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!