That’s right; it’s a new season, and a new writer! I’m Eva, and you’ll be hearing from me a lot this season! I am 20 years young and a junior at Messiah College, studying Psychology. This is my fourth year in Shining Light and my third year as a small group leader.  

Though we already miss our retired members, we wish them all the best and our prayers follow them in each of their respective directions. We have confidence that they will thrive and continue to grow in faith through all their pursuits and look forward to their potential return to see our public shows (HINT HINT)!  Personally it has been an adventure just staying in the group when so many of my close friends have come to the end of their SL journey. A challenge, but an exciting challenge that is surely helping me grow as a member and a leader. Those who remain will not forget the memories we built together. Together we all added to the great growing culture that is Shining Light, and are forever a part of this ministry. 

I digress, we’re already two rehearsals in, and the new energy is infectious from our new members! The first rehearsal was lots of fun and helped us get to know our new peers. I was impressed with how quickly all our members (new and old) picked up on the choreography and vocals for our exciting new celebration song!  It’s awesome, and I am excited to see how it all works together in the show! 

This Sunday we brushed up on some of last season’s songs. Though the new members are clearly feeling overwhelmed, it was comforting and encouraging to see those among us continually supporting them and reassuring them that it gets easier. It was also great to see that even though it was completely foreign to them, they were still trying! Our new guys are still being timid but that’s understandable. 

This Sunday at rehearsal we also had our first small groups session. It was wonderful to get back into that type of community! I’ll warn you, it will be evident in my writing that I have a huge love for small group time. So after a summer of Shining Light withdrawal (so to speak) it was awesome to get introduced to my new group of girls! I am hopeful that the season will be fruitful and a real place for them to feel comfortable. After all that is a crucial part of Shining Light– being a safe place to really bounce ideas around and wrestle with the hard things in life, and to hold each other accountable for our choices. I am eager to jump into the lessons this year and really challenge the girls to think and assess their faith and how it affects their lives every day. 

This coming week we have our auditions for the dramas as well as solos! I am so excited to see our new members or maybe returning members (who’ve finally worked up the courage) come out and help contribute specifically to our show! I am eager to see what each person brings to the roles, or songs. In only a few short weeks we’ll be on stage in front of Teen Challenge, which is so exciting, but hard to see at this point. There seems to be so much left to do before it is possible! Thankfully God always provides all things, especially time! 

I’m sure that we’re all mutually thankful for God’s provision, especially now that school has begun and some of us students are already beginning to feel a little stressed and stretched thin. Time is one thing we can all continually pray for and be thankful for! 

Sorry for the lengthy post! I’ll be aiming for one post a week and to keep them relatively short, though with the business of life, I will promise neither. 

I hope everyone’s week is going splendidly! And you are all finding joy and peace in the beautiful weather we’ve been having as fall approaches! 

Peace & blessings, 

Eva

Before I continue, I would just like to clear one thing up: I was not in any of those places because I was “doing time” or addicted to a substance. I have been incredibly blessed to not have to go through those things thus far in my life. My family is wonderful and the circumstances in my life have kept me on a safe path. I was there because when I was in 9th grade, I discovered a man named Jesus Christ—a man who walked the earth, was crucified on a cross, and ascended into heaven to live with His Father. That’s not the end of the story though! He’s coming back to get me one day, and I want to do His work until that glorious day comes. So how does Shining Light tie into that? I don’t want the first time I saw all those men and women to be the last time I see them. I want heaven to be their eternal home. I want them to experience the same joy and hope I have found in Jesus Christ! So that’s why, when I was a senior in high school, I personally chose to begin to walk through the locked and heavily guarded doors into the places in which I was absolutely certain His name was not being spoken, and praises were not being sung to Him. I have never been so happy to be wrong! God, with His great care and gentleness, showed me the errors I had made in my rash thinking. Middle aged men at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in a small little town in Pennsylvania hopped out of their chairs and stood with raised hands and open hearts as we worshipped together in song and praise to the Lord. Things only got better at San Quentin. As the men sat in our audiences wearing sweatpants that read “Prisoner” down the leg, and were recognized as 25 years to lifers by their shirt color, the Lord showered His love and forgiveness down on them. As one man in our audience said with great delight, “Hell is tremblin’ tonight!” Our worship with those men moved me to tears.

There are 3 iron gates that lead into San Quentin State Prison. They, along with the plethora of security guards, have keep thousands of people out since the prison opened in 1852. They almost kept Shining Light out for more reasons than I will ever know. They didn’t. We went in there and we did our thing and I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that during our two performances for the men in that prison, seeds were planted. Lord, let it rain on those seeds.

At San Quentin, they call the 3 iron gates “The 3 Gates that Lead to Hell”. From the inside of those gates, I have only one more thing to say: those gates have done a terrible job in keeping the Holy Spirit out.
Thank you for a wonderful season. I appreciate your faithful reading. Please come back next season. I know that God will provide, and you will not be disappointed.

See ya! =)

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!

I can’t thank you all enough for keeping up with Shining Light’s happenings. I’ve had a number of people tell me that they enjoy reading our blogs, and although I don’t know each person who has read my words, I feel a special connection with you all, knowing that you are getting a sneak peak into why I hold this ministry so close to my heart. You all rock

I often find myself in awe when I think about Shining Light. The intricate details that make it such an encouraging and fulfilling ministry are delicately woven into every Sunday rehearsal and performance. What a pleasure to be part of such a unique ministry; I don’t know of any other production quite like Shining Light, and it’s in my own backyard. Because I am financially able to be a member of this ministry, my ultimate goal is to allow myself to have an enriching experience every time I set foot on our stage for a performance, on the gym floor at New Covenant Christian School for a rehearsal, or in a small cafeteria at a youth detention center to pray with my small group.

With electronics, relationships, school work, and a job surrounding me on all sides, I have found it to become incredibly easy to lose focus on the purpose of the ministry. Instead, I find my thoughts entertained with pride, such as getting the part in a feature dance that I auditioned for, or my friends and family coming to see one of our local performances.

God saw that I needed a little nudge, and that’s just what I got when I looked up at the wall in the gym at New Covenant two Sunday evenings ago, where an artist had painted these words: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23. With God’s help, and after a careful evaluation of my thoughts regarding my purpose in Shining Light, I was able to recenter my focus, setting aside my pride and admitting that I had lost focus on my purpose for devoting so much of my time and energy to this ministry; I had taken my eyes off God and placed them on myself.  I was relying on my own strength, but my tank was nearing empty.

In prayer, I’ve asked that God be by my side as I move forward. I have no doubts in the promise He has made to never leave me and carry me if I need carried. For it is His strength, and not the strength of man, that can pick us up as many times as we have fallen. What an encouragement it is that He is honored by the work of this ministry; may we praise Him and Him alone!

God Bless,

Katrina