Staff Blog
For quite some time, I tried finding ways to see someone who left Children’s Shelter of Cebu’s custody in 2007. He was ten years old when he and his older sister left CSC. It was everybody’s understanding, according to the agreement between CSC and the mother, that they would all live in the province. It was not until a while later that we heard they came back to the city. The sister was taken care of by the mother. The boy, once again, lived in the same place he had lived before he had come to CSC. It was hard knowing he would again be left on his own.
I tried following up on him through his mother and older sister. I asked many times to meet with him at the office. For years, his mother did not have nice things to say about him. The older sister, who was (and still is) under their mother’s care, seemed not to know how he was doing either. She would only say she did not know what he was up to, or she did not know how he was doing. She knew, though, that he was still living in the house near the market. It’s not that she did not care for him, she just did not want to do anything to displease her mother.
I tried for years to get him to come to the yearly outreach Christmas party. I even resorted to withholding his Christmas gift one year so he would come and get it at the office. He did not come. One year, when he was enrolled in grade four at a nearby school, I got him to come see me because I would not give him shoes if he were not the one to come get them. So, I brought him to the store and got him the shoes and socks. I even brought him back to the place he called home. That was the last time I saw him.
It has been quite some time. I thought I lost that young boy. But, God answered prayers. Early this year, I heard of a place that caters to out-of-school youth that want to better themselves. I talked, sent text messages, and visited some of CSC’s former kids whom I thought would benefit from the program. And I sent a message and talked to this boy’s mother, too. She told me she would tell him about this opportunity. And praise God, she did! I was very happy and thankful when he came to see me at the office to talk about the program and what it would mean for him.
I also could not believe it was him when he introduced himself. The negative reports from the mother had colored my perception of him. How could a drug-abusing kid look so clean cut and well-mannered as this young man seemed to be? But I was glad he finally came back. After all these years, he finally came back!
Now, this seventeen-year-old young man has been in training since the second week of May. And as part of his training, he is working part time (and earning a half-day’s wage) through the social enterprise project of the organization. He is also enrolled in the GED-like alternative school. He hopes to pass the exams to either graduate from high school or to get into the high school level. He only has a grade four education. His main goal is to become a Filipino Marine. He wants to serve his country and at the same time, help his family while doing it.
John Henry still has a long way to go. Please pray with us for him.
Thank you, Lord, for this little miracle and answered prayers.
Bible Time
"The Bible in the memory is better than the Bible in the book case." -Spurgeon
Every week students at Cebu Children of Hope School memorize Scriptures assigned by the Bible Time Coordinators. Then we meet once a month for a whole school gathering to share the verses that the students' memorize and answer the Bible Trivia questions.
Memorizing verses in a group encourages our students and holds them accountable to really do it. It is always a joy to see their excitement in saying the verses independently or with the group. The teachers play a vital role in challenging them and coaching them, making sure they have the right words. For the entire month of October they memorized Psalms 119:20-27, learning two verses each week.
Our goal is for our students to keep God's Word in their hearts and for them recall the Scriptures they have memorized, claiming God's promises. As they go through life's challenges and joys our hope is for them to learn to praise God and thank Him for His great plans. They have been through a lot before coming to Children's Shelter of Cebu. Who knows what they have been through while they are here with us and will be going through when they move on to the next chapter of their lives. It is always comforting to know that God never leaves us nor forsake us.
Join us in memorizing Scriptures and let God's Word encourage you and remind you of how great is our God. Life is an adventure with a lot of choices to make. If we are deeply rooted in His word nothing should move us away from His will.
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A Fishing We Go!
Teaching preschool learners is different from any other grade level at Cebu Children of Hope School (CCHS). There is a big difference from higher-level classrooms where you'll find profound discussions and group work to preschool's less serious, learning through play environment.
One of the lessons we had in Science was all about magnets. At our first meeting I explained to them how magnets work with the help of a flip-chart and an educational video. After, I showed them some magnets and how they attract objects that have metal.
The following day it was the time to apply what we had learned from the previous day. I gave them a checklist of objects. Together we found out if the objects were magnetic or nonmagnetic. The learners had fun doing the activity because they found out that not all objects are magnetic. Eureka!
To culminate the lesson we incorporated play into learning. The students went fishing! Yes, you read it right, "f i s h i n g." As what O. Fred Donaldson said, "Children learn as they play. More importantly, in play, children learn how to learn."
"Are you ready to go fishing?" I asked my preschoolers after we had a quick review about how magnets work and what they did yesterday.
