Love For Life Banquet!!!
And

Silent Auction

Held by

The Refuge
Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center

The banquet will begin at 7 PM on Thursday May 6th at the VFW Hall on S H 16 at FM 476 in Poteet, Texas. There is no charge for the meal. Just call, show up and enjoy a meal and some great entertainment and speakers!
If you are interested in the Silent Auction, you may want to show up a little early to browse and place your bids.

Our Speakers for the night are Ann Geroy of Mount Horeb House Ministries in Kerrville, Texas

Renae Riley of Grapevine Texas (no picture).

Singers are Billy Myers of Arlington, Texas

Danny Myers of Nasau Bay,near Houston,Texas

The Strings of Grace Band. The Strings of
Grace are a Southern Gospel, Country, Blue Grass quartet made up of two couples Mike and Linda Bender and Charles and Becky Lum.
Please RSVP as soon as possible at PO Box 509, Pleasanton Texas or call 830-742-3447 or 830-569-5883.


We are also Planning Volunteer training in June! If you are interested in volunteering contact me, Collene Myers at 630-742-3447.

As a reminder, Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center offers pregnancy testing and practical assistance through our free programs listed below:

Free Programs are
Confidential pregnancy testing
Lay counseling, and spiritual counseling
Teaching on healthy relationships, sexuality/abstinence, and STDs
Prenatal and Parenting classes
Abortion recovery classes for those who have already experienced it,
Maternity clothes
Baby clothes, diapers and many other items

So remember our location is in Poteet just a couple of blocks from the school at 815 School Drive.
If you would like to help The Refuge in some way other than counseling or volunteering at the center, you might want to organize a baby shower through your civic group or Sunday school class or ask your organization to have us come to speak about The Refuge.
For more information contact Collene Myers at 830-742-3447 or 830-569-5883.

Special points of interest:
(See below for articles on past events)

The Refuge
Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center
At Cowboy Homecoming!!!

August Rummage Sale

Love For Life Banquet

Long overdue. Busy is not a good enough excuse!

Please forgive me! I have been exceptionally busy, but that is not a good enough excuse for being so overdue on our news letter!

Growing Fast Now

We have settled into our new place. Ladies from FBC Pleasanton and Poteet came to decorate the counseling rooms, and the client bathroom. We have received many great donations and have had baby showers and a stuff the truck sponsored by various churches, such as Summerset Baptist, New Life Outreach, and Cowboy Fellowship.

We are starting to grow pretty fast now. We have 41 clients, not counting the parenting classes. We are on our 3rd parenting course now with an attendance rate of between 6 and 12.
Each client that enters The Refuge is presented the gospel. We have had 3
young ladies accept the Lord as their savior and others that have left interested in the gospel of Jesus. There have been some who said “ I never heard that before.” when I presented the gospel. That is really hard to believe in a Christian nation.

It is hard to know how many babies we may have saved, but I don’t have personal knowledge of any abortions that have occurred among the girls who have visited us; although there is one that is of concern. We need your constant prayers as do the women who are our clients.

Location
For those of you who don’t already know, we are located in Poteet at 815 School Drive.

Other News

We purchased a lot on Adams Street in Pleasanton, Texas a few months ago. It is an excellent location, less than a block from Pleasanton High school. We hope to
build within the next year.
We barely have enough volunteers to get by at present; so we will definitely need more before we can open a new center. If you are interested, please contact me, Collene Myers at:

The Refuge
Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center,
Po Box 509,
Pleasanton, TX, 78064

Or call 830-742-3447 or 830-569-5883 for more information.

Praise the Lord! What an amazing God we have! He has provided in ways I never expected!
Thank you Lord for the great opportunities you are providing us each day!

Prayer Points

• Praise the Lord for all the wonderful provisions, and for the ways that he is working in our lives and the lives of our clients.
  
  
• Praise God for providing me with a 2002 Ford Explorer with working air-conditioning!
  
  
• Pray for wisdom for myself and the other volunteers as we speak to the women and sometimes young men that we encounter.
  
  
• Volunteers!!! Thank you Lord for our wonderful volunteers, but please give us more. We still need more!

Old News!

Cowboy Homecoming!!!

