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!

So, about New York.

First, I would like to say thank you so much to the incredible staff who organized this whole trip, plus food, plus lodging, plus…whatever else it takes to get 50+ kids to prisons and back again alive. God bless you for all the hard work you put in!
I would like say that the trip up to NYC was probably the best ride ever. I had the opportunity to ride on the van for the first time, and was lucky to be with some hysterical people.  It was also especially meaningful to me, because I am from Manheim and don’t get to see my friends from Shining Light, except for at practice. To be able to spend more time with them was truly a blessing.

We all stopped for lunch at a park, and then loaded back up to go to Riker’s Island. I was kind of anticipating angry gaurds, dogs, and mean faces…and, instead I met Ollie, a guard there, who sang when he met me. God bless you Ollie. You made my day.

After setting up for the show, we all chilled for a bit and ate some pretty banging food, made for us by the staff at Riker’s. After that, we had microphone checks and prepartion for the show.

I was a bit apprehensive when all the inmates filed in for the show. They all appeared very tough and callused, and I wondered to myself wheter or not they would really listen to what a bunch of white kids from Pennsylvania had to say about Jesus. Scanning the crowd, I noticed that there was not a single caucasion anywhere. Not that I want white people to go to prison, but I was truly sad that society as a whole has not taken more of an effort to help minorites that live in such difficult situations.

We started the show, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect kind of reaction to get from the audience. It was really awesome to see them getting into the songs, like “Imperfection” and “Open Up”. There was definatly talking, some catcalls and such, but on the whole, they were a great audience.

From my point of view, the show at Riker’s Island was the best.  Not just because it was a great show, but while we were performing I truly felt the presence of God.  It was like I could feel how He felt about all those inmates…I really felt like I loved them, and understood a bit more about how God loves us.  Even in the midst of their anger and rejection of Him, He still chooses to love us, even if we don’t return it.  And it reminded me of the parable of the lost sheep in Matthew 18: 12-14, “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”  It’ s crazy that God cares about us so much that would pursue us, even when we walk away.  That definatly encourgaed me to do my best in the show to demonstarte God’s love to these boys in a tangible way.

After talking to some the guys during Q & A, we then met the warden of Riker’s.  It was awesome to learn that he is a Christian and that God placed a righteous man in charge of the prison. I pray that God can use him to change lives there!

After tear down, we headed to the Salvation Army in Harlem.  Our staff provided a wonderful snack of motzerlla sticks, which I love, by the way.  We set up our air matresses and went to sleep…eventually.

The next day, we had some free time, which I and several others used to eat some soul food at Sylvia’s. Best. Food. Ever.  After some convincing, I ordered the collard greens, and was not disappointed.  Free time came and went, and we packed up the bus and headed to Essex Youth Detention Center. The gym was much smaller, so our backstage was quite small, but we made do.  Set-up went fine, and we anticipated the coming show.

The show went really well, and although our audience was small, a few of them seemed to respond well.  Some of the detainees seemed to try really hard not to let the show affect them, but I pray that our group could reach their hearts in some way. The show the next morning progressed in much the same way, only with a yet smaller audience.  I never know what to expect during the question and answer time, and was blown away by our audience members.  They were so deep and very genuine.  When asked what he was going to do when he left the facitlity, one answered, “Try to stay alive.”  These kids lived only a few hours away from us, but it is an entirely diffrent culture.

Probably one of my favorite moments of the trip was when one of the detainees asked us if we had any negativity in our lives and how we dealt with it.  Looking at him, I felt like he didn’t expect a bunch of white kids to have problems bigger that what to wear to school in the morning, but I watched as his expression changed as the microphone passed through our group for a good 15 minutes.  People shared of deep hurts in their life, and how leaning on God has been instrumental in their healing.  It was crazy to hear people share from their heart in the midst of their hurt about how Jesus was what made the diffrence for us when dealing with bad things.

After the show, we packed up and loaded up the bus and headed for home.  I was exhuasted on the way back, and pretty much chilled out for the ride.

The weekend in New York was an incredible blessing and impact on my life.  God opened my eyes alot to the hurts of people around me and how I should always look for ways to share His love in their lives.  Our God is a powerful God who changes lives, and I pray that he uses this ministry for that purpose! Thank to everyone who made this weekend what it was. God bless!

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…”