Benefit Concert

One Life
Michael Bruno
A Promising Future

You are invited to a special performance of various musicians benefiting a 17 year old boy from the island of Grenada in the West Indies. All proceeds contribute to his first year of college education here in Indiana.
Benefit Concert
WHEN: Saturday, May 8th at 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Traders Point Christian Academy
6600 S. Indianapolis Rd. Whitestown, IN 46075

Donations are not required.
A suggested donation of $10-$20 is greatly appreciated.

In Kristine's words...

I want to share with you how a small island in the Caribbean changed our life and how we are taking action to change the life of Michael Bruno. In 2004, my husband felt like a failure when he was not accepted into a U.S. medical school. We made the bold decision to move our family out of the country for medical school rather than give up on David’s dream to become a doctor.
Grenada was beautiful. We fell in love with the island right away. What we didn’t anticipate was falling in love with the people even more than the beautiful beaches and tourist attractions. More specifically, there were 5 boys that became a special part of our family: Joshua, Jonathon, Ishma, Mario, and Michael. My husband taught these 5 teenage boys at church every Sunday, week after week, for over a year.

One particular Sunday, it was Father’s Day and David wanted to talk with them about their own fathers and what it means to be a father. This Sunday stands out more than all the others because it was at that moment Dave realized the sad reality of their families. None of them had a father. None of them lived with a father. Most of them hated their father, or had no relationship with him at all. These boys were lost. They had no male examples in their lives. Drugs and alcohol are a large part of the Caribbean lifestyle. Education is minimal and job opportunities are scarce. Most boys stop going to school by their early teenage years either due to drugs, or because their mothers need them to sell food on the streets to help support their younger siblings. It seems as though no one really cared about their education anyway. For example, one of the boys David taught was 16 and he went to school everyday and didn't have a clue how to read or write.

It was at that point in time that I believe Dave decided he was going to be more than merely a friend and role model to these boys. They began thinking of him as a father figure in their lives. Dave took the boys on camp-outs on the weekends in the rain forest, he played basket ball with them often, and they loved to stay the night at our apartment. We truly loved each of them. Each boy had a story. It was a hard story; a story that was nearly impossible for us to relate to.
When we left Grenada, Joshua, Jonathon, Ishma, Mario and Michael were the ones who had changed us more than anything else while living on the little island. David promised those boys that if they remained faithful and strong in attending church and worked hard in their education, he would bring them to the U.S. to complete their education.

I did not have faith or believe that we would ever see those boys again. Every few months, Dave would call the church on Sunday afternoons, and any boy that was there would get to talk to Dave. Most of the time, I chose not to talk to them. It was too painful to know how much they missed Dave and that we had abandoned them. Their lives were so hard with very little to live for. My husband didn’t lose hope. He believed that at least one of them would pull through.

His name is Michael Bruno.

I know that Dave loved all five of those young men. He would find a way for all of them if he could, but Michael is the one who kept his end of the promise. Three of the others have become lost due to drugs, abusive households and absolute poverty. Michael Bruno was a 14 year old boy who knew Dave for the least amount of time, but the connection and the bond was the strongest. His integrity and strength of character made him stand out above the others. He put his trust in Dave and he put his trust in God.

We feel privileged to welcome this 17 year old boy into our home. We feel that he will bless our lives more than we can possibly know. He will be coming into our home this July in preperation to start school at Ivy Tech this fall.
We believe in Michael Bruno. Despite many obstacles we have faced in getting his documents in order, we have no doubt about this decision. We trust that God will help us make this possible. We believe we will be led to the people who want to help sponsor Michael Bruno through his education.

I appreciate the time you took to read my feelings toward these two remarkable men:
David Orme and Michael Bruno.

In David's words...

I let Michael get the first words in on his blog, but now it's my turn. I could write about my relationship with Michael forever, so I'll try to be brief.

I met Michael 3 years ago. He was 14. I was in charge of the Young men in our church and he started showing up one day. All those boys were amazing to me. Not one knew their father, their mothers made very little money, mostly trying to sell food on the beach to tourists. The boys lived off of scrap foods; anything they could find. The houses are made out of corrugated tin sheets, some would have plywood walls--that was a bonus. When a storm came, it was common to lose a roof and often a wall or two. They'd just go pick it up and put it back together. We came to Grenada right after hurricane Ivan, which destroyed their island. Grenada is the spice island--dubbed that for their nutmeg production. Once the hurricane hit, the nutmeg trees were destroyed and the rain forests decimated--which meant no exportation of nutmeg and fewer tourists--so jobs were more scarce than ever. When we got there, dozens of people were living in our church, with tents set up on the property. These boys through it all, smiled, laughed and enjoyed life despite their hardships.

