Sasee Magazine

I met Jess Sagun, director of Abiding Village, at their storefront gallery/studio, located in the old Waccamaw Outlet Mall off Highway 501. As she showed me around the beautiful facility, telling me the details of what she does and why, I was immediately glad that our community has someone like Jess, and a ministry like Abiding Village. This unique non-profit offers art lessons to young people in our community who could not otherwise afford them. Talented local teachers give lessons in theater, studio art, hip-hop and contemporary dance and percussion.

Walking into the gallery, you are surrounded by beauty; the walls are covered with colorful paintings and racks display handmade jewelry and crafts. Two large aqua leather couches invite visitors to sit, relax and enjoy. In the studio behind the gallery, the walls are covered with murals designed by Caitlin Beidler, owner of Redemption Art. The back wall depicts destruction, while the adjoining wall shows a huge superhero figure and a cityscape. The superhero is pouring living water from his hand, keeping the city safe. The entire mural is alive with color and movement.

“To me, the superhero represents Jesus,” Jess tells me, “but most of the kids don’t know that. I didn’t want anything ‘churchy’ in here. I wanted it to be something the kids would love.”

Jess’s strong faith, along with the support of her church, Christ United Methodist, was the catalyst for this mission. While employed as Worship Coordinator at the church, Jess attended a conference in Atlanta and heard a presenter speak about how a program similar to Abiding Village changed his life. Soon after Jess returned home, she felt called to bring this ministry to Myrtle Beach. With the help of Pastor Jeff Dunn and the Christ UMC staff, the doors of Abiding Village were opened on March 31, 2009, with two instructors and a small board of directors.

Gratitude for the support of her church nearly overwhelms Jess as she tells me about that first year. “Christ Church provided $60,000 and supported my salaried position to get this ministry started. There is no ride like starting something like this – it has been hard, happy, sad and a learning experience like no other.”

While the focus of Abiding Village is on “at-risk” youth, Jess believes labels like that are deceptive. She told me that if a child lives in a single parent home, they are considered at risk, if a child is performing below grade level or lives below the poverty level they are considered to be at risk. Abiding Village accepts all potential students, but Jess does insist on good behavior. New students must sign a conduct contract that is strictly enforced.

Raised, in part, by generous and loving grandparents, Jess knows that a happy home is sometimes not enough to keep a teenager out of trouble. “I was raised great,” Jess tells me, “in church every Sunday, and I had lots of love, but I still lost my mind!”

Against the wishes of her grandparents, Jess married at 18 and quickly had two children. Her marriage did not make it, and the demands of being a single parent soon became overwhelming. By age 25, Jess had an $800 a day drug and alcohol habit. Luckily, she still had some close friends who believed in her, and one of them told her that this was not God’s plan for her life. For some reason, that message resonated with Jess. Sick and tired of her lifestyle, she committed her life to God, and went to live at Street Reach where they had programs to help recovering addicts.

“My family had cut me off, and that was the best thing they could have done for me. It didn’t take me long to realize that I wanted my family more than I wanted the drugs. My husband, Walt, and I met at Street Reach, when he came there to preach. That was nearly fifteen years ago.

A few years later, Jess and Walt were looking for a new church home and heard that a friend, Pastor Jeff Dunn, was starting Christ United Methodist. It was a perfect fit and the two quickly became involved. Jess took the job as Worship Coordinator after volunteering on the worship team for some time.

I asked Jess about her own muse, and she laughed telling me how she learned to paint. “Kim Clayton, a local artist, is a good friend of mine. I called her one day and told her I wanted to learn to paint. She told me to come on over, she was already working on something and would teach me. When I got there, she took an old guitar case and poured paint all over it. Then she told me to mush it around until I felt finished! It was wonderful.”

Jess also plays the guitar and piano, but has learned it all as an adult. She believes that everyone should have the opportunity to express themselves in a creative way. “God is a creator – we all create!”

Students of Abiding Village learn more than just how to dance or paint. One student, a young girl, had never taken any dance lessons and was very reserved when she signed up for the summer program. By the end of the summer, she was a different person – and a pretty good dancer! Jess talks to all of the students, letting them know that even though they don’t have to pay for their lessons, someone paid for them. She wants them to understand how much hard work goes into raising the money to pay the instructors and keep Abiding Village running. This budding dancer was floored and told Jess, with tears in her eyes, that she never knew that anyone cared enough about her to pay for her dance lessons. And, at the end of the summer, she wrote a thank you letter to the board that brought tears to everyone’s eyes.

Another student, a 10 year old boy, came to Jess with a terrible attitude, but became one of the best dancers in the group and was moved to tears during the Christmas show. Yet another student moved away and started taking lessons at a professional dance studio. She wrote Jess that even though the school was very good, Abiding Village had something special, a caring quality she couldn’t find in any professional school.

“Coming here softens them,” says Jess.

The future of Abiding Village appears secure, but Jess’s does not. Her husband was recently laid off from his job as a kitchen designer, and he is looking for work outside of our area. Jess resigned from the church on January 1 of this year, and Abiding Village has hired an interim director while taking applications for the permanent position. Jess is not worried. She is sure that God has just the right place for her and Walt.

“I am an idea person,” says Jess. “I love starting new things and getting them going, but now we need someone with a head for business to keep us on track. I will continue to be here as much as I can, though.”

Abiding Village offers afternoon classes during the school year and a summer program. This past Christmas, students performed a two-hour program for three nights at Christ UMC and more than 3,000 people attended. But, in order to continue to offer the arts at no cost, $20,000 must be raised.

Jess has come up with a fundraiser that she hopes will raise the needed funds called Secret Suppers. Abiding Village will partner with area restaurants to offer a gourmet dinner to couples for $100 per couple. The “secret” part is where you will dine! “Some couples may eat in the middle of a tobacco field in Aynor, or on a dock in Murrells Inlet. There will be lots of crazy locations,” Jess tells me with a huge grin on her face. “And, of course, with 60 students enrolled in classes, there will be great entertainment!”

For more information about Abiding Village or to sign up for a Secret Supper, call 843-236-3983 or visit www.abidingvillage.org.