Night to Shine! — ¡Noche de Brillar!

A huge special thank you to The Tim Tebow Foundation who puts on Night To Shine prom all around the world in over 34 countries at over 700 churches…and a big thank you to Vida Abundante Church who made it happen in Nicaragua this year!!!  We were so thankful that a group of our kids from Club Esperanza were invited guests this year and it was an incredible evening!  Can you believe that this happened in Nicaragua???  We can’t either…well actually yes we can, because Jesus is awesome!!!

What is Night to Shine?  It is an annual prom held the weekend before Valentine’s day.  It is a special invite only event for individuals who have special needs and their companion for the night!  It is basically one big party with a red carpet, paparazzi, everyone is celebrated, there is dancing and dining and by the end of the night everyone receives a crown as King and Queen of the prom!  You may remember previous posts over the years about this awesome event coming to Nicaragua…Friday night was a continuation of that awesomeness!!!  Check out the pictures and videos…scroll all the way to end to find out how you can help our friends on a daily basis!

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For Krista and I, crowning Dayson was one of the highlights of our night.  He wanted to walk up so we helped him to the front and he was soooooooo excited, giving high fives to everyone as we went up and as we came back to our table.  He was just having a fun night at a dance party!  He was so funny when we got back to the table…he decided to turn his crown upside down instead and declare himself a gladiator!  He had everyone at our table cracking up!!!

This picture is Henrieth, Connie, Teresa and I the moment we all arrived.  We were getting ready to go down the red carpet!!!  Henrieth is a long time teacher at our school.  She developed a program called “Junto Para Inclusion” at Club Esperanza.  As we have served in the community for almost two decades we know a significant number of families who have family members with special needs.  The program is our effort to include these families in all of the community activities we do at the club.  In our Early Childhood education, primary school, feeding program, lacrosse, high school scholarship program and anything else we do…because of Henrieth’s effort we have made sure these families are included.  It is pretty awesome.  We also purchase and provide basic items they may not be able to afford like diapers, formula, medicines, wheel chairs, beds, etc…

If you would like to donate to “Juntos Para Inclusion” it would be a big help.  Our monthly budget is $500.  You can use the links below…thank you!