So, we had an earthquake today. I'm sure you all have seen the news: 5.4 on the scale, east of LA, no real damage but a lot of startled people etc. Lots of people posting 'I felt it in...' stories and what fell off the walls or shelves. So I thought I would share my earthquake story:
I was treating a little boy (let's call him Sam) and we were crawling along the floor in the hall when the building suddenly rattled and jolted. I just had time think "What was that? A train?" in the moment of calm before it began to really shake and rattle and I thought "No, this is an earthquake". I lunged for Sam and caught him up, shaking a little myself. Seconds later the building stopped rocking, but I had no idea what to do next, or where to go. One of the other therapists said we should get under the kitchen table. I realized my sudden lung had startled Sam, who cries rather easily, so I started singing "The ants go marching one by one, harrah, harrah" as we crawled under the table.
For the next several minutes we reassured one another and tried to entertain our kids under the table. Sam didn't understand why we were sitting there, and started fussing, so I crawled back out for a moment and grabbed him a ball. I think we had two little twinklings of aftershocks, but nor more sudden rattlings and rollings.
My next goal was to get Sam back to his mom, who was (I thought) holed up in the waiting room. But when I went there, I saw no one, and began to worry. I figured she had gone to the local grocery store, but I didn't have her cell phone number, and it was about ten minutes before I saw her rushing across the courtyard. Poor mom, she was practically crying with upset - it was her first earthquake too, and I am sure she was imagining our building in a thousand pieces, with her baby at the bottom. I really should have stopped and prayed with her, but I just returned Sam and cautioned her to drive carefully.
So that is my 'earthquake story'. Hopefully I don't have another one for a while. One of my bosses said she had been praying this morning that if there was going to be an earthquake soon, it would be before Thursday, because her mom, who is 'deathly afraid' of earthquakes, is moving out to live with her on Thursday. I guess God answers prayer!
I'm so glad no one seems to have been hurt and only a little damage was done (we just had a few books fall of shelves and a crack appeared in the paint on one wall). I'm also glad it happened around lunch, when there were only a few kids in the clinic. Ten minutes earlier and we would have had ten autistic preschoolers and their parents diving for cover. I think as a clinic we were jarred into the realization of our lack of a concrete earthquake plan. Though we all knew the policy, we all reacted differently. One of the therapists dove under the table so fast she probably got a bruise, while others of us (like me) stood looking around wildly, suddenly very aware of all the glass in our clinic. Even some of our doors are glass! If there is a next time, I am grabbing my kid and heading for the emergency exit door - it is in a windowless wall. And I pray my kid is portable!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
A big thankyou!
Dear generous friends
I just got my fundraising update from Servant Partners and was surprised to see how much had been given recently. Several of you didn't even tell me you were giving! My current grand total is $2840, leaving me only $1160 to go! Praise God! Thanks so much for those who have pitched in to help make this adventure happen.
Thanks also for the prayers for my traveling last weekend. God was really with me in making all of the bus-train-plane-car etc. connections happen. And it was a wonderful weekend of holding my beautiful little niece! Plus a few hugs for various other siblings, and one or two free back massages for people named Abbie(y).
I just got my fundraising update from Servant Partners and was surprised to see how much had been given recently. Several of you didn't even tell me you were giving! My current grand total is $2840, leaving me only $1160 to go! Praise God! Thanks so much for those who have pitched in to help make this adventure happen.
Thanks also for the prayers for my traveling last weekend. God was really with me in making all of the bus-train-plane-car etc. connections happen. And it was a wonderful weekend of holding my beautiful little niece! Plus a few hugs for various other siblings, and one or two free back massages for people named Abbie(y).
As her mother keeps saying Ellie really is a perfect little person.
The proud aunt-
Bethany Joy
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Going to see my niece and some prayer needs
Dear friends and family
Please be praying for me today as I travel to Texas to see my niece. I will be riding metro to the airport this afternoon after work, so please pray for me to make all the right connections and get to my plane in good time.
Thanks for the continued finacial support. Although I did not make the July 15th deadline of $3000, I am encouraged by the new supporters who have come alongside me in this project. Please continue to pray for me to trust God in all of this.
Also, please be praying tonight for my future roommate, Erika, as she checks out an apartment for us. It sounds like a real possibility, so pray she will have wisdom in evaluating the apartment, the setting and the landlord.
Thanks so much
Bethany Joy
Please be praying for me today as I travel to Texas to see my niece. I will be riding metro to the airport this afternoon after work, so please pray for me to make all the right connections and get to my plane in good time.
