Staff Blog

Dear Friends,

Over and over again we have been touched by the generosity we've witnessed from around the globe for those families that were impacted by the typhoon. Amidst devastation we have seen the beauty of people showing love for other people--those they will never meet. We are honored to have been a part of getting needed items to those who were hurting.

At CSC, we are to the point where we have done what we can for those we set out to serve after the typhoon: families of staff members and families of former CSC residents who were impacted by the storm. As we have served them we have recognized that we are not in the business of disaster response, and at this point, feel it is wise to direct all our efforts to the care of our 88 children.

For that reason, we will no longer be accepting typhoon gifts. As new gifts arrive we will try to reach those donors to ask if they would prefer the gift be returned or redirected to another organization. In the cases where we don't reach the donor, those gifts will be distributed to other organizations that are doing typhoon relief.

Thank you for caring about the Philippines, and for caring about people that need help. May God bless you.

Matt Buley

I was giving a tour the other day to some visitors. I have done it hundreds of times over the years. Sometimes it is fun, other times not so much. It kind of depends on the people who are visiting and their interest level. Most people who come to see us are really into CSC and want to see the facilities and hear stories about how we got started and how we ended up with the great facilities that we now have in Cebu.

During the most recent tour I was telling about the miraculous ways that God provided for our buildings. I told about how we got the land to build on in the first place. I related how our school was built and how Harry Schmidt came through for our homes. I started to sound like a broken record. This was our need; this is how God provided it. Different people, the same basic story. We had been renting for years and needed some good buildings on land that we owned. God provided it. We needed a place where our children could get a quality education. God gave us a school. We needed additional housing and an infirmary. God gave it to us. We needed playground equipment and some gazebos for the kids to play in during rainy times or very hot days. One of our supporters gave the money for it. Medical equipment, computers for the school, vehicles, surgery for little Thomas, hospital beds for Jacob and Ginda? He came through. Everything we have is the result of gifts from people who God uses. We have dedicated staff and workers, but without the gifts of our supporters, all that commitment wouldn't amount to much. You dear people put the food, the medicine, the books, the baby formula, the Smart board, the toys, the clothes, shoes, diapers, cribs, beds, into our hands and into our homes so we can provide a great place for 90 children to live.

So I guess that giving an honest tour of CSC means that the tour guide will sound like a broken record.  It is unavoidable  at CSC, where everything comes from God.

We all take turns being on duty on the evenings when the House Parents in each home have their day off.  It makes our already long day even longer but I have learned that I usually leave the home more refreshed and certainly more blessed than when I walked in a few hours earlier.

It was my night to be on duty at the Duterte Home.  All the little kids had gone upstairs to bed.  I gathered the older kids together to ask for prayer requests and to talk about things that they wanted to talk about.  The conversation quickly became about the recent typhoon.  The kids had heard stories from our workers and from friends at school regarding the death and/or destruction that the typhoon brought,  some of it not very far away.  The kids were unsure about their birth families experience in the typhoon as well.   Everyone just seemed to have a sad story to tell.  Jacob,  who is 27 years old,  wheel chair bound and unable to speak was in our group.  Jacob has Cerebral Palsy.  It was obvious that these stories were hard for Jacob to hear,  he was making sounds indicating distress and was getting more spastic as time went on.   I was afraid he was either going to break the bindings holding him in his wheel chair or break a bone!  I asked one of the workers to take Jacob to another room. I explained that we would ask Jacob to come back for our prayer time.  Jacob agreed.

For our prayer time I asked for volunteers for each of the people, families or circumstances that we had put on our prayer list.  When we got to one family that the kids had told about who had lost their home in the tsunami like storm surge that came with the arrival of the typhoon in a nearby town Jacob shouted and raised his hand in the air, he wanted to pray for that family.  His name went on the list.  We spent time in prayer,  it got quiet and Jacob had not prayed yet.  I looked up at Jacob and he was looking at me,  I just nodded, indicating that it was his time to pray.  He shut his eyes and he prayed.  A more beautiful prayer I have never heard.  As I watched and listened to Jacob pray I looked around at the other kids,  many of them were looking at Jacob too.  I was not the only one with tears in my eyes.  We could not understand one word that Jacob prayed,  we did did understand his emotion and we did understand "amen!"

