First Week In October

Hello everyone,

Since we were out last Thursday to the conference, this is officially the first week of October 2015.

And what a week it has been.  Nine clients came for appointments and 17 Earn While You Learn class students.  Of the nine appointments there were 5 pregnancy tests, 2 ultrasounds and 1 discipleship training class.  Of the 17 EWYL students there were 3 fathers in our Father’s Class on Tuesday evening.  But here is the greatest part of this week – three clients prayed to receive Christ.

We are praising God for all His blessing, and asking Him for more and more.  No matter how many clients we see there are always more that need the gospel and changed minds about abortion.  We cannot stop praying and working toward reaching more.

On Monday evening this past week we met with the FCA of Bay County High Schools.  We shared with them about our ministry and discussed the possibility of partnering with them to promote an abstinence event that would involve many, many students.  Please be praying with us about this.

Coming up:
October looks to be a very busy month.  This coming Monday, October 12, the Center will be attending Rotary International  Expo at Florida State University.  It will be in the Holley Academic Center and begins at 5PM and goes to 8PM.  If you would like to help man the table, please call the center.  If you can attend the expo, please stop by and visit our table.

October 13-14 we will be hosting a guest from Mission Preborn.  She will be evaluating our center for their grant program.  She will be meeting with volunteers on Tuesday morning at 10:30.  All volunteers who can make this meeting are urged to attend.  It will help our chances at getting the grant that will go toward the purchase of a new ultrasound machine.

October 24 is Run Baby Run, Even if you do not run or walk the course, come hang out at our table.  It will be a fun filled morning.  That afternoon we will be hosting a table at the Gulf Beach Baptist Church Fall Festival.  They are located on Hutchison Blvd, right across from Applebees.  The time for this event is 5PM-8PM.  If you can help with this event, please call.  We can certainly use your help.

October 30th is set for our first Banquet Planning Committee meeting.  Brainstorming and discussions bring about so many answered questions.  Please try to attend if you are the least bit interested in helping with this event.  Breakfast will be provided and we will begin at 8:30AM.

The Saturday training for October 17th has been changed to October 31st.  This will be training dedicated to our Student Outreach ministry and we will be discussing ways to get into our high schools and future events surrounding teaching our youth about abstinence.

At the Pregnancy Center conference last week our jets were refueled as we learned valuable information about other centers and ways we can improve ours. Some of these ways we have discussed in length are as follows.

1. Keeping God in the center of this ministry is paramount.  This is why we will not be taking any government funding.  The reason I mention this is because there is a program offered by the state of Florida that reimburses pregnancy centers for their counseling time.  However,  during the counseling session the client signs a statement that God was not discussed during a specific time and that is the time the center would be reimbursed.  No thank you Florida, we do not want to be constricted in any way to share the gospel and lead mothers and women to know Jesus as their savior.
2. Again, keeping God in the center of this ministry is paramount.  This is why we will now be giving every client a small Bible study to take home with her.  This is in addition to the gospel tract that we share with them in the counseling room that they also are welcome to take. 
3. Follow-up appointments.  We will now be encouraging every client to return for a follow-up appointment to continue our counseling session and to get to know the client better.  We are praying for ways to give the client incentives to come back for this follow-up appointment.
4. Our Father’s Classes are going very well. This week we had three fathers and the teacher in the tiny room where they meet.  We will soon be offering a training session for our men’s class leaders.  This will be the year of the man in this ministry.  We are working on ways to reach the men and involve them in this fight for life.
5. Every time a client receives an ultrasound there will be a witness there to protect the integrity of the ultrasound tech.  Also after every ultrasound there will be a counseling session with the Client Assistant to follow-up on how she is doing and encourage her in life and her continued communication with the Pregnancy Resource Center.

While in the Director’s workshop I learned that so many centers are struggling for volunteers.  Yes we can always use more volunteers as we have mentioned many times, but when I hear of centers that have only one or two and the Director is meeting with almost every client and handling almost every responsibility, it makes me so thankful for the staff and volunteers here at PRC.  Sure we have some who leave after a few weeks, but we also have many who are faithful to their weekly responsibilities.  THANK YOU volunteers and staff for all you do at this Center.

This brings me to this week’s volunteer spotlight.  I want to tell you about another volunteer who has captured my heart and the hearts of many volunteers and clients here at PRC.  I cannot remember a Tuesday evenings she has been absent, except for the several weeks she was out because of heart surgery.  We were all shocked to hear of this beautiful young woman having heart surgery.  But as soon as she was up and about, she was back at her volunteering at the PRC.  Her physical heart needed repair, but her spiritual heart was and is still wanting to serve her Savior.

Karen Ramsey Rinck has been facilitating our Earn While You Learn classes since before I came here in 2012.  She is faithful and ready to share with the clients of her experiences and knowledge.  She has taken on the responsibility of planning the classes and is always here before class in time to plan the evening’s class and copy any needed materials.

Karen is also one of our Abortion Recovery facilitators and really has a desire to help those recovering from past abortion who are going through some really tough times.  She prays for her students and works diligently at finding new ways to serve.  From movie night with popcorn, to sweet soft music needed for healing hurts, she always seems to know how to give soothing and biblical help.

She is always active in any event planned and contributes in any way she is asked.  I applaud this godly wife, mother, and class facilitator for I know that maintaining a family and a full time job and being here sometimes two nights a week, is not very easy.  She listens intently as a client share her story during class and during the shopping times.  These girls are precious to Karen and she lifts them up to God regularly.

She is always willing and eager to try better ways of doing things, but more importantly I believe Karen wants to do things God’s way.  This past week I heard something that I believe rings true to Karen and all the volunteers here at PRC.  “If you want God’s blessings you must do things God’s way.”

Yes we are here for our clients, but we are also here for one another!

“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.”  Eph. 3:14-15