Email: Stephanie Meijers

Hi Friends and Family!

I have now been working at Door of Hope for a little over a month. This job can be exhausting, but it is a great fit for me! I absolutely love getting the chance to work with the kids every day! The after-school program that I am running started on October 7, and it is going well. On average, we have about eight kids and anywhere from two to eight volunteers from college and high schools in the area. The program runs for about three hours Tuesday through Friday, and we have a theme that we focus the curriculum around for the month. For example, this month’s theme was “respect,” and next month we will talk about being thankful.

During the after-school program we have Bible stories, snacks, crafts, games, and computer time, and about towards the end we leave a little more than an hour for homework and tutoring. The kids are all 10 years old and under. One of the challenges that I have been facing is one that I did not even think about. Most of these kids have lived on the streets at some point in their lives, so they act a lot older than their age. I certainly was not prepared to break up fist fights between 3-year-olds. It is heartbreaking to see this but encouraging to know that God has placed me here this year to help them. I can already see changes starting to happen in each of them.

Everything in the community back in Hollywood is going great! We have slowly been getting to know our neighbors, and I often come home to see kids playing in the front of our house. On Halloween (this coming Friday) because trick-or-treating is not a big thing for the neighborhood kids, we are going to host a fall festival for all of the neighbors. We will bob for apples, make a turkey handicraft, do a cupcake walk, have costume contest, and hold a few other fun activities. All of us are really looking forward to this, and we think it will be a great way to starting getting connected with everyone.

My roommates and I get along really well, and we have a great time together! We are finally getting into a routine and feeling a little more at home in this big city. I have found a church to get connected with. It is called “Ecclesia” and is within walking distance of the house. The church is in an old theater, the congregation is pretty young, and it has a contemporary service. It is definitely different from what I am used to, but I feel that for this year, it is going to be a good fit.

Well I better go finish cleaning my room. I hope you are doing well and enjoying your weekend!

Love,

Stephanie