Some YOUTH SHINE stories...

As you may know, our Youth Shine program kicked off this summer, and with that, we had 29 students come through our doors to work. Most of these students worked with Harbor Shine, and all of them received one-on-one mentorship from Overflow Church volunteers during their time with us (3 of the students worked for Mosaic, the other non-profit program of the OCCDA. To read more about Mosaic and what they're doing here in Benton Harbor, visit www.overflowccda.org/mosaic ).

During the summer work season, it became clear as time went on that the mentorship process was having a positive impact on our students' lives. There were times when a lunch-break would turn into a time of some serious talking and sharing. Some of this talking would end in tears as the kids shared some of the anger and hurt they had over their past and present circumstances. They got a chance to do this as a group and sometimes just one-on-one with a mentor or with their crew leader. This gave the crew leaders and the mentors opportunities to speak love and encouragement into their lives. Sometimes their mentors would pick them up and take them out to lunch. Near the end of our time with them, one student was having a particularly tough time one day. In the middle of his workday, instead of stomping off and shutting down as he had done in the past, he asked if he could call his mentor and talk. This moment was HUGE, and it really showed us that the mentorship process was really having a positive and even lasting impact on our students.

And now for a story that is heartbreaking AND encouraging. It's also an example of how some of the students have been teaching us....

Several weeks ago, Kyle and Brandon's crew was working down on Silver Beach in St. Joseph (Silver Beach has been voted one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the country. It's about a mile or so bike ride from Benton Harbor). It was during this week that the reality of the racial, social, and economic divide between Benton Harbor and St. Joseph really began to hit us. One of our students shared with us that he had never been to Silver Beach. It doesn't seem like a very big deal, one kid never going to the beach. But we're starting to see that this is common. There are countless kids (and adults) who live in Benton Harbor who have never traveled the very short distance over the bridge and down to the lake to enjoy one of the top ten best beaches in the country.

It's kind of hard to understand this at first. The beautiful beach is right there for the pleasure of anybody who wants to cool off and have fun during the heat of the summer. Why wouldn't a person just go when it's so close?

As mentioned, some of our mentors would come and take their students out to lunch. This particular week, *Bill, one of our mentors, thought it would be awesome to take his 15 year old student, *Tony, to the pizza place right there on Silver Beach since they were already working so close. Bill was really surprised by Tony's reaction to being invited. Bill said, "when [I] asked him to go, he wasn't sure whether he could go because he'd never been there before, like he wasn't sure he belonged there....he had never been to Silver Beach before and didn't know he could go there. He was shocked he was going to get to go there. He was uncomfortable." But, they went, and they had a good time despite Tony's initial reaction. Bill had Tony order all of the food, and he ended up splitting a pizza with Bill's son. Bill said that Tony probably would have eaten more but he saved 4 pieces so he could take some back to the other workers.

When Bill told us about this day, we were heartbroken and even a little shocked -- it was obvious that Tony felt like he didn't belong, and that is not how it should be. We know that there's a reason that he felt that way and that the reason is probably a result of a major injustice. But we don't want that injustice to have the final say in Tony's life or in our cities, and that's why we have to keep investing in and loving these students.

Bill shared that since Youth Shine wrapped up, he's been trying to get in touch with Tony but hasn't had any luck. So please pray for him. Pray that he'll return Bill's calls and that their relationship would continue. By the way, Tony has 2 children. Pray for them too. Pray that their daddy will take them to the beach...

*names have been changed for privacy

OUR INTERNS!!!

We'd like to tell you about two very special people -- Brandon Moten and Jonathan Croy! Who are they?! They are two awesome guys we had the pleasure of working with this summer. They were Harbor Shine's interns! They've gone back to school, but we will miss them incredibly and we'll always be so thankful for their time with us!

Brandon is from Marion, IN and he's a student at Oklahoma Wesleyan University (the picture on the left is Brandon with his fiancee, Lindsay, who also attends OWU). This guy loves the Lord, and is an absolute servant. Whether it's helping you with a tough project or babysitting your kids, Brandon is more than willing to serve and does it with humility and joy. He's a worshipper at heart -- he loves to play guitar and sing, and he even helped lead worship one Sunday at Overflow! God moved in his life incredibly here, and his experience with us really confirmed for him that he'd love to do ministry in a city environment. Brandon had a genuine impact on our hearts, and we'll miss him incredibly but know that our relationship with him will continue despite any distance between us!

