Meet the Affiliates: Light in My City

Did you know that SEAPC is affiliated with ministries around the world? As part of an ongoing blog series, we\’ll be introducing you to each of the ministries over the next few months, and we\’re excited for you to learn how to better pray for and support them!

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12

SEAPC is active all over the world, bringing hope to the hopeless. Men and women whom God has called from all nations stand in the gap daily with ministry, healthcare, education, and parenting needs. Other non-profits serve under the SEAPC umbrella as well to address global issues. But what about the needs right next door?

The hometown of SEAPC, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a mecca for business, healthcare, and education. And yet it also grapples with poverty, unbelief, and homelessness. Into this breach stepped a new ministry, Light in My City, the most recent addition to the SEAPC family of affiliates.

Erik Wiesemann, founder of Light in My City, is a kindergarten teacher with eclectic hobbies such as playing the ukulele and doing yo-yo tricks. He also has a pastoral degree from Liberty University. Several years ago he started a school club, All Wound Up, where he teaches yo-yo skills to the fourth graders. Through this, he has brought in over $20,000 for local charities. The Sunday before Christmas 2018 he accompanied one of these charities into downtown Pittsburgh. For the first time, he was confronted with the reality of homelessness. Rats, filth, hunger, hopelessness, drugs, alcohol, mental illness, danger—all became very real.

God called him to serve under the bridges and in the isolated places where many won’t venture.

Everyone has a street name. And a story. Erik has found some of those stories being played out as God uses him. Those he serves have now become part of his story. Names and a few details have been changed to protect identities, but the following are two examples of the highs and lows of this outreach.

Many years ago combat veteran, Beetle, was strolling through the city with his young daughter. A man threw a bottle and hit the girl. In the altercation that followed, Beetle ended up incarcerated. His daughter went into foster care. In prison he found Jesus and earned a seminary degree. After his release the halfway house where he lived caught fire; he lost everything—including his daughter’s birth certificate—and ended up homeless.

Light in My City, through a set of circumstances orchestrated by God, has found him a job, provided clothing, and become a friend. Beetle is in the process of replacing his daughter’s birth certificate so that he can begin visits with her. Recently, he was asked to give his testimony at a small church. Afterwards, a man approached him to say how much it touched his heart. And that he remembered Beetle. He had been the arresting officer the night Beetle went to prison.

God is using Beetle to reach others for the Kingdom. He now has a real home, not just on earth but also for eternity. It’s a great story of redemption. But not all stories from the streets are happy ones.

In her early twenties and of slight build, Lily grappled with life on the streets through substance abuse. Most of the clothing handed out by charities was either for men—who comprise the largest segment of the homeless—or much too large. Light in My City found small sizes for her, prayed with her, and nurtured her artistic skills. On a subsequent Sunday outreach, the news reached Pastor Erik before he got to Lily’s tent. Four nights earlier, she had been assaulted. And she hung herself. Without having accepted Jesus. It’s a heartbreaking story of a light forever extinguished.

So what, exactly, is the mission of Light in My City?

Pastor Erik identified an unmet need. Light. Certainly the light of Jesus. He buys Bibles, highlights key passages, and hands them out as he prays with people. There is also a need for light in the long, dark nights. After painstaking research, he purchased solar/hand-crank lanterns with radios. The goal is to provide “light, dignity, and safety.” Lanterns are distributed all over the city and in secluded locations.

Pastor Erik says that we can all help by, “showing the same grace, mercy, and love to the homeless as you would want shown to you. They are people with families, feelings, and dreams. I have been blessed in my time working on the streets to have met many, many wonderful people.”

There is no limit of opportunities to support missions, both local and global. Through prayer, God leads each of us to where we can best use our time, talents, and treasures. When we obey Him, the giving becomes a joyful blessing not only to others, but also to us.

Imagine a vast encampment as a dark island in the center of the bright city lights. One by one, that darkness is being banished as lanterns are distributed. And with God’s blessing, the darkness of sin and estrangement from the Lord is being overcome as well. One man saw a need and—along with others of like mind—is heeding God’s call to fill it. Join with them. Bring on the light!

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105

More information about this affiliate is available at: www.lightinmycity.org. 100% of all contributions go to purchase lanterns. If you feel led, donations can be made via Light in My City’s website.