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WHO ARE WE?
 EDITOR: Hello. My name is Pat Gates. Welcome to Our Hope, a publication for women
who are undergoing various trials in life. Here's a little about myself: I'm 55 years old, the mother of two boys
(one married), and grandmother of Dacey. One of my sons was born with severe congenital heart disease and I understand
all the heartache of raising a child with physical infirmity, as well as all the blessings and joys, which are many! .
I have lived with chronic illness since 1992; the medical terminology being "Pathological attentional and intentional
gating of sensory information" and "Pathologic preparation for movement." In other words, something is
wrong with what controls the input and output of sensory information and "preparation for movement" systems so
that my brain misinterprets sensory information and the signals that give my body needed energy for movement are
disrupted. This results in weakness, fatigue and various neurological symptoms. And now, 17 years later, I've just
been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
  CO-EDITOR: Hi. I'm Cindy Granke. My husband, Arnie, preaches for the Woodland church of Christ
in Sumter, S.C. (and in recent years has also worked with the American Red Cross). We were married in 1967 and
have been blessed with three children, (one of whom was killed in an automobile accident in 2000); and eleven
grandchildren, (one of whom died at birth). I'm 64 years young. (~_~) About 14
years ago I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, after living with debilitating symptoms for several years before finding
a doctor who recognized the illness. More recently I was diagnosed with diabetes. Over
the past few years my ability to have folks over to my home, or to visit has become limited. Learning to use the
computer opened up a whole new world of opportunity for teaching, and encouraging others, as well as myself. During
the months after my daughter died I prayed that God would give me the strength, and opportunity to help others who suffer
through that terrible emptiness. When Pat asked me to help her with Our Hope, I knew my prayer had been answered.
 JOANNE BECKLEY: I am the daughter of a preacher with a wonderful heritage of the
gospel of Jesus Christ from four generations who lived before I came along. I grew up wanting to marry my own "preacher-man"
and we would go to far-away places to share the light of the gospel I had been so privileged to grow up within. Today, my
preacher-man and I live in South Africa where he travels between Zimbabwe and South Africa carrying that same light. We reared
our three sons in this country and they now live in the States and have provided us with five grandchildren and a sixth one
soon to be adopted.
I'm just an ordinary woman who loves the sunshine. Even though I often have to play the "Glad Game"
(taken from the book "Pollyanna") when I am faced with problems this world hands out to all of us, I do love to
share smiles with all I meet. It is when I receive in return what I call "lost smiles" that I realize yet again
that we are not alone with our pain, our fears, our loneliness. Our Hope was designed to help each other through the
hope that Jesus offers each one of us. May my participation be of help in some small way.
 JOYCE JAMERSON: Hello to all; my name is Joyce Jamerson. I’m happy to join Pat, Cindy & JoAnn for
some occasional writing for Our Hope. We all know one another and have for some years now. Although I was born
in Ohio; raised in Virginia, and have lived in several southeastern states, my home now is Killen, Alabama. My preacher
husband and I live fairly close to one of our three sons; the other two live about 2 ½ hours away, so we like seeing
them and the seven grandchildren more often.
Our youngest child and only daughter died suddenly in 1993, due to a malignant brain tumor. All of our
children teach us lessons of life; not only in their years at home, but as they marry and leave home and yes, even in death.
As a result, I have authored a book, “Will you wipe my tears?” and it was released in early February, ‘08.
It deals primarily with helping others in times of sorrow.Trauma has a way of affecting health issues, so for some years now,
I have lived with interstitial cystitis, fibromyalgia and celiac disease. A dietary approach seems to suit me best,
so proper diet is a constant concern.
My hobby, when I’m not working in the resource room
at church or writing children’s Bible lessons, is quilting. I love to cut up fabric and sew it back together again!
Our Hope has been a
source of encouragement to me, so now, perhaps I can also be of encouragement to you.
 KATHEY FREEMAN: I am 54 years old, and I live in San Antonio, Texas. My husband, Doug, was in
the United States Air Force for 29 years before retiring 2 ½ years ago. Moving with the Air Force was very difficult
for me, physically, but we have traveled to many places and have been so blessed by the Christians that came into our lives
along the way. We moved back to San Antonio shortly before Doug retired, and we worship with the West Ave. church of
Christ in San Antonio.
We have two wonderful children.
Our son, Joshua, is 20 years old and is a junior at Texas A & M University in College Station. Our daughter, Elizabeth,
is 18 and will soon be a freshman at A & M. I used to agonize over the fact that they had never known what it was
like to have a mother who wasn’t sick, but they have been such blessings in my life. I have not had diabetes as long, but I have lived with lupus and fibromyalgia for
a long time. It is my hope that any coping skills that I have learned can be a benefit to others.
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