Staff Blog

Heart, a new girl, came to the shelter the other day and I was immediately struck by her name.  It’s different.  And it seems like there might be a story behind the name.  I wonder what it is. 

There is often a reason behind why a name is chosen for a child.  Maybe you know the story behind your name.  Sometimes parents just liked the name.  Sometimes it was chosen to remember a family member or carry on a tradition.  Other times a name is picked for its meaning. 

Of course, most of the kids at CSC have names already when they arrive at the shelter.  The variety of the names is kind of fascinating.  There are plenty of “normal” names like Grace, Cris, Mark, Carlo, Hannah, Raphael, and Juliet.  There are also names that are a bit more unusual or less common like Chosar, Trexie, Jemarie, and Lerma.  Many families in the Philippines seem to like to name children using alliteration, so there have been lots of sibling groups with names all starting with the same first letter like seven kids with all “M” names, six kids with all “J” names. Then there is the fairly common practice of naming twins with the same or very similar first names and different second names like Nina Kylie and Nina Kaye or Marky and Marty with the accent on the second syllable.  

Some of the babies are named after arriving at the shelter because they do not have a name yet. Sometimes, if a child has been abandoned, we do not know the full name and are unsuccessful in finding out the child’s name.  Princess Apple got her name because she was found on a boat bearing that name.  One little boy knew his first name, but not his last name and efforts to find out proved unsuccessful, so he was given the last name of Maxilom for the street where he was found.  One girl told me she liked her name a lot because it was a combination of her birth parents’ first names. 

Names have stories behind them, reasons why a name was chosen for a child.  Our names make us unique.  I wonder what the story is behind Heart’s name. 

 Webster defines a cornucopia as "a curved goat's horn overflowing with fruit and ears of grain that is used as a decorative motif emblematic of abundance." For most of our children, the concept of abundance is a foreign one. They grew up always on the deficit side of things, not having enough food, clothing, safety, medicine, shelter, love. Abundance was something that the rich people had. Their cornucopia was "overflowing." They had more than they needed while our kids struggled to stay alive.

At CSC, these same kids have experienced abundance in ways they never dreamed possible. Enough food, enough clean water, enough safety, attention and love. What a miracle! Our dear supporters are God's agents of abundance at CSC. In our 37 years of ministry in Cebu we have never missed a single meal for our kids!That is hundreds of thousands of meals without a disruption. And we have never had to deny any CSC child needed medicines or medical care. Never.  Thanks to the faithful giving and praying of our CSC family, we have had a cornucopia of blessings to share with children who need us so very much.

Thanks to all who have given to CSC out of their abundance over the years. Thanks for making a huge difference in the lives of so many kids. Happy Thanksgiving.

CSC has experienced the retirement of Sandy Swanson recently, and some of our Filipino staff have also retired. Others will be coming to retirement soon. It is very evident to our staff and board of directors that we need to find new staff to replace those who will be ending their time with CSC, so recruitment is an important task.

But it isn't just staff who are retiring. Often I hear from faithful supporters who tell me that they have retired from their jobs, are on a fixed income, and cannot continue to give at the level they could while they were still working. As our donors age, this will be a more common situation. So just as with our staff situation, donor recruitment will be a crucial activity for the ministry if we are to make it into the future. We must find new donors who can help us compensate for those whose giving is curtailed by retirement.

Pray with us that this will happen. And if you have any leads on people who might be interested in our ministry to homeless children in the Philippines, let Matt or Jill from our stateside office know.  

Like every kid, the kids at CSC have their Christmas wish lists. Each year, the kids receive their gifts on Christmas Eve. Imagine a room full of kids with huge smiles, giggles, laughter, anticipation, and eagerness waiting for their gifts.

So, how do we, the appointed present shoppers, have the kids share their requests without making it too obvious we are the ones buying and wrapping their gifts?

For the little ones, the conversation might go something like:

“Hey, I talked to Santa last night and he asked me what you want for Christmas.”

OR

For those who want shoes: “Can you trace your feet for me so we can see if they are the same size?”

OR

“What do you want for Christmas? I could tell Santa for you.”

For the ones who know THE TRUTH, the question is pretty straight forward:

“So, what do you want for Christmas?”

Like kids everywhere, our kids have no trouble telling us what they want. Even though we can’t always accommodate their requests, it’s fun for them to dream and imagine. They have lists in their heads. One little girl specifically told me that she does not want perfume because she already smells good. Others get influenced by what other kids want. And some want things a bit more difficult to fulfill like a horse!

The day after some of the kids had told what they want for Christmas, they asked me if I had already given their lists to Santa. My response was, “I will email it to him tonight.” One kid then said in surprise, “Email?! Really?!” I did email their lists, just not to Santa, but to the specific person who is in charge of getting their gifts.

Thank you for helping CSC in every way. You make it all possible for us to give the best care for the kids even at Christmas!

            Books are the source of knowledge and one of the fundamental tools in imparting knowledge to learners. This is how I define books and I experienced a memorable and significant lifetime event that I will treasure forever.

            Level B Group 2 students were preparing to share their learning during the morning meeting, so they decided to present a poem titled, “If You’re Not From the Prairie”.  Everyone was able to memorize the poem and they presented it in the front of everybody.  This poem left a strong impression of all of the students, especially the Level B1 Group 1 students.

            Later on in the afternoon, I opened the door to the classroom for my last class.  This is the toughest class each day.  When I walked in, I was surprised and puzzled.  Everyone was holding their reading books, but this was science class! All at once, the students started reading in a loud voice, “Teacher Lyrah, if you’re not from the prairie, you don’t know the sun!  If you’re not from the prairie, you don’t know me!” 

            This group of kids have just started using this particular reading text and are on the first unit in the book.  The prairie poem is in the last unit of the book, so is challenging for the kids to read and understand.  But somehow they had been inspired by the poem when it was presented during the morning meeting. They wanted to share their excitement. 

            I smiled and praised them for reading the poem. One student said,” Teacher Lyrah, we have your book!  Remember? If you’re not from the prairie, you don’t know the sun.”

            I encouraged them to continue to read and learn from their reading. There are a lot of moral stories that they can learn from the book.            

            I learned something that day.  Kids have many talents and thoughts.  We, as teachers and adults, should look for and encourage the children to grow, knowing they have innate and hidden talents.  And the children are just starting to bloom.