Staff Blog

I wish you could all meet Joemar.  Joemar will be  37 years old this year,  and has lived at CSC since he was almost 9 years old.  There has been a lot of life lived between those two numbers! Joemar interacts with the world at a cognitive age of  5-6 years old.  He loves Superman,  puzzles,  flashlights,  his cherished sea shells,  his keys and Mr. Bean DVD's.   Joemar is proud of his "balay" meaning his room in the Duterte home that he shares with his best buddy Jacob. 

Joemar works at two local McDonalds restaurants.   He clears tables,  mops up spills,  carries trays for customers, pours gravy (for the fried chicken that McDonalds is known for here) and overall cheers up McDonalds customers as well as staff.   He loves going to work every day!   Here at CSC Joemar keeps busy helping the cleaners up at school and visiting the Childcare and Nurses offices.   He always bursts in our door with a smile, a loud greeting and usually some things to keep him busy for awhile (puzzles, books,  paper...he always has a plan.) We can't help but smile when Joe comes to visit.  Joemar simply loves life,  and he lives life simply.  Joemar's talks a lot, he can be hard to understand,  but we have a few people here at CSC who are proficient in "Joemarese."  What a joy to have a conversation with this guy. 

Joemar has friends all over the world,  and he never forgets a friend.   But,  he has no concept of time.  Once he knows that someone is coming back to visit....be it this afternoon or two months from now...he reminds us numerous times a day that we should be going to the airport - NOW.   He does not want to leave anyone standing at the airport I guess!   So,  we spend lots of time telling Joemar,  "not today"  and trying to explain that we will not forget to go and get his friend.  The conversation will start all over again in a few hours though!

On Valentines day Joemar brought in supplies for an art project.  He worked for over an hour drawing hearts, coloring them and writing his name at least 10 times on the paper.  The whole time he was talking about  "hats" -hearts  and   "baltins" - valentines.   When he finally finished it he brought it to me.  I asked him who it was for, he always is bringing me things that he makes for me to give to others.  I was certain that this creation was for either his Housemother, Auntie Lourdes or the friend that he is thinking will be here any day (even though it is well over a month away) Auntie Lynn.  But his answer to my question was a big smile,  a finger pointing at me and a loud and clear  "YOU!"   He was so proud.   I know that it came from his heart, and what an amazing heart that is.  

I have known Joemar for almost 27 years and I literally could count on one hand how many days Joemar has not been happy.   He finds joy in everything.   We have all learned much from Joemar.  The day God brought him to CSC is the day that CSC was brought just a little closer to understanding God's heart.   We are blessed....I wish you could all meet Joemar.

Thursday was Valentine's Day!  The kids had been telling me all week that they were going to give me a "valentine's day" (cards).  As soon as the kids walked into the school gate in the morning, they passed out letters to the teachers!  So fun!  Later in the day, we had a little party in our classroom and made some valentine cards to pass out to the kids' friends, aunties, uncles, and teachers.  

The Level C girls decided to make necklaces for the teachers.  Here is a picture of the Level C teachers sporting their valentine's!  

Thanks to some visitors, we had some of the conversation heart candy!  I passed out a few of them as Valentine's Day messages to the kids.  I gave one of our 11-year-old girls one that said, "You Shine".  Later that afternoon, she came back to my classroom and handed me a flower.  She said, "This is for you Teacher Tam!  You are so very shiny!"  So cute!  I love our kids!      

I had the great privilege of celebrating my 27th birthday with the kids and staff here at CSC. When I came up to the shelter a group of kids rushed towards me to give me cards they had made.

It was the highlight of my day month.

One card in particular stood out. It was from a 9 year old boy named Marko.

The note was precious and sincere, but what really stood out was inside the card.

A brand new notepad and pencil. A prized personal possession that he willingly parted with in order to be able to give me a gift for my birthday.

As is often the case, I've found that the kids here at CSC have taught me more than I've taught them. What a blessing it is to walk alongside these kind, generous, and beautiful children.

Thanks, Marko, for giving me the best birthday gift ever.

A recent hand delivered gift brought smiles and moist eyes here in Cebu. Lloyd, a former CSC resident who was adopted by the Fagerlie family of Norway back in 2003, recently visited Cebu with his family. He is now 10 years old. For his last birthday he told his family and friends that he didn't want any gifts, but asked them to instead give a gift to CSC. While visiting at the Shelter he presented an envelope to the kids with 30,000 pesos (US$750) inside! He had a great time playing soccer with the kids and teaching them a great lesson in generosity and "giving back." Thanks Lloyd, and all the Fagelies for your visit and this amazing gift.

We have been so excited to have some special visitors this week - my in-laws! Larry and Vicki have known about CSC for many years and it's so great to have them here to share their gifts with the kids. Since Larry has a passion for pottery, we arranged for him to do a lesson with the kids! He demonstrated "throwing a pot" on the pottery wheel and then gave them the opportunity to make their own clay fish with the help of CSC's art teacher, Teacher Jun Jun. It was a really unique experience for the kids and a fun afternoon for everyone.