Children of Light

My name is Kylee Piatczyc, an upcoming sophomore at the University of Georgia (sic ‘em dawgs!), majoring in English and Journalism. I play soccer for UGA, love to read books upon books and take photos whenever and wherever I can. I adore my family, my furry pups and traveling.

As a result of God’s plan, as usual completely unbeknownst to me, I would end up at Star of Hope in the preschool room where the teachers and children would bless me in innumerable ways. This blog will introduce you to some of those wonderful children, their stories, and my journey as I spend my days with three and four year old angels (most of the time).

Aleja, the talkative mom-like sweetheart, always has a lot to say. She is her mama’s girl and never lets me forget it. When I asked her what she liked about class she said, “Miss Kylee, I like to listen because my mommy taught me to.”

I thought this was great and hoped it would rub off on some of the rambunctious fellows who seemed to think their agenda was more important than anything else. Aleja’s favorite activity recently was Water Day. Water Day consisted of the kids playing outside on the “beach” (two plastic kiddie pools filled with sand) and in other kiddie pools of water with additional water toys, such as a ball that sprayed water and a slip and slide.

God works in fantastic, wonderful, enigmatic ways. That is really the only way I can fathom how and why I ended up working in the preschool class at the Transitional Living Center of Star of Hope. At the beginning of May I was supposed to be working at Camp Ozark, a Christian sports camp in the hills of Arkansas, for the summer; but when I decided to play soccer for my school, that plan flew out of the window and in came the opportunity to work at Star of Hope.

I have always had a heart for the homeless, making many homeless friends in the town my school is located seemed completely normal to me. When one of the options for jobs for the summer became Star of Hope, it was the perfect fit.

So here I am, working Monday through Thursday in the preschool class with Ms. Radonna at TLC. Talking to the preschoolers about what they like about class and such is much more difficult than you would think. While you are hoping to get answers about school, they are busy asking what is for lunch and when we will go play outside.