Friday, May 24, 2013

Greetings Beloved: As we approach the middle of 2013 we stop to think back on the year as it has been so far. GRANDMAS It has been an eventful and moving year for Beth's mother, Ginny Proctor. Ginny (Nan) started the year living in Sandy Springs, Georgia near her daughter Brook. When Brook moved north a bit Nan moved with her into a new assisted-living facility which appeared to be working out nicely. But only about five weeks into it they announced that they could not care for her needs and gave notice that she had to go. Research indicated that options near Brook had dried up and a facility in Sarasota, Florida looked like the best choice. Soooo... this dear lady is faced with yet another move, this time to live near her son Chris and daughter Holly & is happening as we write (Memorial Day weekend). Pray for a peaceful adjustment for Ginny to The Springs of Sarasota. Our prayer is that this will be her home for many more years as it is a skilled nursing facility, able to provide sufficient care on a lovely campus just minutes from her children. Dan's mother continues to be quite stable and actually joined us for a special day at the beach in May. She has not taken food or drink by mouth since 2011 until recently when she is trying to eat a little bit again - thinking that her blocked esophagus may have been opened. That would be an awesome thing for her if she can get back to eating again. TRIPS Beth continues to be on the go a bunch, helping out with her mom, as well as, grandchildren in Georgia and Texas. Most recently we enjoyed a very special journey to Fernandina Beach, Florida where we gathered with our children, in-loves, and grandchildren in a lovely home right on the beach. It was a special time which we hope establishes an annual tradition. We not only enjoyed Lylah (3), Caedmon (1) and Caroline (1/2) but we got the awesome news that our Hannah will be birthing a first-born child in early November. So --- our family continues to grow and we are thrilled. Speaking of growth, it looks like our Sharon will finish up her intensive time of growth at Mercy Ministries in St. Louis, MO sometime this summer. She then plans to join Sarah Beth, Richie and Caroline in Houston to begin her training & career as a CNA. We see His prints of mercy all around our children & bless God for His unfailing Love in their lives. CHURCH NEWS It has been a blessed year of ministry so far at North Park Church. We are sad to be losing our wonderful Associate Pastor, Jonathan Shirk, who has taken a call to be lead pastor of a small congregation back near his home-town (Lancaster, PA). Dan is busily engaged in the search for a new director of Student Ministries and we hope to fill Jonathan's very large shoes by summer's end. Andrew has hit full-stride in his labor as lead pastor of King's Chapel in Carrolton, GA. His church is growing and he is becoming a very busy pastor and dad, which keeps him and us on our knees for a deeper penetration of the gospel in every area of life. SUMMER PLANS We anticipate a full summer. Beth has plans to travel to Atlanta and Houston in June, then Michigan in July. Dan will be continuing his doctoral class at RTS Charlotte in July & we both hope to round out summer's end serving at Joni & Friends Family Retreat at Camp Jumonville in August. Thanks for letting us share some of our latest adventures. May you be seeing God at work for you and yours as well. In the grace of Jesus & for HIs Praise~ Dan/Beth
HENDLEY FAMILY CHRISTMAS LETTER AND YEAR-END REPORT FOR 2012 Greetings Beloved: Green things, blue things, old things, new things. We are writing to tell you things. Things that have happened, things that are true. Things that we have done and do. We’ll tell it once; we’ll tell it clear. We’ve sent to you cause you are dear. Enjoy! GRANDMAS (because some things are just grand) After a very shaky 2011, this year was much better for our mothers. Ginny Proctor continues to live near Atlanta and has enjoyed special trips this year to Florida (twice!) and to West Virginia for son Clay's big 50th! Dan’s mom also made it to Hannah’s wedding in March; her health is much more stable and she continues to enjoy bridge with Ocala friends. GRANDCHILDREN (because