Our Little Champ, Calvin

So, we're wrapping up the semester here at in.Light.in.  I can't believe we've already been at this nearly 8 weeks!  This past week we read the kids "You Are Special" by Max Lucado (check out the story HERE).  We had yet another big group and so we split them boys and girls (we've been doing that for a few weeks now and it's working GREAT!).  The kids really liked the story and we are excited that this week we will be helping them to make their very own Wemmicks (pictures to follow I'm sure)!  This week will be our last official "programmed" session and then next week we will be doing our clothing donations, passing out in.Light.in tshirts (woohoo!), and hopefully having a fun field day and hotdog cookout with the kids.  Then we're all in the throws of finishing out yet another semester of med school and then enjoying a few weeks of a break.

I wanted to also give you all an update on sweet Calvin.  He is our little angel who is suffering from some pretty severe bottle rot.  Look at this sweet little face:

Elise Strickland has been a crusader of sorts on this one and has helped make a way to get him free dental care.  There is also a group of faculty members who has offered to help pay for medications and treatment.  Calvin is a lucky little boy!  This week Elise and I went with him and his mother Junie to the dentist.  And let me tell you, he was a trooper!  There were kids having to be literally drug from the waiting room into the back to get teeth pulled.  We could hear them screaming from outside!  Yikes!  Poor Calvin was so nervous and very quiet.  We couldn't even coax a smile out of him.  AND, come to find out, the day we took him to the dentist was also his birthday.  Bummer!  So I realized that I had a little recorder (aka-a plastic flute/clarinet thingy...can you tell I'm a music teacher??) in my backpack.  So I took it out and gave it to him and FINALLY got a smile out of him.  Yay!  So for a minute his mind was off the impending dentist.  Though the screaming kids were still distracting at times:

Nicely distracted and semi-at-ease...

Screeching bloody murder screams from inside the office are heard...Calvin and Elise both are a little disturbed... o_0

When the hygienist called his name he took a deep breath and walked in that office, Mommy in tow, like a total champ.  Thankfully they weren't able to do any of the scary stuff that day.  The dentist told Junie that the teeth need to be loose before they can pull them.  He also has a few teeth in the back that need some fillings.  So for now, it's just a waiting game.  In the meantime, since he's officially 7, he should be starting school in September.  Junie has asked us for help in getting Calvin and Shernia some school uniforms (hopefully we will be setting up a fund soon for those of you who are not in Dominica...we want you to be able to contribute too!).  Also, her littlest Stacey, is in need of a uniform so that she can start preschool in September.  At this point, the only thing standing in between these beautiful children and an education is the right clothes and some shoes and socks.  We will keep you posted on the progress there!

Thank you so much for the prayers (they are most definitely felt!) and the support.  This has been a wild and crazy semester with LOTS of progress and LOTS of love for our cause here at in.Light.in.  God is moving and the lives of these children and their families are being touched.  Our cups are runnin' over y'all!  Stay posted for Calvin updates and pictures from our end of the semester in.Light.in field day next week!

Love and Light,

Summer 2013 in.Light.in Team

PS-We sent sweet Calvin home with that recorder as a birthday present.  I'm pretty sure everyone in Portsmouth within earshot of that recorder is LOVING us right now... ;)

Wowsa What a Group!!

Goodness gracious the last 2-3 weeks of in.Light.in have been CRAZY!  Our cups are running WAY over right now.  I apologize for the lack of posting about the "goings on"...it's been a little crazy over here lately.  But here are some updates that should make your hearts happy:

3 Weeks Ago:  Ann Aro lead our craft and Bible story.  I am told it was PHENOMENAL (I was in Roseau for the weekend) and that we had a great turn out.  There was also an answered prayer that week.  Ann has really connected with a little boy named Shaquille (some of you may know or remember him).  At the end of last semester, we got really concerned about his well being and his living arrangements.  Ann scooped him up and held him for nearly an entire session a few months ago because he was clearly upset and hungry.  Come to find out, he's being "put up" by some neighbors and his parents are basically MIA.  His little pockets got stuffed with snacks and he got more than a few squeezes and hugs from Ann before we had to send him on his way that day.  Then we didn't see him again for the remaining 2-3 sessions.  We were told that we had been "asking too many questions" and that his caretakers weren't allowing him to come to in.Light.in anymore.  Of course we have all been concerned, but Ann has been at the top of that list.  She's been praying that, since she's leaving the island for good in just a short 10 days, he would show up for at least one more session so she could love on him and make sure he knows she loves him.  Well...God answered that prayer in a big way!  Ann was teaching the lesson 3 weeks ago.  All the kids were sitting in a circle.  And up the stairs comes Shaquille...he makes a B-Line right to Ann and she wraps him up in hugs!  I'm so sad I missed this precious moment myself, but Ann was and is still OVERJOYED that he came.  And he came for 2 weeks in a row!  So we are happy, even if it was just a session or two, that Shaquille was able to get to Benjamin Park and feel that supernatural love that we all (and especially Ann) have for him.  That's why we do what we do right??

