Staff Blog
For most people, getting on a plane to Cebu City, Philippines is a glamorous occasion. It’s exciting to see a place on your itinerary that many people have never heard of…a place that’s exotic, tropical and far away.
Mitch and Ruth Ohlendorf are on their way to Cebu as I write, but I doubt glamorous is a word they’d use to describe their departure. Their year of home assignment in Minnesota, USA has come to an end. They packed up their lives (again), left two beloved sons behind at college and returned to a ministry that moves quickly and requires incredible flexibility, diligence and commitment.
Mitch and Ruth leaving Minnesota is another sacrifice in a long list of sacrifices they’ve made for the homeless children of Cebu. They’re not jet setting off to see a far-off world for a couple weeks. They’re returning to their call. They are the hands and feet of so many who care about orphans. Mitch is our Cebu Executive Director and Ruth is Outreach Director.
Here's a glimpse into their call to CSC via a short interview:
How did it first hit you, "I want to work for CSC?"
Mitch: When I was in Cebu the first summer on a short-term mission trip. I was in a group of seven that wasn’t working for the shelter, but we were based there with social time at the shelter. I knew that first summer, at least by the end, that God was calling me to this work. I didn’t have a moment where I fell to my knees or saw a blinding light. It was a progression that happened as a result of the whole experience.
Ruth: I grew up not wanting to work with “snotty kids!” But then I saw these big Americans working with and hugging the most malnourished in our community. Here are these handsome men and beautiful women coming to our country and doing this hard work. This changed my attitude towards the children, and I couldn’t help falling in love with them. You could see the physical difference in the children after they came to the shelter.
Looking back at this point, what are some highlights of your time at CSC?
Mitch: Certainly the development of our facilities. It’s a highlight to work hard with those who made it possible through giving. Of course, it’s thrilling when very large sibling groups or children with special needs are placed for adoption. Those children who had equal opportunity at CSC, but less of a chance at adoption due to various circumstances. Being part of that process. Any day spent doing things with the kids is a highlight for me.
Ruth: Looking back the first heartbreak I had was when a girl named Arlie left for adoption. When I started working full time at CSC she was one of the kids who would go around with me in the village. When she left I could hear her calling to me and that was really sad, and I really missed her. When Arlie returned to Cebu a few years ago that was so exciting. Since she left in 1983 I didn’t know if I’d ever see her again. When we said goodbye back then we never knew if we’d see a child again. Now, kids come back, but that wasn’t always a given. Being able to see them and knowing how they are now is a highlight.
When was a time it really struck you you’d changed a child's life?
Mitch: Any time that I do the matching work for a child. It’s a very burdensome, weighty time knowing I have the responsibility of choosing a family for a child--a family for the rest of their lives. It also hits us when we see children at home after they’re adopted. Seeing the ways they’ve been blessed and even challenges they’ve gone through, seeing them continue in the Christian values that they learned while at CSC, especially as they start their own families. It’s important to see the cycle of abuse, crisis and trauma being broken. Sometimes you see what the kids have come from and wonder how they can break out of that, but many have. A boy named Mark having a hole in his heart and seeing him rescued from that and having the life he has now. A girl like Anna. She would be dead if CSC hadn’t stepped in. She and her sister both had sepsis, she survived but her sister didn’t. Everything we do each day, whether major like placing children for adoption, or spending 5 minutes giving special attention is changing their lives.
Ruth: Roselyn and Julieto, two of our Teen Home residents. I encouraged Roselyn to think about going back to school after it became clear she had just settled on being a beautician. She want back to high school and now she’s in college and almost graduating. Julieto saw this and wanted to do the same thing. Roselyn became an example and now Julieto is graduating from high school. We have outreach kids (children who were returned to their birth family) who have graduated from college. With CSC’s help, they’re able to make this happen.
What does it mean to you to be called?
Mitch: To do what you would not otherwise want or feel equipped to do. I think if you didn’t feel called you wouldn’t be in the ministry as long as we have. There are many encouraging things, but there are also many discouraging and difficult things. Being called is about persevering.
Ruth: Hard to see kids make the same mistakes others have made. Instead of learning, they repeat them. But if you’re not there for them, they don’t have any other family. You are their family. I think that’s what calling is really about at CSC.
What would you tell a young person who is interested in a career in missions?
Mitch: It’s a chance, along with many challenges, to live a life filled with incredible blessing and reward and joy. You’ll have done something that’s changed a lot of lives.
Ruth: You’ve heard the phrase you receive more than you give. CSC is very much that place. You can never give more than you receive. There are times you don’t feel good, and going to the shelter makes your day. The kids are excited to see you. They just make you smile.
Well, Mitch and Ruth Ohlendorf make us smile. We are thankful they followed God to his work for them at CSC.
Summer at CSC!
Summer is here! What does that mean to an island that remains tropical all year round? Good question! It really only means that it is hotter-a LOT hotter! And there is less rain. And its hot. And your umbrella is your most prized possession because it protects you from the fierce sun. And then there's the heat. But really, I'm not all that grumpy about it...just a little grumpy about it... :)
The kids, however, are unfazed by the heat. They still run and play without abandon. I, however, sit in the shade and look on with amazement---my mouth hanging open.