• The Refuge had bunches of volunteers helping at their booth at the 44th annual Cowboy Homecoming. Among them were Peggy Maxfeldt, Catherine and Abby Favor, Robin Porter, Mary Roberts, Joyce Walding, Kerry Baxley, Collene Myers, Paul and Suzy Hull and their granddaughter. Mary Ann Boyd was very helpful in organizing volunteers.
  This is the second year for The Refuge to have a booth at the event. The Refuge offers much needed practical assistance through their free programs.

Volunteers manning the booth in this picture are, left to right, Mary,
Collene, Catherine, Peggy, and Kerry in the back.

Rummage Sale

We actually made a profit!
The Refuge held a Rummage sale Saturday August 29 from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. at The Fellowship Hall of First Baptist Church Pleasanton, TX. Many donations were brought and sold. We actually made
a profit! We also received lots of good public awareness.

Love For Life Banquet

The Love for Life Banquet was a great success. We had a wonderful speaker Becky Hyde, and some very talented singers, Billy and Danny Myers, and a great true life story from Martha Ojeda. The food was wonderful as well. With donations at the banquet and pledges received afterwards, we are well on our way to having our new building. We will be having another banquet again in the spring;
so if you missed this fantastic event, plan ahead for our next banquet in April.

In Him
ColleneMyers
The Refuge
Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center
830-569-5883
TheRefugeAtascosa@yahoo.com
http://www.therefugeinatascosa.blogspot.com/

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb." (Ps. 139:13 NIV)

It is our pleasure to invite you to the second annual Love for Life Fund Raising Banquet for The Refuge Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center on April 30th! We hope you will come and find out what we are all about. There is no charge to attend and the dinner is complimentary. We would just like to get to know you and would like you to know more about us. We also want to give you the opportunity to partner with us if you would like. So come join us! Our speaker is Becky Hyde, from Arlington Texas. Billy and Danny Myers will also be thrilling us with some great songs. Prior to dinner we will be entertained by the Cowboy Jamboree band.

The Refuge has had some very exciting things going on the last couple of months! We opened at 815 School Drive in Poteet Texas! And now we are the proud new owners of a piece of property on Adams Street just a block east of the Pleasanton High School. We will begin to build once we have raised adequate funds. Our target date to open the new facility is January 2010.

Come join us at the VFW Hall in Poteet Texas. For more information see our invitation included with this letter or call us at 830-742-3447.

Please pray for:

• The Love for Life Banquet to go well
• My car to be repaired quickly and inexpensively
• All the women who will be coming into the center
  
  

In Him,

Collene Myers

The Refuge

Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center

PO Box 509

Pleasanton, Texas
830-742-3447/ 830-569-5883

Hope You All Had A Happy New Year!

I have been exceptionally busy!
I just sent out contribution reports to all of you wonderful supporters. Thanks also to all of you who have prayed for us and given to The Refuge in so many other ways.

Needed ASAP
We are working on getting settled into our new place. We still need a couple of ladies or other groups to decorate the counseling rooms. They are stark at present. I will include a picture for you to see what I mean. This is crucial and needs to be done ASAP, because we will be opening in 4 weeks. Thanks to all the great donations we received from the doctor in Granbury, we have all the furniture we need to furnish the rooms. They just need dressing up a bit (drapes, wall hangings, end or corner tables, and etc). Of course if you have other furniture you would
like to decorate with, we will be excited to discuss it with you.

Ooops! We also need at least two TV/DVDs for the counseling rooms and some people willing to purchase bundles of DVDs (cost of 5 approximately $100.00)
We are located in Poteet just a block from the school at 815 School Drive. It is an excellent location and has parking between our office and the dental office, which makes it difficult for anyone to know if a client’s car is there for us or the dentist. (See pictures below.)

PS The Parking lot also needs work.

Exciting News
We signed a contract on a lot in Pleasanton to build on. It is an excellent location as well, less than a block from Pleasanton High school. We have enough money to purchase the lot, but we will need more money to build. We have two donors, standing by waiting to contribute
a total of $50,000 in matching funds toward the building of a home for The Refuge Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center. If you contribute toward this project, your money will go twice as far since we will have matching contributions for every dollar you donate. Perhaps the company where you work would be interested in contributing matching funds.