some things are super-grand) Then there were THREE! We had some very sweet times with Lylah and Caedmon in Mississippi this year. Caedmon has become such a fine little brother and Lylah delights everyone. She even got to be in her Auntie Boo’s wedding (see below). Then the day after the wedding, her aunt Sarah sat everyone down to break the big news that she would be giving us a third grandchild. On October 31, with Mamie Beth there to help, Caroline Faith made her grand entrance in Houston. Mom, Dad and baby too, are all doing well and getting to know each other. YES, THE WEDDING HAPPENED As we announced in last year’s report, we had a big Florida wedding in early March. Dom and Hannah Foti got it together before family and friends at Covenant Church in Palm Bay. It was a spectacular scene and great fun. Then the very next day, we reunited with that same church family, where Dan preached for the first time since October, 2006. The whole weekend was such a blessing for all of us. THE JOBS REPORT In our troubled economy we are very blessed to have so many employed members of our family. But the jobs have changed for most of us. Dan and Dom have been the stable ones, still working at North Park Church and Rockwell-Collins. The skinny on the rest is: Andrew was youth pastor at Faith PCA in Brookhaven. Now -- lead pastor of King’s Chapel PCA in Carrolton, GA. It took some special workings of the Lord to make this happen, but AW and Mer now live close to Mer’s parents and lead a neat, growing church an hour west of Atlanta. Dan had the privilege of preaching for AW’s installation service in September. We look forward to our trip south after Christmas to see the Hendley's new home and enjoy the grands, Nan, and our extended family visiting for the Holidays. Sarah Beth, after much searching, found a new position as a nurse practitioner at the University of Texas Health Science Center, where she is on maternity leave at the moment, enjoying motherhood with our precious Caroline Faith. Richie, formerly head trainer for the Rice football team took a new position this Fall as head trainer over all sports at Houston Baptist University, which has allowed him a bit more flexibility to bond with his wife and new daughter as well. Hannah continues to work at Christian Care Medishare in Melbourne, but recently received a major promotion to head of marketing. She also is the owner-manager of Foti’s photos. You can see her work on http://blog.medi-share.org/ or Foti’s photos on facebook. Sharon spent some of her year working in the photography business as part of Dean Stewart Photography in Melbourne. Recently she has been back up north working with Marion Leggett for Camp Pinnacle, a retreat center in NY. Starting in January she will relocate to St. Louis where she has been invited to join Mercy Ministries, a Christian residential program for young women working through various life issues. 2012 has been a tough year for Sharon, but she has persevered in hope, and we are praying for joyful breakthroughs in the new year. As you can see, we have been working – and so has the Lord. He has been working in and through our family spread around the country, and He has been working in our church family. It has been a good year to be a part of North Park Church, here in the North Hills of Pittsburgh. This year we have been blessed to add a new asst. pastor to our team, helping us develop our care group ministry in the Body. You can find us online at www.northparkepc.org. Dan’s sermons are available, written or audio, under “resources.” Plans for 2013 include Florida trips in January, May, and July, as Dan continues doctoral studies and our family gathers for the first time for a beach week of fun in the sun. Other trips still TBD, but they will likely have something to do with three precious grandchildren, two beloved mothers, & a world desperately in need of God's love. With all that changes, we appreciate ever more those things that do not change – most especially the mighty, saving love of Jesus, whose name remains ever sweet and whose faithfulness never ends. email: Beth- beth.hendley@gmail.com or Dan - danhendley@northparkepc.org Home address: 306 Forest Edge Court, Wexford, PA 15090 724-759-7039

