Please pray for Thomas! His surgery will be on Tuesday, February 11 at 11:00 am Cebu time (9:00 pm on Monday the 10th, Minnesota time). He has a serious problem called craniosynostosis, which means that the sutures of his skull fused prematurely. Consequently, his brain is bulging through the anterior fontanelle, which has caused his head to become misshapen, and fluid has built up around his brain. The surgeon will remove the fused portions of the skull, and four areas of the skull will be re-shaped by making several small cuts in each portion of bone. The bones will be sutured together afterwards. His head has gotten very large, and his eyes are bulging so it has become an urgent matter to do this surgery as soon as possible. They are hoping that the procedure will reduce the build up of fluids so he will not need to have a shunt at this point. Thomas will be in intensive care for one week, and will be in a private room for another week, at least.
After a lot of discussion, soul searching and prayer, the CSC staff has decided against using the government hospital for this surgery. Although the operating room there has decent equipment, the Intensive Care Unit where he would have gone following the surgery is not well equipped, and he would be in proximity to children with infectious diseases. The nurse to patient ratio, and other factors made us reconsider the decision to use that hospital.
News: The surgery will be at Cebu Doctors' Hospital, the facility that we often use for our children. Having him operated on at CDH is a step of faith for our staff, as the costs will be much more than at the government hospital. We are trusting God to provide for this difficult and intricate surgery, and for the after care that Thomas will need. He will need to be in the ICU for a week. We want to be able to offer Thomas the best chance possible to survive the surgery and the crucial hours and days afterwards. We fell that we are doing that, though the cost will be high. Although it is very difficult to predict what the total costs will be for the surgery and aftercare, we are making an initial estimate of $25,000. We will update that amount here on the website as we get more financial information from the hospital.
Please pray with our staff, workers and friends as we surround that operating room in prayer.
Workers' Christmas Party
Check out these pictures from our workers' Christmas party on December 1. It was a great night of fun, gifts, prizes and recognition of the great contributions of our workers.
Trust His Heart
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His Heart
-From a song called "Trust His Heart" by Babbie Mason
The view out of my classroom window on a recent rainy day.
Human as we are, we have lots of worries in life. As we worry, some questions come up in our minds. What will my future be like? Will I be able to sustain the needs of my family? What kind of life will my children have? How do I meet the needs of my students, especially those who are struggling? How will I deal with the difficult situations I will be facing in the future? Do the things that I strive to do matter? Am I making a difference in my workplace? Am I on the right track? Is this the will of God for me? I don't understand God's plan for me, what should I do?
Upon worrying and doubting, we sometimes forget that there's someone up there who is bigger than our worries. When our mind is clouded with worries instead of trusting the One who is sovereign over everything, we see the uncertainties. May the message of the song above encourage both you and me to put our full trust in Him who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient amidst uncertainties.
May we hold onto His promise and command from Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV that says, "
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
40 Years of Hope and Blessings at CSC
CSC will celebrate 40 years of ministry in Cebu City in June of 2019. Our friends and supporters are warmly invited to attend the festivities in Cebu on June 28 and 29. Everyone is invited to see historical videos, pictures and accounts from the past 40 years here on this website and on our Facebook page.
This is from Christmas 2007:
One Great Afternoon at CCHS!
The United Nations Day celebration is one of the exciting activities at CCHS. It is always fun and informative. Children and teachers look forward to this event every year.
The day before the event, all the teachers put in great effort to prepare lots of things for the kids. Everyone stayed late that night just to make their country booth really captivating. There was the sharing of minds on what to display and how to arrange things in the booth.
The celebration started with the singing of the Philippine national anthem at the shelter followed by a parade heading to school. After the parade the children visited the the different countries: Belgium, Norway, Italy, and the Netherlands. Each group was given twenty-five minutes to stay at each booth and learn about the country. There was important information shared by the teachers, crafts to do, and food to eat.
After the country tour was the jeopardy game. Questions were asked to each group to test how well they remembered the things that were shared earlier. It was really fun to hear the students help each other think of the correct answers.
The event ended with a surprise thank you program for the teachers prepared by Teacher Eunice. It was indeed one great afternoon at CCHS!
Habitat Turnover
Habitat Turnover 60 homes for our workers were turned over to the homeowners on October 2 7 in an emotional ceremony in Talisay, Cebu. After many delays this project was completed and our workers will soon be moving into their new homes. All of these workers will be owning a home for the first time, a dreams that would have gone unfulfilled if not for Habitat for Humanity and Paul Reasoner, who led the fundraising.