Long Time No Blog...

Hello everyone - it's been way too long since I've updated this. The best of intentions....

We are all well here. That's amazing because last night was Bonfire Night in the UK (Guy Fawkes Day) and believe it or not you can actually purchase and set off fireworks in your backyard. The men also built a big bonfire behind Windmill. Prayer took on a whole new dimension yesterday and I'm happy to report that everyone remained safe and intact. We also had a very nice meal together as Betelitos from Birmingham - Indian curry...yummm!

Dave continues to stay busy with work (garden jobs continue even as we have hit the autumn here) and also as his role as supervisor of the men here in Birmingham. He's also had the opportunity to preach - including this past Sunday. One of these days I'll figure out how to get the audio files from church and upload them so you can hear him.

I'm busy with looking after the women (we have 15 at this writing) and taking care of administrative stuff in the office.

Well...short but sweet and I will try to keep up with it!

See ya soon!

It's September Already!

Dave and I were at the Grapevine celebration in Lincoln, England a week ago. This year it was titled: "An International Celebration of Hope." This is Dave's fourth time and my third time to go with the 40 men and women and camp at the showground from Friday - Monday. As always - God meets us there in the worship, the word and the fellowship we find in our camp. On Saturday night, Kent & MaryAlice were were interviewed in the main venue - to a crowd of 6,000+ people and their daughter, Trish and a friend, Celina did a dance. They received a prophetic word that "help was on it's way" and that Betel is entering a season of refreshing. It's been very encouraging as we have felt that the past couple of years have been difficult. God's grace is always sufficient!

I can't believe we're almost to the fall! It is definately feeling like a new season here. We're starting small groups tonight with all the men and women. I'm looking forward to helping MaryAlice lead the women's house bible study. For the past couple of months (starting when Kent & MaryAlice were away in July) I have been helping to supervise the women. I've now officially taken the role over to help MaryAlice more and am learning a lot! I know that God is preparing Dave & I both for what he has prepared for us in the future.

As of this week we have over 200 men, women and children in the centres - Birmingham, Derby, Dublin (Ireland), Nottingham and Watford. Speaking of babies - our good friend, Brenda and Dave had a baby girl on August 10th (Brenda's due date - only Brenda could be that efficient!). Chloe Renee Cox weighted 6 lbs, 12 oz and was 19" long. Many of you will remember that Brenda suffered two early miscarriages (December 06 and June 07) so this is such an answer to prayer! I've included a picture - she's cute even with her eyes closed.

Thanks for all your support and prayers. We feel and appreciate them! Please do write when you can.

Lots of love,

Beth (and Dave)

Changes

Sometimes you find yourself realizing that there are things about yourself that have changed. You can’t even remember when or why, but you wake up one day and it’s the case. I can only say that it has to be God at work in our lives!

One change for me is that I am eating and even enjoying British sausages. When I was first introduced to a sausage in the United Kingdom…I was sure I would never grow to like them. They aren’t our American hotdogs! It’s not the taste of the sausage that I had a problem with…I turned my nose up at the consistency. They are fatter and the middle is a bit squishy. But this weekend I had sausages a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed them. Go figure.

Ok…another change is that I now think that 80 degrees is hot. A few years ago I would hear a Brit say that it was hot and I would scoff and laugh. Now I’m looking for the coolest spot to sit and endure the 'heat.' Remember a couple of weeks ago I was questioning summer in England? Well…it has arrived! It has been beautiful with the sun shining. Dave & I have also been laughing at our cat, Festus…he is pictured above trying to keep as cool as possible. I don't know if the twisted pose really helps, but he seems to think so. Yesterday the heat made him so sleepy he catnapped all afternoon!

Thank goodness we are always changing. I love seeing the people around me being transformed day by day. Sometimes I get a glimpse in the mirror and realize that God is transforming me, as well! Not just in age, either. I got some pictures this past weekend of a college roommate and her family and wondered when her kids got so big! Surely I'm not that old!

Enjoy the summer - whatever that looks like in your part of the world. Will let you know when I'm back to wishing for the sun and the heat...

Love,

Beth

Summer in England?

Hello! This picture of the back garden of Windmill was taken a couple of days ago when all we had was rain, rain, rain! Today the sun is peeking out of the clouds and wants to come out and grace us with its presence! It's 55 degrees now and promising that the high will be 63. As I check the weather in Richmond, Virginia - I see that it is going to be 93! Ok, for the most part...I really do like the milder temperatures here in England - but I do get tired of the wet and damp. I have to say, though, when the sun is shining it is glorious!