Thanks for the continued finacial support. Although I did not make the July 15th deadline of $3000, I am encouraged by the new supporters who have come alongside me in this project. Please continue to pray for me to trust God in all of this.
Also, please be praying tonight for my future roommate, Erika, as she checks out an apartment for us. It sounds like a real possibility, so pray she will have wisdom in evaluating the apartment, the setting and the landlord.
Thanks so much
Bethany Joy
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
July 2008 Prayer Letter
July 5, 2008
Dear Praying Friends,
Rather than try to summarize this past month, I thought just share the events of today. It was not what I would call a ‘typical’ day for me, but it did exemplify for me some of the reasons I am here in California, and also some of the prayer needs I am facing at the moment:
6am I wake up and call home to get a status update on my sister Abigail and her daily anticipated delivery. Sadly, she is still playing the waiting game with just enough pre-labor last night to get her hopes up and down again.
6:30am I spend a few minutes mediating on Joni Erickson Tada’s lovely book Heaven. Then a rush to dress, eat and cut out 16 flannel ‘flags’ for Kingdom Kid’s, our neighborhood outreach program.
8am I head out the door for Kingdom Kids, praying that it will go well today. Last week was like a battle, with out of control children and quite a bit of disorganization on our part. But considering how I heard fireworks and last night, my main concern this morning is that anyone will be awake to bring their kids.
9am God is gracious, and the kids arrive. I pop back home to pick up one of the girls from my apartment complex, and get back in time to help supervise game time. Everything goes exceptionally smoothly today, especially craft and story time. We actually get all eleven kids to sit and listen to the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection for most of twenty minutes. When asked what they learned today, one of the little boys quickly volunteers: “to keep my hands to myself” – well, you take what you can get!
12:00pm I dash back home to return my little friend and grab some lunch. As we walk into the apartment complex I see a group of the residents standing around, apparently chatting amiably. I do a double take when I notice one of the men is casually holding a gun. Thinking “Is that a real gun? I hope it is not loaded!” I scoot by with my friend. After dropping her off, I go in my apartment, dismissing the gun from my mind, and give Abbie a call: still no real labor.
12:30pm I walk out the door, only to see about eight policemen standing in the courtyard. No one looks particularly perturbed or mad, so I ask one of the policemen if it is okay to leave, and do so. (Still can’t figure out what happened, but there did appear to be any blood.) Saying a quick prayer for the safety of my neighbors, I nerve myself for something more immediately scary to me than a loaded gun: driving across LA.
1pm I arrive safely in South LA and meet up with one of my future roommates, Erika, to do some apartment hunting. We drive the streets of the area we are aiming to minister in, discussing housing options and feeling quite encouraged by all the ‘for rent’ signs we spotted. Some of the houses are quite charming, reminding me of the house I lived in Galveston. We both like the eclectic nature of the neighborhood.
2:30pm Erika and I sit chatting in the Macdonald’s parking lot about fundraising and our fears/hopes about meeting the next deadline (only ten days away - yikes). Erika encourages me to try calling potential supporters, which I have been reluctant to do. (So beware, I may be calling you sometime soon!)
3pm A ‘homeless’ man approaches our car asking for money for food. We invite him to join us for lunch, and the three of us have a pleasant conversation over hamburgers. He says his name is Anthony, but he is called “Lefty”. We can easily guess why, as his right arm ends above the elbow. Turns out he has family in Houston, which I find is true of about 2/3 of the people I meet out here. Anthony is afraid to hang out long, as apparently community vigilantes work hard to keep people like him from asking for handouts. After he leaves, Erika and I pray for our continued house-hunting process, for our future ministry and for our other future roommates, Edith and Krista.
4pm I arrive back in Pasadena, quite pleased with how easy the drive was. I decide to reward myself for my busy day with a visit to a wonderful Christian used bookstore in Pasadena. An hour an a half later I walk out with only three books (please applaud my self-control). One great find was a copy of Penelope Wilcock’s The Hawk and the Dove, one of my all time favorite books.
6:30pm I arrive home after a stop at the grocery story, and sit down to eat junk food and write this letter. And here I still sit, listening to some vigorous Mexican music, courtesy of my neighbors, and debating mopping the floor tonight.
So as you can see, it was quite a full day, but it was also quite a God-full day. In midst of the action – Kingdom Kids, potentially scary encounters in the courtyard, driving all over LA, meeting a Erika, joining Anthony for lunch, and purusing the bookstore - I felt a real sense of God’s presence. It is like in each of these things he was saying to me: “See, this is why you are here – to care for these kids, to understand these crises, to drive these roads, to live in these neighborhoods, to meet these people, even to read these books.” So please continue pray for my safety, for ministry, for work, for house-hunting, for fundraising. But most of all, please pray for God to continue to demonstrate his presence to me, and for me to be able to walk with him wherever he leads.
