Grace Place: Notes from the Gap

 Have you ever been so worried  about something that you couldn’t  handle making a decision? Many of our clients and readers understand that feeling all too well. That is what Grace Place is here for. We offer compassion, hope, and practical help  to anyone who is in an unplanned pregnancy. I remember one of our clients who was six months pregnant but in the midst of a difficult health situation with her husband and had left him. She was worried about housing, child care, holding down a  job. And the decisions needed for her unborn baby just couldn’t make their way to the top of the list. We walked her through the pregnancy test, helped her get a prenatal appointment, provided emotional support, practical material help.

We stayed  with her for two and a half years. We are sort of like Nanny McFee. When  you don’t want us but need us we are  here. When you want us but don’t need us, you move on. I guess you can say that we build relationships.  We offer car seat safety checks, helping families who can and  can’t afford carseats.

Did you know that it takes three full work days to qualify to check carseats? Technicians must understand the positions of airbags, different types of seat belts  (locking, not-locking) latchplates (locking, switchable, sliding, sewn-on,  and dynamic locking), and be able to install the myriad of carseats; then, teach someone else to install the car seat. Letty just qualified as our new  technician. At our last Carseat Safety Lane she helped families with 13 car seats. We have more seats on order because she needs to do 4 more. Our next Safety Lane will be in October.

BANQUET 2024: ALL STAR CAST! 

This year’s banquet will be held on September 17 from 7-9pm in the Ag Building of the Seward County Fair Grounds. We are featuring an all star cast again this year with John Ross  Catering our meal, Alisa Henderson entertaining with dining tunes, and two wonderful cli ents lined up to share their stories. Our promise to you is this: we will get you in and out in  two hours, from sitting down with a tasty meal to walking out the door. Your time is valuable  and we won’t waste a moment.  The menu is being provided by John Ross Catering from Garden City. He has provided the menu for the past three years. We have heard really good comments about his meal every year. John is the 2010 founder of John Ross & Co. and has previously worked as a chef at both the Ritz Carlton and at Elway’s Steakhouse in Denver, Colorado. All the food that he  serves is prepared from scratch and you can taste the difference.  Alisa Henderson will be performing during the dining portion of the evening with her own  collection of relaxing music. She is a collaborative pianist at Seward County Community College, also playing for Southwest Symphony, Rainbow Players, and teaching in her spare time.  We are frequently asked what DVD we used for the music after Alisa plays. Yes, she is that good!  

2024 BANQUET:

PAM STENZEL Encore!

Pam Stenzel has spent her entire adult life working with women experiencing crisis pregnancies, advocating for LIFE and helping students make the best choice and save sex for marriage. Pam’s personal story, being conceived in

rape and yet adopted and loved, gave her the passion to speak on

the value of every human life as well as walk along side women in

crisis and bring them help and hope. Pam’s life mission is to always

point to the value of every single person, created in God’s image,

with a plan and a purpose. Every person deserves the dignity and

respect bestowed upon them by their Creator first, every life has val-

ue because we are all children of God.

After graduating from Liberty University with a degree in psychology,

Pam began working with pregnancy help centers in the Minneapolis

area, eventually becoming director of Alpha Women’s Center in Prior

Lake, Minnesota. While working with Alpha Women’s Center, Pam

became keenly aware that many young women were making deci-

sions about sex, having no information about the consequences

those choices would bring. She began speaking to teens in her own

community, and eventually was asked to produce a video for use in

churches. In 1996, along with Youth For Christ, Pam’s talk to teens

“Sex Has A Price Tag” was released on VHS. This video is distributed

worldwide and has been translated in 11 different languages.

Pam began speaking on sexual integrity to students, parents and

educators full time and speaks LIVE to approximately 300,000 people

per year around the world.

Currently, Pam serves as the Client Services Director for Community

Pregnancy Clinics operating 5 clinics and 2 mobile clinics across

Southwest and Central Florida. She serves on the board of Safe Ha-

ven Baby Boxes, and is the director of the National Safe Haven Crisis

Hotline 1-866-99BABY1. Pam serves on the board of Personhood Alli-

ance and Personhood Florida, The board of Infinite Worth. Grace

Place uses her sexual integrity training for its workers.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We area open 9-5 Monday—Friday. I hesitate to say we need

volunteers because the ones we have are super great. But we CAN

use some help. Mostly we need boutique help. We sort the items and discard all that are stained, torn or worn out. The things we can not use get

donated to Et Cetera which is a Mennonite Mission. Volunteers usually choose a four hour window, one day per week. We are flexible with volunteers.

