Hey all! Wow, I am such a slacker. Sorry for the long delay, but luckily my fellow bloggers have been much more consistent than I.
A lot has happened since then, but I’d like to share my experience at Northwestern Academy Secure and Glen Mills. I was especially looking forward to this show for several reasons: first, two of my very dear friends, Alyssa and Michelle joined the group after I introduced them to it and came along to experience the show. And second, we introduced the song, “Moving Forward” into the show, which has probably become my favorite song of the show.
It was a very cold day, but we all survived brining in the equipment. Set-up went well, and we had small groups in some the classrooms where we discussed the possibility of going to California. I am very excited about it and sincerely hope we go! What an awesome opportunity, and from what I understand it would be our first time going there as a group. After some chit-chat in small group we had cold cuts for supper.
We introduced a new beginning for our show, and it seems like a really cool skit that will defiantly connect with our audience.
I was impressed with the audience. There were a few members who seemed disinterested, but most were paying rapt attention. I would say that they were one of our better audiences. Sharing a prayer time was truly a blessing at Northwestern. One of the guys said he had never really thought about Jesus before, but said he was going to pray when he go back to his cabin. Seriously, praise God for how He is using us to change lives!
Most recently, Shining Light went to Glen Mills School, which is, “the oldest existing residential school for court referred young men in the country.” (Taken from the http://www.glenmillsschool.org/ website.) It was our first time there as a group! The beautiful campus is spread out over 80 some acres and looks very much like a college campus. But as the website states, this is not a normal school. The school houses delinquents who were issued to come by the court, leaving the teachers with a difficult task ahead of them. The school focuses a lot on sports to help shape the kids.
We had the opportunity to meet the head of athletics and the Chaplin, Wayne who are both dedicated Christians, and had the chance to hear their story. Wayne helped lead and mentor the athletic director in his relationship with Christ. In 2005, Wayne began having breathing problems and finally went to the doctor. The doctor told him his kidneys were failing and he needed surgery and put him on dialysis. Wayne and his family began praying for God to provide for them.
Later, Wayne saw his friend, the athletic director at lunch; he said his heart started pounding. He sensed that God was pressing on his heart to donate his kidney to Wayne. He shared this with his friend, and they prayer together and proceeded to go through and check and see if he was a match. Not only was his kidney compatible; they were a perfect match. Because of one man’s willingness to listen to God, he used him to save his friend’s life while giving glory to Jesus.
After meeting those two godly men, we set up for the show and got ready. The guys filed in and we began. I began observing the audience and saw them really draw into the message and focusing on us. They seemed to really understand, and they were such a respectful audience. While sometimes when we do shows, the guys can be sometimes obnoxious and distracting, these acted like they really cared what we were sharing with them, and it was so encouraging. The sharing time was also uplifting, as they encouraged us to continue on in our work for God.
I had the chance to go to Manheim Brethren in Christ today, where I attended youth group in high school and occasionally visit. It is a God-filled church and also the location of our next show, on March 7. Dustin Sauder, the senior high youth pastor there, interviewed Jessica Charles, Alyssa Nissley and I about Shining Light and what it means to us. The church seemed really excited about us coming back, so I’m expecting a big group! I’m looking forward to Shining Light practice tonight when we will be having a guest speaker! I can’t wait to hear what they’ll have to say. I pray that God will bless everyone this week in new ways!
