Staff Blog
It is no secret that there was an earthquake in the Philippines on Tuesday. There has been a lot of information shared over facebook, some of it an hour by hour update on our experience. Many people have spoken about the fear, the pain and the sadness they, or others they know, experienced.
I did not comment much about it then, but would like to say more now.
It is a very unnerving feeling to have every surface you are touching rumble and move beneath and around you. There is nothing to grab onto, there is nothing that can steady you. Also, the power shut off at the exact time the quaking began, so there is that shock to the senses. And then there is the noise. There is the rumble of the movement of the earth, some have described it like if a construction site were right outside your home. Then there is the noise of your fragile possessions crashing to the ground and breaking or the stones of your house falling from above. Scary. And it seems to go on for so long. Maybe because from the moment the shaking starts to when it stops you are unceasingly praying for it to end. And then after the shaking stops, you begin to hear the shouts and cries of the people and the dogs. In my neighborhood, the dogs had much to say.
You are really shaky yourself and you feel kind of weak, it takes a while to get your bearings. I had heard from Sandy---she, Marlys and Jenny were okay. I tried to reach Mitch, but there was no answer. I then went outside to check on some of my neighbors---everyone in my compound was safe, Shari and Marcel too, which was wonderful!
I returned home to some disarray and with the strong desire to get up to the shelter. My television had fallen from its stand and laid in pieces, a vase had met a similar demise. I left them as is, moved any other breakable items to a safer place and headed out, unsure what state I would find things in as I drove.
People were everywhere in the streets, there was an accident at the base of the road the shelter is on, so people and vehicles filled the space. I actually saw one of our house fathers there on his motorcycle. He couldn't hear my shouting over the din of everything else. I found out later that his wife, one of our house mothers, was out shopping with some of our older girls when the earthquake happened and he was going to locate them. Terrifying.
I made it up the road easily and quickly. The construction site next to our land even seemed to have made it through the quake alright. I honked once outside our gate, the door opened and I pulled into safety. I immediately saw Mitch's van and saw him walking around---all of us were safe and accounted for.
I was anxious to see how all of the kids were doing, so my heart was racing, but there was also just an overwhelming peace. I could see the kids outside on the grounds, gathered together, many of them crying. They ran and hugged me tightly. I didn't have enough body to go around. I moved around through the groups, checking them, checking for injuries, checking for tears, checking that they were okay. All of our house parents were also safe and accounted for. The house mother and the three girls who had been shopping during the quake had made it back safely---the girls were crying and one of them had lost her slippers in the panic---but they were back!
I stood in the middle of the yard and looked around and the buildings, the windows, the plants, the ground---everything looked as it had the day before---seemingly untouched by the 7.2 magnitude quake that had struck 20 minutes earlier. Praise the Lord!
I have said this many times in my 2+ years at CSC, but since I first stepped foot inside the gate I have felt God's hand on this land, on this ministry, on these kids, on these workers, on us. He always provides, He always protects, He always sustains.
The aftershocks continued the rest of the day, some feeling almost as strong as the earthquake, though they lasted less time. We kept the kids outside for the morning until everything could be checked, but they napped inside in the afternoon. For quite some time that day, every time an aftershock was felt the kids would run to the middle of the playground.
We had no power, so the generator ran all day, a noisy machine, but something we were grateful for. We lost water for a period of time in the afternoon as the continuous running of the generator overwhelmed the water pump. But that problem was solved quickly once it was understood. The nurseries were moved to the living rooms in the homes and all of the children slept downstairs for that night. The aftershocks continued through the night, the next day and the next and I am pretty sure I have felt some yet this morning.
While it remains a bit unnerving and you feel somewhat on edge---yesterday when I heard a loud rumbling noise, I looked for the nearest sturdy object to dive under should the shaking start, and it was really just a low-flying plane---there is no need to fear. God is good, ALL THE TIME! All the time, GOD IS GOOD!
Guardians of the Environment
In Civics class we have been talking about appreciating the different beautiful sceneries in the Philippines and being proud of them. Now my 2nd grade class is focusing on us, humans, as being the "Guardians of the Environment". Here are some of their ideas why humans are called the guardians of the environment.
Student 1: It's because we are capable of taking good care of them.
Student 2: Example teacher - the plants. They can't water themselves when God won't send rain. They'll suffer.
Student 3: And also the other animals. They'll suffer, too, if we will not take care of our environment. They need us to watch over them.
