looking in the earthquakes, or fires for a word from God.

Two weeks ago I told you of a student of our classes who prayed to receive Christ.  When she wrote her name on our Wall of Life, another client voiced that she wanted to write her name on the wall.  So we made a point this past week to speak with her about her salvation.  Upon questioning her she voiced assurance that she had accepted Jesus into her heart some years ago.  However, she was still under the impression that this was not enough to get her into heaven.  She was under the belief that although she had trusted Christ and prayed for forgiveness, that she must now work very hard to do the right things or she would not be accepted into heaven. 

It was explained to her that doing right was very important to please God and to have a good life on earth, but ultimately salvation or eternal life is a free gift, we are only required to accept the gift.  Upon receiving the gift we grow to love the giver so much that we will want to do the right things to please Him.  I think this client left the counseling session with a burden lifted when she learned that it is by faith not faith plus works that saves us.  So she did not get to sign the Wall of Life, however, she was reminded that her name was already written in a much more important place – the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Just yesterday (Thursday) as she was signing out for the day, I asked Connie about her client she had seen earlier.  She said it was very good, and the client prayed to receive Christ.  Praise God.  Like I said sometimes we don’t see His hand unless we look or listen very intently. 

This was a short week, with only two days to take appointments, however almost every appointment was filled with 12 appointments on our books with seven of them showing.  Out of the seven there were two ultrasounds performed, three pregnancy tests, and four who signed up for EWYL classes.  Twelve clients came for our classes on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.  One new father came to class on Tuesday evening. 

Next Saturday will be our monthly Saturday training.  If you want to attend, please know you will learn about the Center and what happens here.  Three are signed up so far, so we have plenty of room.  Please call if you want to attend.

Baby Bottle Boomerang - We just received 200 more bottles today.  We will be working on getting these ready for distribution this coming week.  We will need to get 100 of them ready by Tuesday.  The printed newsletter will also be here this coming week and we need many hands stuffing and taping them for mailing.  These are two projects you can help with if you do not volunteer on a regular basis.  Come help out, have some laughs, share a burden, make a friend.

Ultrasound Fund -   The Go Fund Me account is still up and we have had some donations there.  However, we have received $1100 outside the Go Fund Me just this past week.  Please be praying about this need to be met very soon.

Run Baby Run is set for October 24 at Sharron Sheffield Park.  This run is sponsored by Word of Life Fellowship church.  The proceeds will come to the Center.  If you want to sign up you can go to our facebook page and download the form, or call Jason White at 850-819-9225.  Looking forward to a good run.

Today I want to tell you about three special ladies.  I like to call them Organization Queens.  

The items donated to the Center come in all sorts of shapes, forms, and sizes.  In the past boxes upon boxes have been left in our work room un-opened and un-sorted.  But over the past several months, I can say it has really been a blessing to see the work room clean and organized on a regular basis.  And it’s not just the work roo

m.  Have you seen our Baby Boutique lately?  The new paint, curtains, and wall hangings have made it a boutique which could be compared with any in the area. 

Before

Rachel is our Baby Boutique coordinator and working with her are Pat and Sherry.  Rachel’s eye for detail and clean lines, and Sherry's and Pat's hard work at organization and display, has made our boutique an inviting, upscale place to come and shop for baby items.  These dear ladies give their time and energies to organize and stock the work room and Baby Boutique.  It is not always an easy job either, because prices are often determined at their discretion by the condition of the item.  Sometimes their items are moved around and the price tags lost or changed. 

After

This summer we have had some very hot days.  Although two of our work rooms have window ac units, going from work room, to storage room, then to the Baby Boutique on these hot days has left these dear ladies exhausted and drained.  But the smiles on their faces, every time I go out to check on them, tells me that they are enjoying their job and folding and arranging baby items are sometimes rewards in themselves.  Many times they are present when the students come to shop, and this is when they can really see the fruits of their labors. 

What an honor and privilege it has been to see the changes in our work room and Baby Boutique since these three dear ladies have taken charge of this part of our ministry. 

Sometimes I call our Baby Boutique the icing on our cake around here.  Well if this is true, then the icing is produced by the best cake decorators in the world. A great big thank you goes to them and to God for bringing them our way.

Looks like my few words turned into to many.  But no matter, none of my words can top the following:

God is so good

Prayer and Faithful

 

Hello everyone,

Last evening was a sweet time of prayer as several of our board of directors and I gathered for prayer.  It was a beautiful time together as we lifted up each volunteer, many of our clients, and the needs of the Center.  What an honor and privilege it is to be part of a ministry where prayer is so prevalent.

