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!
Graduation Miracles
I was rummaging through old files the other day and came across a file titled "CSC Kids' Work." Inside I found a set of poems written by four CSC "kids" from the school year 2006-2007. The four guys had each written a poem using the same format of a poem they had read in their reading material. The title of their poems was the same, If You're Not From CSC..., but the content was original for each of the guys. At the time the poems were written, the boys were actually young teenagers. Since that time, three of the guys have been adopted and they have graduated from high school. Julieto was one of the poem writers and the last of them to graduate from high school just last Friday in Cebu. Jules, as he is affectionately called, has gotten other press time recently, but after coming across those poems, I could not pass up the opportunity to share his education story with you. His story illustrates the miracle that takes place when some of the CSC kids graduate from high school.
Julieto came to CSC when he was 10 years old. He had never been to school, so he started off at the beginning of the learning continuum with letter recognition. He attended Children of Hope School through the 2006-2007 school year and he was in fifth grade by that time. He was also in his mid-teens and a bit tired of being in elementary school as a teenager. He felt he needed to move on. We cautioned him about not finishing elementary education, but he wanted to try something else. So with help from some people at CSC, Jules got a job on the construction crew building the new Duterte home. He loved the job and worked for a year and a half on the project. By that time, Julieto had thought long and hard about his future and he decided he wanted to go to high school. Well, he needed to finish elementary school first, so he returned to our school as an older teenager! That in itself took a lot of courage. After his final year at CCHS, Julieto started high school. Four years later, he is a new high school graduate with plans for his future!
What an incredible journey it has been. Lots of people have been in on Jules' journey, encouraging, tutoring, advocating for him, but he is the one who has stuck with it. Pretty miraculous! Congratulations to Julieto and the other current and former CSC "kids" who are graduating from high schol this year.
If you're Not from CSC...
By Julieto Sido
If you're not from CSC
You don't know Christmas
You just can't know Christmas.
Christmas is the best time for me.
I can dance, sing, and be happy as can be
With lots of gifts from foster friends and Santa Claus
And many parties in the house.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know Christmas.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know discipline
You just can't know discipline.
In CSC we have rules to obey.
They are made to help us grow OKEY.
If we don't obey the staff will get sad
Because they don't want us to be bad.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know discipline.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know sports
You just can't know sports.
Sports is our way to have fun
We jump, we throw, and run.
Basketball, baseball, and soccer.
We play with one another.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know sports.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know kindness.
You just can't know kindness.
Kindness for me is to share and care.
That's what we do here.
Children share with each other
And the staff and house parents care for one another.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know kindness.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know ME.
You just can't know ME.
You have not experienced what I had
The fun, the laughter, the good, and the bad.
The kindness, the love, and the discipline I had here
Will stay with me even when I go somewhere.
If you're not from CSC
You don't know ME.
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Precious moments...
The other day I hung around the playground in the late afternoon. That is our playground's most hectic and entertaining time! It was such a pleasure to watch the kids in play. Tumbling from our monkey bars, swinging as high as they can, whizzing by on the scooters, flying kites, kicking balls and playing tag.
While I watched, I caught many precious moments with my camera. Thankfully, a camera's memory cannot be faulty---it caught every smile, every flip---and in greater detail than my memory ever could.
So, here they are---these precious moments!
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Let it snow!
I just happened to be walking down the driveway of our compound earlier this week when I noticed small white bits floating through the air in front of me and they were blowing by my feet as well. I, being a born and bred Minnesotan, first thought of snow (just for a split second, mind you). I know this Winter has been hard for most and I feel for all of you who have struggled through the bitter cold and the seemingly endless snow. I pray that Spring makes a glorious reveal in the NEAR future and that Summer and Fall are so wonderful that someday soon this past Winter is nothing but a faint memory.
But back to the white things---they, of course, were not snow! It is the Philippines after all. :) After looking at the white things and hearing many giggles to my left, I decided to examine what that giggling group of small boys were doing. They were making snow! They had bits of styrofoam that they were rubbing against the bark of a tree and it was flying around like snow.
And they were SO happy about it---giddy even! I couldn't help but smile. If you ask any of our kids here---hands down the thing they are most interested in experiencing is SNOW!!! It is a puzzling thing to them. They can't understand frozen water and just how cold a place can be to have piles of it just lying around and not melting. Within minutes of a drink sitting out here, the ice is gone and the liquid is already starting to warm. And a cold day here is 75 and cloudy (long sleeves are needed). And that is all they have ever known.
I continued on my way, but I couldn't help but hum, "Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!" :)
God bless you all and stay warm!
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That Thomas Itch
I have great news from our founder and Medical Director, Marlys Healy. Little Thomas, who had major surgery on his skull in early February, got the last of his stiches removed! This means no more bandages, too. Whew!
We have watched this boy endure so much since he arrived at CSC. He has found a soft spot in many hearts. I'll never forget watching him leave pre-op on the day of the surgery and trying not to wonder if he would make it. As we tried to work in Cebu that day there were many pauses when one of us would say, "I hope he's doing okay."
The love for Thomas didn't stop in Cebu. It was amazing to hear word of people praying all over the world for him. You will be glad to know Thomas can finally itch his head. Marlys said he looked ecstatic to finally be able to do so! They have him in mittens to make sure he doesn't get overzealous or pull at his nose shunts, but Thomas is doing well. Look at that cute hairdo his bandages were covering. What a guy, our Thomas. Thanks for loving him with us.
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Danneil faces surgery
Danneil is one year and eight months old, and has been sick for much of his life. He has a problem called vesicoureteral reflux, which is an abnormal flow of urine from the bladder to the upper urinary tract. In VUR, urine may flow back—reflux—into one or both ureters and, in some cases, to one or both kidneys. VUR that affects only one ureter and kidney is called unilateral reflux, and VUR that affects both ureters and kidneys is called bilateral reflux. Danneil's VUR is unilateral. Danneil has been sick much of the time since he came to CSC on 8-16-12, so it has been difficult to pursue having surgery that he needs to correct this problem. He was discharged from the hospital on 3-18-14 where he was confined for a week for diarrhea and fever. The other day we spoke to the urologist and he ordered another test called a VCUG. It is a technique for watching a person's urethra and urinary bladder while the person urinates (voids). The technique consists of catheterizing the person in order to fill the bladder with a radiocontrast agent. The results showed that he does need the surgery as soon as possible. We are scrambling to get this done before he gets sick again. Usually he has pneumonia, but he also has occasional urinary tract infections. The surgery is tentatively planned for Thursday morning, March 27. Please pray for our little guy as he faces this surgery, and for Marlys and our medical team as they work with the doctor and make the arrangements for his aftercare.
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