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!
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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