"Yehey! We will go outside!" said one of the learners.
"Are we going to the Safari?" another learner asked.
I told them that we don't need to go outside just to do a fishing activity. "We will bring the fishing activity in the classroom!" I said and the learners giggled with excitement.
How was it done? Simple. I made an improvised fishing rod with the use of a ruler, yarn, and a magnet as a hook. And with the fish, I printed a fish template in different colors and attached a paper clip to the mouth. The science curriculum in CCHS helped me a lot in initiating the activity since it gives suggestions on how to enhance and apply the lesson in different learning areas.
At the end of the activity, Learner D caught 12 fish, Learner J and A each got 8 fish, and Learner L hooked 6 fish.
Who would have thought that learning about magnets could be amusing and insightful!
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Illness at CSC
In the past month 54 kids have been treated for respiratory 
illness. Yesterday was the first day in several weeks that we didn't need to go to the doctor, and four kids were ecstatic to finally go home after being in the infirmary here at the Shelter. The infirmary has six spacious rooms where children are monitored by our medical staff and cared for by our child care workers 24 hours a day when they are ill. There are 12 kids still isolated so we hope to send them back to the houses in a couple of days.
Thankfully, Shenly and Wilmar were discharged from the hospital and are recuperating at home, but Wilmar misses having air conditioning and his own TV!
The hospitals are full and masses are sick with the same type of illness, so we are praising God for miraculous healing, as we have never had so many sick kids at one time.
On October 3 Sam's mother gave birth in a taxi so was rushed to Cebu City Hospital, which is temporarily housed at the City Fire Department. He was exposed to many dangers in the first hours of his life. Since the mother was unable to care for her baby we took him and admitted him to the hospital we use called Cebu Doctors Hospital, where he is fighting a severe infection. Thankfully, he is drinking well, and has gained a bit of weight.
Without hesitation we bought 77 pillows yesterday for $300, knowing that our 
supporters would be thrilled to know that each of the kids has a brand new clean pillow. The kids are excited to see the huge mound of pillows piled up in the Duterte house just waiting to be passed out after school today.
Thank you so much for your concern and prayers for everyone at CSC.
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Countless Adventures
Every month and every week there are lots of great things happening at our school, the Cebu Children of Hope School. One of these great things, the Reading Challenge, has been ongoing this month. This year's theme is a quote from the author, Mary Pope Osborne, which states that "reading is a passport to countless adventures."
For this month-long activity the teachers from each grade creatively planned a goal for their students to reach as part of the Reading Challenge. All the students took the challenge seriously while at the same time still enjoyed reading. The thrilling activity lasted for almost five weeks! The most awaited part for the students was on October 11th when we had the Reading Challenge Culminating Activity. During this event the teachers announced the names of the students who reached their class goals as well as the winner from each class. The gathering was very exciting! All the students were celebrated for their hard work and encouraged to continue on "countless adventures" through reading more books. Everyone received a snack as their reward and the winner from each class also received a new book. Those students who reached their class goals got to stay after school to watch a movie.
We are blessed to have a wonderful library at CCHS, something that most schools in Cebu don't have. So many people have donated to our library through the years and our kids have greatly benefited from these excellent books. The Reading Challenge excited our students to continue to check out books every Wednesday so they can have more adventures and learn new things through a book.
Our students at CCHS love reading and it is very apparent. We, their teachers, are so proud of them and are excited for the new adventures they will go on this year!
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Cleaning and Healing
One day I was kind of overwhelmed from thinking about some of the misbehavior issues I was dealing with in my classroom. When I walked outside I found a glass bottle that was full of dirt. An idea came to my mind. I thought about how the dirt-filled bottle related to the students in my class. I realized that the bottle would not be clean if the dirt stayed inside. The same is true with my students. When they misbehave it's like they're releasing the dirt inside their hearts and minds which came from bad experiences in their childhood. After they release this, they are easier to talk with and are willing to accept help. The students misbehaved because they didn't know how to release their hurt in a more healthy way.
As a trauma-informed Christian teacher, it is important for me to guide my students in helpful ways to release their "messiness" which can hinder their development as a whole, God-created person. When we clean a filthy glass bottle we let the dirt out of it so we can refill it with clean water. My students need help in processing through and releasing the messy things that have happened to them. Their misbehavior gives me a picture of the hurt they feel inside. I always pray to God for wisdom and strength so I can help my students and I know God has a purpose for me in working with these great kids.
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