Our first Nexus: Groovy 60′s Theme, was a blast! Members and friends enjoed a few hours of Rock Band, Just Dance, fellowship and delicious snacks provided and prepared by our wonderful staff. (Thanks staff!) About halfway through Nexus, everyone met in the gym to participate in games that were popular in the 60′s. It was entertaining to me to see how many kids had troubles with these simple games. With all of these advances in technology and the smount of texts and facebook messages it can take just to meet up with your best friend for lunch, I guess we forgot that there are more simple things in life (that are still tons of fun!)

We had an efficacious Chicken BBQ last Saturday at New Covenant. There were certainly some challenges we had to overcome due to hosting the pick-up at a different location, but all things considered, it was a very enjoyable and productive day. Thanks again to everyone who supported Shining Light by buying a BBQ and thanks to all of the members who braved the cold and helped out last weekend! We couldn’t have done it without you!

On Sunday we had our last chance rehearsal for our trip to Riker’s Island. I’m sure that most members would agree with me when I say that it might’ve been our toughest rehearsal to date. Tensions ran high as we watched our performance from our last show at Northwestern Academy Boot Camp. Having the video was a big help, when we’re up on stage it’s hard to understand the vision that the choreographers had or whether or not we’re in sync as a group. As we watched the videos Kelly talked us through them and helped us improve the dances and the visual impact that we we strive for. We ran through the show as a group and tried to implement the new techniques and tighten everything up. By the end of rehearsal, everyone was drained. We still have a few things that need brought together so hopefully everyone found some time this week to practice a little more!

Our first two shows went great but as we head to Riker’s Island we need to really get in our heads in the game. The audience at both of the shows we will be presenting to are very different from what we have experienced thus far in the season. I believe that we can handle these crowds with no issue, because we have God on our side. He blessed us with these wonderful performances and meaningful fellowship time to prepare us to walk into Riker’s with our heads held high and with our message on our faces. We do have some adjustments to make with this trip to NYC. We are blessed enough to stay in the New York School of Urban Ministry (NYSUM) this year. This is a big change for returning members, we’re used to sleeping on the hard floors of a gym in Harlem every other year. NYSUM is going to be a new experience that everyone will have to work with, although I don’t think anyone will have much trouble adjusting! If you haven’t checked out the pictures that Jeff took, make sure you head to Shining Light’s facebook page and see where we’re staying. The hardest part of this weekend will not be being patient with each other or remember the steps to our songs, it’s going to be remembering why we are there and the message that we have to share, the message that we Want to share.

Please keep our group in your prayers as we leave tomorrow bright and early and for the duration of trip and a safe return home! Along with our performances at the Robert N. Davoren Center and the Eric M. Taylor Center of Riker’s Island, we will be participating in NYSUM’s Homeless Ministry and attending Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

I’ll be sure to fill you in with the delightful details of our entire weekend once we’re home!

Brightest Blessings,

Kimberly

After the excitement of Teen Challenge, we had a wonderful preformance at North Western Academy Boot Camp. For many of the new members this was their first time in a boot camp, and everything (thankfully) went off without a hitch! We’re going through a bit of transition this year and having to find tasks for everyone to do! So many wonderful new people have joined us that we now have a surplus of ready hands during setup/tear down. NW was the initiation of training the new members in all of our set up tasks! Many of them took to it brilliantly and displayed a comfortable grasp of what we expected from them in New York when we set up again.

Only a few weeks later we were off to NYC! The Lord went before us to the Big Apple, and we willingly followed and had a wonderful experience! For the first 48 hours we were almost literally going nonstop. Leaving early in the morning to arrive at Riker’s Island in the afternoon and set up for our first maximum security preformance in the Robert N. Davoren Center! For weeks prior we had been talking up this experience and now it had finally arrived!

Our first preformance was nerve-wracking as usual, but went wonderfully without many outbursts from the audience. They were uproarous during talk time, but relatively focused, and Officer Oliver even invited one man to come and bless us with his gift of song, since we blessed them. His song got the whole crowd to join in and they were truely enjoying themselves! It was amazing to see them all unified behind the same thing, working together.

After tearing down we heading back to our old familiar resting place in NYC– the Salvation Army in Harlem! It was nice to be back to the living- on-an-air-mattress lifestyle, and the next morning you could tell who had forgotten what it was like since tour! Myself included, we were one tired group of kiddos that Saturday.

But we got up and got going and into a new facility for us on the Island! Day two was held just across the street in the very same place that the popular rapper Lil’Wayne was incarcerated in just a few months before. The audience was very receptive and respectful here, and a mix between older men and adolescents. After all was said and done and we were getting ready for dinner, you could finally see us all beginning to relax. Our two days of go-go-go! were coming to a close. Oh, and did I mention we had surprise guests? Three of last years leaders and long-time members came and spent the day with us on Saturday! It was wonderful to see Chase, Andrea, and Robert (as well as Mom and Poppa May) and for them to see how the group has grown and evolved since they’ve gone off to college!