After I took Michael camping for the first time, well, he basically became my best friend on the island. We built a basketball court together in the church parking lot, he had many sleep overs at our house, and he ate just about everything in our house. He took his first shower in our house with hot water, first cup of Koolaid(which he loved by the way). Anything Kristine made was the greatest meal he'd ever had--Kristine obviously liked him. He was so perceptive and thoughtful as a young boy. I truly was astounded...though sometimes a little disturbed, like when he looked at a picture of Kristine's sister and said, "Kristine's cute, but you should have married this one." (Kristine forgave him since he complimented her cooking so much.) I loved all the boys in that group, but Michael stood out. He was always the first to show gratitude, "thank you for dinner," "thank you for camping," "thank you for driving," "thank you for playing basketball." Constant gratitude. He was the first to help with service projects, building the basketball court, building a playground for the kids in the school and others. He always helped with cleaning, picking up after himself--remember this is a 14 year old boy.

He always talked about becoming a pilot and leaving the island. He had just as much poverty, illness, sadness as the other boys, but he always smiled. He loved life. He was also one of only two boys still in school. I promised him if he finished High School, that somehow I would make sure he got an education in college. Michael lived up to his promise, so now it's my turn.

I can't believe how big he is now. Since I left, whenever I talked to him, I'd ask what he ate for food that day. The response was usually "piece of bread," or "rice." I knew of the poverty he has lived with, I was there, but hearing him say it each times just killed me. Sometimes I wouldn't ask--I didn't want to cry after hanging up. And I don't want to cry now just thinking about it, about where he has come from. So instead, Kristine and I are going to fulfill our promise. Michael has been accepted to Ivy Tech Community College and will enroll for classes this Fall. He will live in our house--a house with walls made out of more than plywood and a room not made of a tin sheet that keeps you up all night when it rains. He will stay in his own room, with a box spring bed for the first time in his life. And do you know what he's most excited about--eating at Burger King. That and beating me at basketball--good luck Michael--no way you're dunking on me!

As a resident, life is busy, busier than I even thought it would be. Kristine has been stretched further than she thought she would as well. My kids ask me each night if I am on call. When I say yes, Maddie screams "I hate call." Josh will say something like, "oh man, why can't your bosses do it." Free time is tough to come by. Obviously money is tight on a resident salary. With all of that said, Kristine and I have never had a doubt about Michael coming. And once you, whoever you are reading this, meet him, you'll know why. Kristine and I will do whatever is necessary to pay for his education, but if you have something to spare, please help him out.

In Michael's words...

In My Own Words

I grew up on a small island called Grenada. The island is located in the West Indies of the Caribbean. Life is not that easy here. I live in a single parent family with my mother. I am the youngest of the three children. My mom is not married. She has a little job in the town of St. George's in the market where she is a vendor on Saturday mornings. We wake up early on Saturday mornings to help her prepare the food that she sells. My job is to collect stale bread on Friday that she uses to make the pudding that she sells. She tries her best to satisfy my family's needs--need of food, shelter and clothing. My father passed away last year in June. He was 69 years old and a retired police Sargent. He never lived with me in my home because he was married to another lady. Even though he wasn't there to support me, I loved him.

My village is called Grand Anse. I grew up in my Grandmother's house with my mother and sisters. I never had my own room growing up and would sleep with my Grandmother. She was sick with Diabetes and I slept with her every night until she died in march 2004. Now my family and I live in my grandmother's house. She helped raise me and I miss her a lot. In September 2004, hurricane Ivan hit my country, I remember that day like it was yesterday. Our house is made out of plywood with a tin roof and not built very well. I can remember during the hurricane that the winds were so strong that they took our roof off. Our house was destroyed and we stayed in a little shack while we rebuilt our home. After the hurricane it was hard to find food and water.

Things around here have gotten a little better since the hurricane. I was able to help my mom fix our house with the help of an uncle. I still help my mom out. When school gets out for holiday, I go and work at the tire shop, "Bobby's." the money I make helps my mom and family out. I love my mother and have always obeyed what she asks me to do. As I started to become an adolescent, I realized I needed to do something different and gain an education so I can support myself, my family and future family. My high school I attend has one of the lowest academic passing rates on the island. But I don't care about those numbers, it is my education and what I put into it that is important. It is my hunger for knowledge that keeps my going. My dream is to go to college and study biology. That is one of my many dreams that I have for myself. I know with hard work I can accomplish my dreams.