Staff Blog
We all take turns being on duty on the evenings when the House Parents in each home have their day off. It makes our already long day even longer but I have learned that I usually leave the home more refreshed and certainly more blessed than when I walked in a few hours earlier.
It was my night to be on duty at the Duterte Home. All the little kids had gone upstairs to bed. I gathered the older kids together to ask for prayer requests and to talk about things that they wanted to talk about. The conversation quickly became about the recent typhoon. The kids had heard stories from our workers and from friends at school regarding the death and/or destruction that the typhoon brought, some of it not very far away. The kids were unsure about their birth families experience in the typhoon as well. Everyone just seemed to have a sad story to tell. Jacob, who is 27 years old, wheel chair bound and unable to speak was in our group. Jacob has Cerebral Palsy. It was obvious that these stories were hard for Jacob to hear, he was making sounds indicating distress and was getting more spastic as time went on. I was afraid he was either going to break the bindings holding him in his wheel chair or break a bone! I asked one of the workers to take Jacob to another room. I explained that we would ask Jacob to come back for our prayer time. Jacob agreed.
For our prayer time I asked for volunteers for each of the people, families or circumstances that we had put on our prayer list. When we got to one family that the kids had told about who had lost their home in the tsunami like storm surge that came with the arrival of the typhoon in a nearby town Jacob shouted and raised his hand in the air, he wanted to pray for that family. His name went on the list. We spent time in prayer, it got quiet and Jacob had not prayed yet. I looked up at Jacob and he was looking at me, I just nodded, indicating that it was his time to pray. He shut his eyes and he prayed. A more beautiful prayer I have never heard. As I watched and listened to Jacob pray I looked around at the other kids, many of them were looking at Jacob too. I was not the only one with tears in my eyes. We could not understand one word that Jacob prayed, we did did understand his emotion and we did understand "amen!"
Later, when all the kids were in their bedrooms I went to Jacob's room. I thanked him for his prayer for the family and told him that I knew that God heard and understood every word he said. I told Jacob that I thought that God was comforting the family right then because of Jacob's prayer. Jacob got his big "Jacob smile" that takes up his whole face and even tends to make his body spastic...but he worked hard and brought his arm up in the air, got his pointer finger extended and with joy pointed straight up. Yes Jacob, God in Heaven heard and understood every word of your prayer! I knew that is what he was telling me, and I agreed. I left for home with a smile on my face and an extra blessing in my heart.
I didn't have my camera with me that night. This photo is a re-enactment of Jacob telling me exactly where his prayers go!
An early morning hike with Uncle Marv and Auntie Marlys
7:00 am is early for some folks on a Saturday morning, but for the CSC kids its a great time for a morning hike. Recently Auntie Marlys invited a visitor, Marv Hadenfeldt, to join her and 20 of the kids for a hike up the mountain to see the sights and enjoy the beauty of nature. Marv is a regular visitor to CSC and loves to hang out with the gang. And the feeling is mutual.
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Science Fun!
Friction, motion, and static electricity are just a few of the topics we've been learning about lately in science! It is EXTREMELY difficult to teach about static electricity in Cebu's very humid climate. There are no flannel sheets to show off sparks, rubbing your feet on the carpet doesn't do anything, and even rubbing balloons in your hair doesn't always produce the desired effect. But along with the help of the air conditioned library, we have been attempting to see or feel a little bit of static electricity. The kids were extremely excited on Friday when the balloons finally "worked".
Friction and motion are easier topics to tackle! After discussing them for a week, we had some fun with the "tablecloth" pull. We started simple with just a small piece of paper and a marker. Soon we moved up to using a large piece of paper and several dishes, bowls of water, pencil boxes, and other things. The kids loved it, but I had to make sure to tell them NOT to try it at home!!
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Satisfaction
Ruth, Anthony, Andrew, and I traveled to the West Coast this past week to visit family and friends, giving us the opportunity to spend the afternoon with several "kids" who were adopted from CSC 15-20 years ago. We were hosted by Neil and Nelia (Healy) Collins for a delicious lunch of Filipino fare.
Joining us from the greater Washington and Oregon area were Jennifer, Nolly, and Aida, along with their families and friends. It was a great joy to be "cared for" by these wonderful "kids" whom we ourselves had cared for so many years ago. We all got to wow over each other's families and share stories from the past. Often the discussions drifted to the topic of how tall some at the gathering had grown and how vertically challenged others had remained. Puzzling.
But an even greater joy was to see how these now young adults have grown in their personal lives, established loving marriages, had beautiful children of their own, and gone on to find success in life despite some challenges along the way.
It gave Ruth and me a great deal of satisfaction to see a few of the successes of CSC's ministry and the ongoing benefits children are having from adoption. God has continued to bless so many who received the gift of a new family so many years ago!
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Elesio and the Workshop
I'd like to introduce you to Elesio Ewayan, or as he's known as around here, Sho.
Sho has worked at CSC for 13 years.
Sho is one of the reasons why, as a visitor recently told me; "the Children's Shelter of Cebu has the best kept facilities in all of Cebu."
If you're looking for Sho the first place to check is the workshop. The kids know that this is a place they can't play, but they will often times stand at the invisible fence in front of the shop doors as Sho works to patch the sole of a shoe, repair a desk drawer, or mix a batch of paint.
The workshop isn't state of the art, but it's amazing what he can accomplish with a basic set of tools.
When CSC's president Matt Buley came to Cebu earlier this year he met with the staff and handed out bracelets. The braclets had CSC's logo on them and the phrase "These hands change lives." As I watched Sho work I looked down and saw that he was wearing his bracelet.
What an incredible example of someone using their hands to change lives.
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Student Interviews
The Group 4 kids recently finished a video interview project for one of their afternoon classes. Everything about this was done by the students! The questions, the recording, and the video production. I hope you enjoy getting to know three of our very smart, creative kids in this video! :)
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