Heart, a new girl, came to the shelter the other day and I was immediately struck by her name. It’s different. And it seems like there might be a story behind the name. I wonder what it is.
There is often a reason behind why a name is chosen for a child. Maybe you know the story behind your name. Sometimes parents just liked the name. Sometimes it was chosen to remember a family member or carry on a tradition. Other times a name is picked for its meaning.
Of course, most of the kids at CSC have names already when they arrive at the shelter. The variety of the names is kind of fascinating. There are plenty of “normal” names like Grace, Cris, Mark, Carlo, Hannah, Raphael, and Juliet. There are also names that are a bit more unusual or less common like Chosar, Trexie, Jemarie, and Lerma. Many families in the Philippines seem to like to name children using alliteration, so there have been lots of sibling groups with names all starting with the same first letter like seven kids with all “M” names, six kids with all “J” names. Then there is the fairly common practice of naming twins with the same or very similar first names and different second names like Nina Kylie and Nina Kaye or Marky and Marty with the accent on the second syllable.
Some of the babies are named after arriving at the shelter because they do not have a name yet. Sometimes, if a child has been abandoned, we do not know the full name and are unsuccessful in finding out the child’s name. Princess Apple got her name because she was found on a boat bearing that name. One little boy knew his first name, but not his last name and efforts to find out proved unsuccessful, so he was given the last name of Maxilom for the street where he was found. One girl told me she liked her name a lot because it was a combination of her birth parents’ first names.
Names have stories behind them, reasons why a name was chosen for a child. Our names make us unique. I wonder what the story is behind Heart’s name.
Cooks Return to the Kitchen
Over the past three months, the afternoon cooks in both Cherne and Duterte homes have been recovering from surgery. Auntie Mayflor and Auntie Sonia each had an operation which required lots of rest and recovery. In their absence, other child care workers jumped in to cover the afternoon cook duties. Of course no meals were missed and tasty food was always on the tables.
Last week Auntie Sonia returned to work!
This week Auntie Mayflor also returned to work! It is good to have them back in their respective kitchens.
As Auntie Mayflor enter the shelter gate the children from the Cherne home were walking up to school. When they saw Auntie Mayflor, the line they were walking in suddenly morphed into a mob. The children ran shouting “Auntie Mayflor!” racing to hug her.
The aunties’ impact in the lives was on full display in the moment of Auntie Mayflor’s welcome back from the children.
Keep the all CSC employees in your prayers. They do everything for the children and their good health is essential.
Confessions of a Messy Eater
I like to eat.
I nibble on my feet.
I pray before I eat.
I don’t know how to feed myself yet,
So I depend on my auntie’s hand.
I open my mouth wide
And welcome my tasty food.
Blended, pureed, squashed,
Smashed and crushed.
The way I like it.
The way I want it.
I don’t usually look like this,
I know.
There’s something on my face.
I know food goes to my mouth,
Not on my cheeks or forehead or ears.
What’s the use of a bib
If I eat like this?
At the end of my meal time,
Burp says this tummy of mine.
Aah…
What a treat!
Volcanoes, Mountains, and Valleys
For the past few weeks, the preschool class has been learning about landforms. They now know how to identify mountains, valleys, hills, volcanoes, isthmuses, and islands.
They even sang a song during their morning meeting about landforms!
They topped off the unit by making their own models using play dough. Fun stuff!
He is risen, He is risen indeed!
It is Holy Week. This week is a meaningful time for Christians everywhere. In the Philippines, most stores and restaurants are closed on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and schools are not in session on those days either. Therefore, our school, Cebu Children of Hope, held it's Easter celebration on Wednesday. The event started with a reading of Scripture - recounting the events of Jesus' last days on Earth. Then there were games, crafts and praise and worship.
I was moved during the praise and worship, and as you can see below, I was not the only one! How blessed are we to be children of the Most High God! That He, being without blemish, laid His life down for ours when we needed it most, but were also the most undeserving.
May you and your families be blessed this Easter and remember God's goodness and Jesus' sacrifice.
Praise the Lord! He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Have Fun with Math and Science!
Science and Math Day is always fun for everyone at CCHS. It is a whole day affair full of interesting activities.
Recently, everyone had a lot of fun during the science and math culminating activity. In the morning, there was a math quiz bowl with the students grouped into teams. The students took turns answering math questions categorized by levels of difficulty: easy, average, and difficult. It was so cool to see the students think and analyze.
The afternoon events focused on topics the students had been learning about in their science classes. Different presentations were given by each of the science classes. The highlight was the demonstration from the Group 4 class about static electricity. Examples of static electricity were shown using balloons. The students were amazed with what they saw and discovered. It was super fun for everyone!