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Chris Loves Elim!

Apr 24, 2008

Anna Khaln has seen tremendous changes in her grandson, Chris, since he joined Elim’s Adult Services program. Here are a few of the words she shared recently about her experience:

Elim is so different from the first workshop Chris attended after he left high school. The building was substandard, cold in the winter, hot in the summer. The staff was just doing a job. Chris often came home, saying, “We didn’t have any work today. Do I have to go?”

One hot summer day I went over there to see what was going on. It must have been 90 degrees inside and Chris was just sitting with his head on the table. I took him home and told his manager he was never coming back.

Elim is beautiful—the grounds, the buildings, and the staff were and are unbelievable. Even after school and workshop was over for the day, everyone was cheerful and smiling. You can see that they believe that what they are doing is God’s work.

Chris has always been friendly and outgoing but he needs guidance and motivation.
Since Chris has been at Elim, he has become more independent, more self-reliant, and is very helpful. Before Elim, he spent most of the time sitting in front of the television and playing with the kids next door when they came home from school.

Since he has been at Elim, he has learned many skills. He helps me by vacuuming, stacking and emptying the dishwasher, taking out the trash, bringing in the mail and newspaper, and folding the laundry. At workshop, his level of production on the work floor has increased significantly.

Chris has poor eyesight, so his instructor has a computer with large print that enables him to see the programs. He loves it.

He looks forward to shopping, cooking class, visiting the green house, and most of all, paydays. He always comes home with a big smile when he shows me his paycheck.

He has made many friends at Elim and enjoys interacting with them. I can’t begin to give enough credit to the staff for their patient, cheerfulness and hard work in bringing all of this about. You can’t see their wings, but they are angels!