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Christmas is a pretty big deal in the Philippines, yes, you might argue that it is a big deal to many other places as well, but it is only in this country where you start hearing Christmas music in September!!  :)  

Similarly, Christmas at CSC is a big deal.  There are many events and traditions held.  It is an important value at CSC that this very significant holiday is celebrated well and that it's true meaning is highlighted, amongst the glitz and glamour of the presents and beautifully lighted Christmas trees.  

Of course there is quite a bit of planning that happens even before December, but the break-neck pace of non-stop Christmas parties, dinners, programs, and other such events begins around the middle of the month.

Below you will see pictures taken during the hair/make-up/all other kind of prep done before Cebu Children of Hope School's annual Christmas program.  This year, the main feature was a play called Hotel Bethlehem, a modern spin put on the Christmas story.  It was a huge success!  The children put their hearts into it.  And the countless hours invested by the teachers (rehearsing lines, making the set, working on the sound equipment and many other tasks) could be seen in that night's polished production!

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A beloved tradition at CSC is the annual Progressive Dinner.  The children travel to the homes of the missionary staff to enjoy some food and to hear and see different parts of the Christmas story acted out.  After the groups have made it to each home and are quite busog (full) they head back home and the missionary staff follow and everyone enjoys eating cinnamon rolls in the shape of a Christmas tree!  It is a great night of fun and food, but the true meaning of Christmas---Jesus' birth is shared in a memorable way as well!

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Another really special event during this time of year is called Junel's Box.  It is a great opportunity for our kids, who once had nothing, to give to others.  Every year, our social workers find a family in the community in need of assistance.  We share information about this family to our kids and give them the opportunity to give money from their bank (they receive an allowance each week for completing their chores).  That money is then used to buy the things the family needs, such as food, house needs, building equipment, clothes, etc.  And their generosity astounds---it happens frequently that a child will give all of the money in their bank, without hesitation.  Below you will see pictures from the day we delivered all of those goods.  The family was so grateful and our kids were able to help others, to give to others, when so many of them had once been on the other side of need.

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People that know about CSC often want to bless our kids around the holidays and this year was no different!  Marriott Hotel contacted CSC to say that they wanted to throw a Christmas party for our 7-10 year olds.  We were so excited!  Marriott came and picked up 28 of our kids and a handful of our adults and treated them to an afternoon of storytelling, Christmas cookie decorating (and eating!), balloon popping, snacks, present opening and eating (I say it so many times because it was a frequent activity!)

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And on Christmas Eve night, Santa came to the Philippines!  There are many new children at CSC at this time and for them, this was the first Christmas experience they had ever had.  Several were a bit wary of Santa, but with gift in hand he seemed to be an okay guy.  It was such a blessing to see the ecstatic smiles of those getting their first Christmas gift---but for those not new to CSC---well, they were still extremely excited as well.  A Christmas like this is only made possible by those of you who give, so I just want to say a special thank you for your generosity! 

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Christmas day is not complete at CSC without the formal Christmas dinner.  The missionary staff, the house parents and all of the children enjoy a nice meal outside together!  The food is good, the tables are decorated beautifully, the children get all dressed up and the meal is finished with Christmas cookies for dessert!  This year, after the meal, everyone went to the school to participate in a unique telling of the Christmas story, interspersed with the singing of hymns.  After that came a time of prayer.  As you will see in the pictures, not all of the little ones made it through the whole event!

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!  CSC has been blessed this year and we trust that God will continue to provide for this ministry and these children.  Thank you for reading about the many Christmas traditions at CSC.  What is your favorite Christmas tradition in your family?

 

Fun Activities

May. 13, 2015By: Ruth Ohlendorf

DSCN3853Every year CSC children, 10-year-old and above, look forward to summer activities. Summer activities schedule is in the month of May. This year before January was over, the children approached me with a list of activities they want to be in. I tell them to wait in February. I will have the list of names of the kids who will be in the summer activities. In the list they could also put down 3 activities they preferred by numbering them 1 to 3.  Kids were so excited. They continued to ask what activities were available to them. “Is there basketball?” Is there baseball?” “What about music?” “Will we have the same teacher for music as last year?” “Is swimming every day?” “Is it okay to have two activities to enroll in?” Even the 9-year-olds and below were curious to know when summer activities would be. The questions were usually “Is May after graduation?” “Is it far away?” “When will it start?” 

DSCN3864DSCN3867After the lists were out to the homes, the next questions asked were “Who is in basketball or soccer or music or etc.?” Another one was “May I change my activity?” “I like that activity, why is it not in the list?” “I would like to be with so-and-so, may I transfer to that one?” When confusion, agreements and activities were in place, thirty-six children were enrolled in various activities this year. There are 3 in soccer, 8 in basketball, 1 in table tennis, 7 in cooking, 9 in music, 1 in badminton, and 7 in swimming. 

The other day, I was the watcher for basketball. Early in the morning while I was up putting my bags at the child care office, one of the girls asked if we could leave earlier than the time we were to leave. When asked why, she said they did not want to be late. Their coach made them do push-ups according to how many minutes they were late. So we did and we made it! 

It was the first time I was watcher for basketball this year. I was pleasantly surprised at what happened before lessons were started. The head coach told the kids who were there to sit down, bow their heads and he prayed for them and for the morning ahead.DSCN3898 After praying, he proceeded to talk to the kids about discipline, practice and preparing for things in the future. He told them Noah did not start building the ark when it started to rain. Noah was ready with the ark and he was safe, together with his family, when the rains came. He finished his talk and encouragement to the kids by telling them to always practice what they learned, to be prepared, to do everything they could to come early to basketball lessons. When they do that, the lessons they learned will help them face difficulties, or trials that would come to them later on. He reminded them not to forget God will always be there to help them if they ask.