Love to all of you,
Bethany Joy DeGray
Dear Praying Friends,
Rather than try to summarize this past month, I thought just share the events of today. It was not what I would call a ‘typical’ day for me, but it did exemplify for me some of the reasons I am here in California, and also some of the prayer needs I am facing at the moment:
6am I wake up and call home to get a status update on my sister Abigail and her daily anticipated delivery. Sadly, she is still playing the waiting game with just enough pre-labor last night to get her hopes up and down again.
6:30am I spend a few minutes mediating on Joni Erickson Tada’s lovely book Heaven. Then a rush to dress, eat and cut out 16 flannel ‘flags’ for Kingdom Kid’s, our neighborhood outreach program.
8am I head out the door for Kingdom Kids, praying that it will go well today. Last week was like a battle, with out of control children and quite a bit of disorganization on our part. But considering how I heard fireworks and last night, my main concern this morning is that anyone will be awake to bring their kids.
9am God is gracious, and the kids arrive. I pop back home to pick up one of the girls from my apartment complex, and get back in time to help supervise game time. Everything goes exceptionally smoothly today, especially craft and story time. We actually get all eleven kids to sit and listen to the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection for most of twenty minutes. When asked what they learned today, one of the little boys quickly volunteers: “to keep my hands to myself” – well, you take what you can get!
12:00pm I dash back home to return my little friend and grab some lunch. As we walk into the apartment complex I see a group of the residents standing around, apparently chatting amiably. I do a double take when I notice one of the men is casually holding a gun. Thinking “Is that a real gun? I hope it is not loaded!” I scoot by with my friend. After dropping her off, I go in my apartment, dismissing the gun from my mind, and give Abbie a call: still no real labor.
12:30pm I walk out the door, only to see about eight policemen standing in the courtyard. No one looks particularly perturbed or mad, so I ask one of the policemen if it is okay to leave, and do so. (Still can’t figure out what happened, but there did appear to be any blood.) Saying a quick prayer for the safety of my neighbors, I nerve myself for something more immediately scary to me than a loaded gun: driving across LA.
1pm I arrive safely in South LA and meet up with one of my future roommates, Erika, to do some apartment hunting. We drive the streets of the area we are aiming to minister in, discussing housing options and feeling quite encouraged by all the ‘for rent’ signs we spotted. Some of the houses are quite charming, reminding me of the house I lived in Galveston. We both like the eclectic nature of the neighborhood.
2:30pm Erika and I sit chatting in the Macdonald’s parking lot about fundraising and our fears/hopes about meeting the next deadline (only ten days away - yikes). Erika encourages me to try calling potential supporters, which I have been reluctant to do. (So beware, I may be calling you sometime soon!)
3pm A ‘homeless’ man approaches our car asking for money for food. We invite him to join us for lunch, and the three of us have a pleasant conversation over hamburgers. He says his name is Anthony, but he is called “Lefty”. We can easily guess why, as his right arm ends above the elbow. Turns out he has family in Houston, which I find is true of about 2/3 of the people I meet out here. Anthony is afraid to hang out long, as apparently community vigilantes work hard to keep people like him from asking for handouts. After he leaves, Erika and I pray for our continued house-hunting process, for our future ministry and for our other future roommates, Edith and Krista.
4pm I arrive back in Pasadena, quite pleased with how easy the drive was. I decide to reward myself for my busy day with a visit to a wonderful Christian used bookstore in Pasadena. An hour an a half later I walk out with only three books (please applaud my self-control). One great find was a copy of Penelope Wilcock’s The Hawk and the Dove, one of my all time favorite books.
6:30pm I arrive home after a stop at the grocery story, and sit down to eat junk food and write this letter. And here I still sit, listening to some vigorous Mexican music, courtesy of my neighbors, and debating mopping the floor tonight.
So as you can see, it was quite a full day, but it was also quite a God-full day. In midst of the action – Kingdom Kids, potentially scary encounters in the courtyard, driving all over LA, meeting a Erika, joining Anthony for lunch, and purusing the bookstore - I felt a real sense of God’s presence. It is like in each of these things he was saying to me: “See, this is why you are here – to care for these kids, to understand these crises, to drive these roads, to live in these neighborhoods, to meet these people, even to read these books.” So please continue pray for my safety, for ministry, for work, for house-hunting, for fundraising. But most of all, please pray for God to continue to demonstrate his presence to me, and for me to be able to walk with him wherever he leads.
