We believe in the power of play to bring hope and healing into every day lives and challenges. While all of us in the community regularly experience instability and challenges, the heart of Playhouse is to counterbalance this with imagination, learning, and fun in a safe environment.

We want our home to be a safe place for play of all kinds. Sometimes this is in the context of an English lesson with a craft; sometimes this is an open door after school. Sometimes this is for a particular season or a particular person, so we pull out a game to create space for comfort and rest.

After school, on weekends, late into the evening and through the summer, you can find children (and often adults!) filling our yard and home with noise and play and laughter.  Sometimes it’s organized chaos, and sometimes it just chaos; but we do our best to just be a friend.

In The World Until Yesterday, Jared Diamond writes, “I have heard many anecdotal stories, among my own friends, of children who were raised by difficult parents but who nevertheless became socially and cognitively competent adults, and who told me that what had saved their sanity was regular contact with a supportive adult other than their parents, even if that adult was just a piano teacher whom they saw once a week for a piano lesson.” 

This is our prayer for Playhouse: that for those who might have a difficult home life, a difficult marriage, or maybe they’ve just had a long day—that our house might be a small refuge of Jesus’ love.