Sisters Follow ‘Bright Lights’ Toward Right Path

BY LAURA J. MONDUL
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD COURIER

A little inspiration goes a long way. In the case of Hannah Stam and her sister, Karissa, of Meadowview, Va., inspiration has followed them nearly 900 miles across the country, and even overseas; it’s also the motivation behind the “Bright Lights” conference being held today at the Belle Meadows Baptist Church on Wagner Road.

Raised mostly in the small town of Eddyville, Iowa, Hannah Stam realized early that she wanted something different from her life than what she says modern culture encourages. So at the young age of 9, she and Karissa joined the “Bright Lights” ministry, which Stam said helped to steer them down the right path.

“Bright Lights is to encourage young ladies to make right decisions when they are young, and to be different from what the cultural mindset of the day is,” she said.

Raised in a family of 10 children, ranging in age from 2 to 19, Stam, now 18, has already lived a unique life.

She and her siblings are all homeschooled by their mother, Monique. The sisters have organized and hosted two other conferences, and after moving to Meadowview from Iowa they founded a Bright Lights group for Southwest Virginia. Additionally, Hannah creates handmade cards that she sells at the Abingdon Farmer’s Market. And Karissa, who two years ago traveled to Bosnia to do missionary work, is now in Korea, tutoring English to homeschooled students there.

Getting along

Stam said growing up in a household with so many kids taught her much about learning to get along with others – a skill she said is important for later life.

“It can be crazy with so many of us, but it’s a lot of fun,” Stam said. “There is always something going on and there is always someone to talk to. I am very glad I am from a large family.”

She also points out how her upbringing helps her fit right in with the Bright Lights mission. One aspect of the organization focuses on learning to get along with your siblings, which is right up Stam’s alley.

“You are always going to have people in your life that are irritating or hard to get along with,” she said. “If you can learn to get along with your siblings now, while you are young, then you can learn to get along with people later on in your life.”

Good decisions

That philosophy is just one of many that attracted Stam and her sister to Bright Lights, which focuses on helping girls learn to make good life-impacting decisions, as well as working with mothers to understand and support their daughters. Bright Lights goals include the pursuit of Godliness, modeling positive peer influence and accountability, and providing a group that can be a team to minister to others. The “Bright” stands for Being Radiant in Godliness, Holiness and Testimony. But Stam emphasizes that the group is non-denominational, and anyone is welcome – no religious doctrine is taught at the conferences.

“It’s just about matters of the heart and making right decisions in your life,” she said. “Like making decisions that aren’t exactly easy right now, but will be more beneficial later on.”

Along with their mother, the Stams began attending Bright Lights meetings 10 years ago in Iowa. As they became more involved in the program, they hosted two conferences, and ultimately started their own Bright Lights group. Both sisters then began traveling with the organization to host conferences in other parts of the country, including Minnesota and Wisconsin. Almost two years ago, their father accepted a job with American Wood Fibers in Chilhowie, Va. The girls were so enthusiastic about the ministry, they started a new Bright Lights chapter in Southwest Virginia – the first one in the area. Both girls recently returned to Iowa to serve a 10-week internship with Bright Lights founder Sarah Mally.

Purposeful lives

“Being involved with Bright Lights has really helped the girls to make good decisions and be purposeful about how they are living their lives,” Monique Stam said. “They are living life on purpose and are focused on things beyond themselves.”

One purpose of the Bright Lights internship was to prepare the Stams for the Bristol Bright Light’s conference. Through the group they founded, the Stam sisters organized and are hosting the first-ever Bright Lights conference in this area – one they hope will help many girls and their mothers who have never heard of the ministry.

“It has been wonderful having Hannah and Karissa as part of Bright Lights,” Mally said. “They have great initiative, and are very diligent, thorough and self-motivated. They have true depth and sincerity behind their work – they are not just going through the motions. The two of them work together well and truly complement each other.”

Both sisters also are involved in numerous other activities. Hannah regularly attends the Wednesday Painters group at the Arts Depot in Abingdon to further her interests in drawing and art. In addition to creating her handmade cards, she is writing a novel and has played piano for 11 years.

“I am so impressed with everything Hannah has done,” said Beth McCoy, Stam’s piano teacher and friend of the family. “She is so focused and creative and very intelligent. She is such a modest person with marvelous talents, but rarely will you hear her toot her own horn. She has truly been a joy to teach.”

Though neither sister has any definite plans for the future, both said they intend to continue their work helping others. Stam said it has been her dream since age 7 to help orphans in China, and she is planning a short trip there this fall. Overall, she and Karissa are most focused on continuing to learn and grow as individuals.

“Hannah and Karissa both are so joyful and cheerful,” Mally said. “They do a really good job working with and relating to other girls and showing them their own struggles. Not just telling about them, but living it. They are real, and it has truly been a blessing to work with them.”

For more information about Bright Lights, visit the Web site at http://www.brightlights.info