Love to all of you,
Bethany Joy DeGray
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
June 2008 Prayer Letter
June 7, 2008
Dear Friends and Family-
Greetings from Pasadena! Thank you all for your many prayers and notes of encouragement over the last few weeks. I am amazed to find I have been in California for almost four weeks, as it seems like just a few (long) days. I have really been able to see God
’s hand at work in my life through this transitional time.
Work has been the biggest challenge and biggest joy of the last few weeks. I have around twenty kids on my regular case load, plus a few ‘borrowed’ kids. Some of my kids are pretty challenging clinically, while for others the biggest challenge is building rapport with their families. I feel like a total greenhorn, but every day is one more day of experiences as a ‘real’ physical therapist, and I love my kids. You can be praying for me that I would be able to care well for these children and their families even in my inexperience. Please also pray for me to have wisdom in my time management and be able to build community with my co-wor
kers.
Dear Friends and Family-
Greetings from Pasadena! Thank you all for your many prayers and notes of encouragement over the last few weeks. I am amazed to find I have been in California for almost four weeks, as it seems like just a few (long) days. I have really been able to see God
’s hand at work in my life through this transitional time.Work has been the biggest challenge and biggest joy of the last few weeks. I have around twenty kids on my regular case load, plus a few ‘borrowed’ kids. Some of my kids are pretty challenging clinically, while for others the biggest challenge is building rapport with their families. I feel like a total greenhorn, but every day is one more day of experiences as a ‘real’ physical therapist, and I love my kids. You can be praying for me that I would be able to care well for these children and their families even in my inexperience. Please also pray for me to have wisdom in my time management and be able to build community with my co-wor
kers. I have also enjoyed the opportunity to begin to integrate into community with Servant Partners and other ministries. Though my internship doesn’t start till the fall, I am helping out some of the current interns with a service project this summer. We are working with a local church to create a Saturday morning Bible club in the neighborhood called ‘Kingdom Kids’. Please be praying for all the details of this to work out in God’s timing, as our start date, June 21st, is rapidly approaching!
One final excitement in m
y life is that I finally bought myself a new car this week. God really blessed me in allowing me to get a great price on a car with low mileage that met all my specs. Of course, my big prayer now is that both the car and the driver would be safe and reliable for the next several years. So far driving in Pasadena hasn’t been too bad, but it is more challenging than Friendswood. The biggest challenge is a ridiculous lack of left turn signals in this city!One last area of continued prayer need for me is in my support needs. My first fundraising deadline is only a week away, June 15th, and I still have a ways to go before reaching my first goal amount of $1500. I am sure God is going to provide this money in his own time, but I wanted to include instructions on ways to support me for those of you who are planning on donating soon. There are three ways you can give your gifts, and all gifts are tax-deductible:
Writing a check: Please have checks made out to “Servant Partners” and put “Intern: Bethany DeGray” on the memo line. This will ensure that the monies that received will be put into my account.
Via Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT): Go to the SP Website (http://www.servantpartners.org/) and click on “Donate.” Instructions for setting up an EFT is on that page.
Via PayPal: Similar to EFT, but this is for a one time credit/debit card transfer only. Go to http://www.servantpartners.org/ and click on “Donate.” Just follow the instructions. You will be able to designate who the money is going to go to on the SECOND page.
My total fundraising goal is $4,000, which will cover travel costs to the Philippines and costs for educational materials and retreats during the two years of the internship. Though I am of course eager to see how God is going to meet this financial need, my primary concern continues to be my prayer needs. At this point I think my needs fall in three umbrella areas, work, ministry and driving. I am creating ‘sub’ prayer list specifically for my driving needs, so that I can just drop a line on the topic as the need arises. If you would like to be on that list, please email me and I will add you.
Thank you all so much for bearing with a long letter. I hope your summers are starting well and you are also seeing God’s hand at work in your lives. I love and miss you all.
In His Hands-
Bethany Joy DeGray
p.s. The pictures are from top to bottom: 1) My ‘baby’ room at work, 2) My roommates Beth, Stephanie, Erin and Preethi, 3) My new car, and 4) The view out my front door.
May 2008 Prayer Letter
May 10, 2008
Dear Family and Friends:
I hope this letter finds you all doing well. I am writing to share with you a few stories of the adventures that God has before me.