Jonathan Croy is from Marshall, MI (his dad is the pastor of Marshall Wesleyan Church). He goes to school in Marion, IN at Indiana Wesleyan University. The story of how we met Jonathan is pretty awesome!

He had some lawncare experience already, and he actually sought us out after hearing about what we were doing from a letter and a Harbor Shine brochure that we sent to his church. So he came to Benton Harbor to check things out, and even though we couldn't offer him a salary, he agreed to come and work anyway! He feels that the financial sacrifice was worth it because of the experiences he had here and the life lessons he learned. This is what he had to say about his time with Harbor Shine:

"I think only one word comes to mind when thinking about this summer -- AMAZING! The way God worked through my thought of the kids and changed me as a person is just amazing....Coming to Benton Harbor has really prepared me for the work that God is calling me to do in Marion."

Wow! It was awesome for us to see somebody so willing to sacrifice their summer, their time, and their potential for making money to come and be a part of what God is doing here! It's equally as cool to see that Jonathan's experience here has even influenced his passion for outreach on his college campus!

These interns were an incredible help to Harbor Shine this summer. If they had not been here, we could not have done all the work we did, and we would not have been able to supervise and mentor so many students! Not only that, but these two guys enriched our lives, and they'll continue to do so through the friendships that we made with them.

Thank you Brandon and Jonathan! We love and miss you, and we wish you the best in the upcoming school year!

CRAZY PROVISION

Wow.

So many updates! I don't even know where to start!

First of all, the Barnes have moved into their new home in Benton Harbor and they're fixing it up and making it their own. The Randalls? We have moved into a place of our own as well! The last you heard, we were all going to live together to save money, but after a lot of prayer and thinking time, we decided that, for the health of the ministry and our families, we needed to have our own spaces of peace and rest. We want to say 'thank you' again to Dan and Mel Page-Wood for opening their home to us for six months. Because of your hospitality, we've been able to follow God more closely because we've been able to follow His call on our lives without having to worry about where we'd sleep or eat or be. There will always be a special place in our hearts carved out just for you!

And Harbor Shine??? You know, I'm looking back over the past year and I can't believe the places that God has taken us and the things that have happened. We recently went to Central Wesleyan Church in Holland and spoke to several small groups about the call that God put on our lives to start Harbor Shine and Youth Shine. Justin shared with everyone something that served as an awesome reminder of how faithful God is. He talked about how we (thanks to Cindy Bennett) had these beautiful brochures printed for Harbor Shine in early winter, and they listed all of the wonderful lawncare and landscaping services that we provide.

When those brochures were printed and sent out, Harbor Shine owned nothing but TWO WEED WHIPS AND ONE SINGLE RIDING LAWN MOWER that we had in the garage at our old house. We had no commercial lawn mowers, no blowers, trailors, trucks, shovels, cool t-shirts or decals, and no idea how we were going to get them. We didn't really know much of anything. All we knew was that God had spoken to us and made the opportunity in Benton Harbor/St. Joseph very crystal clear, and He'd also been giving us an urgency to move forward despite appearances. Because He revealed His plan to us, we knew He'd provide the resources needed to carry out that plan. We just had to keep moving forward in faith because we felt he was telling us to. Sure enough...HE HAS PROVIDED EVERYTHING AND MORE, AND IN THE MOST PERFECT TIMING!

So Kyle and Justin had done several bids, including one for the entire school district of Benton Harbor, before we had any of this equipment. But when relationships started forming with the future clients, and as it became clear that these bids and these meetings were something that God was orchestrating, we just kept moving forward, knowing that the equipment would come. And it did, literally DAYS before the guys needed it.

We've received donations from people and places that we would have never anticipated. For example, Kyle and Justin stopped at a garage sale one day and walked up to a very large man covered in tattoos and leather and packin' a gun right on his hip. He was a "biker dude" that looked pretty rough. It'd be easy to speculate about the things he might spend his time doing (I think we tend to size people up pretty quickly).

