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!
Biking is Fun
Learning how to ride a bicycle is an early moment of accomplishment and freedom for a child. It is difficult to balance and pedal all at once while steering to avoid obstacles and other people. Of course a child will be proud of themselves when they learn how to put it all together to ride a bicycle down the driveway. Guiding the bicycle where to go starts to give a child an idea of freedom.
I enjoy riding a bicycle. I must confess; I have more than one bicycle. Watching a child wobbling along on two wheels finding their sense of balance brings a smile to my face. When they finally get the hang of it I will shout for joy along with them.
This little guy is learning how to balance without the complications of pedaling.
This guy is hesitantly figuring out how to start from a stand still.
This young lady took a few pointers from me and in an afternoon put it all together.
It is so much riding around! It is even more fun with puddles!
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Creatures!
Creepy, crawly creatures are everywhere here in this tropical climate. And everything that crawls seems to come in gigantic versions; big moths, big spiders, big geckos. The kids (OK it's mostly the boys) are fascinated with bugs and seem to go in seasonal cycles playing with different insects as the bugs hatch and find homes in the vegetation.
Recently spiders were all the rage with the boys collecting certain kinds and then conducting spider fights on the bristles of brooms. One day I drove by a large group of school kids at a roadside vendor who was selling something in plastic bags about the size of rulers with something small and black in each bag. The kids were buying the fighting spiders on their way home from school!
For the last couple of weeks the boys gravitate to the flowering plants as they enter the school gate in the morning. Praying mantises have been emerging and the kids want to see how many they can find. They don't use them to fight (thankfully), but are eager to carry the cool looking bugs around during the day. Impromptu mini-science lessons have happened with the appearance of these green creatures like learning that the female mantis eats the head off the male!
So if you are into bugs, Cebu is the place to be. Hang out with the kids for a while and you'll learn new and creative ways to play with bugs.
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Busy with Birthdays!
It’s a busy birthday week! Today is Tuesday in Cebu, we just finished birthday parties on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights. We have a small break and then, coming up we have two more celebrations on Thursday and Friday! Whew!
There are times (this week for instance) when I think it might be wiser to celebrate once a month for everyone who has a birthday that month but not most of the time. For these kids who have had very few special moments just for them, an individual birthday party, celebrating them seems more than appropriate. Here are a few photos...
Monday's birthday was especially exciting because the birthday girl turned 18. The picture below is of her reading a wonderful letter she wrote thanking her house parents, care givers, and God for the love and provision she's recieved while at CSC.
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Auntie Warlita Retires
Auntie Warlita has worked as a nurse at CSC since 1997. She has taken hundreds of children to the
doctor in the past 18 years. Lovingly taken care of and prayed for the kids and
the ministry of CSC. Her love,
dedication, and Godly example was a great encouragement to everyone she came
into contact with. All of us at CSC were blessed to have her be a part of our
lives the past 18 years.
On September 30th we had a farewell party and lunch for Auntie Warlita hosted by the nurses. Uncle Mitch shared about Warlita followed by a lunch with many of the CSC workers. A wonderful time of fellowship, laughs, and appreciation to Auntie Warlita was had by all.
Thank you for your ministry to CSC Auntie Warlita. May God bless you as you continue to serve Him!
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Reading for Everyone
The final activity related to CCHS's Reading Challenge was a trip to the Cebu City Public Library, so the kids headed out to visit the library one day last week. The trip was meant to be the kids' reward for doing such a great job during the Challenge, but another underlying purpose was to expose them to the idea of a public library. Unlike most communities in the United States, the existence of public libraries in the Philippines is rare, so most people have little or no opportunity to avail themselves of the multitude of services public libraries provide. The Cebu City Public Library is the only public library in the city of 870,000 people!
When we got to the library, the head librarian welcomed us and explained what a public library is. Then the kids were allowed to browse through the books in the children's section for about thirty minutes. Great fun! Most of our children have not had the opportunity to read books when they arrive at the shelter. The idea of being able to look at and read books whenever they want is a foreign experience, so they thoroughly enjoy our school library and the mini-libraries in the classrooms and houses. This was another chance to be exposed to books in a different environment.
While we were at the library, we learned about a program to bring books into the communities in the city. Books bags are distributed by the library to kindergarten and first grade students and their families for them to keep at their homes for one week. The book bags are returned after a week and the family is given another bag for the next week. It's sort of a creative revolving check-out system. Coupled with the book bag distribution are sessions teaching the parents how to read with their children. It was encouraging to hear the public library is reaching out into the communities in this way.
The kids are still pumped about reading and continue to challenge themselves by reading a lot. Right now they are into book series and books related to what they are studying in science class. Maybe that will shift to books about countries and people around the world since United Nations Day is coming up. We'll see...
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