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Save babies now!
Mom, Rachel sits proudly next to her tiny new baby. This baby, born weighing only 1.9 ounces truly is a miracle. Without Bethany House miracles like this would diminish because young, pregnant women would have nowhere to turn. Please read the following letter carefully with an open heart.
Dear Friends,
Bethany House could close by the end of June.
You and a small group of other faithful people have provided the support and encouragement that has allowed us to care for the 440 girls and their babies God has brought to us over the past 18 years. Recent economic challenges have caused a number of people to cut back their support or suspend it altogether resulting in a $6,000 deficit each month. If nothing changes our savings will be completely depleted in June.
Tragically, pregnant girls needing shelter may not have anywhere else to go. Three other maternity homes in the Portland/Vancouver area have closed recently. Yet, the number of girls desperate to save the lives of their babies has not diminished. More people are now needed to provide the financial support so these girls can have a safe, nurturing environment to have their babies.
From the beginning, we have striven to be good stewards of the resources God has provided us. We have focused the vast majority of our resources on the care of the girls under our roof and preparing them for their lives as new mothers. We have lacked sufficient resources to reach out to others to help share the blessing of providing the needed support. We have sought the counsel and accountability of others to guide us, and we are actively seeking foundation grants to pay for out-reach efforts, but these take more time than we currently have. We desperately need you to pray about others you know who also have a heart for unborn children and their mothers. Our website www.bethanyhousenet.org has more information and the ability for you to make online donations.
Executive Director, Bethany House
Add a comment March 18, 2008
Baby so Small
In God’s hands. Ummmmmm. I love those words. What a safe place to be. Although things in this life can get more than a little challenging, understanding that we belong to a holy God allows us to keep going when giving up sounds preferable.
Ever wanted to throw in the towel? Of course you have! You’re human and life is hard and at times seems unbearable. Right now, at Bethany House, life has been rocky for one young mom and her little (and I mean little) baby.
Several days ago, this mom noticed that her swelling was increasing at an alarming rate. Her legs looked more like tree trunks then legs. Thankfully, the staff at Bethany House ensured she got to the doctor ASAP. After glancing at our girl, the good doctor sent her directly to the local hospital, who after running a barrage of tests, rushed her to yet another hospital specializing in Neo Natal Care. Oh, I failed to mention, this young lady was only six months pregnant!
Talk about your world rocking beneath your feet. It’s times like these when clinging to God is the only answer. After all, there are no athiests in foxholes. This precious woman remained calm and strong in spite of her highly concerning circumstances. She continued to rest in the knowledge that God was in charge no matter what happened. There was a whole lot of praying going on as staff and volunteers reached out into the community for prayer support. Shortly after arriving to the new hospital, an emergency C-section was ordered.
Amazingly, a short time later, a 1 lb 9 ounce baby girl (Madison) was welcomed into the world. Yes, her entry was not as planned, and yes there are many more trials ahead, but mom is trusting that together they rest in God’s hands. I’d like to ask that you pray for little Madison. I’ll post a photo as soon as I can. It’s difficult to get a picture at this time as she is still in intensive care where she will remain for some time. She is, thankfully, breathing on her own and mom is doing much better, as well.
Without Bethany House, who knows where this mom would have been.
Would she have made it to the doctor? Would she have even known to go? Thank goodness we don’t have to answer those questions because a program like Bethany House is available and she will continue to live within its safety for months to come. But, I think that it’s important for you to know that in the Portland/Vancouver area three maternity programs have recently, or are getting ready to close due to lack of funding. This is frightening to say the least.
If helping infants and their young mothers is important to you, I’d like to challenge you to get involved and to consider supporting Bethany House, or a program like it in your own area. For without these homes, far too many young women will be out in the cold, pregnant and alone. It doesn’t have to be this way, nor should it. Why in a country as wealthy as ours should any girl who wants help be denied? It’s not just up to our government, it’s up to us be part of the solution. Help babies like Madison have a chance to live the lives they deserve. For more information about Bethany House, visit: www.bethanyhousenet.org or email: bethanyhouse@runningblue.com,
2 comments March 2, 2008
Kids … a source of laughter and joy
One thing Bethany House is never in shortage of is laughter. The never-ending, crazy-kid-antics are a continual source of genuine smiles and laughter for anyone who happens upon their inopportune performances. Yes, performances! Whether they are aware of it or not, the fact remains, children have a special way of “performing” and providing us grownups with fresh comedy routines on a regular basis.