So anyway, Justin and Kyle told this man about what they were doing and what they were looking for, and without skipping a beat, he said, in so many words, "I'm a Christ follower and here ya go. I've got exactly what you need...take it." It seems like these are the kind of moments that have become our way of life around here; the way God has been providing. And in those moments, God always smashes another piece of our human ignorance by smashing our assumptions, allowing us to love a little bit more like Him.

Here's another example of some crazy generosity: A family who we only recently met bought Harbor Shine a chainsaw AND loaned us a hefty amount of money to purchase a truck, another trailer, a 72" commercial size mower, a weed whip, and a hedge trimmer. We got an incredible deal on this stuff, and we also got an amazing deal on a SECOND commerical mower. This family has partnered with us because they wanted to partner with God in what He's doing here even though they can't see it everyday! How awesome is that?! They've also given so much to us personally in ways that have strengthened our faith in God and in the church -- and they barely even know us!

So Kyle and Justin have been working "in the field" since April. More and more bids have been done and accepted, and I guess you could say "business is boomin'." When Harbor Shine began, we had two major goals. 1) to do all the mowing for Benton Harbor school district, and 2) to do all the mowing/landscaping for Berrien Homes (a low-income housing development in Benton Harbor that Overflow Church has been working with for the past couple of years). And guess what? We're doing both, and more!

We take care of 14 of Benton Harbor Schools' properties, and we're in the middle of designing some landscaping as well. And the aesthetics at Berrien Homes have changed dramatically. The first time they mowed the place, they spent over 9 hours there because of the huge amount of clean-up that had to be done. But now, they are mowing there regularly and they've just started doing some landscaping. Recently, Harbor Shine sponsored a workday where guys from Overflow Church came and did some work to make Berrien Homes look even better. We also take care of over a dozen county properties that have been abandoned. This helps keep them and their surroundings looking better than they would otherwise. We're also working on numerous residential properties, doing everything from planting grass to building beautiful stone patios. Some of the our business accounts include places like Hampton Inn, Comfort Inn, Cracker Barrel, and Long John Silvers.

So that's how God has been answering our prayers as far as equipment and work is concerned. But check this out...

Now for Youth Shine! Michigan Works has agreed to partner with Harbor Shine and provide 8 kids to work with us for 6 weeks this summer! This means that Kyle and Justin will be working shoulder to shoulder with these kids every day, and more importantly, they'll be mentored by 11 volunteers from Overflow who have a heart for youth! But that's not all!!! (now I sound like an info-mercial!!!)

In addition to that, Harbor Shores, the developers of the new Jack Nicklaus golf course and resort in Benton Harbor/St. Joe, have partnered with Harbor Shine and hired 12 Benton Harbor youth as well! These kids will also be mentored and paired up with 8 volunteers from Overflow who all have a heart to love and mentor these kids. Getting the Harbor Shores account was a dream for us -- something that was so huge that we pictured it being way off in the distance, years from now. And yet, God brought it directly to our doorstep during our very first season of our operation!

Justin is working with the Harbor Shores kids, and Kyle spends Monday-Thursday working with the Michigan Works kids. It's really clear that God has already begun to lay the groundwork for some longer-term relationships. One of the kids has already attended Overflow on a Sunday morning, while another came to an Overflow Church outreach event that was held in his neighborhood. These kids are getting into the swing of working with us, and some "deep" conversations are beginning to happen. Trust is being built. Most of them are going through a lot in their personal and family lives. Some of them are mothers and fathers though they are kids themselves. Some of them are expecting children, and are trying to learn what it looks like to support themselves even though they are still in high school. Many of them have grown very accustomed to keeping others at arms-length, but God is beginning to break down barriers enough that we're able to see that they are longing for love and comfort and acceptance. The fact that barriers of race and pain are being broken is evidence that God's Spirit is at work! Stories are being shared and tears are being shed, which means that things are being brought into the light so that God can begin to heal! It's amazing to realize that God is doing all of this through a lawncare business! It always blows my mind to watch God use the most unlikely people and things to reach out to His kids.

So that's just a SMALL snapshot of what's been going on around here lately. And I'll end with some pictures of what we call a miracle: This is some (not all) of the equipment that Harbor Shine has acquired in just a few months!








(Maryn LOVES riding on her dad's lap while he mows!)












Whew!...Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support! God is taking care of us in every way! If you'd like to take a look at our website or donate to Harbor Shine, click on the title of this blog, and you'll be there!