Sunday, March 6, 2011

FOUR FOR FOUR ONCE AGAIN



So much great news to share:

On Valentines Day, we got the news that we will have a new MALE addition to our family in July. Yes, Meredith of Mississippi will be giving birth to a baby boy. The Hendley name survives another generation and Pastor Andrew
rejoices. It a busy season for the MS Hendleys, but they are very grateful for how the Lord is prospering their life and ministry in Brookhaven. We delight with them in all that God is doing!

That very same weekend, Hannah made another huge personal trek as she left her brother's family, her church where she worked, as well as her adopted state, and returned to Central Florida. She is now back living in Melbourne where she is "in relationship" with Dominic Foti and.... once again, gainfully employed. Hannah has been hired by Christian Care Medi-Share, where so many of our friends work. That means all four of the Hendley children are in
great jobs and for that we praise the Lord. Now for more news from recent months....

This has been quite a season of maternal focus for Dan and Beth. Beth's mother, after her stroke last summer, and subsequent moves, decided to try assisted living. She transitioned over the Christmas Holiday to Dogwood Forest of Marietta, GA near Beth's sister, Brook. She is still disabled on her left side, and in need of much care and attention, but enjoys a sharp mind and the love of her friends and family. We just received the good news that her kidney mass is not growing, which means no surgery at this time. For now, Ginny can still receive rehab at Dogwood, so she continues
to focus on gaining as much mobility as possible with use of a hemi-walker. She also appreciates the social and musical activities that provide her such daily encouragement and enjoyment. Beth just returned home from another lovely week with her mom, a gift that she treasures dearly.

Dan's mother, after a lengthy hospital stay in December, decided she could no longer live alone. So Dan and Beth took ten days in January to move her around the corner into her assisted living arrangement. Granmimi is missing her independence but still gets out to play bridge and have dinner with her supper club. She too is learning to enjoy bingo and her friends at Emeritus of Ocala.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch in Houston, Sarah Beth is planning for the end of her one- year fellowship at MD Anderson. That means a job search for a position as nurse practitioner in the field of pediatric oncology. She has
possibilities around the country. Pray for peace and wisdom as she assesses her future. Sarah continues to run like crazy and just finished her fifth marathon!

The Pittsburgh Hendleys are hoping Spring is near and enjoying proclaiming and serving Jesus at church and school, in the community, and at Loafers Bread Company. We are greatly looking forward to being grandparents for the second time this summer, as we await the birth of Lylah's baby brother in July!

The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

HOUSTON, HERE SHE COMES!


Yes, and her name is Sarah Beth whose eagle (actually Solara) is landing there in early September where she will begin her life as a nurse practitioner working at MD Anderson Hospital. Sarah Beth will be there for at least a year and likely longer as she focuses her energies on becoming an expert in pediatric oncology at one of the nation's top hospitals. Sarah has found it hard to leave central Florida and so many friends, but she is excited about what the big-city hospital, not to mention a new city church, holds for her and she is very glad that her friend, Catherine Gartzke, is only a few hours away in Big D. We continue to be amazed and thrilled with what God has wrought from Sarah's experiences in her own battle and win over leukemia, but this major change for her is only one of the big news items in what has proven to be yet another summer of change for our family.
Another major adjustment came on Father's Day when Beth's mother, Ginny Proctor (aka Nan), was hit by a stroke in the middle of the night. The stroke left her paralyzed on her left side and the tests that she underwent also revealed a mass on her kidney. As she sought recovery in hospitals in Melbourne, Orlando and Sarasota she has dealt with infections, bed sores, contagious diseases, and all the general slings and arrows of our medical system. But she has battled. She is mentally sharp, speaks well, and is rehabbing to regain use of her limbs. So many have joined us in prayer, and we continue to request of our heavenly Father that her recovery may allow her to return home someday to her condo in West Melbourne. But, between now and then, there is much more rehab and a possible surgery to remove a kidney. So, we pray and wait and cheer her on. Nan will begin discussions on Sept. 8 with a team of specialists from Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, to determine the fate of the mass on her kidney. Beth and her siblings continue to cycle in for a week or two at a time to assist Nan in her recovery. It has been quite a summer of seeing God at work.
We have been praying for some time now that Hannah Ruth would be able to go from part-time to full-time in her position as Assistant Youth Director of Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Brandon, Mississippi. That prayer was answered with a "yes" just about a week ago; thus Hannah will be able to retire from her restaurant job and focus her energies on discipleship ministry with several young ladies in her youth group. Meanwhile, she has also relocated to a lovely home nearer her work place with another twenty-something gal who holds a similar position in a sister church. We are, with Hannah, thankful for this provision. Hannah continues to delight all of us with her photography expertise, especially filming our sweet grandbaby Lylah at every new and exciting development of her young life. Hannah has also recently been requested to handle all of the photography for her first wedding, that of a friend and fellow team missionary to Ireland.
Speaking of Lylah, our precious little girl has had her first birthday, complete with a ballerina theme, and is keeping her parents and grandparents, along with her aunties, proud and happy. At every turn with her, especially since she looks so much like our own "babies", we are reminded of the happy days that seem like yesterday, spent reveling in the joys and delights of parenting young children. Lylah's daddy, although he has preached several times at Faith Church Brookhaven, has been recorded for posterity, and we had the privilege of hearing his first sermon from the book of Colossians. That is a book that even his dad, in over 30 years of pastoral ministry, has not preached through yet; so the boy is opening up some new Hendley pathways through scripture. Lylah's mommy has not only proven to be a great mom, but is now also entering the realms of women's and youth ministry bible study leadership this fall. The Faith Church family continually reminds us on our visits how grateful they are to have Andrew, Meredith, and Lylah on board!
The Pennsylvania Hendleys continue to enjoy life at North Park Church, where we have the privilege of seeing God at work on a daily/weekly basis to show Himself strong on behalf of His people. It is such a joy to be in this place! We continue to see friends from Florida cycle up this way, most recently Art Wimer, and the Jonathan Ingrahams (30 min north at Geneva College) as well as Erin Middleton's family (her mom lives up here). Sharon has a very busy schedule of college courses and work at Loafers, but carved out time to help us speerhead some community gatherings in our little townhome area, that we hope may turn into a fall evangelistic bible study. She was also blessed to be able to spend a great week at Joni and Friends Family Retreat, south of Pittsburgh, along with her mom, seeing God do more than we could imagine at western PA's inaugural family retreat. Beth has become quite the traveler, spending much of the last few months in Florida with her Mom as well as excursions with Dan to Colorado (for the EPC General Assembly) and Lylassippi. She will be back down in Sarasota in mid September, not only to assist, but also to celebrate Nan's 75th birthday. The Lord has been so gracious to get us to this place after this eventful summer!
So, we are excited about the Fall, about our children's new adventures, about Nan's recovery, about what the Lord will do in our churches & in our country, and about what the Florida Gators will accomplish with a handsome young Ocala boy playing quarterback.