As of yesterday, we had 56 guys in our Birmingham centre and 13 women. It's a good number for this time of year. Usually it is the cold that forces people to ring for help and we have fewer calls in the warmer weather. We continue to pray that people call for interviews, show up and stay for help. There is hope for freedom from addictions!


Dave and I are doing well. Dave is busy with work as it is the busiest time of year for our gardening service. He works with the gardening teams on Mondays and then does quotes for possible jobs on Tuesdays - Saturdays. His quotes and gardening jobs are booked for a few weeks in advance and we pray for that to continue. Gardening is one of the best sources of income for Betel. But everyone is working hard - from posting the flyers to promote our businesses, running the four charity furniture shops in Birmingham, an antique warehouse and eBay business, re-upholstering furniture and restoring it in the shed here at Windmill! Please do continue to pray for God's provision for rents and the bills that Betel has to pay.


I've started working on applying for my indefinite leave to remain visa. When Dave & I were married I was granted a two-year visa to remain in England. Now I apply for a "residence" visa to stay here indefinately. I successfully completed a Life in the UK test (24 questions about aspects of English living: culture, history, religion, government, etc.) and now I need to gather documentation that shows we are married and living in the same residence. My current visa expires in September. I'd appreciate your prayers for the process and also the funds. It is an expensive document! It will cost £750 (or approximately $1,500)! I know God is faithful and he has called me here so he will provide.


Please let us know how you are doing! We love your comments, emails and letters!

Love,

Beth

30 May 2008

Hello!

Just to update and thank everyone for their prayers and let you know how the appointment at the hospital went today....

We met with the consultant who was overseeing my care when I was pregnant with Lily. After looking at the test results taken at the time - she determined there was no infection present when I went into premature labor. (We thought it was an infection because at the time that was the reason they gave us.) So...unfortunately we have no concrete reason for why it happened. The consultant explained that sometimes it just does. Despite the lack of answers we've been waiting for, we had a real peace in the meeting. The consultant was kind, encouraging and gave us no reason why we can't go on to have a healthy, full-term baby. Praise God! The past few months we have been given words of promise of a family and this is confirmation.

God is a God of healing! It has been nearly 6 months since Lily was born and he has been healing our broken hearts. We've felt God's presence in a tangible way and know that He is good, faithful and true to his promises. Though we will always miss Lily and mourn that we were not able to see her grow here - we look forward to seeing her again and know she is safe in heaven until then.

Thanks for walking this with us...your prayers have carried us in the lowest times. We look forward to the times of joy that are coming!

Lots of love,
Dave and Beth

29 May 2008

In an effort to be more in touch and better about communicating with everyone we are trying a new approach - blogging! Bear with me as I learn what I'm doing.

Dave and I returned to Betel from our wonderful trip home on May 13th. (By the way...the picture is a self-portrait of us at the Washington Nationals vs. Braves baseball game we went to when we were home. Perhaps Dave's expression is a real indication of how he feels about my beloved sport?) We came back and hit the ground running! Dave continues to run the Gardening business here in Birmingham and it is a busy season for him. He goes and gives quotes for potential customers Tuesday - Saturday and works on gardening jobs on Mondays. I've just finished a major database project of entering historical records of those who've been in Betel since it opened here in 1996 and I've just learned in the last couple of weeks how to pull statistics from all that information. Now I have more time to focus on being a personal assistant for our director, Kent. He's moved out of the office and more as a general manager over our charity furniture shops.

We just had our third wedding in two months! Anthony and Angela were married Sunday, May 25th and will be living at our Derby property and supporting the directors there, Dave & Brenda Cox. It was a very rainy day (sort of what you would expect from England), but it didn't dampen the celebration. Anthony was a heroin and crack addict for over 6 years and has been clean for nearly 3 1/2 years. He and Angela grew up together and God brought them together in an amazing way...she found out about Betel and felt called to come and help and then they reconnected from a website that reunites classmates. God is creative!

We've had some disappointment this week following the joy in seeing victory in Anthony & Angela's marriage. Danny Nelson (who was a leader at one of the men's houses here in Birmingham) and Tanya Courtnage (the 2nd in the women's house) decided to leave this week. They felt they were no longer called to the work here. We understand, but they left rather quickly and that was a blow. We pray that the Lord settles them into a new church and uses them in new ways to advance the kingdom.

Tomorrow Dave and I finally have an appointment with the hospital to find out more information about why I went into pre-term labor with Lily. Please pray that the appointment goes well, we get information and we can get some closure.

Well...this is a longer blog than normal as it is my first in a while, but I pray that this will be a way to keep in touch in a more consistent way.

Thanks for all the love and support you continue to show Dave & I.

Blessings,

Beth