Much Love,
The Randalls

GENEROSITY

Hello!

In a previous post, we talked about the sale of our home and about the debt that it left behind. We talked about how we didn't know where the money would come from but that we were learning to trust God for it. Well since that time, we prayerfully decided that we were going to stop negotiations with USDA, and just accept their final offer. So we signed the form and sent it; it was actually a relief to have made a decision!

Now for the cool part.


God has made a way for now! He has provided a way for us to make our debt payment every month! When He showed us how He was going to provide, we were both dumbfounded!

We actually just sat there like little kids -- unable to grasp what was happening and unable to find the words to describe the way we felt. When moments like that happen, it feels like a hurricane -- but the hurricane is LOVE and you cannot stand up in the midst of it. Overwhelming.

So, God has made a way. And, surprise! -- it's one that we didn't see or plan. Imagine that, right? So thank you Lord! You are providing all along the way and teaching us to trust! It's painful at times, but so worth it!

More soon...

The Randalls

THE "BARNSIES"

Hey all,

We want to introduce our partners in ministry, Justin and Jessie Barnes. The four of us have been friends for several years, and it's amazing to see how God has brought us together again to begin this new ministry in Benton Harbor, Michigan (many of you know them and love them already).

Kyle and Justin used to serve together part-time under and with our friend Brian Bennett at First Wesleyan Church in Battle Creek. From there, God called them both into full-time youth ministry -- Justin to Pennsylvania and Kyle to Plainwell, Michigan. After a season in Pennsylvania, Justin and Jessie then relocated to Kalamazoo (about ten minutes from our house in Plainwell) to serve at Lighthouse Community Church, another Wesleyan Church in our district. It was cool being so close to them again and to be able to just call and say, "Hey, it's been a rough week. Wanna meet for dinner and catch up?" We never dreamed that in a matter of months, God would be calling us to the exact same place for the exact same reason.

Looking back on the past several years, it's clear that God was unfolding a larger plan in the midst of everyone's personal journey. Brian is now the pastor of Overflow Church in Benton Harbor, and now God has brought Brian, Kyle and Justin back together again to "do life" and ministry as a team after having shaped and molded them all in separate and unique ways. The story of how Justin and Kyle began to hear their call to Benton Harbor is equally as cool.

One day, Kyle was working outside at our old house in Kalamazoo. He was still the Student Ministries Pastor at Friendship Wesleyan Church in Plainwell, but he was looking to do some odd lawncare jobs to make some extra money on the side.While mowing our yard, he was just sort of thinking about the whole thing. He had a sudden sense that God was saying, "Kyle, you're dreaming too small" -- that was the beginning of the pull to do something different with a lawn care business. Something so different actually, that the word business doesn't qualify it. Ministry is the word we choose to use.

Shortly after that, and without Kyle's knowledge, Justin started feeling a kind of urgency that maybe God had something else in mind for him. One day he just told Kyle that maybe he'd quit pastoring at the church and start doing something else, like maybe lawn care! So long story short, after a couple months of soul searching and talking, Justin decided to join Kyle in his vision.

It just so happened that Overflow Church was about to start a Christian Community Development Association in which they would seek to reconcile and empower a very broken community by bringing social, economic and racial justice back (visit the website at http://www.overflowccda.org/). It just so happened that everytime we visited the area to partner with Overflow in service and outreach, we left completely broken and burdened, having nothing but love and compassion for the people here. It just so happened that after Kyle left his position at Friendship Wesleyan, he took a temporary landscaping job in Battle Creek that provided him with experience he would have otherwise lacked. And it just so happened too, that Benton Harbor was training kids to do this kind of work and had no where to send them. All this "it just so happened" stuff was not "just so happened" stuff at all. When God is about to do something, coincidence does not apply. God was going before us and preparing the way!

So now here we are, both families, beginning to call Benton Harbor home. Kyle and I have been living here since just after Thanksgiving 2009, and Justin and Jessie are out of their home in Kalamazoo and making there way over slowly. We've been living with a very generous family in Benton Harbor who have a beautiful, spacious home. They are graciously allowing the three of us to live in a bedroom that used to be their daughters' playroom. They pretty much give us access to everything in the house, and they've really made us feel welcome (not to mention they've become good friends). They are also in the process of finishing their basement to make room for another family of four who are also called to Benton Harbor and are in the beginning stages of starting a new ministry called Mosaic (I'll talk more about Mosaic soon. Visit http://www.overflowccda.org/mosaic to check them out! They are another non-profit that will also be under the Overflow Christian Community Development Association).

