Girl Scouts

On December 4th the company and trainees had some special guests at the Light of the World studio. A group of girl scouts from the Syracuse area came to the studio, and watched a performance of Ana’s Battle. After the watching the story ballet we got to do the song Fountains of Living Water with the girls. They all seemed very attentive, and we had a sweet time of interaction with all of them. ~Lydia

A Christmas Celebration!

Wow! What a night! Our Christmas Celebration performance on December 8, 2013 at Believer’s Chapel in Cicero, NY was a huge success. We had a much larger audience than expected (Praise the Lord!), and all of our dancers did so well. Our audience blew us away with their enthusiasm and applause. Some received an unexpected surprise of being able to take home their very own snowball! It’s always a lot of fun to perform with the students from our school, and tonight was no exception. Our youth ballet was a great help to us as we set up our floor, wings, costumes and props. All of our volunteers also did a fantastic job in helping our show run smoothly. I know there was a little anxiety backstage as a few things fell into place last minute, and a few tears as some of our dancers prepared to go on stage for the very first time, but the Lord did not withhold His favor from us as we danced! I could truly feel the joy of the Lord every time we took the stage, and I have enjoyed few performances as much as I did this one. From our opening number of Zion to the final dance of Go Tell it on the Mountain, Jesus was with us on that stage. Congratulations to all of our dancers, tech crew, and staff on a job well done! And thank you to everyone who came out to see our show, we are so grateful for each and every one of you! ~ Rebecca

Reach Out for Christ Church

On Sunday December 1, 2013, we had the privilege of performing Ana’s Battle and some of our Christmas repertoire for Reach Out for Christ Church in Freeville, NY. We thoroughly enjoyed performing for a great group of people that night! We received a huge blessing from our audience, they were so responsive to the message we brought through the ballet, and I truly felt as though I received from them more than we gave by performing. After we performed Kristie got to share her testimony, a story of God’s truth overcoming our feelings in inadequacy. What a joy to have the members of this church pray over us after we performed and send us out with blessings on our ministry! I am truly grateful to have been able to share in such a wonderful time of worship and fellowship with Reach Out for Christ. ~ Rebecca

Eagle's Wings Academy

On November 22, LWB Company and Trainees performed at Eagles Wings Academy. We performed Ana’s Battle for the students and adults that attended the performance. Rebecca shared her testimony after and then we did Healing is in His Hands. Miss Ashley shared the gospel and had us lay hands on and bless everyone who was there. The student came to the front and we taught them some ballet steps. The students at this school are so precious and we pray that they would continue to learn and grow into the young men and women the Lord has called them to be! -Kristie

Believer's Chapel

On December 7th and 8th, LWB company performed for Believer's Chapel's services. We performed "Jesus, Friend of Sinners", a dance about not judging the world around us, but instead showing them the love that Jesus has shown us. It was well received, and it was a blessing to be able to worship there again. ~Cayla

Jennings Center

On December 14th, LWB Company and Trainees woke up bright and early to drive to Ohio for a weekend of performances. The first of our performances was at Jennings Center Adult Home. We performed “Ana’s Battle” and “A Christmas Celebration” for the lovely residents at Jennings. Rachel shared her testimony between the two ballets. Mr. Rollinson shared the gospel and gave the residents an opportunity to receive Jesus. Two-thirds of the residents raised their hands to recognize that they wanted to receive Jesus! Afterwards, we were able to visit and pray with the sweet residents. We also had the pleasure of seeing our sweet friend and former trainee Abi. We had a great time at Jennings and hope that everyone there was blessed! -Kristie

Everson Museum

On Saturday, December 7, 2013, Light of the World Ballet Company and Trainees had the truly wonderful opportunity to perform at the Everson Museum of Art's Festival of Trees in downtown Syracuse. Many local organizations and individuals donated beautifully decorated trees, wreaths, and other special exhibits which were on display throughout the museum. We arrived and set up quickly. Some of LWB's "Christmas Celebration" was performed. The stage where we performed was in a basement-type area of the building- underground. It was a blessing to be able to breakthrough the atmosphere with the name of Jesus Christ from the "center" of the Syracuse area, literally from the ground up! God is good, and He's moving in Syracuse from the inside-out!

Auburn Tree Lighting

On November 30, Light of the World Ballet Company and Trainees traveled to Auburn to perform some of our Christmas Celebration! The performance took place at a mall where vendors had set up booths to ring in the Christmas season. There was story time, hot cocoa, and Christmas festivities all around. Families came to celebrate together before the Christmas parade and tree lighting ceremony that would follow afterwards. It was wonderful to have everyone gather around as we began performing and proclaiming the truth and joy of Jesus Christ through dancing. The kids had fun coming up and learning dance steps after the performance. We are so thankful for the church that made it possible for us to come, and we are believing that the joy of Jesus Christ spread out across the area that night!

HIM

On December 6^th, LWB Company and Trainees performed Ana’s Battle for the homeschooled children of the HIM Ministry.  As soon as we walked into the room and saw the kids, you could tell that they were excited about the performance and couldn’t wait for it to start.  Some of them even helped us move things around to help us set up.  After the ballet finished, I shared my testimony and we did a fun dance to the song “All My Fountains” with the kids.  They were overjoyed with big smiles on their faces as we jumped up and down, twirled around, and skipped in a big circle with them.  We then went and laid hands on each the kids and prayed for them.  Miss Ashley also had the children find their parents and pray a special blessing over them.  It was so sweet!  We had a great time with the kids and are excited to see all of the wonderful things God does through them and the ministry! -Kristie

Oswego Christian School

  On Thursday November 21st, Light of the World performed at Oswego Community Christian School. We got to perform Ana’s Battle for students of all ages, teachers, and for some local homeschoolers. After performing we had a wonderful time of prayer with many of the students. Then we were truly blessed because after that they prayed for us! We then invited all the students up onstage and taught them ballet positions and a few steps. It was a performance where everyone truly felt the presence of God. ~ Lydia

St. Augustine's

Tuesday, November 19, Light of the World Ballet Company & Trainees traveled to Baldwinsville, NY to perform for St. Augustine Child Evangelism Fellowship. We performed our story ballet "Ana's Battle" and then we had everyone join us in the arm motions to "Healing in His Hands". The students were so attentive to everything going on and enjoyed it very much. Some of the staff came and talked to us for a few minutes after the performance and a few received prayer. Everyone was so gracious and sweet. It was a joy to shine Christ's light into their lives.-Rachel

Arise

 

On November 20, we had the privilege of performing for a group of patients at ARISE, a care facility for mentally handicapped individuals.  We have performed there almost every year for the last five or six years, and what to a joy to be asked again! We performed Ana’s Battle, and afterward we were able to have some fun with our audience. We danced with them, showed them the crab dance, and many of them enjoyed walking or wheeling themselves under one of our fabrics as we held it overhead. They loved dancing to our Christmas music! It was a great experience to be able to bring some hope and joy to these wonderful patients in an unconventional way. I am continually amazed and blessed to see how God can use ballet as a tool to reach people’s hearts in ways that speech alone would fail. Where a conversation may have been difficult, sharing the story of Christ’s love through dance can still penetrate the darkness in ways I never imagined.   ~ Rebecca