Urgent Need at DayBreak: Staff Position Available Immediately

We are sad to report that today is going to be LaShawn Lewis' last day of work at DayBreak Ministries. LaShawn started volunteering at DayBreak four years ago after she heard about the program through her daughter Ana. She joined the staff in 2005 and has served as the cook and housekeeper for us since then. Please pray for her as she makes this transition. She will be missed.



As a result of her departure, there is now a major gap on our staff. We are currently seeking individuals interested in the part time position of House Manager. This person will be responsible for preparing nutritious meals for the after school program as well any other meals required for special events and summer programming. They will also be responsible for managing the cleaning of the house. Please contact Andrea Coleman at andrea.coleman@mcleanbible.org if interested.



In the meantime, we are looking for volunteers who would be interested in serving in our kitchen helping to prepare the meals until we are able to find the right person to assume the role full time. Duties would include: arriving at DayBreak at 3pm, preparing snack, cooking dinner, setting the table, serving the meal, and cleaning up the kitchen afterwards. If you can serve us in this capacity, even just once, please contact Andrea Coleman at andrea.coleman@mcleanbible.org ASAP so that we can begin planning how to serve our students meals over the next couple of weeks.

Update: 13 Year Old Girl is Shot in Lincoln Heights

Many of you have been praying and asking for more information about the 13 year old girl that was shot in Lincoln Heights last week, and I am happy to report that she is going to be okay. She is still in an area hospital and her release is still unknown. The staff has already had a chance to visit with her once and are planning on visiting heragain tomorrow. Also, the shooter, a 15 year old boy in the community, was apprehended last week and is now in custody. Please be praying for both the young girl and her shooter, that God's grace would abound and that both would come into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as a result.

13 Year Old Student Shot in Lincoln Heights

Dear Friends of DayBreak,



Last night, around 9:45pm, I received a text stating that a 13 year old girl had been shot in the back outside of her home in Lincoln Heights . At the time, the DayBreak leadership team was at my home enjoying a night of Bible study and fellowship so we immediately began to pray for the girl, her family, and the community. While the identity was still unknown, our hearts were heavy with the reality that it very possibly could be any one of the many students that we interact with on a regular basis. Tears were shed, pleading for God's mercy and grace to pervade this community, bringing the healing and wholeness that this neighborhood so desperately needs.



Today, it was confirmed that the young girl was indeed a student that we knew, one who had been spending time recently volunteering at DayBreak, serving at the After School program that her younger brother and sister go to everyday. Thankfully, it has been reported that she is in stable condition in an area hospital where we hope to be able to visit her tomorrow.



Over the past seven years that I have been the leader of DayBreak, there has been a passion in me that has pushed me hard, something that I like to call a "holy fire in my butt." That "holy fire" has been ignited even more as a result of this incident. I am even more certain of the need of Christ's transformational power to pervade the community, and that DayBreak is called to represent the truth and hope of the Gospel that can rebuild and restore a broken community by the power of our loving God. Our call is not a joke! With bullets flying in the air, I am even more aware that our tomorrows are never promised and that we should take every opportunity that we have today to make the message of eternity with Christ known to the dying world around us.



This incident has also reminded me that we must have the adequete resources needed to create a safe place to host students and teach them holistically about the ways of God. A donation is not simply a donation that helps to keep the lights on, it is a tool that brings life to kids that may otherwise be on the streets walking in hopelessness. Thankfully, since I last made an appeal for funds, we have been blessed with over $130,000 in donations. Praise the Lord for His kind provision through the many of you who have given so generously during our time of need! Yet, while this is an extraordinary number, it only ensures that we are funded through the rest of 2008. It takes a lot of money to effectively run a ministry that is reaching into the complex realities of at-risk youth, and we are looking for partners that are interested in joining us on a consistent, monthly basis, helping us to plan our spending more effectively. Would you consider being one of those monthly donors?



Finally, I am even more convinced that "the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." Our ability to grow and serve more students is contingent on the amount of volunteers who can serve with us. Our after school program has great potential to positively influence students, but is lacking in volunteers. Do you have a free afternoon each week? Does your employer look favorably on allowing his/her employees to serve in a community outreach program? If so, would you consider investing your time in Lincoln Heights?



In closing, I ask that you join us in praying for the young lady that was shot and her family- that God's peace would reign and that He would be glorified though this situation. Pray that the senseless violence that seems to be heightening right now in our community would subside and that God would do a mighty work of transformation in the neighborhood. Please pray that God would use Christians that are present in the community as agents of hope and truth and that we would have the resources needed would be provided. One day we will see in fullness all that He has done. Oh may all in Lincoln Heights be present in that glorious eternity that is for all who know Him!



For His Name and His Glory!

Frontline Offering

Last night, Todd Phillips, the teaching pastor at Frontline (www.frontlinedc.com), highlighted DayBreak, and he challenged the church community to give financially to support the ongoing work that God is doing through us in Lincoln Heights. A video was shown highlighting a Frontliner and DayBreak volunteer, Lauren Allgood and a student, Ana Bruce who have spent the last year getting to know each other through the mentoring program. Ana was a big hit as she shared about the impact that Lauren has made in her life. What a powerful example of what one willing young adult can do to impact the life of an at risk student in DC!

