2010-2011 Shining Light Member's blog

Hi, my name is Robert. I am a senior, and I currently am in my fourth year of Shining Light. Concerning my background, I am a musician; more specifically a pianist, singer, and I’ve composed, but I wouldn’t consider myself a composer. I hope to pursue a career in opera, but honestly, I just want to become a musician, whatever that means. Nonetheless, for the past two years, I was accepted as a scholarship student to the Juilliard Pre-College division for voice, basically Juilliard geared to grade school students (to give you a picture, it’s the one that August Rush did, only a lot less dramatic). This program takes place on Saturdays during the school year. I’ve also participated in the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (“Tanglewood”) and the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts, all of which have enriched my understanding of music and of life in general.

I consider Shining Light to be a vital part of my musical and spiritual background, this year being no different. Shining Light has kept me from being pigeon-holed in classical voice by providing me opportunities to sing rock and R&B type styles. It has also given me exposure and experience in dance of various styles and plain acting. All of these have benefitted my musicality immensely.

But the main reason why I enjoy and appreciate Shining Light so much is because of manifest closeness of God I feel in it, whether on stage singing, writing a letter to an inmate, practicing a dance routine, or having small groups. It is said that the gates are Heaven are near the gates of Hell, and we experience that every time we walk into a prison and perform for the audience there. God uses us as his “shining light” to communicate to the inmates a message of hope, a message seldom preached in those facilities. Shining Light is such a vehicle to get across God’s amazing love, both to the audience and to us; having both seen and participated in Shining Light shows, I can honestly say that I am more greatly impacted on stage than off. Shining Light has been invaluable in keeping me on the righteous path for these grueling High School years. Having a network of passionate, Christian friends is something I wouldn’t trade for the world. I feel so blessed to be able to participate in this group, a group which has a powerful message and is unique in the United States and perhaps even the world in its mode of evangelism.

I have been at Teen Challenge several times, and if I’m not mistaken, this is my seventh time there. Teen Challenge is always a blessing. Local audiences are polite, but not responsive, whereas some facility audiences are rude, and responsive in that way. Teen Challenge, however, is a perfect balance of both elements. Considering this was our first show of the year, and returning members were rusty and new members were…new, the show was still a diamond in the rough. According to some audience members, it was difficult to tell that there were technical errors, but on stage, it seemed like we weren’t up to par. I was extremely impressed that the men weren’t acknowledging our faux pas, like so many others would do in other facilities. Despite our slip-ups, it reminded me that God works even in those situations— He drove through the message we all came to share, regardless of how well we danced or sang. I think that was most evident in the song “The Lord’s Prayer”, when at the end, all the members of the audience stood up and cheered. It was a glorious moment.

After the show, I was on a spiritual high. It’s always been difficult for me to step out of my comfort zone and really give my all to Jesus as I worship; but at Teen Challenge, I finally busted through that wall, and it felt so good. God has really used Shining Light to bring me closer to Him, and it’s been a remarkable experience. Whether it’s our culminating tour, a local prison, or a local community performance, God never ceases to amaze me through Shining Light. It has left an indelible mark on my spiritual walk and shown me the true meaning of the phrase, “God will provide.”

Hello to everyone out there! I’d like to introduce myself…altough, you could just read my bio. In the case that you did not check out my delightful yet short biography, I can fill you in. My name is Kelsey Snavely, and I am a recent, as in about four months ago, High School graduate from Manheim Central located in…you got it, Manheim. Coincidently, the same location as my home.

Throughout high school, I was always involved in pretty much any drama that was on our stage, and the wonderful opportunity to play several leads in musicals and plays. I was quite sad to see that part of my life end, and then remembered a wonderful show I had seen presented at Manheim Brethern in Christ Church by Shining Light. So, long-ish story short, I am now a member of Shining Light. Yay me!

Anyway, my first night at Shining Light I knew a total of one person, who also goes to Manheim Central. But that was okay with me, seeing as I’m really not a very introverted person.

Since then, I am proud to say I do know more than one person, and I’m very excited to be making so many friends! The atmosphere at Shining Light is very Christ-centered and inviting, the way the body of Christ should be. It has been such an incredible blessing to me to be able to be surronded by so many Christians who have a heart to reach out to those who are largley forgotten about.

During these past weeks a preparation for the first show, I was really very how impressed how organized the ministry is. Everything is planned out so well, and it really makes the whole experience much more enjoyable. So bonus points to the leadership team!

I also had the opportunity to audtion for a recieve parts in the drama, “Wonderfully, Speacially Made” and a solo for the song, “You are the Truth”. Although this has made for extra practices, I’m pretty okay with it. It provides another chance for me to hang out and fellowship with my friends from Shining Light.

Approaching our first show, I will not deny that I was more or less dreading two things: 1. Khakis. 2. Set-up. First off, I really despise khakis, but I figured I could probably suck it up, seeing as that’s not really the focus of our program. So I moved on. And then set-up. I was mostly apprehensive because I really had (and still don’t) have a clue as to what I was doing. But I really wasn’t all that bad, and I should be much better at set-up by the time tour comes.

Surprisingly, I was not really nervous for the show, maybe because I’ve done similar things in the past. Before the show, our small groups we able to talk with some of the guys who were at Teen Challenge, and it was awesome to see the be so open with where they came from and where they want to head, now that they have God in their lives. I am also currently reading the biography of David Wilkerson, the man who founded Teen Challenge, so it really a blessing to see the fruit of God’s work in his life.

The guys at Teen Challenge (who were not really teens..although I suppose “Teen Challenge” sounds a bit cooler than “Middle-Age Challenge”. Just a thought.) were a wonderful audience and really helped to boost my confidence, seeing as we will soon be facing slightly more intimadating audiences soon.

Overall, Shining Light has been a crazy awesome blessing in my life, and I can’t wait to see where God takes us this year! God bless everyone!

And here’s a sweet verse that I’ll leave you with:

Philippians 2:14-16 (New International Version)
“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe…”