Staff Blog

When children are admitted to CSC they almost always start their time with us in the infirmary. Most of them have parasites or need to be checked for tuberculosis. For some of the kids it isn't a lot of fun to be stuck in isolation when the kids are playing down on the playground. They are happy when the day comes that they can go down the steps and move into their new residence.

The other day our new sibling group of four made that move. Chosar, Marie, Charls Kyle and Stone had been in isolation for just a few days but were very anxious to say goodbye to the nursing staff and head for the Cherne Home. So when the time came they grabbed their stuff and headed out. Even though Stone, the youngest, was still asleep, the older three could not wait. Friends and aunties were waiting to greet them. Toys and Barbie dolls were also waiting. It was a grand day, and Auntie Tammy captured it on video.

I was going through some pictures the other day and I found these shots that were taken at the CCHS graduation last week. Although this is not the first blog post about graduation, I thought these pictures of our little ones at the graduation ceremony were still share-worthy. :) What a fun day!

McDonald's, a cup of coffee, and a plastic chair.

Those are a few of the things that you would have seen if you were watching the CSC banquet on the other side of the world.

Some staff here in Cebu got up early on Sunday morning to watch the banquet via Skype. We all met at 7:30AM in the school library (hence the plastic chair), Tammy was kind enough to order McDonald's (yes, McDonald's delivers in the Philippines), and I had brought with a fresh mug of coffee from home. Needless to say, it was a really different experience compared to the CSC banquets that I attended while in Minnesota.

After the videos were played, the speeches made, and the donations collected, Lindsay and I headed down to the shelter to play with the kids for a little bit.

I was incredibly moved by experiencing these two things back-to-back. On one side of the world there were people learning about, praying for, and sacrificially supporting these precious children. On the other side of the world, these same children played with kites, laughed with their friends, and slept safely in their cribs.

Today, in a way that I've never been able to before, I saw how incredible connected these two places are.

This past weekend was banquet weekend for CSC. We here in Cebu, the staff and children, were very much invested in all of this. We made a couple of videos for the events, a silly dance type video for the adoptive families party on Friday night, and a parade video for the banquet. It was a lot of work and everyone joined in and did a great job. I couldn't believe how hard the kids worked in extreme heat to do the parade video, and how they didn't complain or lose interest in the project.

We care a lot about the events and efforts that are extended to raise funds and promote this ministry. We are happy to pitch in and do our part, and to pray for those who work hard to be able to send money here to purchase food and medicine, and to pay the salaries of our workers. The children understand what it takes for them to be able to live at CSC. It takes lots of generous people and those to tell them about CSC.

I wish you could hear the children pray at night, always including our supporters. They pray blessings on each of you and your families. We are invested in all that goes on at CSC, for we are the benefiaries of your kindness. I hope the people who viewed the videos enjoyed them as much as we did making them. Here are a few pictures of the kids, captured from those videos. They aren't very clear because they aren't actual photographs but screen grabs. But I thought you might enjoy them anyway.

Tonight Bjork and I had the honor of taking my student and her two siblings on an outing. I had promised each of my students that I would take them on an individual date, and this student wanted to share her date with her siblings. So off the mall we went!

We walked around, ate hamburgers and French fries, and played arcade games. There was so much laughter you wouldn't even believe it. These kids all have such a great sense of humor!

When we headed into the arcade, the girls immediately gravitated towards the game where you try to hit the jackpot as the light circles around on the board. They tried and tried, and tried, and tried some more. But they could not get that jackpot. I was starting to silently pray that they wouldn't be too disappointed if we had to leave without them ever getting the jackpot.

Finally, with the jackpot number well above 100 tickets (big time), she did it! She hit the jackpot! There was screaming, high fiving, jumping, and squealing. I tried to capture a little bit of the excitement as the tickets started pouring out of the machine.

As we drove home tonight, I couldn't help but feel like it was me who won the jackpot. To be able to spend time with such happy, fun-loving, and smart kids on a daily basis is such a privilege and a joy. Tonight it's hard to think of anything that could be more jackpot than that. :)