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A time for laughter

May. 10, 2015By: Grace Anderson

It has now officially been summer time at CSC for a few weeks now. Today marks the start of the second week of summer activities. I have had the privilige of being directly involved in activities this year, as I volunteered to be the cooking class teacher.  There are 7 children in my class, 6 girls and one boy, all under 12! It is an energetic bunch to say the least! We meet 3 times a week, with a different cooking theme each week. Last week, we learned all about cake. On monday, the children spend time in the library on the school computers, looking up different kinds of cakes and their recipes.  They each were to choose three favorites, and share them with the group. We then examined different aspects of cake making through videos (which of course they love!). The day was concluded by a fresh-made snack; on Monday it was carmel popcorn! On Wednesday we met again, and prepared to go grocery shoppping. The kids each had their own assignment for what to find at the store, which was exciting for them. On Friday, all of our hard work culminated into our baking experience. Last week, our recipe was a layered rainbow cake. It took about three hours of hard work and fun, and the product was quite incredible. Don't you agree? 

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Also this summer, I have been able to have small groups of the teenage girls over for overnights at my apartment. The girls are always super excited to find out who is next to sleep over. The evening begins with a shopping trip at a local grocery store. We purchace all the ingredients for dinner and snack that evening. Once we arrive at my apartment, the girls are in charge of making dinner. The last few times, the girls have decided on sloppy joes - an unfamiliar dish for all of them! Once dinner is over we do a variety of activities, ranging from: zumba, painting nails, watching youtube videos, and singing. We close the evening by watching two movies, projected on the wall, and having a snack. The girls are especially excited because they get to stay up late! When they get up in the morning, they are treated to chocolate chip pancakes before packing up and heading back to the shelter.   

The kids at CSC are having a blast this summer, and can't wait to start each new day to see what it will bring. Please continue to pray for the safety and health of our kids as they go about their summer activities.

But, I Can Pray

May. 6, 2015By: Matt Buley

Sometimes there are things going on in Cebu that make our team there feel too far away from me in the US. It could be a difficult decision, a weighty situation with a child or an important event in the life of one of our team members. Leading an organization in which most of the team and the work are regularly 9,000 miles away has its challenges...but this unusual arrangment has taught me over and over again the powerful role of prayer.

There have been times I've said, "I wish there was more I could do than pray." It's a statement that feels a little strange, but I know why it slips out of my mouth. I'd like to be there to lift a load, hold a hand or make the decision in the moment, but there's only so much I can do from the other side of the International Date Line. At some point, I have to leave things in the capable hands of our Cebu leaders.

I feel the same way when I'm in Cebu and something comes up with my family back home. At some point, there's only so much I can offer via email, Skype or text and I need to leave things in the capable hands of my wife.

It's a disarming feeling on either side of the ocean. I want to be able to take charge and make things better. It's a little delusion I live with...control. Ever struggled with that?

Thanks be to God it is his hands that ultimately hold CSC. He has breathed life into this place, and he offers us the opportunity to breathe a prayer into the day, situation and children he has given us. Feel free to breathe those prayers any time you think of us!

Oh, and if you'd like to pray more intentionaly for CSC we'd love to have you join our FrontLine prayer team. You can sign up here:)

Teamwork

May. 4, 2015By: Jinkee Reasoner

There are different departments at CSC:  Child Care, Counseling, Office, Medical, School, Therapy, and Maintenance.

Some of the departments do not interact with the kids on a daily basis.  They are either dealing with paperwork or fixing a broken light bulb.  Their work is as important as an auntie cooking a meal for the kids.  The children are blessed no matter what a person’s job is because they are surrounded with gifted individuals who provide care to them in so many ways.

When you think of a physical therapist, an engineer and a housefather, it might seem like an odd mixture for a team, but not at CSC.  Odd is beautiful.  Recently, these three joined together to help one of the toddlers.  The toddler is developmentally delayed and he receives more care than others because of his needs. 

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We do not always have the correct or needed equipment around the shelter, so we make do or figure out a way to make what we need and we try to do that well.  With lots of brainstorming between the physical therapist, the engineer and the housefather, they were able to create a piece of equipment that allows the toddler to cruise around the playground.

The little guy’s smile was priceless!  People watching were teary-eyed.  The proud team was also beaming with smiles.  One kid’s success is everyone’s success.  Whether you are fixing a light bulb, making a meal or just visiting CSC, the impact you have on a kid’s life is priceless.     

Canadian Friends Amaze

Apr. 30, 2015By: Paul Healy

Marlys, Jenny and I just got back from British Columbia, where we had the pleasure to attend the Canadian banquet. We have an organization in Canada that puts on a banquet and auction every Spring to raise money for the ministry of CSC. Led by a faithful board, the Cebu Christian Shelter Community for Children works hard throughout the year to promote CSC and plan their annual event.

The amazing thing about the Canadian organization is that it is entirely volunteer. As such, they can send everything that they raise to Cebu for the kids. This year's event raised about $30,000 for the ministry. I can not begin to describe how hard the board members worked to put on this evening, getting the auction items, displaying the silent auction items, decorating the church, planning the program and handling the seating. What a dedicated group of people expressing their love for the kids in Cebu through hard work and dedication.

We had such a great time attending and participating in the event, meeting with the board and fellowshiping with friends in the area. A highlight was seeing two former residents with their families.

Harry and Marlene Schmidt, who built our residences in Cebu back in 1992, were at the event, and it was such a pleasure to be able to thank them, once again, for the impact they had on our ministry. The Schmidt Family Foundation has partnered with children's ministries around the world, bringing hope to thousands of children.

Thanks you CCSCC, for your hard work and for sharing our burden for homeless children in the Philippines. What a great event you put on! Again.