Though we sometimes struggle, God has continued to provide for both our family and for Justin and Jessie. Kyle and Justin both work at the Berrien County Juvenile Center, so they continue to work with youth, and more importantly, with the same hurting youth that Harbor Shine will be ministering to. As you may remember, we're planning on starting a youth program in the summer called "Youth Shine". The initial goal is to work shoulder to shoulder with kids in the area while providing mentorship and life skills training for kids that have had little to no guidance. The greater goal would be to share the love of Christ with these kids! We're confident that God's love can break the economic, social and racial barriers that have so deeply hurt the youth in our area.

*(Just a sidenote: Kyle and Justin both found the juvenile center job opening without each others' knowledge and applied, and now they work together in that as well! Tell me that's not part of God's plan!). They hear many painful stories and come in close contact with a lot of kids who simply need guidance and unconditional love. I think this experience is growing them and spurring them on toward fulfilling God's plan for this area.

And you're probably wondering about Jessie! -- She works at a daycare center in Kalamazoo currently, but is looking for work in Benton Harbor/St. Joe. She has a huge heart for ministry, particularly for missions. She is wonderful with children and with people in general. She's been bouncing back and forth between staying with Justin in Benton Harbor (another family has graciously opened their home to them both), and between her parents' house in Battle Creek. Be praying for them in this way -- it's been tough for them being apart so much.

But here's the "plan" for the next months as far as housing is concerned. We're talking about possibly moving in together for a short time! Justin and Jessie are in the process of purchasing a home in Benton Harbor. Once that goes through, the five of us are thinking it might be cool to live together with our four dogs and with the hope of being good stewards and a good support system for one another as we establish our lives here.

So that's Justin and Jessie, and we love them dearly. We are going to have hard times, I'm sure, but our foundation is strong -- it's a solid rock called Jesus actually, and He is who we stand on and put our trust in. There can never be failure in that.

And by the way, my hope is that you'll hear from Justin and Jessie soon in this blog, so stay tuned to hear their heart and their side of this big story. They are wonderful people with much wisdom to share. They happen to be two of Maryn's favorite people in the world too. She prays for them often, and bursts at the seams almost every time they walk in a room (That's Maryn with them in the picture!).

Please continue to pray that God's will unfolds in His timing and in His way through Harbor Shine, through Overflow, through the OCCDA, and through each of our lives as we move forward.

As we say here at Overflow..."His Story, His glory!"


Much Love,
Kyle and Cyndie

THE SALE OF OUR HOME

Hey all!

Just an update...

As some of you know, we sold our house in Kalamazoo after we felt called to be a part of what God is doing in Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Michigan. The fact that we found a buyer so quickly was a "God thing", especially with the way the housing market has been in the past few years. Unfortunately, we had to pursue a short-sale, which left us with a large amount of debt. Since the closing, we've been in negotiations with our lender (USDA - Rural Development), to try and lessen the amount due. We know that this debt is our responsibility and we truly desire to honor that, but in our current circumstances, we are simply unable to pay it.

Honestly, it's been tough. Kyle has spent so much time on the phone with USDA. At one point, we were actually joking that he was talking to one particular woman so much that soon he'd be asking,"Hey Yvonne...so how are the grandkids?" In the past months, so much has gone on between us, The USDA, The U.S. Treasury, and even other sources. We've called on congressman Fred Upton for help, for example, and we've even been offered help by friends of friends who we hardly know (amazing generosity!). Through it all, we've really learned a lot about ourselves and about how we want to live in the future. This has been a long and trying process, and it has definitely brought us to a place of brokeness and of having to find our peace and contentment in God alone. We've read the scriptures that talk about waiting on the Lord, and now we're living them out.

Our negotiations with The USDA are not over yet, and we really can't say what's going to happen next. But in the meantime, we're asking for prayer and for God's continued provision. We ask that you would pray for His favor and for Him to be seen and glorified through whatever happens.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers!

Much Love,
Kyle and Cyndie

FOLLOWING THE CALL...

