Staff Blog
God's grace shows itself to me in many ways. Some are glorious and some are not. 
By the grace of God, for instance, I have enough to eat, a good place to live, money for my diabetes medications and meaningful work that provides many emotional, material and spiritual blessings. But just 0utside my office are children who go to sleep hungry, who wake up with nobody to say "good morning," and with only bleak prospects for having their basic needs met. This noon I drove to McDonalds for a late lunch and was heading back to the office to eat. At the stoplight a little boy approached my car, tapped on my window and held out a deformed hand to ask for money. He motioned to his stomach to indicate that he was hungry. In his eyes was a hunger that went beyond his need for something to eat to indicate a hopelessness at life in general. But he doesn't have the luxury of looking at his life reflectively. He was hungry, and was looking at the food that I had purchased at the drive through that was on the seat next to me, food that I could easily do without. I gave him a handful of fries and drove off. On other occasions I might have just shook my head and not given him anything. Nutritionists might say that he was better off with nothing than a greasy fry, I don't know. But as I drove away my mind came up with many questions that I have considered often in my 38 years in Cebu, questions that don't really have answers but weigh heavily on my heart on occasions such as this.
- Why does this little guy have nothing and I have everything? Is there a single thing about how I have lived my life that qualifies me for advantage? Has this little guy done anything wrong to deserve a withered arm and a hungry tummy?
- Why didn't I just give him my whole lunch instead of a few paltry fries? By suppertime I would be dining on a good meal and he would be hungry again. Likely, I just wanted him to go away from my car.
- What does he think about me and what I represent?
- If he ever does look to the future, does he have a shred of hope that things will get better for him? With little or no positive family or other adult influence, with no access to health care or decent education, and with daily exposure to the many dangers from living on the street, is there any chance whatsoever that he will? What will be different for him, his eventual children and theirs?
- What is life like without hope? Can I even begin to understand that?
The disparities of life in a country like the Philippines are hard to grasp. Living here provides graphic proof that God's grace has nothing to do with merit. Not a thing. That kid deserves a break much more than I ever do or will. All I can do, perhaps, is to think about why God called me to live much of my life here and not in the country of my birth. Some people think that, in choosing to live here, I forsook the luxuries of life for the difficulties of the third world. But I live in the lap of luxury here, too. I just have to pay an emotional price for doing so as I come face to face with people who struggle just to stay alive.
I've been dealing with these same questions for 38 years! At CSC we have been able to help lots of little guys like the one I saw today. We have taken in the hungry, the lame, the disfigured, the homeless. We have dispensed food, medicine, knowledge, even hope. But we aren't helping this little guy at all. Except for a fistfull of fries. Of course we can't help everyone, I know that. But that knowledge doesn't remove his image from my mind or, on the other hand, make his life one ounce better.
I pray for wisdom, to accept the things that I cannot change, to be an agent of positive change where I can, and to know the difference, even though knowing that difference does not provide emotional relief from the confrontations with hopelessness that are a part of life in a place like this. I guess the best way to accomplish the dictates of the above-cited Serenity Prayer is to focus on the things that I can change, not on what I cannot. On the tree, not the forest. But I'm very sure that there are things that I can change if I open my mind to them, to see people not as an inconvenience but an opportunity. Maybe I can use some of the incomprehensible advantages that have been bestowed on me to offer some measure of relief and, maybe, even hope to people like the little boy who I cannot get out of my head.
Guardians of the Environment
In Civics class we have been talking about appreciating the different beautiful sceneries in the Philippines and being proud of them. Now my 2nd grade class is focusing on us, humans, as being the "Guardians of the Environment". Here are some of their ideas why humans are called the guardians of the environment.
Student 1: It's because we are capable of taking good care of them.
Student 2: Example teacher - the plants. They can't water themselves when God won't send rain. They'll suffer.
Student 3: And also the other animals. They'll suffer, too, if we will not take care of our environment. They need us to watch over them.
As the discussion went on I noticed that one of the students stayed quiet. He didn't raise his hands to share so I caught his attention and asked him to share his thoughts with us. He didn't answer right away but I knew he had something to share. Here's what he said:
Student 4: Since plants and animals will suffer if we don't take care of them, won't we suffer even more? We need to take care of the environment because God put us in charge of His beautiful creation.