As the discussion went on I noticed that one of the students stayed quiet. He didn't raise his hands to share so I caught his attention and asked him to share his thoughts with us. He didn't answer right away but I knew he had something to share. Here's what he said:
Student 4: Since plants and animals will suffer if we don't take care of them, won't we suffer even more? We need to take care of the environment because God put us in charge of His beautiful creation.
The rest of the students agreed with what he said. I was speechless for a few seconds, asking myself how this very young learner thought as an adult. The lesson ended well and, as an application, we made a plan for how we could take better care of our school and the shelter.
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Exploring Connects To Learning
Having fun while learning feels like playing a game. – N.N. Porchezhiyan
We did many fun activities in class this past month. The highlights of the activities were done during our Math and English Language Arts (ELA) classes. Our Math lesson was about comparing and ordering objects by weight. I instructed my students to look for three objects inside the classroom. To my surprise, one of my students was shaking with excitement and told me that he was waiting for this activity and to use the balance scale. Since one of our goals at CCHS is to have students be more independent I prepared the balance scale, instructed them on what to do and they did the rest. The result was priceless! Smiles were on their faces as they completed their tasks with only minor mistakes.
During our ELA class my students learned about the plant life cycle. To make it more fun and realistic we conducted an investigation about how plants reproduce. They planted two types of plants: a plant that grows from a seed and a plant that grows from a bulb. The weather was not ideal that day and it was raining. My students were worried and thought that we might not continue with our planting. The excitement rose when I announced that we would still do the activity.
Learning can't just be found in the four walls of the classroom. Learning is not just with a paper and a pencil. Learning is about exploring!
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Sportsfest 2020
Every January at CCHS we have Sportsfest, a fun day of track and field events. The students sign up for their favorite events and all of CSC (including the toddlers and babies) gather to cheer them on!
Here are some reactions my Kindergarten class shared about Sportsfest.
Question: What was your favorite event during Sportsfest?
Kid 1: limbo
Kid 2: distance running
Kid 3: jumping rope and the 3-legged race
Kid 4: tug-of-war
Kid 5: sack race and egg toss
Question: Why did you like Sportsfest?
Kid 1: There are lots of games
Kid 2: I can play and have fun with my friends
Kid 3: We get medals as prizes
Kid 4: I can run and race with my friends
Kid 5: I can cheer for my teammates
Being a part of Sportsfest impacts our kids in many powerful, intangible ways.
* It improves their self-esteem and self confidence
* It helps them grow both as a leader and as a team member
* They learn to cooperate
* It helps them handle the ups and downs of competition
Thank you for supporting this ministry so kids can experience the joy of working together as a team as well as being cheered for as they try their best!
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Soup for Everyone
Preschool activities are always fun and exciting. Every week we have a different theme for our lessons.
Last week the focus was on vegetables and fruits. One of the activities we did was making vegetable soup and every preschooler helped prepare it! After learning more about vegetables the students, divided into pairs, were given different tasks. Some preschool pairs peeled a squash while other pairs plucked the leaves of a alugbati.
The students loved putting the vegetables in the big pot and watching it cook. Finally it was ready to eat! Every student got to have a piece of each vegetable in their bowl.
The eating time was so exciting for all of them except for one boy who didn't like the soup at all. Most of the preschoolers, surprisingly, asked for more. After the class I overheard one of the students say, "I really like the soup."
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Love and Action
So much goes on every day at CSC and CCHS. Kids are comforted when they are scared or sad. Kids are fed (no small task when that means preparing over 200 meals a day). Kids are educated and encouraged to persevere when the lessons are challenging. And so much more!
Of all the things we do at CSC, what is our highest priority?
For the past month at CCHS we have been preparing for our biggest event of the year, our Christmas play. The teachers have been spending a lot of extra time to prepare the set, figure out the choreography, and help the students memorize their lines. The students have been practicing the 12 songs they have to memorize as well as the actions. Many hours have gone into preparing for this event. Why?
Our highest priority at CSC is for the kids in our care to learn about God, who they can tangibly see through our actions. 1 Corinthians 13 talks about how love needs to be the driving force for all we do or our efforts will be ineffective. James 1:27 directs this love, especially, to vulnerable children and adults. At the intersection of love and action is CSC.
John, a 9 year old boy who CSC recently rescued from living alone on the streets of Cebu, is part of our choir for the upcoming Christmas play. His first real glimpse of God is through the songs and message of this play. As he learns these songs about God becoming a baby because He loves us, John will experience the physical-ness of these words through the care he gets at CSC.
We are able to show God's love to these great kids because of you. Thank you for supporting this ministry so kids like John who have experienced some of the worst of life can sleep safely at night, knowing that God is always with them and tomorrow will be a great day.
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