Friday, May 28, 2010

SPRING 2010






As we approach summer in Pittsburgh and the beginning of our second year here, we continue to experience many exciting transitions within our family. In early May, we were back in Florida to see Sarah Beth awarded her master's degree in nursing from the University of Central Florida. Sarah has worked long and hard for this honor and now faces a huge personal transition. Pending a successful board exam, she will be leaving Central Florida and heading to Houston in early September. There she will take up a year long fellowship at MD Anderson, where she will work and get further specialization training in her chosen field of pediatric oncology. By the time she is finished there, she is hopeful of being well prepared to take on her new role as a pediatric nurse practitioner. We are amazed at God's provision for Sarah and look forward to seeing how He will continue His faithful mercies to her in this next year.
Besides celebrating Sarah's achievement, we got to visit with Beth's mom and our Mississippi family, minus Andrew; so we thoroughly enjoyed having Hannah, Meredith and Lylah to help us celebrate. Our focus in that brief time was on our family, but we did get to reconnect with several friends in the Orlando and Brevard County areas--how sweet. While there, we received the news that Andrew had passed his ordination exams! - which takes us to our next trip. On June 13 we will be in Brookhaven, Mississippi for AW's ordination. Dan's mom, Granmimi, will be joining us for this special time of meeting her great granddaughter for the first time and watching her son help ordain her grandson to gospel ministry. Dan will be preaching for that service while both of us will marvel at what God has done with and for our son, his family, and Faith Church. We're also looking forward to reconnecting with our precious grandbaby and seeing all the new things she is doing to get ready to walk.
Hannah's summer will be dominated by her labors as a youth ministry assistant for Lakeside Pres in Brandon MS, where she will be spending lots of time at camps and missions trips, connecting with her students and assisting them in growing and building God's Kingdom together. We pray alot for Boo's passion for the ministries God has given her, as well as her safety in doing so, but mostly that she would glorify Jesus in all that she is for Him as she walks worthy of His high call upon her life.
When we are back home, we continue to enjoy life together and with our church family at North Park Church. Western PA has been gorgeous this Spring, so as Sharon maintains a busy workload of mathematics at the Community College of Allegheny County, she gets to study in the beautiful outdoor array of forest and flower that is our back yard. She has done quite well in her classes so far, even on her many tests, which has been one of her college concerns. The Lord provided Sharon a school break that "just happened" to coincide with Sarah's graduation. That same provision is occurring later this summer as she has a break between summer and fall terms, just in time to participate as a short term missionary at the first ever Joni and Friends Family Retreat in the Pittsburgh area. We praise God for Sharon's heart for outreach in our community!
In March we had a neat opportunity to visit Laguna Beach, Calif for a weeklong conference featuring Henry Cloud and John Townsend, two of our favorite Christian psychologists. The Ultimate Leadership week was a great time to further understand who we are at the core of our being and how that impacts our relationships and ministry. We thank the Lord and North Park church for the further equipping we received there and trust Him for what He will continue to do!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