Later, when all the kids were in their bedrooms I went to Jacob's room.  I thanked him for his prayer for the family and told him that I knew that God heard and understood every word he said.   I told Jacob that I thought that God was comforting the family right then because of Jacob's prayer.  Jacob got his big "Jacob smile" that takes up his whole face and even tends to make his body spastic...but he worked hard and brought his arm up in the air, got his pointer finger extended and with joy pointed straight up.  Yes Jacob,  God in Heaven heard and understood every word of your prayer!  I knew that is what  he was telling me, and I agreed.   I left for home with a smile on my face and an extra blessing in my heart.  

I didn't have my camera with me that night.  This photo is a re-enactment of Jacob telling me exactly where his prayers go! 

Christmas has come and gone, and at CSC, after that holiday season comes "Waveboard Season!"  Okay, okay, it is not a real season, but after this particular Christmas, it certainly seems like it is.  Santa delivered 18 waveboards to us this year and most days there are that many riders out at one time!  It is amazing to watch the abilities that our kids have with this toy.  Within minutes of getting one, some kids are able to get on, master the balancing, and with a little shake to get them going, they are cruising down our driveway.  They make it look so easy, so easy in fact that over the Christmas break, I was motivated to give it a try.

I put one foot on, looked for a handhold and tried to convince myself to put my other foot on it.  AGES later, I put my other foot on and with a little scream, quickly put my foot back on the ground.  The kids, of course, found it very amusing.  They were very encouraging and patient with me, despite their immense excitement at the possibility of seeing Auntie Lindsay waveboarding!  Sadly, I didn't go anywhere, but the sight seemed to be enough to satisfy their curiousity!

Check out the talent we have in our midst!

CSC continued its forray into relief work with a second trip to typhoon ravaged Leyte. Carmelita Baya, CSC's Senior Social Worker, and our skilled driver Edwin, together with two volunteers, brought construction materials and food boxes to ten families in Western Leyte on January 4-6. All of these families had experienced significant damage, even total destruction of their houses as a result of the super typhoon that hit Leyte and Northern Cebu in December.

This relief effort was the result of the concern and generosity of CSC's supporters who donated money for the alleviation of the suffering of typhoon victims. CSC did not solicit funds for this, but our great people gave anyway, having heard about the destruction and the many people suffering. We chose to help families that we already knew, mostly the birth families of former residents and the families of our workers. The first Leyte trip was in December, when food boxes were distributed. On that trip Carmelita gathered information on the housing situation of the families we know and that data was the basis of our planning and budgeting for helping with construction materials.

Through the negotiations of Jerry Salgo, CSC's Maintenance and Transportation Director, whose mom lives in Leyte, we were able to rent a large truck in Cebu City for a fair price. This truck was loaded on Friday, January 3, with wood, corrogated roofing sheets, cement, plywood sheets, nails and tools. On Saturday, the truck and one CSC vehicle, were driven onto a ship and at 9:00 p.m. they set off for Hilongos, Leyte. The next two days were spent in driving and delivering the goods. Each family received a box with food, a half sack of rice (50 pounds), and an assortment of building supplies. The building materials were enough to build a small home, or repair their house if it wasn't totally destroyed.

Carmelita reported that the families were thrilled to receive these goods. Several were incredulous that CSC remembered them and came through with badly needed supplies. It was a shipment of hope as much as anything else, and Carmelita wants to be sure that I pass along thanks to all who gave. Our workers whose families were included in the distribution are also very thankful to CSC and our generous supporters for responding to this need in a practical way.

 (All photos taken by Carmelita Baya and Edwin Martinez.)