2 Weeks Ago:  There were some scheduling conflicts for many (really most) of our volunteers.  Some things at the prep school got moved around, etc., so we ended up only having 4 adults.  Christy Wallace had some super cool things planned by way of games and a craft.  We split up 2 and 2 to facilitate the game downstairs and the craft upstairs.  Would you believe it...we had 34 kids by the time we finally got going!!  34!!!  So do the math...it was a little hectic with just the 4 of us leading.  God really provided in a BIG way for that though.  We didn't run out of food or crafting supplies.  The kids sang songs and listened to a lesson about how Faith without works is dead.  We should be filled up with Jesus so that it seeps out of us and forces us to spread that love and that message to the world.  Again...that's why we're here!  It was a well received message and the kids had a great time.  The 4 of us were a little disheveled by the end, but our hearts were so full and happy.  

This Week:  We had a BIG blessing this week when Lee who runs a soccer camp in the UK paid us a visit.  He was here from Wednesday to Saturday afternoon and he came with us to in.Light.in to scout out the situation.  He's bringing a group of high school kids in February to run a soccer camp for the Dominican kids!!!  So he got out on the field on Friday and played with the kids...which they obviously LOVED.  We had yet another GIANT group of kids, but this time we had an amazing volunteer turnout.  We sang songs, had a lesson, and then...had a water balloon fight!!!  Wow, those kids were SUPER pumped about water balloons.  I'm not gonna lie, it was a bit of a free for all there toward the end.  But the kids had a BLAST and had big smiles on their faces.  We are so excited about this soccer camp opportunity, so please be in prayer with us for the logistics to go over well, for safe travels for the team, and for a great turnout of kids.  Should be a lot of fun!

So I'll leave you with a verse that's been on my heart this week...and of course some awesome pictures!

"Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning!" Ecclesiastes 11:7 (NLT)

Love and Light,

Summer 2013 in.Light.in Team

A Child's Smile is One of Life's Greatest Blessings!

Last week's "kick off" session was a huge success!  We had an amazing turnout of kids (actually ran out of food for maybe the first time ever!).  The volunteer front was HUGE and the kids were so happy to be getting started with in.Light.in again.  We sort of had a "wild hair" this semester...we thought it would be SUPER cool for the in.Light.in kids to pair up with the RCF (Ross Christian Fellowship) and the RCSA (Ross Catholic Student Association) kids to sing a song at the Night of Worship (an evening where those two organizations and the New Light church here in Dominica gather and sing/play praise and worship music).  So last week we started teaching them "Every Move I Make" with all the fun hand motions.  The kids REALLY got into it!  So we will be continuing to try and organize that endeavor in the coming weeks.  Be in prayer about it with us!  June 30th is the big event and we will be sure to post pictures and hopefully video of what promises to me an AMAZING night of praising God in the kaleidoscope of His creation!

We spent lots of time just playing with the kids this past week.  We shared our "mission statement Bible verse" with them (Matthew 5:16), and had Linda Bruno (one of our most favorite Dominicans!) come and help us write down names and birth dates of all these sweet kids.  After all, sometimes it's just so hard to understand them when they tell you their names!  So many of the "regulars" are really growing up.  So we are excited to start really digging into the Word of God with them this semester.  And we are certain that the number of kids who attend will grow each week.  When I said last week that something BIG was going to happen this semester, I really meant it.  God is MOVING and the devil is doing some serious high steppin'!

That being said, please also pray for those of us who are volunteering and helping with the logistics of this ministry.  As is always the case, when people start rising up in the name of God, that also comes with a healthy dose of opposition and animosity from others who don't share our Faith.  Especially in an environment where explaining "inexplicable" things away with science and logic is so rampant.  Despite that opposition, we Christian soldiers are marching onward with our first and foremost intention being to love the heck out of these children in our community who need it SO very badly.  What a blessing it is for us to see smiles on the faces of these kids who, for at least an hour a week, get full bellies and overflowing unconditional love.  It is for THEIR benefit and not for our own that we give of our time and resources each week.  I mean, look at those faces!  There's no question that there is good being done here...

Love and Light,

Summer 2013 in.Light.in Team

"I will not leave you orphaned. I'm coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you're going to see me because I am alive and you're about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I'm in my Father, and you're in me, and I'm in you." -John 14:18 (MSG)