When they need to go out of town or to the doctor, they just let us know so that we don’t expect them. We have a variety of openings.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Choose a 4-hour time (8-12, 9- 1, 1-5, and

day of the week M, T, W, Th, F.)

2. Drop by and complete the volunteer application.

We’d love to see you!

GRACE PLACE PREQUEL

by Cindy Lyddon

“I the Lord of wind and plain, I will tend the poor and lame. I will set a feast for them my hand will save . . . Whom shall I send? Here I am Lord,

Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go Lord, if you lead me, I will hold your people in my heart.”

I stood in church singing these words and reflected on how God had saved me, grown me, and used me to reach others.

We were poor growing up. My dad was a verbally abusive, alcoholic father and mom jumped to make him happy. Both were too busy with their own problems to nurture me. Dad worked from home. This made it a no friend zone. I would walk to visit my Grandma who was a strong Christian. We

would have tea, play checkers, and she would listen to me for hours. Reading was my happy place until I was expelled from the public library for checking

out too many books. I never learned the art of talk. By 13 I got a job so I could buy school clothes. I accepted Jesus at 14. My safe harbor became the

church. I knew God loved me and he was my friend. We talked a lot.

At 15 I fell in love. At 18 I became pregnant. When I told my dad about the pregnancy, he just looked at me and said, “well, that’s that.” . My grandma said, “God will always love you.” We ended up in Kansas where Bill bought an

aviation operation. He worked constantly and I began the long process of learning how to be a mom and wife. After the kids were in school, I began college to be a teacher. I had forgotten how to study. “Oh God,” I said, “please help me learn. I promise to do whatever you want.” He answered my prayer. I flew through the studies, became a teacher and found a group with whom I loved to teach.

Twenty years later Jesus began calling me. My daily readings repeated child sacrifice verses. I read the Bible on my ipad and even began to wonder if the program was broken because it always started with the child sacrifices. I like to read historical fiction for fun. Even my pleasure reading was about Hezekiah. I heard his brother cry as he slid into Baal’s firey mouth. It chilled me to the bone as I realized that today people are sacrificing their children to the gods of pride and social standing.

I was in a new school. God began telling me that NOW it was time, he had something else for me. “Naw,” I thought. I didn’t want to. I really liked the people I was working with. But, we moved to a new building, everything was new and life became like walking through oatmeal. It was hard to use the phone, to use the computer, to go up the stairs. I couldn’t even form a complete sentence when talking to the principal! (She didn’t seem to notice?!)

When went to and from work I drove past a banner with a newborn that said, “Life, God’s greatest gift.” Twice daily my heart would start pounding. One day, as I drove into the school parking lot, my heart felt like it would explode. I knew it was God. I shouted, “FINE. I will quit.” I retired. By this time I was studying Nehemiah. Scripture stood out as if highlighted. God said, “who will

stand in the gap?” I began looking for a pastor to help me figure out what I needed to do. Twice the pastors suddenly moved away. God said, “My strength is sufficient for you. Open the center.” I didn’t want to. My husband was against the plan. I tried volunteering, it was awful.

I bought a How-To book as I argued with my calling and Bill’s discouragement. When God was pushing me, I took a step. When he stopped pushing, I stopped. God gave me nightmares of babies being burned and killed. It was enough to bring about another round of work. A local group that I belonged to had asked for donations for one of their workers. I was praying for the worker as I wrote a check. God whispered, “Do you love Me?” I started a new check. He whispered “Do you LOVE Me?” I paused. Then he whispered,

“DO YOU LOVE ME?” I wrote out a really big check. Apparently, that one was okay.

I started a steering committee and worked through all the paperwork necessary for a 501c3 and bylaws. Then we began praying for a building that we could afford. A local pastor told us, “Your dream is too small.“ She prayed a fabulous prayer and asked for no rent or utilities. God provided! I prayed for two file cabinets. Inside the closet were 24 cabinets stacked upon each other! I prayed about painting. Five people showed up. (Now, the painting was not professional work—but it was enough.)

And so we opened five years ago June 12, 2019. This spring God put these words on my heart: “Feed my sheep.” “Feed my lambs.” We face the evil one regularly. But through it all, God is faithful. He gives us the words. I look forward to the new home that God shows us for Grace Place. I am thankful for His love. But, some days I long for the rapture.