We headed back to Harlem the long way, to swing by Times Square at night! Only a minor hiccup when one of our busses was hit by one of those hasty NYC Drivers! But once we got to the main drive and saw all the lights and people, it was beautiful! There is truely nothing like the big city at night! Some among us had never been to New York and were starstruck, pushing up against the wide windows of the bus in amazment while thousands of people poured around us on the sidewalks and pavement. It felt more like we were in a submarine, under the sea in a coral reef of amazing colors and creatures. Everyone following their own little stream, moving sussinctly and coexisting smoothly. In short, it was beautiful to see and to watch my fellow members marvel at.

The last day of our trip was spent attending a wonderful service at The Journey Church, and then enjoying a leisurely monument find in Central Park! We split up into small groups and dissapeared into New Yorks back yard! It was a fantastic time to bond as a group just as we were, tired and all. We were all in search of 5 landmark monuments in the park, and we were supposed to take our picture with each of them. It was a fun time, were I handed over the reigns and the girls lead, and we wandered as we wished.

Afterward, we were homeward bound, and the satisfaction of the trip was something we carried with us through the following weeks.

More on what’s been happening in a day or two, Kelly and Matt say I need to space them out. =) I guess this one did get a little lengthy… Oh well, tune in for another installment of SL Blog!

Thanks for reading! Stay warm out there!

-Eva

Nonetheless, we met on Friday early in the morning, 7:30 to be exact. Jeff gave a little preface to what we were about to experience. He also introduced us to a friend of one of the members, Jeff, a college student who was coming along with us. We left, most of the kids going on the bus, but I rode in the van. The bus is great, but the van has a level of intimacy that is unmatched by the bus, considering that the eight or nine of us were together for three hours with only a short break in between. We soon arrived at Riker’s, and after passing several guards, travelled over a very long bridge to the Robert Davoren Center. We got off the van and made our way into a line, two by two. We showed and gave our IDs to the guards, who then gave us visitor tags. After this, we went back out and brought our assigned carts in for set-up. After set-up, we had a delicious meal prepared by the staff at Riker’s consisting of chicken, salad, bread, fruit salad, and some vegetables. This ushered in the time to perform.

This being my fourth time in Riker’s, I expected the audience to be the same as before. In past years, the audience was awfully rude, both during the performance and in talk-time. They laughed at delicate moments, made fun of the songs, and basically disrespected us throughout the entire performance. However, I am happy to say this was very much not the case this time. Sure, there was some laughing during Gretchen’s drama (a drama depicting a dysfunctional family) at the part where the mom’s boyfriend hits Gretchen (since that’s the way many inmates express strong emotion, not being able to show tears lest they be made fun of), but other than that, they were a fantastic audience. I greatly admired the courage of the men that spoke at talk-time, ignoring the laughter of their fellow inmates. Several praised the show, and said that they related strongly to Gretchen’s drama, many coming from tough families themselves. Some asked for an encore, but time not permitting, we didn’t.

Oliver (one of the guards) dismissed the greater majority of the 200 inmates, but a group of approximately thirty remained.  As the first group was dismissed, Oliver, a drummer, wanted to drum to one of our songs, which has become somewhat of a tradition. We all stood up and sang and danced to “Looking for Angels” with Oliver on drums. It was a blast. After the group was out and the song over, Jeff proceeded to ask the remaining group questions, to which they responded much more easily than the other group, since the group was smaller and more intimate and comfortable than the larger group. One of the men, who happened to be 6’9″, talked a little bit about his life. He said that he was in his church choir and sang bass, and then demonstrated a note for us. He also complained about the short size of his bed, saying he would love to be able to stretch out more. On a more serious note, he said that he definitely had his share of hardships. They described a typical day for us as well.  They basically follow the same schedule every single day; some noted the difference between their lives outside of prison, being able to do whatever they want whenever they want, and their lives in prison, not having a say in their schedules. One of the men said that the homogeneity of the schedule didn’t bother him nearly as much as his estrangement from loved ones. That really struck me. The men were preparing to leave, when one of the men asked Oliver if the men could show us their talents. Oliver dismissed this idea immediately, but decided to give in after a little while, seeing that we wanted to see them and they wanted to show us. So Joe the drummer laid down a beat, and the men participated by stomping and clapping on the bleachers in rhythm. A few select members of the audience danced, all of them great, doing tricks such as taking their one shoe off while dancing and grabbing one foot and hopping the other foot through. It occurred to me how amazing it is that two very different parties can come together through God and art.  They truly transcend cultural boundaries.

It was a late night, only coming back to the Salvation Army at 11:00. We had a great snack and then it was off to bed. The next day, my schedule diverted from the rest of Shining Light, because on Saturdays I have Juilliard Pre-College, so I had to go to that. So Barb and I woke up early, ate breakfast, and left. Through construction and bad weather, we finally reached the Juilliard building, a little wetter than when we left. I was still exhausted from the program the night before, so getting through the day was really tough at first, but after having sushi for lunch, I felt very rejuvenated.  Without going through my whole schedule, I can say that the reactions from my colleagues and teachers after telling them I performed at Riker’s Island the night before were quite hilarious. My teachers were surprised, but understanding in my position, and even let me leave a little earlier so I could get to the next show on time. I got to the van, ate dinner (sushi again— it was a good day), and we were at Essex Detention Center in no time, with Barb at the wheel. And kudos to Barb for navigating New York traffic. She must have been a New Yorker in another life.

