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.
It's Field Trip Time!
My students (ten girls ages 11-15) were super excited! They kept on asking me when our field trip would be. Well, the time had come! We went on a field trip last Friday to Archival’s Eco-House in Talamban, Cebu City.
Recently in science class, we have been learning about Ecology. We learned about different environmental problems and solutions. My students learned about how the 3R’s (reuse, reduce, recycle) and composting can help the environment.
The kids were so amazed with the tour at the Eco-House. They kept saying, “Wow!” and “Chooya!” (That’s Cebuano for “wow”). We walked through the organic vegetable garden, saw the filtration system for used water, learned about goat waste converted into methane gas, sat on used crates made into various furniture, looked at the solar panels used to generate energy from the sun, and marveled at the reused materials decorating the main house.
During the tour, we learned about the vermin worm or the African night crawler that helps decompose biodegradable materials. While the tour guide was explaining, the students listened intently. Then suddenly, the guide asked the girls, “Who can tell me again the name of the worm?” No one answered. The guide jokingly said, “You can’t leave here if you can’t answer.” The girls panicked and started blurting out different answers. One student said, “Uhm, I remember it was Japanese, right?” Another student said, “I think it’s vermus, yeah, it’s vermus.” We all laughed about it and were thankful we did not have to stay with the worms.
It was an enjoyable and educational experience for the kids!
-Karen Faburada
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One on One
Most of the activities for our CSC kids involve groups. They eat together, play together and go to school together. But some of the most precious times at CSC involve them receiving one on one attention from a staff member, a house parent, a counselor or a teacher. At CSC we recognize the importance of providing one on one situations where our kids can experience having the undivided attention of a person that they admire, respect and enjoy being with. With more than 90 children to attend to, we cannot provide as many of these experiences as we would like, but as I go around the shelter and school, I am encouraged to see that they do happen, every day.
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American Studies
Have you ever tried explaining something that is native and normal to your country, only to realize how strange it really is? If you are an American, stop and think about, say, the way April Fool’s Day is celebrated. You get to pull tricks on people and get away with it all day! When you explain that to a foreigner, you would get a pretty confused reaction. In American Studies class, I have the privilege of doing just that: introducing children who are about to be adopted by U.S. families to American culture!
Before we get too far, I need to introduce myself. My name is Katie Elliott, and I began teaching American Studies at Cebu Children of Hope School when Teacher Tammy returned to the states. My husband and I moved to Cebu in January 2013 for his job at the business outsourcing office for his company and I have been volunteering at CSC since February of this year. American Studies is a course designed for the school-aged children of CSC who have been matched for adoption to U.S. families. In American Studies, we learn things like the pledge of allegiance, information about the state they’re moving to, national monuments, U.S. history, and American customs and norms. My favorite unit was holidays and seasons. It has been so funny to hear their reactions when I explain things like being pinched if they didn’t wear green on St. Patrick’s Day! Or a leprechaun trying to steal a pot of gold from the end of a rainbow...especially when the holiday is celebrating Irish heritage, yet you're moving to America! When we learned about winter, they were disappointed to hear that it might not snow every single day of winter, as they can't wait to build snowmen and go sledding. Check out our adventures in making pumpkin pie when we studied Thanksgiving!
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SWEET!
Every one knows that we have cute kids. That is one of our prerequisites for admission! But we recently found out that we have some pretty sweet kids too. We were in the midst of an emotional and difficult situation with one of our kids, we had to tell him that he would be leaving CSC. He is a great kid, we had just come to the realization that CSC was not the best place for him. Praise the Lord we found a good place for him in a family - but this was still a very difficult task that was weighing heavily on us. Literally, just a few minutes before Ruth and I had to have that conversation with the young man who would have to leave CSC, four of our darling young teen and pre-teen girls presented us with an artistic creation that they had done all on their own. I had seen them working on something earlier in the week, but they quickly hid it from me, I thought it was just a silly girl thing. It was not. These girls presented us with this work of art (from their heart) at the time that it could encourage us the most! It was the sweetest thing. They didn't know we were dealing with this especially tough situation at that moment in time. It was an encouragement and a reminder to us that God is using CSC to change hearts. I thank God for the sweet kids that he sends our way. And I thank these SWEET girls for being God's hands and voice to us at a time that we needed it!
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Its Conference time!
Last week was Conferences at the Children of Hope School. So on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 12:30-4:30, our hardworking teachers presented on their students to the staff and house parents.
It is so nice to be able to learn how each child is doing in their class, what their strengths are, what their favorite subjects are, what they like to write about or talk about most. Our kids are funny! And creative! And inspiring! It was a great time to hear from each teacher how we can encourage, support and praise our kids for the unique skills, talents and challenges they have.
What also stood out to me so vividly is the dedication with which our teachers approach their class and the unique students they have in it. We are blessed to have small class sizes at our school and most children are working at the level that best fits them. When children come to us they have had little to no schooling, certainly none of which was at all consistent. The gaps are significant. Our teachers make countless accomodations and modifications so that each of the children in their class is being challenged, but not overwhelmed. It is no small feat.
Check out some of their work below. I am sure you will find the short stories entertaining and the letters heart-warming!
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