Staff Blog
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.
A Special Friend
You guys all know Wilmar. You see him playing basketball, riding a bike, holding a toy lion, crocodile or a dinosaur or you see him just sitting and singing a song or two. Wilmar receives a lot of support at the school and shelter.
At school, Wilmar has three different teachers and one physical therapist. Yup, we make sure these kids get what they need. So yeah, Wilmar has teachers supporting him, but what about a friend? Who plays with him at the shelter? Who helps him line up? Who holds his hand during school programs?
Well, there is one special friend and classmate who assists Wilmar in all of these. This girl sang a duet with Wilmar in the last music recital. She holds Wilmar’s hand when going up and down to the stage; she walks with him to the next class and works on classroom activities with him. Even her classmates know who Wilmar should sit with. And she is very happy to do all of this. No complaints.
This girl is also close to the rest of the special needs kids/adults in her house. She sees them as equal. She has a big heart for them. Now, that’s one special friend!
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Sportsfest 2016
Sportsfest 2016 is officially over. A great day of fun, athleticism, and sportsmanship was had by all! The day started off with a parade,cheers from each team, reciting of the sportsmanship pledge and the lighting of the torch. Then the games began!
Enjoy some fun photos of the day! 
The Torch
Getting Ready
Hula Hoop
Sack Race
Hurdles
The Aqua Blue Team
The Green Team
The Royal Blue Team
The Gray Team
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Yesterday and today
I have been finishing up my book on the history of CSC. It has been a great experience to look back on the earlier years of the ministry and see how many times God has seen us through difficulties and helped us meet challenges. We have faced financial hardships, political uncertainties, sickness, natural disasters, death and a fire. And one year we faced all of these. Except the fire.
1990 was quite a year for CSC. Our board had approved a budget that was significantly more than the previous year. But income was down significantly and our reserves were being depleted. What's more, CSC's Executive Director had to resign for health reasons. There were lots of political uncertainties in the country. Many of our children were sick and one, little Sonny Boy, died after a 72 hour battle in the ICU. Three of our staff were on furlough during the year, leaving us short-handed in Cebu. And, in November we got hit by super typhoon Ruping which cause lots of damage in Cebu, though nothing major at CSC. We were inconvenienced by power outage and lack of sufficient water.
Not a great year. But one where we learned a lot about God's sustaining power, his heart, and our ability, with his help, to withstand lots of challenges. We also learned a lot about CSC's supporters, and how they rally around us during difficult times. People stepped up, pitched in with the fund raising, gave sacrificially, prayed for us and help pull us through 1990. And every year since.
Some of you have been around CSC since 1990. If so, thanks for then and for now. If you were a part of our stupendous December giving rally in 2015, or have been praying for CSC or our family, BIG thanks. We have needed you so much. We take on the challenges of today and in the future because of what you have meant to us in the past. Bless you all.
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Playing with Dominoes in Science Class
If you walked by our science class on any given day, it might resemble play time. In fact, we are having so much fun, things are falling over fast! One of the science classes recently finished a unit on speed. They learned how distance, time, and speed are related. To further illustrate this relationship, they had the opportunity to play with dominoes. The class was divided into two teams. The teams had to line up 25 dominoes that were equally spaced in such a way that their dominoes would fall faster than the other team. This led to a lot of discussion about concepts related to speed, and we had fun in the process!
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A Wonderful Surprise!
Happy New Year!
God is GREAT! He has been so faithful to Cebu Children of Hope School during the past year. His protection and provision were so evident in the lives of each one of us at school. A number of kids were given forever families and are now starting new chapters in their lives in new families, homes, and schools.
This year already God has given us a wonderful surprise at school. Seven lovable students joined classes after the Christmas break, three preschoolers and four elementary students. Their coming has made the school merrier because each one of them is a bundle of joy. They are gifts from God that enrich everyone’s lives at school.
New Preschoolers
New Elementary students
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