The last year of my life has been very full with clinical rotations, graduation from physical therapy school, and post-graduate work in a neonatal ICU. I’ve had many opportunities to see God’s provision in housing, learning opportunities, and friendships. This has also been a time of seeking God’s path for my future. After seven years of education, I find myself facing ‘real life’, and many important choices about how I will live that life. I believe it is crucial to start my adult life with a focus on the things that matter most to God, such as justice, righteousness, and a lifestyle of worship.
Through a series of ‘divine coincidences’ God has opened doors for me to pursue this vision in Pasadena California. I have been accepted to an internship with an organization called Servant Partners based in LA. This internship is a two year program which focuses on community, discipleship and ‘incarnational’ ministry living in urban areas.
The internship is a ‘tentmaking’ ministry, so interns are expected to work full time, which will allow me to continue to develop my career as a pediatric physical therapist. Since my primary ‘calling’ in life has long been to care for children with special needs, continuing this career is very important to me. I have found a job at a pediatric clinic in Pasadena, where I will be starting in just two weeks. I will work part-time through the summer and then take a month off for the internship orientation in September. One of the great perks of the internship is orientation which includes a three week trip to the Philippines. I am delighted with the opportunity to return to this beautiful country where I spent such a wonderful summer in college.
I would love to share what I am going to be actually DOING in California, but is still an unfolding picture. The ministries in which Servant Partners participates vary from year to year. I do know that I will be living with several other interns in a neighborhood, and working with local churches and non-profit organizations to help meet the needs of that community. I am also looking forward to intensive times of Bible study, prayer and learning about addressing poverty and injustice on a global level.
So this story will continue to develop over the next several years, and I would like to continue to share my adventures with you. There are several ways you can participate in this journey with me.
- Prayer support: I will need daily and weekly prayer support for work, ministry, and for my driving in Los Angeles traffic.
- Financial support: Although my living expenses will come from my job, I need to raise four thousand additional dollars this summer for travel and administrative costs related to the internship.
If you are interested in receiving more information about support options, or in being added to my prayer letter list please email me at bjdegray@gmail.com. For more information on Servant partners, visit their website at http://www.servantpartners.org/.
Thank you so much for the love and support you all have given me for so long. I am confident that God will continue to bless me through you over these next several years.
Blessings-
Bethany Joy DeGray
Dear Family and Friends:
I hope this letter finds you all doing well. I am writing to share with you a few stories of the adventures that God has before me.
The last year of my life has been very full with clinical rotations, graduation from physical therapy school, and post-graduate work in a neonatal ICU. I’ve had many opportunities to see God’s provision in housing, learning opportunities, and friendships. This has also been a time of seeking God’s path for my future. After seven years of education, I find myself facing ‘real life’, and many important choices about how I will live that life. I believe it is crucial to start my adult life with a focus on the things that matter most to God, such as justice, righteousness, and a lifestyle of worship.
Through a series of ‘divine coincidences’ God has opened doors for me to pursue this vision in Pasadena California. I have been accepted to an internship with an organization called Servant Partners based in LA. This internship is a two year program which focuses on community, discipleship and ‘incarnational’ ministry living in urban areas.
The internship is a ‘tentmaking’ ministry, so interns are expected to work full time, which will allow me to continue to develop my career as a pediatric physical therapist. Since my primary ‘calling’ in life has long been to care for children with special needs, continuing this career is very important to me. I have found a job at a pediatric clinic in Pasadena, where I will be starting in just two weeks. I will work part-time through the summer and then take a month off for the internship orientation in September. One of the great perks of the internship is orientation which includes a three week trip to the Philippines. I am delighted with the opportunity to return to this beautiful country where I spent such a wonderful summer in college.
I would love to share what I am going to be actually DOING in California, but is still an unfolding picture. The ministries in which Servant Partners participates vary from year to year. I do know that I will be living with several other interns in a neighborhood, and working with local churches and non-profit organizations to help meet the needs of that community. I am also looking forward to intensive times of Bible study, prayer and learning about addressing poverty and injustice on a global level.
So this story will continue to develop over the next several years, and I would like to continue to share my adventures with you. There are several ways you can participate in this journey with me.
- Prayer support: I will need daily and weekly prayer support for work, ministry, and for my driving in Los Angeles traffic.
- Financial support: Although my living expenses will come from my job, I need to raise four thousand additional dollars this summer for travel and administrative costs related to the internship.
If you are interested in receiving more information about support options, or in being added to my prayer letter list please email me at bjdegray@gmail.com. For more information on Servant partners, visit their website at http://www.servantpartners.org/.
Thank you so much for the love and support you all have given me for so long. I am confident that God will continue to bless me through you over these next several years.
Blessings-
Bethany Joy DeGray
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