There are countless stories of students who have been impacted over the last 7 years. Just this summer, 40- 1st through 5th graders spent 6 weeks learning about there earthly and spiritual heritage. Here is some of the feedback we got from the students:

Niesha Woodard, 3rd grade
“I learned about Nigeria. The sport there is soccer and the Nigerian soup is Egusi. In Ms. Kat’s class I learned that God gave Sarai the nickname Sarah. God gave Isaac a name that means he laughs too much. There were two twins. One was Jacob and one was Esau.”

My favorite part: “We watched movies, we had popcorn and we had candy, prizes and snacks.”

Jaila Brown, 2nd grade
“I learned about bible verses and I learned about God. I learned songs. I played with toys. I learned about Nigeria and the people’s food. They eat with their fingers and they eat outside. The people have to do hard work.”

My favorite part: “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I liked going to the pool and learning how to swim.”

Maurice Gadson, 2nd grade
“I learned about Jesus and about God dying on the cross. I learned about Nigeria and about what they eat. They eat with their hands. Their favorite sport is soccer.”

My favorite part: Playing with puzzles, swimming, and coloring.

Tyrell Morton, 5th grade
My favorite part of camp was swimming and the field trips. I learned the stories of Adam and Eve, Seth, Cain and Abel, Abraham and Sarah, and about Rebecca. I got to practice Math and Reading. I liked bible study. I also got to play new games like G.I. Joe and Shuffle your Bun.

Marshai Harper, 4th grade
I learned about Rwanda, that Kigali is the capital; the flag is blue, yellow and green. I liked the evangel cubes. They showed that Jesus loved us, we were separated from God and Jesus died on the Cross for us. I liked the presentations from the man from Nigeria and the lady from Rwanda. I liked that he let us play with the instruments from Nigeria. I also liked when his wife showed us how to wrap Nigerian clothes. My favorite part of camp was swimming, playing football in the pool and getting dunked. I liked doing sculpture in Ms. Jesse’s class.

Davon Brown, 5th grade
I liked that in all the classes, we get to learn to do new things. I liked learning about Africa, the population of Africa and Rwanda. I learned to play a new game called Jeopardy. In Bible class I learned about Isaac, Enoch, Seth, Esau and his father. In Ms. Elise’s class we got to make thank you cards. I learned to make art in Rwanda class. I learned that you don’t always have to fight back when someone gets to you.

Sadly, our ability to provide ongoing program, creating a safe haven for students in Lincoln Heights, is in serious jeopardy due to a lack of funds. When Todd invited the Frontline community to get involved financially, he invited everyone to be a part of keeping the doors open at DayBreak. Currently we need at least $20,000 to make it through this month and another $100,000 to make it through the end of the year. This will help us provide meals each evening for the students, pay the staff, provide high speed internet for the staff and students, pay the annual liability insurance bill that is due at the end of this month, and more. Would you consider being part of the army of supporters to help make this happen?

If you would like to give, there are several ways you can do so:

1. You can go to www.daybreakkids.org, click the "donate" tab and give a one time or reocurring gift through PayPal.

2. You can send a check written to "DayBreak Ministries" to: PO Box 62543, Washington, DC 20029

Thankfully, we know that we have a God who sees and knows our need. I am excited to see how He provides for His children. may He be glorified through it all!

After School Program to Begin on Tuesday, September 16th

I am excited to announce that we will be opening our After School Program on Tuesday, September 16th. We are very excited about being able to offer a safe place after school for students to go, but that safe place is in jeopardy. As most of you know, DayBreak is funded through donations from people like you and me who believe in the mission and feel called to give. Over this past summer, giving has declined and we are in a serious financial situation as a result. As of today, we need at least $20,000 to make ends meet this month which includes payroll, our standard operating bills (including food for the students in the after school program, high speed internet, phone service, and more), and the yearly liability insurance bill of $12,000 that is due at the end of the month. While we are considering solutions to address the financial needs long term, we need your help to make ends meet in the short term. Would you consider being one of the people who will fill in the gap?

If you are able to give, here are a few ways you can do so:

1. You can go to www.daybreakkids.org, click the "donate" tab and give a one time or reocurring gift through PayPal.

2. You can send a check written to "DayBreak Ministries" to:
PO Box 62543, Washington, DC 20029

Thank you for considering this opportunity to meet the needs at DayBreak. Whether you can give $10 or $100, your gift will help bring hope and truth into the lives of at risk kids in Lincoln Heights.

The End of Summer Camp

Summer draws to a close in Lincoln Heights as our youth return to school on Monday. It has been a rewarding summer with many lessons learned. One of the highlights was the opportunity to get to know so many of the youngers. They've got so much personality. We got to see all sides of it as we served this summer. Prayerfully, many of the same students will become involved in the after school program and we'll get the opportunity to continue to invest in their young lives. Pray for the ministry as we move forward. Grace and peace to you.

pray for a miracle

The more I get to know our kids the more I realize that nothing short of a miracle will truly change them. Realizing that while man sees the outside, the Lord knows the heart- there is so much wickedness we don't even see. It takes a mighty move of God to bless our youth with the grace that leads to repentance and that same grace to grow them in their walk with God. God Himself must step in and do the work, all the lesson plans and field trips mean nothing if He does not move.

We've hit the point in the summer camp now where everyday is a relatively good day, in terms of discipline, and while that has value we pray our own neat structure never becomes an end in itself. I pray it only serves as a proper conduit for the Spirit of God. Please join me in consistently praying for our youth, even as "more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of." (Tennyson) Pray that our youth have an understanding of spiritual matters that seems beyond their years. Pray for brokenness and grace in their lives.