Before every session the ladies sit, hold hands and lift up the requests of one another, and the needs of our clients to our Heavenly Father.  Just this past week I witnessed several answered prayers in my own family and heard from two others about prayers that were answered in their families.  If we are experiencing answered prayer, then surely those for whom we pray, such as our clients, are also experiencing them.  Sometimes we hear about them, but many times we do not.  This is when we are trusting God to answer them. One day, we may be blessed to see just how many of them were answered and exactly how.  This will be better than sitting through the best movie ever made.  Looking forward to that glorious time.

This past week it was an honor to speak at the Ladies Circle of St. Andrews United Methodist Church.  Most of them knew about the Center, but their desire to help us was very evident.  At this meeting they began planning their Christmas project and chose to help the PRC clients.  At Christmas we let our clients have a free shopping spree in our Baby Boutique.  They get to fill a bag with small items and choose a large item like a toy, high chair, stroller etc.  At Christmas we try to have new, or like new toys for them to choose for their child or children.  They can also save their baby bucks to purchase more of them.  The ladies of St. Andrews have decided to provide our store with these toys.  A great big thank you goes out to Ms Sue Whitfield who invited us to the group to speak and to all her group for making us their Christmas project.

I think I can speak for many here at PRC by saying “we are on the verge of something great.”  It has been a while since I have heard so much enthusiasm and interest about, reaching more abortion minded women and creating a greater community awareness. This is coming from every aspect of this ministry.   One of the things we are praying about is creating a working relationship with the churches in our area.  We are looking for church liaisons  These are people who would work closely with their church leaders to make sure they are aware of everything the PRC does and whenever there is a special need.  Please pray with us about this endeavor, and if I could be so bold as to ask you also pray about being a church liason.

Want to volunteer, but cannot commit to a regular schedule?  Miss Cynthia is compiling a list of volunteers who are willing to help during special needs times.  Times like stuffing envelopes or getting newsletters ready.  If you would like to be on call for times such as these, please call the Center and let us put you on this list.

Coming up:

Calling all receptionists or receptionist want-a-bes.  September 19^th will be the next Saturday training.  This training will be dedicated to receptionists.  However, the manual we will be using is jammed full of great information and instruction for all the areas of help in this ministry.  If you would like to come get an idea of what we do, how to be a receptionist, or just to get some questions answered about this ministry, please call and let us know if you will be attending.  The next Saturday training will be October 17.  This training will focus on our Earn While You Learn facilitators.  More about this in the weeks to come.

Calling all runners (or walkers).  October 24^th Word of Life Fellowship will be hosting the annual Run Baby Run which will benefit the Pregnancy Resource Center.  This year’s run promises to be the best one ever.  If you want an application, you can go to our facebook page and download it, email me and I will be glad to send you one, or if you want you can come by the center and get a copy.  You can also call Jason White at 850-819-9225 to register.

A tentative date for the banquet planning committee meeting is set for October 30.  It will be here at the Center at 9AM that Friday.  If you are interesting in helping with planning of this event, please contact us so we can get you on the list.  Breakfast will be provided.

When I first came to the PRC as director, we had one regular nurse and one on call.  Then the regular nurse had to leave because of family problems.  This left us with no nurse, except the one we could call in a crunch.  So needless to say she was called often.  She was a blessing and willing to help out when she could.  She had a friend who was a retired nurse and mentioned our need to her.  Today I want to tell you just a little about the wonderful lady who met this need.

In April of 2012 Nurse Beverly began volunteering every Tuesday and Thursday to do pregnancy testing.  More nurses came on and her load was lifted a bit, so she then went to all day on Tuesday.  She continues to amaze all us who know her.   For over three years she has rarely missed a Tuesday.  She has been extremely faithful and reliable.  Her schedule is not light either.  She has a very large family of grown children, grandchildren, and great grands.  She is very much involved in their lives and visits them often. 

She works diligently with her church and shares information about their events and her small group class.  As a table host for the banquet she has had two or three tables full with friends and even dignitaries from the area.  She has served on the banquet planning committee and captain of our prayer team.  She is always ready and willing to help when called upon.

She sincerely cares about the women she meets here,  and tries very hard to minister to their medical, physical and emotional needs.   She is meticulous at charting every aspect of her client’s visit and keeps many of us on track when we fail to enter the information correctly.

Each client is asked to fill out an exit evaluation.  One of the questions on the evaluation is:  What did you like best or least about the services you received?  This past week one of the clients answered:  “Ms. Beverly was very sweet, she’s awesome.”  We all think Ms. Beverly is awesome too.  What a joy and privilege it is to work with such a beautiful, courageous, and strong woman.

God bless you all.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)