The July issue of Hill Rag features a wonderful article on Little Lights by Melanie Sunukjian. She captures LLUM’s history and vision for the future, and spotlights a couple of our Teen Interns, Geizel and Mia.
Pick up a free copy if you’re around Capitol Hill, or find the entire issue here. Thank you Melanie and Hill Rag! We’re so glad to call you neighbors.
A couple weeks ago a group from Chinese Christian Church of Somerset came to spent a week with us helping and serving Little Lights in anyway they could. Here is a short letter from one of their youth kids expressing the impact they felt during that week.
This week has really opened my eyes to a lot of new things. For one thing, I’m very excited about my time I got to spend with the kids. It has really confirmed my heart’s calling for having future employment dealing with children, whether it be education or counseling. One point that really helped me realize my potential future dream is spending time with my buddy, Jayla. No matter how stressed and frustrated I was feeling with other things happening in my life, watching her face glow with joy after blowing a big bubble or playing house and making me a “delicious” sandwich, the genuine innocence of her life really struck me. She could be so negative about living in not so comfortable conditions or living with potential danger every day, but she has such a pure heart, and can afford to smile and laugh at just being a kid. I know that I may never see her again after this trip, but I know that my time with her will always stay with me, and I hope one day she will look back at the time we got to spend together and remember it fondly, and hopefully blossom in God’s love and live a good life. I hope the best for her, from the bottom of my heart. And I’m so thankful for the Little Lights program for leading me to her, and letting me experience this time with the kids.
Wishing I could stay longer,
Amanda Wang
Many thanks to Chinese Christian Church of Somerset for their service
and we hope you guys come back to visit us again!!!
FRONT
BACK
Light up your life with the new Little Lights t-shirt, featuring a snappy light bulb design and inspiring quote on the back:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
To look cool in one this summer, you may give $15 (+$3 if you’d like us to ship to you), and indicate your size and shipping address in the comments section. . . or call or to arrange a pick up time here at the Little Lights Center.
Our Summer Program staff wearing them well…
HAPPY SUMMER!
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:12
Here’s a question for you to think about. Do you know of a place where the more love you show the more you will receive it? Or a place where you can learn what it means to be patient, compassionate, and humble? What about a place where the second you step into it you are immediately welcomed to a community of people who are passionate about what they do? Ask me this five years ago and I don’t think I would have been able to give you an answer. Now, as my one year Fellow’s experience comes to end I can confidently say “YES! Little Lights Urban Ministries!”
I remember asking God a few years ago to “break my heart for what breaks His.” Since then, He’s been slowly opening my eyes to the brokenness that exists in this world. Through a chain of events, God led me to serve as a fellow at Little Lights for a year after graduation. In these past months, I’ve witnessed the spiritual battle here in DC. I’ve seen how hard Satan is trying to fight to get a foothold in people’s lives, especially in the lives of the kids and families we work with. The influence of sex, drugs, and violence are strong, but I KNOW God’s influence is even stronger. As much as I’ve seen Satan fight, I’ve seen God and His people fight harder and stronger because our God is both mighty and powerful. He has, time and time again, provided for and protected His people. My experience here reminds me of the urgency to share God’s love with the world. Being here at Little Lights has encouraged me to commit to living my life wholly for Him and to be open to however God will use me for His plans.
I am confident that God will use my experience here in some way for His glory. I encourage anyone looking to meet and experience God working to consider becoming a Little Lights Fellow. It’s something you will never regret doing.
More information about the Little Lights Fellows Program.
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READ OUR SPRING/SUMMER NEWSLETTER HERE!
A few weeks ago, seven of our students in the elementary programs had the opportunity to attend a Nationals baseball game with seven volunteers and one staff (me!). They enjoyed watching the game and also had the chance to meet the racing Presidents—Teddy, Abe, George, and Tom—and the Geico Gecko. They also enjoyed the video game area where a couple of them sang karaoke! Thanks so much to the volunteers who made this event possible!
We’re looking for a few good men and women to offer up babysitting services for a Saturday afternoon this weekend from 1pm-5pm.
Please email Mijin () if you are at all interested!
Only LLUM volunteers with completed applications and background checks, please. Thanks.
THANK YOU! Working together we saved the Teen Internship Program! We also far exceeded our goal of raising $31,000. . .we’ve raised almost $42,000 since April 1st!
We really appreciate the generosity you’ve shown to Little Lights Urban Ministries, and our Teen Interns are also very appreciative of your efforts. Check out the video they made for you:
And. . . drumroll. . . our wonderful online donors generously gave more than enough to guarantee the $2,500 matching gift. It’s an incredible blessing to know that so many people are committed to this important work.
You’ve really beaten the odds to make the 31 x 31 Campaign a huge success. . . and that support enables community teenagers to stand up against, and even beat, the tall odds they face. We can’t thank you enough.
Voice of America recently spent some time with us and has made a video sharing Steve’s vision and our work here in Southeast DC. The program will be broadcast around the world through Voice of America affiliates abroad.
Many thanks to VOA’s Chris Simkins!
Wow! THANK YOU to the many donors who rallied with us to raise $31,000 for teen programs and outreach at Little Lights! We reached our goal, with two weeks to spare, and we’re thankful that teenagers in the community can continue working as part-time program assistants with Little Lights. . . they learn from us and we learn so much from them.