We Find Grace Again in 20 and 10

Our beautiful first granddaughter continues to bring great joy to our hearts and lives; in fact we had her and her parents and her sweet aunts all here in PA for Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed their visit. We are so grateful for how the Lord continues to lead and guide each one down that growth path in Christ.

Here are some early January 2010 highlights, for which to join us in thanking God:

Sharon Leigh begins her trek back to college life here at our excellent community college taking classes that will hopefully lead her down a career path in nutrution; we thank God for her patience in waiting to get here and get established. She is out ice skating w/a friend in our wintry wonderland as we write this. Sharon requests prayer that she would test well in her class

Hannah began her new position as a youth intern at Lakeside Church, an EPC congregation in the greater Jackson area. She found out in December about this happy provision and is very excited and prayerful about connecting w/middle and high school girls in discipling relationships. Would you pray that Hannah would love these young ladies well?
Sarah Beth completed her fourth 26.2 mile run this morning in the 30 degree Orlando weather, competing in the Disney Marathon there---we are amazed and excited for her, but prayerful as well as she thinks she sustained a stress fracture that needs healing. Sarah came home to her apartment and God's latest provision in her life is our good friend, the lovely Jessica Solid from Palm Bay, who is moving in to be Sarah's roommate and one of UCF's best college transfer students. So Sarah and Jessica will have each other to lean on as they both continue their studies. Sarah is set to graduate in May 2010 w/her masters in nursing as a pediatric nurse practitioner, specializing in pediatric oncology. She is asking God to provide a one year fellowship opportunity out in TX upon graduation, where she would get further training in the field of oncology.

Andrew and Meredith and baby Lylah continue to thrive in Brookhaven, MS about an hr south of Hannah. They are well loved and supported in their youth role there and are excited about God's provsion of a new senior pastor coming to join them in March. As so often happens on this side of glory though, some sadness accompanies Pastor Russ & Amanda's arrival, as they recently delivered their second baby, who slipped away and on into Heaven only a few days after her birth. We mourn the loss of little Viviana and pray for God's peace to attend her family at this time of tremendous transition in their lives.
Dan and Beth requested your prayers for God's help as we met with leaders at North Park Church this past weekend. God did some wonderful things in our time together, giving us precious unity in Him and speaking to us about His desire for mentoring and discipling w/in a major emphasis on small groups, while also reaching beyond our walls into our community for the sake of His gospel in many lives. Thank you for those prayers and for your constant support of His work thru clay pots like us. One of our next personal ministry concerns is that both of us will be travelling to an Ultimate Leadership Week (in CA) March 17-21 and gleaning from the leadership training insights of Henry Cloud and John Townsend. Would you pray for us as we prepare for this intense week, that God would empty us of self and plant within us fertile seeds of growth that would allow us to further take up the mantel of servant leadership in the precious
body of Christ at North Park Church and beyond. Thank you!