Connections November 2025

The Jesters team was shocked and couldn’t believe they finally got to meet her: Lee — the girl known for signing up but never showing up — miraculously stood at the registration table, ready for a week of summer theatre camp. The team was thrilled to have her.

“It was evident this precious young person needed a place to be cared for and feel safe,” says Ryan Scramstad, Jesters Program Director. “And that’s exactly what happened. She had a great week, and despite being shy, she even made a few friends.”

“I just remember it being really welcoming,” says Lee. “I was ten and dealing with a lot of social anxiety, and it was just a really safe space.”

Over the following years, Lee sometimes came often, while other times she disappeared for a while. Life at home was difficult, and compounded by struggles with self-harm and substance use, her middle and high school years were turbulent. Her guarded nature made it hard to trust people, yet the small kindnesses and steady presence of the Jesters staff left an impression.

Grade nine marked both a low point and a turning point. After a crisis that landed her in hospital, Lee realized she couldn’t keep living the same way. She decided to lean into Jesters — a community that had always welcomed her. “I wanted to go somewhere that would be distracting,” she said, “and I knew Jesters would also uplift me and help me.”

A few months later, Lee attended a student leadership retreat. During one session, each youth was invited to write a letter to themselves from God’s perspective — a way to imagine what unconditional love might sound like. As Lee wrote, tears fell and something shifted. She sensed God speaking to her, sparking the beginning of deep personal transformation.

“It was a real turning point,” Ryan recalls. “You could almost see that weight had lifted off her shoulders.”

Lee and Ryan (Jesters Program Director) share one of many laughs.

Encouraged by this breakthrough, Ryan invited Lee to join the Jesters team as a summer intern, helping lead kids’ camps. Lee soon discovered she had something unique to offer.

“It feels good to help them not make the same mistakes I did,” says Lee, who taught classes as well as shared pieces of her own story to encourage and support others.

“Because of what she’s been through, she can reach kids that other leaders can’t,” says Ryan. “She’s calm, reassuring, and such a gift to the program.”

Ryan reminds us that transformation rarely happens in a straight line. “We often see youth go through hard seasons, get better, and then struggle again,” he says. “But we endeavor to never give up. When young people experience consistent, intentional care — where wins are celebrated and losses are supported — they grow and flourish. Ultimately, it’s God doing the work. We just get to take the steps of faith He asks us to take.”

Today, Jesters has become a vibrant community hub for youth like Lee in Mission. With overwhelming interest from local families, the program is running at full capacity — proof that long-term, relational care truly changes lives.

That community isn’t just for youth — it also often includes parents, many of whom are deeply involved in the program.

“It’s a really supportive atmosphere for the kids,” says Lee’s mom, Cyndi, who has been making costumes for the on-stage performances for the past few years. “You can be yourself—like really you. And then through acting, you also get to be someone completely different for a moment.”

“I’ve seen a lot of kids come out of their shell at Jesters,” she continues. “There they can express themselves creatively and safely. Some are really reserved, but as soon as they put on a costume, they can just come right out and explore being another person.”

Be sure to check out Jesters’ next performance, The Hobbit, opening Family Day Weekend 2026.

Lee and her mom, Cyndi, a Jesters costume designer, pose with Minions from “The Legend of Gru” production.

I need to be honest about something.

Working with young people is rarely straightforward. Every step forward seems to come with a pile of setbacks. Our front-line staff often question whether they’re making any real impact. It’s discouraging.

When that happens, we have to step back and remember our actual role. We’re not here to guarantee success for every young person. We’re here to show up — to be present and consistent. To stay when things get complicated. To love in the way of Jesus.

Ryan Scramstad, from our Jesters Theatre program, says it well: transformation doesn’t follow a straight path. Young people go through hard seasons, improve, then struggle again. But when they experience consistent care — where wins are celebrated and losses are supported — they grow.

Lee’s story in this issue reminds me why we do this work. When crisis hit in Grade 9 and Lee needed help, she knew where to come. We were there.

That’s what long-term relational ministry looks like — not programs that solve problems fast, but communities where young people belong even when everything falls apart. Places where a shy 10-year-old can eventually become someone who helps others through their own struggles.

None of this happens without you. Thank you for investing in spaces where young people like Lee discover they’re accepted, valued, and capable of more than they believed possible.

November is Youth Support Month

We’re asking you to join us in three ways:

1. YUnite Outside prevents youth homelessness by providing emergency support and stable housing connections.
2. Our Christmas Hamper Drive supplies vulnerable youth and families with groceries, gifts, and essentials they can’t afford.
3. Year-end gifts let us close budget gaps and start 2026 ready to serve more vulnerable youth.

The next few weeks will push us beyond what feels manageable. We never have enough hampers to meet demand. Young people in crisis need help now, not when our schedule allows it.

Christmas doesn’t pause for a teenager without housing. It doesn’t wait until a family can pay for food. It comes regardless of whether someone has ever been loved without conditions attached.

“We love because he first loved us”. – 1 John 4:19

Your donations and prayers let us show up in those moments. We offer consistent care that helps young people understand what it means to be loved — without having to earn it first.

Your donations and prayers let us show up in those moments. We offer consistent care that helps young people understand what it means to be loved — without having to earn it first./span>

Thank you for another year together.

Mark Koop

Executive Director