Thus far, this Blog has focussed on some very sensitive and heavy subjects, so it’s about time we have a gut-level, belly-aching laugh. What do you say? The following story was sent to me by a dear friend. I couldn’t wait to share it with, well, with EVERYONE.
Enjoy!
Embarrassing Mommy Moment (Major understatement)
If you’ve had children, or taken care of them, this is hilarious!!!A 3 year old tells all from his mother’s restroom stall – By Shannon Popkin (free-lance writer from Grand Rapids, MI.)
My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we’re in the library, the grocery store or at a drive~thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just turned 3 year old, and you never have to ask him to turn up the volume; it’s always fully cranked….
There have been several embarrassing times that I’ve wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not so audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco. Halfway through our shopping
trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom….
If you’d been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to last stall… ‘Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?’
At this point, I started mentally counting how many women had been in the restroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full. 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity…. Cade continued, ‘Mommy, you ARE going stinkies, aren’t you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh, Mommy! I’m trying to see in dere. Oh, I see
dem! Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You ARE gonna get some candy!’ I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming new born when you need one? Good grief. This was really getting
embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting….
Trying to divert him, I said, ‘Why don’t you look in Mommy’s purse and see if you can find some candy. We’ll both have some. ‘No, I’m trying to see doze more stinkies. Oh! Mommy!’ He started to gag at this point. ‘Uh oh, Mommy.
I fink I’m gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!! As the gags became louder so did the chuckles outside my stall….
I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: Okay, there are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone. ‘Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done doing stinkies! Get up! Get up!’ He grunted as he tried to pull me.
Now I could hear full-blown laughter…. I bent down to count the feet outside my door. ‘Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door? What were you wooking at, Mommy? You wooking at da wady’s feet?’ More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation. ‘Mommy, it’s time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy.’ He started pounding on the door. ‘Mommy, don’t you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!’
I saw that my ‘wait ‘em out’ plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found, standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud. My first thought was
complete embarrassment, then I thought, ‘Where’s the fine print on the motherhood contract’ where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy?’ But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap
between his chubby little hands, I thought, ‘I’d sign it all away again, just to be known as ‘Mommy’ to this little fellow.’
***Shannon Popkin is a freelance writer and mother of three. She lives with her family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she no longer uses public rest-rooms with her 3 year old in tow….
2 comments February 19, 2008
Change my clothes?
Friday, something interesting happened for one Bethany House resident. First, let me say that this program is so much more than simply resting up to have a baby. Oh, no! It’s so not that simple. Actually, the young women who enter this program are informed right from the “get go” that this is a program of MAJOR life change. In fact, I’ve heard Beth (Program Founder and Director) say, “We will get in your business.”
Okay, I know that sounds a bit harsh, and intruding, but consider this: You are a young woman who has been living on the streets, or hopping from couch to couch, home to home. You’ve had no guidelines and have quite frankly run your life into the muck via your own poor choices. Now, granted, you’ve faced numerous past hardships and many personal pains, some incredibly traumatic.
But, the bottom line remains, we all have a choice what to do with our past and how it affects our future. We can continue a cycle of insanity, or we can reach out for help and learn to live differently.
I’m very familiar with this process, as I, too, was once a wayward woman, who did what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it, with no real concern for the future. Yes, indeed, I’d experienced horrendous wrongs in my youth, and although that gives some insight into why I was behaving so rebelliously, it’s still no excuse to continue making a bigger mess, which I did for far too many years.
Anyway, back to the point of this entry. When we are living a certain way, we are often hung up on dressing a certain way — we wear a mask, or masks, to hide our wounded hearts. One thing that happens, as our hearts change, is that our appearance often changes, too. Kristy, the mother of that adorable baby girl featured on our first entry, featured above, determined that she no longer wanted to reflect an image of fast living. Believe me, when Kristy first arrived at Bethany House, changing her “dress code” was not a priority for her. But, over time, with encouragement and new role modeling, she has come to view womanhood a bit differently. Low cut tops and skimpy skirts are not a true reflection of the young lady and mother she is becoming.
She has decided that she wants to set a different example for her little girl. After all, our children look to us for what is ideal. Kristy has come to understand that true beauty truly is a matter of the heart. It’s not based on the right make up, risqué attire, or a certain hairstyle. Rather it’s the beauty of God dwelling in a healing heart that shines brightly with His love. Go Kristy! Keep that light shining. You are beautiful inside and out!
Dear Readers:
Food for thought ….
Please comment on how you feel about this touchy subject. How do you feel about inner beauty vs. outward facades? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.
Add a comment December 16, 2007
