Semester Wrap-Up

Today was the last day Chicago Public School ran until the New Year. Just as the schools are wrapping up for the Christmas holiday so, also, are our youth programs.

Last week, our technology program for high school students in small computer networking ended. This apprenticeship program is sponsored by After School Matters. Over 20 students graduated from this semester's apprenticeship. They finished up strong, celebrating their efforts with a final party and small award ceremony! Even as I write, students are knocking on our door, eager to pick-up their payment checks.

Staff and tutors of our Club 2-5-2 after-school tutoring program created an incentive system at the beginning of the year. The incentive program rewarded student's good behavior and improved academic performance while also teaching them the basics of money management. The Sunshine Community Bank was established :smile: to hold the student's Sunshine Bucks. Each child had to read the Bank's service brochure to learn about the bank's provisions. (Fake) checks were issued for students to use in their depositing and withdrawal of monies.

Toys and clothes that remained from our community-wide Christmas Store were used to establish Club 2-5-2's Store where students could spend their Sunshine Bucks to "purchase" Christmas gifts for themselves and for their family. The Store was used to teach students about money saving and spending. We trust from the smiles on their faces that they also had fun.

Lastly, as in past years, Sunshine youth were treated to the excitements of Chicago's Navy Pier Winter Wonderfest. This was another reward for faithful attendance and for commitment to learning.

Chicagoland Churches and Woodlawn Families Participate in annual Christmas Store

This Saturday Sunshine held its 4th Annual Christmas Store in the multi-purpose room of our 61st Street office. It's become a holiday tradition for Sunshine to hold a Christmas Store whereby, brand-new gifts donated by friends at partnering churches are sold to parents in the community at a discounted price. This year we specifically priced items at 25 cents to the retail dollar. The money raised in contribution dollars and sales from the Store are used to support the needs of community members with particularly acute financial needs this Christmas. Churches contribute gifts, neighbors shop, and fellow neighbors benefit.

The Store marked a milestone for us. Last year's Store was held in our office building but, we weren't formally moved into the facility, none of our furniture was in the space and the Store, then, was held in the smaller office-specific space. Our basement office on 62nd Street didn't allow us the same kind of presence that we have today with floor-ceiling windows fronting the building.

Our windows are only an aesthetic marking of a much greater reality - the reality that our new facility has given us a space to build more as well as deepen relationships with Woodlawn community members. Last year, 35 families were invited to our Store. This year we were able to host (and therefore invite) 80 families. The Store was open for a duration of five hours (the later hour and a half the Store was opened to the general public.)

What has come out of the Store is only a great testament to the Lord's faithful working through Sunshine, through community members, and through members of contributing churches (perhaps yourself).

• Ten churches gave gifts to make this Store possible.
• 435 toys were given. (A number which doesn't include the number of clothes contributed.)
• Nearly $3,000 is cash contributions were given towards buying additional gifts, wrapping paper and tape, as well as gift cards to local grocery store given free to shoppers to use toward their holiday meal expenses.
• Nearly $1,400 was raised through the sale of goods. This amount, combined with remaining contribution money, will be given back to community families this New Year.
• The day of, over 50 families shopped our Store.

On behalf of Sunshine and families in Woodlawn blessed by the Store, thank you

to all of those within our neighborhood and our church friends who once again made

the Christmas Store possible!

"In My World"

As I believe I mentioned before, part of our after school program - called Club 2-5-2 - is dedicated to teaching students about world changers and scholars throughout time. Figures like Moses, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. Intregal to this teaching is talking about and pointing out how our young people (ages 2nd through 5th grade) can be world changers.

Last week one of our 5th grade students brought us a poem he'd written in school. This is the evidence of a young world changer.

“In My World”

In my world, you got to stay strong

In my world, a lot of things are going on

Killing, murdering, I hear it all the time.

People who do it, they get away by lying

Drinking and smoking, some people think its cool.

That stuff is not really good for you.

Don’t take drugs, that will mess up your life.

Being on the streets, you might lose your life.

This is all I’m sayin…Get an education or you’ll be on your knees prayin’.