The summer brings with it new activities. KITE SEASON is here once again! It is almost as if a switch turns on inside of them and they all decide today is the day for kite-flying. And they MAKE them! Watching them making them is a favorite pasttime of mine---again, I do so in the shade, in case you were wondering! :)
They are making these kites from twigs from brooms, plastic grocery bags, and string. Permission to be amazed granted!
In flight!
Other summer activities...
CHALK!!!
FUN IN THE SHADE---These wise girls are making crafts with flower blossoms!
What pure happiness looks like!
He is our newest kid, but it already seems like he has been with us for quite some time. God has blessed us and him with a smooth transition and we are happy to have him here with us!
Its hard to be grumpy about the heat when you have this smile to look at!
Thank the Lord for these children that bless me every day and remind me of God's endless provision and goodness!
Glory be to Him always!
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A Lonely Walk
Imagine what it would be like to wake up knowing today is the last day you will see your child. I wonder how carefully you would choose their clothes or the last words to share with them. I wonder how hollow it would feel to stand on the sidewalk as they are driven away.
Imagine returning home without your children in tow. They were with you when you walked out of the neighborhood, but now you walk alone. Your world is upended. You’ve lost the title “mom” or “dad.” To make matters worse everyone is watching you from their front step or window. Secrets don’t keep long where you live—especially secrets like this.
People know what you’ve done and they don’t restrain themselves from staring. This is a lonely walk back to an empty home.
You can’t believe it got to this point. How could it? You didn’t have children to abandon them. But then he left, and there were no jobs to be found. The life you dreamed of isn’t visible anymore, and you don’t have anywhere to turn. Somehow the best option became giving them away.
Sometimes when I’m speaking to a group a person will ask how our kids end up in the care of the Children's Shelter of Cebu. I’ll confess that for most of the children a parent is still alive. “How could their parents just abandon them,” they wonder. It’s hard to explain. In our good-Christian mentality, you just don’t ever give up on your kids.
It’s hard to describe the straight jacket that is total poverty and utter hopelessness. It’s hard to explain not being able to protect or provide for your child. I can’t pretend to understand, but I know it’s easier to demonize the mom who couldn’t care for her baby than to put myself in her shoes. She doesn’t deserve to be understood because of what she’s done. Right?
I don’t know. High horses are easy to climb on when you’re propped up in a world of options. Judgment comes easy on this, but judgment has always been easier than understanding, including when a mom concludes her child is better off without her. Judgment isn't our job at CSC. Our job is to love that child the best we can. It's the least we can do for those moms whose seperation is not the mark of selfishness, but of sacrifice.
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Prayers!
I just finished Frontline for the month of April (Frontline is for all our prayer warriors out there - if you are not getting Frontline and want to get it, sign up here.) Because of Frontline, I've been thinking about all the prayers we have seen answered over the years. God has certainly blessed CSC. We know that God listens to and answers prayers. We have found that God does not always give us exactly what we ask for, but often what he gives is better than we ask. Of course there are prayers that are still unanswered and prayers that were denied...but we know that God is there and trust him to know what we REALLY need, not what we think we need.
Tonight I was on duty at one of our homes. These kids are real prayer warriors. They love to pray. There have been numerous prayer sessions that end up with a few kids falling asleep while some of the kids just keep thinking of more things to pray for. Tonight we only had about 30 minutes to pray (school night you know) so I limited the kids to only 5 things to pray for. Their choices were #1 - The CSC Banquet #2 That all the people who don't know Jesus will know him #3 That we will all be safe always #4 my friend Suzy who is going through a tough time after cancer surgery and Jane Anderson (they had to share a spot) and #5 Thanking God for the people who pray for them. I wish you could have heard their prayers. I know God did.
I did sneak a few photos....as you can see a few kids were on to me. That really is how the little ones always pray...hands together in front of them.
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Grace from God
Over Easter weekend my husband and I drove from Minnesota to Louisiana to visit our daughter. Before starting on the trip, I was unable to contact one of our former Children of Hope School teachers whom I knew lived in the Baton Rouge area. Instead, Grace got hold of me and said she was more than willing to drive the 170 miles (one way) in order for us to see each other. Later that night, Grace and her husband, Noel, sat in our hotel room reminiscing about former CSC kids and colleagues and sharing what we are doing now. I had not seen Grace in about seven years. It was a great time!
As Grace and Noel were pulling away to drive home, I was struck by the incredible connections there are all over the world through the common thread of CSC. Grace's life is forever woven into mine because we worked at CSC together. We share common interests in the children we taught at Children of Hope and the people we worked with. It was encouraging to hear how Grace is being used by God in a very different educational setting in the United States. Seeing Grace again reminded me the CSC family is strong and I am richer for it.
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Banquet Surprise
Hey, we're working on a cool surprise for the CSC banquet. I won't give you even a hint, except that the kids and staff here in Cebu are really excited about it. Some of you will be able to see it at the banquet. (If you haven't registered yet, you can do so by clicking here.) Some will have to wait for a video here on the web site. That's all you're going to get, for now!
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