But we’re not finished yet. . . a generous donor has committed to matching the next $2,500 we receive in online donations, but only through the end of May.
These funds will support additional teen outreach like Youth Night, as well as an exciting new project. . .
One of the great things about Math and Reading Heroes is that we love to celebrate both big and small achievements. Recently, one of our students, George, mastered all of his multiplication facts. We awarded him with a certificate and small prize. Later that week he returned with his certificate and asked for us to make copies—one for his mom, one for his grandmother, and one for his teacher. It was great to see him so proud!
Meet a couple more of our rock star interns! Chelsey and Cheytan are gaining valuable job experience and giving back to the community through their work after school as part of the Teen Internship Program. ROCK STAR is not an overstatement-- the elementary and middle school students love them!
Chelsey
• 17 years old
• a senior in high school
One of our middle school students chose Chelsey as a subject for a photography class project, and wrote this to describe the picture: “This is a teen intern from Little Lights. She is a very sweet woman. I know her brother; her brother goes to choir with me and he has a beautiful voice. This is the playground around my way where Little Lights is. As you can see, she is very beautiful.”
LL: What have you learned as a teen intern?
Chelsey: I’ve learned how each child has their own particular needs.LL: Tell us about a fun moment.
Chelsey: When I played air hockey with Makalia and Monae. We laughed until we cried. It is a great experience to be working with these kids.LL: Why is it important for LLUM to have teen interns?
Chelsey: It is important because the kids need to be heard from a different perspective at times.
Cheytan
• 17 years old
• a sophomore in high school
• aspires to be a chef
LL: Why did you become a teen intern at Little Lights?
Cheytan: I started working at Little Lights because I love kids. Also to open my eyes to new things. Also to make money, and I like what I do.LL: How has the job made an impact on you?
Cheytan: Being a teen intern affects me because I can be around more people and become more open-minded.LL: Why is it important for LLUM to have teen interns?
Cheytan: It’s important for Little Lights to have teen interns for the little kids to see what we’re doing and maybe do something like this one day.
Chelsey and Cheytan, thanks for taking time to share your thoughts with us, and thanks for your hard work and dedication to the younger kids at Little Lights. We appreciate you!
Hello- I’m Tim Rodgers
I work on the media and publications for Little Lights Urban Ministries and also teach a small art class after-school each Tuesday from 3:30pm -6:00pm. This semester I wanted our middle school kids to focus on making books. We started off the year with the theme “This is Me”. Each week I would have a question or a phrase ready for them to address during class. These questions would be along the lines of, “What angers you the most?” and “What are a few of your favorite things?”
The results were outstanding and many of the kids surprised me with their responses.
Camp Hope is held annually at Camp Bennett and hosted by Chinese Bible Church. It provides our kids at Potomac Gardens a chance to spend their spring break at a sleep-away camp. They spend four days and three nights participating in various activities and lessons, arts and crafts, games and music, which are all centered on a yearly theme. This year’s theme for Camp Hope was “Taking the Plunge, From Good To Great”. You can check out photos on our Facebook page here.
Many thanks to CBC!!!
Meet two of our fantastic Teen Interns! These lovely ladies come out faithfully to work with our K-4th grade students, and they’ve taken time to answer some questions about their experience with the Teen Internship Program.
Geizel
• 16 years old
• a junior at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School
• aspires to be a veterinarian
LL: Why did you become a teen intern?
Geizel: [I started working for Little Lights] to better myself in the future and help my communication skills.LL: What have you learned through this job?
Geizel: It has shown me who I am as a worker and the real me.LL: Tell us more about what you like about it.
Geizel: All the chances to meet new people and go places. And it was fun when I was at the park playing football with the little boys.LL: Why is it important for LLUM to have teen interns?
Geizel: To give the kids a chance to deal with people who understand them.
Leslie
• 19 years old
• a sophomore at University of the District of Columbia
• studying early childhood development
LL: Why did you become a teen intern, and how has it affected you?
Leslie: It was an internship that was offered to me when I was a junior in high school. It’s affected me by making my dream of working with children come true.LL: What have you learned through this job?
Leslie: The most challenging thing about being an intern is coming to work every day for me. [. . .] I have learned so much but the most I have learned is to be a good disciplinarian.LL: What’s your favorite thing about it?
Leslie: Every moment is fun working here. I ♥ Little Lights!
Thanks, Geizel and Leslie! We ♥ you!
You’re the God of this City
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You are
You’re the Light in this darkness
You’re the Hope to the hopeless
You’re the Peace to the restless
You are
There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
(Chris Tomlin, “God of this City")
Thank you for all who came out to our LITTLE LIGHTS PRAYER PARTY this past weekend. It was a blessed time of prayer, praise, and fellowship and we hope you were blessed. We are so blessed to have support around the globe! Your prayers surely play a role in keeping this organization afloat-- thank you!
We hope to see you next time!
Little Lights is a non-profit Christian urban ministry organization dedicated to showing the love of Jesus Christ to the inner city community of Southeast Washington, DC, particularly the children.
To contribute through the Combined Federal Campaign, please designate # 89156.
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