The next show was very tough. It wasn’t a question whether we affected them or not, we definitely did; but during the dramas and such, we had a sense they were laughing at us as opposed to with us, which is never a good feeling. Even in talk-time, many were laughing and made fun of those who did wish to speak.

I felt a little dismayed at first until Kelly spoke at the end, after all the inmates had left.  Sitting in the front row for the duration of the show, she said that the audience was very captivated, shockingly. She even said that the some of the girls whispered “That was really powerful” at the end of Gretchen’s drama. That blew me away. Honestly, I didn’t think they wanted anything to do with us.

The one good thing about that particular show and about how it differed from other shows is that we didn’t have to break down, which was a blessing in and of itself! We got back around nine, and I rushed to the piano. Apparently, in the handbook, there was stated several times a rule which prohibited piano-playing in the sanctuary, where we were staying, and furthermore, Jeff made an announcement on the bus emphasizing that point. Nonetheless, I was not on the bus during that announcement and had not read the handbook (conveniently), so I was unaware of this rule, but once I had found out (after playing for a bit), I immediately stopped. But this would not remain so for the rest of the night, thanks to the resident musician Shawn Whitehead.  A Texan native, Shawn came to New York a few years ago and has been at the Salvation Army ever since coming. Not only is he a musician, he is the IT of the building and runs his own business in the computer lab upstairs. Anyway, Shining Light had around three hours of free time, and around 11, Dave, the guitarist, walked in and told me that a musician was playing piano, and so of course I wanted to hear him. So I walked in, and I was amazed, to say the least. He had a dynamite ear and could pick up tunes immediately. He could also beatbox and sing well. So after he played, Mitch (another member) and I played as well, and basically until 12 it was a big music fest with Dave on guitar and Joe on drums. Jeff walked in, and I was a little apprehensive he might be irritated at the volume we were playing (we were even using microphones), but once he pulled out his camera and took pictures, I knew he was okay with it. My only regret from that night is that I didn’t know a lot of the words to the songs, but it inspired me to know them better, so that if something like that happens again where I’m asked to sing on the spot, I can. It was an awesome night and I thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with the other musicians.

Late night, early morning. People ate breakfast, showered, and scrambled to get their belongings together and outside to be loaded by 7:30. Our third and final performance took place at Essex again, only with a different crowd. Because of the night before, I wasn’t sure how exactly this group would respond, but I was pleasantly surprised. The group was very courteous, and if I remember correctly, didn’t even laugh at the sensitive parts of Gretchen’s drama, which is a first in a facility other than Teen Challenge (a Christian adult facility Shining Light performs at at the beginning of the year). If the show was great, then the talk-time was even better. The members of the audience had extremely deep questions to ask, like “How do you get over negativity in your life?” and “Do you have trouble fitting in?”. I could not believe the maturity of the audience; it was amazing. What struck some Shining Light members was the testimony from a gentleman whose original question asked to him was “What does a typical day look like for you at home?”. He said that we wakes up at 12 noon every day, sits on the porch, and gets high. He was kicked out of school several times when he was in sixth grade and never returned. When Jeff asked what his biggest struggle was when he was home, he said “staying alive”. At that point, I really saw how fortunate I’ve been in life. I can’t even imagine what that kind of life would be.

A member in the audience asked something on the lines of “What are struggles you deal with?” or something like that. Jeff then passed the mic around our group, and so many answered. After hearing some of the members speak, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t know their lives as well as I thought I had, considering that a good chunk of the responses came from new members. Honestly, all the answers were fantastic. All were succinct, relatable, and showed how God helped in the situation, whether the situation got better or worse. It was a good opportunity for them and for returning members to share about themselves, and I was happy so many did. It was a great show and an even better talk-time. I am so proud of Shining Light for that show. It reminded me of why I love Shining Light so much and how much God works through that group to change my life.

From there we broke down, had a delicious lunch, and then started taking carts out. A few of us got lost, but we made it out alright. On the bus ride home, people sleeped, talked, or played a fun game in the back of the bus called “Mafia”. After a period of time, we got home and some of the guys unloaded the bus. We all retrieved our luggage and then left. And that was the end of our New York weekend.

I could just leave my blog there, but I want to inform the reader how proud of this group I am. Shining Light makes such a difference in thousands of people’s lives. This is my fourth year, and I’m STILL blown away by this group! The energy, the worship, the small groups, the performance, and the talk-time— everything comes together to praise our Lord. Thank you members of Shining Light for making this weekend so memorable for me, and I hope you felt God’s presence this weekend as much as I did.

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!