Have you ever seen the glowing effects of a multitude of individuals all with a single candle, extending them in unison? Such a simple act magnifies the efforts of one into an awesome display of light and color that none alone would have been able to achieve. To be the light of the world, we must each raise our solitary light to the heavens together. Only there, beyond what we perceive as our limitations, can we illuminate the deepest recesses of the darkness.

LIGHTDANCERS is a ministry of patience and endurance. Many of our encounters are a onetime opportunity. There is a lot of "seed planting" as we move to see Christ's love showered on those we encounter. As we move into our new direction, we will have a greater opportunity to build lasting relationships as we see the local youth thrive and grow on a regular basis. Still, this is not a ministry of sensationalism or a numbers game. Any effect we have is simply made one life at a time. Our sole means of financial support has come from God moving on the hearts of the people who learn about our mission. We depend solely and completely on the grace of God to see that our needs are met.

Sometimes in meeting these needs, our efforts are accomplished in a conventional manner, sometimes, they are not. The idea is to break the barriers and reach the people. Our original ministry to the dancers reflects an industry of an unconventional nature, and is not a work that appeals to everyone. There are people who have been deeply appalled at the idea that we would be reaching out to those consumed by the desires of the flesh. Others have not agreed with some of the ways we have chosen to go about it or feel that our approach is either to passive or too direct. Thank goodness that we are not striving to please people! What a futile effort that would be! In the same respect, I am sure that we will run across the same naysayers regarding our new direction with the youth. We do not strive to duplicate what the church has already established. We are now as we have always been, an on the edge outreach, and our efforts with the youth will continue to reflect that which will best reach our target audience, regardless of whom they may be in the future. After all, God is no respector of persons and neither are we.

Every person has his or her place in the body of Christ and in the work of spreading the awesome message of God's love. It is important to remember that God does not call all people to all things. To some He gives talent, to others He gives resources, to yet another He pours out financial abundance. These are His gifts to His children. How we utilize these blessings is our gift back to Him. Whenever you have the opportunity to contribute to a cause you believe in, we ask that you would not only prayfully consider doing so, but that you would follow through on your decision should it be in favor of that outreach. Financial support is vital to the ability of any organization to be able to carry out the work they are called to do.

We want to thank each and every one of you who have contributed to LIGHTDANCERS throughout the years. Most of you who gave, gave from the heart because you truly believed in our efforts and the tax receipt really didn't matter at all. Thank you. Thank you for your love and your prayers and your desire to want to make a difference even when you didn't understand the dancer's world or where the journey to reach them would take us. And for the few who stepped up when we stepped out to reach the next generation, know that lives were changed forever because of it. But most moving of all, was when our wonderful, incredible gang at Mirage got together in a last ditch effort to support the place they had come to love and call their own and orchestrated their own ideas of fundraising. You guys are AWESOME! And we will love you FOREVER!