"A Message from the high and towering God,
who lives in Eternity,
whose name is Holy:
'I live in the high and holy places,
but also with the low-spirited, the spirit-crushed,
And what I do is put new spirit in them,
get them up and on their feet again.'" -Isaiah 57:15 (The Message)

Dear Family and Friends,

Where to start? Our lives have changed dramatically over the past few months. Kyle is no longer the Student Ministries Pastor at Friendship Wesleyan Church. We sold our house, (we thank God for working that miracle), and we're moving to Benton Harbor, Michigan.

Why Benton Harbor? Well, our first calling was to be a part of Overflow Church, a church that our friends, Brian and Cindy Bennett, planted in the Benton Harbor/St. Joe area about two years ago. The community is heavy-laden with poverty, racial division, crime, substance abuse, teen pregnancy and hopelessness. The high school dropout rate in Benton Harbor is near 50%, and because of that, kids roam the streets with no guidance or direction. Many men have no job skills, and many children are without their fathers or are being raised by their grandparents. Our hearts are broken for the people in that community, and we want to be a part of what God is doing to bring justice, peace, hope and salvation to people who have none. He has not forgotten this city.

Since Overflow's kick-off, they've seen 43 people give their lives to Christ, and that number continues to grow. These are un-churched and de-churched people with heart-wrenching stories, people who had no hope or peace before somebody shared Christ with them. So we've watched God begin to transform the community by transforming hearts, one by one.

And now for our second calling: If you asked us five years ago what we'd be doing now, we never would have said, "We'll be starting a lawn care/snow removal ministry called Harbor Shine in the poorest city in Michigan." But that's exactly what we're about to do, and it's been a "God thing" ever since the first word of it came to us. At first it seemed strange that a lawn care business could allow us to be a part of the transformation that's happening in Benton Harbor. But it doesn't seem strange to The Lord, so we've decided to trust His leading.

Harbor Shine will be affiliated with Overflow Church by being a part of its non-profit umbrella ministry, the OCCDA (Overflow Christian Community Development Association). Our goal is to put any excess profit back into the community to help it prosper. We envision Harbor Shine functioning around four core values: Hope, Reconciliation, Empowerment, and Excellence.

We believe that The Lord will make these values come to life in several different ways. We'll be providing lawn care, snow removal and landscaping to help the community aesthetically, but we'll also be discipling and mentoring men and families. During the summer, we will have a 12-week program specifically tailored around youth. They will learn job skills and life skills that will enable them to see themselves as empowered and capable. This program will also provide an alternative to the street scene during the summer. We do not view this as a charity or as a way to make profit for ourselves. We view it as a way for God to bring His justice and His love back to a community that's been deprived of it for so long. It's about leading people toward a lasting hope! And although the Lord is our strength and is going before us to make this business happen, we still need your help. These are our top needs as we begin:

PRAYER (for our family, for finances, for the community, and for God's glory to be revealed!)

PHYSICAL RESOURCES (commercial lawn care and office equipment, etc. If you'd like a list of our needs, please contact us.)

FINANCIAL HELP (one-time donations or long-term commitments)

NETWORKING (spread the word! We have business cards and brochures. If you'd like some to hand out, let us know!)

We have relocated our family to Benton Harbor, and hope to have the business up and running before the spring. In fact, we've already been corresponding with the Superintendent of Maintenance for Benton Harbor Schools. He knows what we're about to do, and the bid for the 20 locations that make up the district is a great possibility (please keep this in your prayers). God is already giving us work, and we don't even have a single mower yet!

So, we're asking you to consider helping us start a journey that we're hugely incapable of making on our own, but one that we're passionate about nonetheless. We've never been more excited to be following God. We've also never had to trust him more. But, that's the perfect place to be.

We'll be starting a ministry website soon, and this blog will serve as a kind of personal newsletter to keep you all informed. If you'd rather receive a paper newsletter, we can send you one of those too. If you are donating money, you can make your check payable to the OCCDA and be sure to write "Harbor Shine" in the memo line. Tax-deductible financial gifts can be sent to the following address:

Harbor Shine c/o OCCDA

1800 Pipestone Rd. M-42

Benton Harbor, MI 49022.

Thank you for listening to our hearts.

All Our Love in Christ,

Kyle and Cyndie Randall