The rest of the students agreed with what he said. I was speechless for a few seconds, asking myself how this very young learner thought as an adult. The lesson ended well and, as an application, we made a plan for how we could take better care of our school and the shelter.
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Exploring Connects To Learning
Having fun while learning feels like playing a game. – N.N. Porchezhiyan
We did many fun activities in class this past month. The highlights of the activities were done during our Math and English Language Arts (ELA) classes. Our Math lesson was about comparing and ordering objects by weight. I instructed my students to look for three objects inside the classroom. To my surprise, one of my students was shaking with excitement and told me that he was waiting for this activity and to use the balance scale. Since one of our goals at CCHS is to have students be more independent I prepared the balance scale, instructed them on what to do and they did the rest. The result was priceless! Smiles were on their faces as they completed their tasks with only minor mistakes.
During our ELA class my students learned about the plant life cycle. To make it more fun and realistic we conducted an investigation about how plants reproduce. They planted two types of plants: a plant that grows from a seed and a plant that grows from a bulb. The weather was not ideal that day and it was raining. My students were worried and thought that we might not continue with our planting. The excitement rose when I announced that we would still do the activity.
Learning can't just be found in the four walls of the classroom. Learning is not just with a paper and a pencil. Learning is about exploring!
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Sportsfest 2020
Every January at CCHS we have Sportsfest, a fun day of track and field events. The students sign up for their favorite events and all of CSC (including the toddlers and babies) gather to cheer them on!
Here are some reactions my Kindergarten class shared about Sportsfest.
Question: What was your favorite event during Sportsfest?
Kid 1: limbo
Kid 2: distance running
Kid 3: jumping rope and the 3-legged race
Kid 4: tug-of-war
Kid 5: sack race and egg toss
Question: Why did you like Sportsfest?
Kid 1: There are lots of games
Kid 2: I can play and have fun with my friends
Kid 3: We get medals as prizes
Kid 4: I can run and race with my friends
Kid 5: I can cheer for my teammates
Being a part of Sportsfest impacts our kids in many powerful, intangible ways.
* It improves their self-esteem and self confidence
* It helps them grow both as a leader and as a team member
* They learn to cooperate
* It helps them handle the ups and downs of competition
Thank you for supporting this ministry so kids can experience the joy of working together as a team as well as being cheered for as they try their best!
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Soup for Everyone
Preschool activities are always fun and exciting. Every week we have a different theme for our lessons.
Last week the focus was on vegetables and fruits. One of the activities we did was making vegetable soup and every preschooler helped prepare it! After learning more about vegetables the students, divided into pairs, were given different tasks. Some preschool pairs peeled a squash while other pairs plucked the leaves of a alugbati.
The students loved putting the vegetables in the big pot and watching it cook. Finally it was ready to eat! Every student got to have a piece of each vegetable in their bowl.
The eating time was so exciting for all of them except for one boy who didn't like the soup at all. Most of the preschoolers, surprisingly, asked for more. After the class I overheard one of the students say, "I really like the soup."
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Love and Action
So much goes on every day at CSC and CCHS. Kids are comforted when they are scared or sad. Kids are fed (no small task when that means preparing over 200 meals a day). Kids are educated and encouraged to persevere when the lessons are challenging. And so much more!
Of all the things we do at CSC, what is our highest priority?
For the past month at CCHS we have been preparing for our biggest event of the year, our Christmas play. The teachers have been spending a lot of extra time to prepare the set, figure out the choreography, and help the students memorize their lines. The students have been practicing the 12 songs they have to memorize as well as the actions. Many hours have gone into preparing for this event. Why?
Our highest priority at CSC is for the kids in our care to learn about God, who they can tangibly see through our actions. 1 Corinthians 13 talks about how love needs to be the driving force for all we do or our efforts will be ineffective. James 1:27 directs this love, especially, to vulnerable children and adults. At the intersection of love and action is CSC.
John, a 9 year old boy who CSC recently rescued from living alone on the streets of Cebu, is part of our choir for the upcoming Christmas play. His first real glimpse of God is through the songs and message of this play. As he learns these songs about God becoming a baby because He loves us, John will experience the physical-ness of these words through the care he gets at CSC.
We are able to show God's love to these great kids because of you. Thank you for supporting this ministry so kids like John who have experienced some of the worst of life can sleep safely at night, knowing that God is always with them and tomorrow will be a great day.
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