TREASURES OF HEAVEN CHRISTMAS PARTY

Having fun with a new Russian dance

WFWP sponsored our first Treasures of Heaven Christmas Party, on Dec. 24, at 3-5, at our church, in Columbus, Ohio. Treasures of Heaven, is the name given to our "Special Needs" Ministry, by Hyung Jin Moon. Given the challenges and unique situations of our families who have a child, or a member of their family with Autism, Down syndrome, or other disabilities, we really wanted to have a party to bring joy to all!!

As we were planning the party, the idea came up to have some kind of dance. One of our members, Natalyia, has a friend who is Russian Jewish. She called her and asked if we could be taught a simple Russian dance that we could do with the children. We went to her studio; Natalyia, Annette and I, and we could learn the dance. Luckily for us, she had a friend with her as well as her children, so we could practice with them. Upon leaving, she handed me the CD of the music, and I gave her a quick hug and a big thank you!!!

Another idea that came up was to do the Bridge of Peace Ceremony, between siblings of children with disabilities, as well as between parent and child. There are issues in the family that need to be addressed, such as resentment. For the child who has the disability, it requires a lot of care from the parents, and the children without a disability, often feel lack of love. If this is not addressed and corrected early on, than future relationships suffer because there is always the feeling of lack of love. Since I did have a disability when I was younger, I am very aware of the suffering that occurs in the family. Not only that, there is a sense of abandonment, for the children without a disability.

We also decided to ask Santa to come and give presents to the children! He graciously accepted our offer.

Once the planning was complete for the party, our secretary, Marcia created a beautiful flyer that she emailed to our community. We also printed it out and displayed it on our WFWP Bulletin Board. Annette created an agenda, and all that was left was to confirm families coming, and wait for Dec. 24 to arrive!!!

We had decided to meet a bit early, on the 24th, to decorate and set up. Our church has a lot of chairs, and our youth pastor, Trimon and volunteers had stacked the chairs up neatly, so we could have the party. Arriving early was our WFWP members: Annette, who pretty much organized the decorations committee and led the dance. Sokkhak, who was our photographer for the event, also was instrumental in organizing the decorations and the food. Natalyia was able to help Annette lead the dance, Miyuki helped with the food and overseeing the event. Marcia was a huge help as always, and her husband, Lothar was able to attend as well. Lorraine brought more needed decorations and lended her expertise in planning the party.

Once the families started to come, we had some welcoming remarks by Caryn. As we were waiting for some more families to arrive, we all enjoyed the refreshments made by Andreas and Doug, and some other snacks. There were quite a few children running around playing with balloons. Once everyone arrived, we had the Russian dance. Annette led everyone very well, and it was a lot of fun. I know the Treasures of Heaven as well as the other children, enjoyed themselves!!

After the dance, we had a break. Then, we had the Bridge of Peace Ceremony. Annette made a beautiful Bridge, quite safe for the children, siblings, and parents. Caryn gave an introduction about this unique Bridge of Peace. Healing will begin, by addressing the issues in the family; for example, resentment. This will take time and effort on all parts. However, we need to make a beginning, so that we can create Peace and Happiness. Nothing will happen overnight, however developing this Bridge of Peace between family members with disabilities, will be a condition to restore balance within the families of Treasures of Heaven.

This Bridge of Peace was the most moving and awesome event. As the music of "Let there be Peace on Earth" began, we had a sibling of the child with the disability, and the child with the disability, cross the bridge. Also a parent and child crossed the Bridge. This whole process occurred slowly, and quite orderly, really, much to my joy. After the participants crossed the Bridge, it was opened up to whoever would like to cross it. One mother and daughter than came forward to participate in this.

After the ceremony was completed, the participants received a certificate. Everyone looked quite happy and excited. The spirit was definitely felt by everyone!!!

The conclusion of our event was Santa coming!! All the children were waiting eagerly for what Santa would bring to them. He handed out all the presents and due to his busy schedule, he had to leave to continue bringing gifts to other children. After Santa left, the children were busy opening up their gifts and playing with them.

We all had a lot of fun organizing this event and thanks to everyone for coming!!!