1. GIG Alerts Return!
Well, I have to say its been almost one year since the last Rsquared GIG Alert was sent out. With this being the first official week in 2014, I really wanted to re-start the weekly emails to keep everyone up to date on Rsquared activities and how God is at work in the group. So much has happened since the last GIG Alert was sent, but to share everything I would be here typing all night (and my first day of class is tomorrow!). So, I would like to highlight a few events from 2013 and share our 2014 Rsquared vision in this first, super exciting January edition!
2. 2013 Summer Symposium
In 2012 Noah was thinking of an idea for his Eagle Scout project. Long story short, he decided to lead a Summer Symposium at the Neighborhood House in Peoria, teaching the kids there how to play the recorder. Every Friday in July we would take a group of high school students to act as tutors, teaching the kids how to play the recorder. During the last week in July we would host a concert for the kids, inviting their family, friends, and Neighborhood House staff. The event made such an impact in 2012, the Neighborhood House asked if Noah would return in 2013 for another symposium. Check out this news article about the 2013 concert. As of now, we plan to return in 2014 for our third annual symposium!
3. 2013 Light the Night
In 2011, Noah and I hosted the first Light the Night event where we find a person from the community to sponsor and make it their very own, special night. Light the Night is continuing to evolve each year, but at each event we make sure to have cookies, hot chocolate, music, and Santa! Through out the night we decorate a tree for the sponsor and his/her family, then at the end of the night have a tree dedication ceremony where the sponsor puts an angle on top of the tree. Our list of past sponsors include Sophie Schneblin (Jingle Bell Run honorary for 2011, has Rheumatoid Arthritis), Adrianna Brown (ST Jude Patient diagnosed with Leukemia), and for 2013 we sponsored Alexa Wesley. Just like Sophie, Alexa was the 2013 Jingle Bell Run honorary and has Rheumatoid Arthritis. Amazing how God connects stories and brings people together!! Check out the attached picture of the Rsquared Leadership Team with Alexa and Adrianna at LTN 2013.
3. Adrianna's Last Chemo!
Like I said above, we sponsored Adrianna Brown for Light the Night 2012. She was diagnosed with Leukemia on March 29th, 2011 and her treatment included 120 weeks of chemo therapy. This past November, she had her 120th chemo treatment!!! Praise God! Her mom Kathy invited me to go with them to ST Jude in Memphis for her last treatment. I have to say, it is one thing to see the pictures of ST Jude patients, but another to be at the hospital and see the children with their families. While on the hospital campus, you develop this special feeling where time seems to stop and only the important things in life seem to matter. At the end of our trip, we received the amazing news that all of her tests came back negative and she is officially in remission, AMEN! Please continue to keep Adrianna and Kathy in your prayers as Adrianna is having a few complications from the chemo and will be having surgery January 22nd. I will keep everyone updated on how she is doing and how you can be praying for her. Check out the attached picture of Adrianna, her mom Kathy, her ST Jude doctor, and myself from the November Memphis trip.
4. Cora's Cross
In the month of December, God put a special girl on our heart named Cora Peters. Cora was diagnosed at the age of 14 with synovial sarcoma. She went through treatment, into remission, then back out of remission. She had exhausted every means of medical treatment and lost her battle to cancer on December 30th, 2013 at the age of 18. Cora was a fighter, as she has her very own Facebook page that is titled Cora's Crew: Fighting Cancer Like a Boss, and like a Boss did she fight! God had put Cora on our hearts, and we wanted to do something special for her. We were scheduled to deliver a meal to her family at the hospital on New Years Eve, but sadly Cora passed away the day before. In honor of Cora, we formed a Candlelight Cross in the parking lot across from the Children's Hospital New Years Eve night. The Cross was not only in honor of Cora, but was there to give hope to all the kids in the hospital and that is exactly what Cora would have wanted, she was always reaching out to other children. That night, she had the best view of the Cross from Heaven. News 25 came New Years Eve to help shine Cora's light to our community. Check out the story here. 5. 2014 Vision & Anniversary Celebration
Rsquared's vision for 2013 was Shine Your Light. Amazing how God works, because on the last day of 2013 we were shining God's light and Cora's light at the Children's Hospital. After much time in prayer and thinking about where God is leading our group, our vision for 2014 is Building Disciples to Bring the Kingdom. Everytime we host an Rsquared event, we want to create a small piece of Heaven on earth where high school students and people of all ages can come experience God's love and community. Our first event for 2014 will be the Rsquared Anniversary Celebration this Friday January 17th @ 6:00PM! We will be meeting at CrossPoint Church to hear the Rsquared history story and watch the 2011, 2012 and NEW 2013 video. We will then be unveiling our 2014 T-Shirt design similar to our 2013 unveiling, on a cake! To end the night, we will watch Peaceful Warrior and enjoy fellowship among pizza and the 2014 T-Shirt cake. Everyone is invited to join us for this special night :)
In closing, I am super excited the GIG Alerts are starting up again. I promise, the future ones will not be this long (unless something super fantasticlly awesome happens). If for some reason you would like to unsubscribe, just respond to this e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject. If you know of someone who would like to be added to the e-mail list, respond to this e-mail with their address. In next week's GIG Alert, I will include a picture of the 2014 T-Shirt design. Until then, have a wonderful week!
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