Send all contributions to:
The Refuge Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center,
Po Box 509,
Pleasanton, TX, 78064
Or call 830-742-3447 or 830-569-5883 for more information.

Praise the Lord! What an amazing God we have! He has provided in ways I never expected!
Thank you Lord for the new center location, for the furniture and office equipment, for money to have my car worked on, and for the great piece of property we are purchasing!

Prayer Points

• Volunteers!!! That we will have lots of volunteers for the training.


• That we will recieve donationns that are needed before the openig.


• That we will be able to get everything organized quickly for opening.


• My 1994 Jeep Cherokee is having a few problems. Please pray for it’s healing as it is in the shop. God continues to provide. I was given money for it’s repair!!
  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It is my greatest desire that all of you wonderful supporters who have prayed for us and given to The Refuge in so many ways have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

We have wonderful news! Although we are still looking at properties to buy, we have found a great place to rent until we are able to purchase and either build or remodel a building! And our new landlord is giving us a fantastic deal, because she supports what we are doing. It is in Poteet and located just a block from the school at 815 School Drive. It is in an excellent location and has great parking between our office and a dental office. This will make it impossible for anyone to know if a client’s car is there for us or the dentist, or the real estate office that is housed in the same building with us. And if a girl doesn't have a car, it is within walking distance of the high school or most other locations in town. (See pictures below.)



We are looking at a lot in Pleasanton that we could purchase to build on. It is an excellent location as well, less than a block from the Pleasanton High school. We have enough money to purchase the lot, but we will need more money in order to build.
We have two donors that are standing by waiting to contribute a total of $50,000 in matching funds toward the purchase of or the building of a home for The Refuge Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center. As it is so close to the end of the year, it is our hope that some of you will consider end of the year contributions toward this project. Your money will go twice as far since we will have the matching contributions for every dollar you donate. Remember, in order to receive credit for this year’s contributions, your envelope must be post marked by December 31st.

Send all contributions to:

The Refuge
Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center,
Po Box 509,
Pleasanton, TX, 78064

Praise the Lord! We have more good news. Within 3 days of the board’s making the decision to rent the office space, I received an email from my son that a pastor sent him an email telling him of a doctor who contacted him asking if he knew of a mission that needed some equipment. He is donating exam tables and rolling stools, office chairs, waiting room furniture, cabinets, desks and chairs and some other things. What an amazing God we have!

Again, have a very Merry Christmas and a joy filled and blessed New Year!

Special points of interest:

• Our "Love For Life Banquet will be held February 26, 2009.
• We will be having training for our volunteers February 27 & 28, 2009.
• Open House will be early in early March.
  
  

Prayer Points

• Volunteers!!! That we will have lots of volunteers for the training.
• That we will be able to get everything organized quickly for opening.
• That we will receive other donations that are needed before opening.
• That planning for the “Love for Life“ Banquet will go smoothly and we will have a good crowd.
• Praise and thanks to the Lord for a running vehicle! And thanks to Pastor Kerry who brought me a 1994 Jeep Cherokee to replace my van that stopped running again. God continues to provide as we have need.
  

In Him
ColleneMyers
The Refuge
Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center
830-569-5883
TheRefugeAtascosa@yahoo.com
http://www.therefugeinatascosa.blogspot.com/

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb." (Ps. 139:13 NIV)

Update On The Refuge

We have new and exciting things happening concerning The Refuge. We are looking at some properties as possible sites for the opening of The Refuge. What is more exciting is that we have two contributors (wishing to remain anonymous) who have committed a total of $50,000.00 toward the purchase of a property. They are asking us to raise matching funds from others in the community. Their goal is to help us open The Refuge doors debt free, which is a goal of mine as well. Please help us raise the money we need to purchase one of these properties. We need to be open now! I have already received phone calls from prospective clients and mothers of prospective clients in desperate need of help.

More Great News is that the Cowboy Jamboree is hosting a benefit for The Refuge on October 28th. The admission is only $4.00 and we are asking that you bring a baby gift as well. It can be something as simple as a baby rattle or a receiving blanket. Two of our biggest needs are diapers (all sizes, 1-5) and wipes. Please come to the Jamboree and show your support for The Refuge and have a great time in the process. There will be lots of great gospel music and refreshments as well; so come on out to the VFW Hall at 7:00 PM on October 28.

