Dear Wilmar,
Today, you will be marching as a graduate of Cebu Children of Hope School. Congratulations! What an accomplishment! I also congratulate all your teachers, past and present, for all of this would not be possible without their unconditional teaching hearts.
I also want to congratulate your house parents, Auntie Lourdes and Uncle Patrick, and the rest of the aunties at the shelter who have been a great help in your growth. A special thanks to Auntie Teoping for her amazing love; I know she will always have a special place in your heart. A game of basketball and badminton would not be the same without her.
Let me take you back nine years ago when we first met. You were such a cute peanut. You were very eager to learn, be at school and at therapy. It was never a pain working with you because you made it fun and interesting for me. Remember our games of basketball in the therapy room using the back of the ceiling fan as a basketball hoop? (Of course we used a beach ball and a not a regular ball because we didn’t want to get in trouble!) And dips in the Jacuzzi in the therapy room—why we never turned the air conditioner off is still a mystery to me! You always kept me on my toes. I was “Tin-Tin” to you then, years later I was “Checher Jinks” and then finally became “Teacher Jinkee;” one of the many examples of the progress you have made.
You have always been a performer. Not a day passes by when we do not hear you sing. I am still in awe of how easily you pick up a song after hearing it only once. You have always shared your silly antics at parties and programs at school and the shelter. I will never forget your dance moves. And you never fail to make us laugh.
You have made good friends over the years. Friends who are also classmates, helpers and buddies. Although they sometimes complain about the “noise” you make, there is always a hand holding and guiding you in school activities and programs. That to me is an amazing bond of friendship.
As you march today, let every step you take up to the stage be a representation of your progress and growth, your teachers and therapists, your aunties and uncles, and the staff and friends who have supported you all these years.
I might not be able to hold back my tears—which by the way is very hard to do while writing this—but know that I am very proud of you. I, together with the rest of the people at CSC, will be here to support you in the next stage of your life.
Remember what our friend Dory said? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim, swim.
Your Friend,
Teacher Jinkee
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!