"Nothing Happens Without Reverberation"

Dawn Trice, Chicago Tribune reporter, has well-stated a truth Woodlawn residents have known for awhile and wish others understood too - "Nothing happens without reverberation". Murder is no exception. I am apt to say the attention Woodlawn has received around the shooting of University of Chicago student, Amadou Cisse, has enlivened the conversation about urban violence on the South Side of the city. But, the truth is, the conversation has been a lively in our community for some time now. But for certain reasons, better-expressed in Trice's piece, there still exists a grave discrepancy - an injustice in most classic of terms - in how and when the news media points its spotlight. Wails of grief cut equally as deep, are equally as tragic, and are equally as loud when one of our resident youth is killed. Even more, for area residents each new wave of grief is coupled with not-too-distant memories of a thriving Woodlawn...

Trice met with long-time, local area residents at the Sunshine office. This is the Tribune report:

Killings Shed Light on Rift

(Unfortunately, Dawn Trice got the name of our organization wrong. "Sunrise" Ministries is, indeed, us.)

A Reminder to Pray

Killing of University Student Unsettles Campus

Sharing God's Faithfulness With You This Thanksgiving

An update e-mail to staff members earlier this week from David Clark, head of our youth outreach ministries.

Guys,

I just wanted to highlight a few things that happened over the weekend that I am excited about. God is moving in the lives of our young people!

To start things off, Friday night at foCus our high school-age youth leaders played a major role in every aspect of the service – from choosing the theme for the night: “Why Worship?,” to putting together a drama/skit, facilitating a time of prayer in small groups, and sharing short testimonies on what they learned at the Save Your Sex Summit. One of the teens gave his debut break dancing performance. The skit/drama that they performed (they found on youtube.com) portrayed the various temptations that can come at a believer and effect our relationship with Christ, but how Christ can give us the power to endure and overcome. It didn’t have any words, but the message was clear and they did really well. We once again had youth from the neighborhood come out – many of whom came last month as well. On Sunday, another one of the teen leaders asked if we could have a foCus step team. It is encouraging and exciting to see the core teens of our youth outreach maturing in their faith and looking for opportunities to use their gifts and talents!

On Saturday night we had a game night here at the building. It was supposed to be a FAM collaborative event. And although, no young people from Christ Bible or Canaan ended up coming, we had a good turnout of just over 20 young people. We had a Nintendo WII station, a Taboo table, a Spades table, and a Monopoly table. Everyone brought $5 to put in on pizza from the one and only B&B Pizza King. We concluded the night by watching the documentary “Invisible Children.” It highlights the child soldier crisis in northern Uganda where young kids are being kidnapped from their village homes and being forced to become rebel soldiers at a young age. Thousands of kids walk miles each night to sleep in hospitals and bus stations together in order to avoid being kidnapped. After the movie, we broke up into groups to talk about what we had just seen, to pray about it, and to talk about how we might be able to be involved. As you know, this is a part of our larger, more concerted effort to bring other nations, other people groups to the attention of our youth. Each of the youth were “moved” by the movie, were eager to pray for the kids of Uganda, and had BIG ideas of ways in which we could get involved. These kids with the big dreams...they're some of the young guys you and I often see talking around Woodlawn late at night, sometimes getting into trouble. Continue to pray for these guys. Four of them are now apart of Club 2-5-2 and are loving it!

To end the weekend, Sunday night we had a volunteer appreciation party here at the building. Although not everyone was able to come, we had a good mix of young leaders, Moody students, and two of our moms from the community. We had one of the longest and most competitive games of Apples to Apples ever!! We have been blessed this fall with some really solid volunteers for Club 2-5-2! It is a beautiful thing to see local jr. high and high school students, Moody students, and parents from the community working together and building relationships.

Going into Thanksgiving, I am thankful for our young people and for our volunteers and for what God is doing in all of our lives.

In His Service,

D.C.

"Yes, We Look Forward to Participating in Bridge Builders"

As of yet, we have received confirmations from six groups who will be participating in Bridge Builders in the coming year!