We still need more volunteers soon for our training. We need volunteers to counsel as well as to help with reception, bookkeeping, and to organize the office and donations that will be coming in. We need someone to help us set up our blessing room.
For information on being a volunteer or making a contribution please call Collene Myers at 830-569-5883.

We had a great time at the Atascosa County Fair selling lemonade and nuts on October 4th and 5th.

Remember, please come and join us for the All Gospel Cowboy Jamboree to benefit The Refuge on October 28th!
Admission is only $4.00 + one baby item (This can be anything from diapers to wipes to baby clothes to a baby toy. There is no minimum or maximum cost for these items. Bring what you can afford, and if you can’t bring an item we won’t turn you away.)

Pray about These Needs of The Refuge

· The right property for The Refuge
· More volunteers to turn in their applications
· Male volunteers or strong women to help pick up donations and take to the storage unit
· Shelves for storage and display
· Educational supplies- TV/DVD Player, DVDs, Books, Pamphlets, Bible studies, and etc.
(One can contribute toward a bundle of these items).
· That we will have good attendance at the benefit.

In Him
ColleneMyers
The Refuge
Atascosa Pregnancy Care Center
830-569-5883
TheRefugeAtascosa@yahoo.com
http://www.therefugeinatascosa.blogspot.com/


"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb." (Ps. 139:13 NIV)

What's New This Month!

What’s New With The Refuge?

We have new churches and individuals coming along side to support the refuge. Thanks so much to all you volunteers and those who support The Refuge through your gifts. Without you, The Refuge would not be poising itself to open soon!

We still need more volunteers soon for our training. Volunteers can help with various jobs. You are not all expected to counsel. We need volunteers to help with reception, to organize the office and donations that will be coming in. We need someone to help us set up our blessing room. We rented a storage unit because donations of baby items and furniture have been coming in and we had no place to put them. My house was running over. Praise the Lord! That’s a good problem.
For information on being a volunteer or making a contribution please call Collene Myers at 830-569-5883

We are still looking for property!

We have an office space on Reed Street, but we will not be serving women from this location. It will give us a good place to get organized and to meet with business people, pastors and others from the community. However, what we really need is a piece of property on which to place a building or better yet, a property with a building already on it. We have also been looking at places for lease, but haven’t been successful in finding what we need.
The South Texas Regional Health Fair went well. Many people came by our booth and received information. We made new contacts and met possible new clients as well.

Up coming events:
Please come and join us for these events.

· October 4th and 5th we will have a booth at the Atascosa County Fair.
· October 28th there will be an all gospel Cowboy Jamboree to benefit The Refuge.
Admission is only $4.00 + one baby item (This can be anything from diapers to wipes to baby clothes to a baby toy. There is no minimum or maximum cost for these items. Bring what you can afford.)
· November?- Volunteer Training

Pray about These Needs of The Refuge

· A property in which to open (rental or purchase)
· More volunteers to turn in their applications
· Male volunteers or strong women to help pick up donations and put them in the storage unit
· Shelves for storage and display
· Educational supplies- TV/DVD Player, DVDs, Books, Pamphlets, Bible studies, and etc. You can contribute toward a bundle of these items.
· Office equipment and supplies
· That we will have good attendance at the fund raisers.

Personal Prayer Request

· Please pray for my grandson Neill. He is having another MRI to determine what the problem is with the function of his eyes. They are not sure if it is a muscle problem or neurological, but he can’t look straight at an object. He looks from the side. He is also having a little bit of a balance problem only occasionally. He had one, but it didn’t turn out. He will have to be sedated for this next one.
· His mother Crystal is having lots of kidney problems, stones and infections, and was in the hospital four times during the month of September.
· I also have been having quite a few health issues of my own.

The RefugeAtascosa Pregnancy Care Center

830-569-5883

TheRefugeAtascosa@yahoo.com

http://www.therefugeinatascosa.blogspot.com
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's

womb." (Ps. 139:13 NIV)