Summer Stories 2009

Contact Us

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:40:12 +0000

Please feel free to contact us for more information:

Faith in Christ Ministries
on the web: www.ficmla.com
phone: 323-291-9636

John Harrison
on the web: www.blueskyhill.com
phone: 323-828-1242

Summer Stories 2009 was generously supported by

Hope for LA
on the web: www.hopeforla.org
phone: 310-551-0081

About the Class

Leader — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:19:59 +0000

The goal of Summer Stories 2009 was to encourage the youth of Faith in Christ Ministries to believe that the stories from their own lives are valuable and worth sharing with others. It was our hope to give them an introduction to story-telling tools, specifically writing and photography.

By the end of the summer, four of our students completed their own multimedia slideshows, each telling a story from their own lives by combining photographs they took on their own with an audio soundtrack they wrote themselves. You can view these stories by clicking on the links above.

The Summer Stories class met for two hours once a week throughout the summer of 2009. Each class explored the concept of story through a variety of means, including group brainstorming sessions, watching short films together, arts and crafts, and weekly writing assignments.

If you have questions about the class, or are interested in learning about how you can implement a similar storytelling class of your own, please contact us.

Andrew — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:59:38 +0000

A word from our Leaders:

John Harrison

Leader — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:48:59 +0000

I was inspired by the students of the Summer Stories class. All of them have bright, beautiful minds and I am grateful for the time they allowed me to spend with them. Thank you Andrew, Donte, Lillian, Nicholas, and Vivian!

Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:13:50 +0000

Hi my name is Andrew Thomas Garcia I’m 13 years old and I live on 104 street and main In LA .I go to Gompers school.

I took pictures of my mom because I love her and she is my mom . My favorite sport Is football. I want to play for Gompers .My mom likes the pictures and I like them to our rite man peace out.

Calix Lewis Reneau

Leader — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 06:05:27 +0000

As soon as I found out about the summer stories program from John, I had a strong feeling it would be something very worthwhile for me to come and be a part of it in any way possible… and this past summer with these amazing young adults exceeded all of my expectations.

When I told people I went to Summer Stories (and now the school program in that same time slot, Say Yes!) I tell them I don’t go to help the kids, I go because the kids help me.

As an aspiring storyteller myself, each of these young adults helped me understand story better – fresh, new and exciting – they’ve invigorated my love for the craft by their own passions and canny insights.

More importantly, they’ve helped me stay connected and grounded to what’s really important in life.

These are a wonderful bunch of young people, and I am honored and thrilled to have gotten to be a part of their lives so far – and am looking forward to much, much more!

Thank each and every one of you for letting me be a small part of your lives… there are true stories we can tell someday (years from now ) about how God used you to change the lives of people you’ve never even met in ways you don’t even suspect!

Donte

Donte — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:20:42 +0000

My name is Donte. am 19 .I like to play basketball my favorite basketball player is Kobe Bryant. my role is to take pictuers of my famliy and my events I been to.

i take pictuers of my 7 sisters becuse they are very in important they look out for me and i love them very much. am the only boy in the family.

i take pictuers of my grandmom she means the world to me. she is cool person

Lillian

Lilian — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:20:11 +0000

My name is Lillian. I’m 15 years old. My birthday is feburary 11. I’m in the 9th grade and yeah this is my first year of high school. High school is kinda cool but at the same time it’s kinda scary cuz i’m always gettin punked like the other day i was sitting down at lunch and these girls behind me throw an apple at my head. Today was pretty chill. I woke up and got ready for school while I was gettin ready i was texting my bf. Then I walked with my sis and her bf. then I went to all my classes. Then finally the bell rang to go home. Then i walked home with my bff. Then i was finally home. Then I got in the car and came to Summer Stories. I don’t have a choice but I go cuz i want to obey my mom.

Katie

Leader — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:54:51 +0000

I was interested in becoming a volunteer leader of Summer Stories because I believe in the power of writing. I am convinced that we as people have endless stories to share with the world. The hard part is telling those stories. The hard part can be actually writing them down and having a platform to share them.

I didn’t know what to expect when I visited Summer Stories, but was blown away when I met the students involved. The glimpses that I got of the young people behind these stories was incredibly beautiful. Their lives and stories are rich with family, culture, friendships, and adventure.

Being a part of this class reminded me of the importance of telling our stories. I realized that it takes great courage and vulnerability to tell your story. And it seems as though the result is that the storyteller and the listeners learn so much about each other, life, pain, people, and beauty.

Nicholas

Nick — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 23:59:24 +0000

I like football and basketball. I like school and I like to play video games. I like history because there might be something that you do not know about my history. My history teacher is Ms. Richard. My P.E teacher is Ms Calis she lets us play football and basketball. My favorite football player is Sanantonio Holmes.

I like my pictures because my niece is in all of them and she is very cute.My story was about her and I was very happy when I took all the pictures and she was happy.