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.
Books! Books! Books!
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Dr. Seuss
Kind, generous people send all sorts of needed things to the shelter and school. Earlier in the summer a couple of boxes arrived with an assortment of clothes, toiletries, shoes, toys, books and more. BOOKS! We’re always happy to get books at school. We were curious as to who sent the books since we had not been expecting lots of books. We were told that, once again, a wonderful friend who is a media specialist in a school had “secretly” given the books.
The kids noticed the books up high on a shelf right away when they came for library and asked if they could check them out. Since the books needed to be entered into the library system and the usual person who does that work was on maternity leave, the kids have had to wait a bit to check out the new books. Well, the books are ready now! Thank you for giving these beautiful books. We are so blessed to have tons and tons of books.
“There is more treasure in BOOKS than in all the PIRATES’ LOOT on Treasure Island.” Walt Disney
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Saying Goodbye
Hellos and goodbyes are rather routine at CSC. We welcome new kids into our homes, and then serve them in a variety of ways including teaching, playing, sitting, poking at bugs, listening, hugging, healing, caring, and many other things. Eventually, we have to stop and say farewell to these kids. This is one of those bittersweet pieces of serving at CSC. I don't like saying goodbye because these are kids I've grown to know and love. And yet, I am grateful to know God has answered prayers by providing a family, in his perfect timing and way. Sometimes it takes a lot longer than we would hope or expect, but God does a lot in the lives of the kids and families during this time. It's a season of preparation and patience.
But here we are, reaching a time soon when we will say farewell to a sibling group of 3, after years of waiting. These are the same kids I took to Manila back in January. I've also had the opportunity to facilitate their Skype phone calls with their adoptive family, and teach them American Studies. As a result, I've gotten to know them well. In the midst of it all, I know that God has ordained them to continue on their way to the next chapter of their lives. I've been able to witness growth and change in the lives of these 3 young kids and I know they will be a blessing to their adoptive parents and the community where they will live. While they will certainly be missed around CSC, I know they will be loved and cared for by capable and loving parents. I have been able to witness the bond the children have with their adoptive family over Skype and I am eager to see them fit together as a family, in the unique ways God has prepared for them. So while the goodbye may be challenging in the short term, the long term trust and knowledge that God has prepared them for a new life in a different country is what brings comfort and excitement. I know God will continue to work in this family and use both the parents and the children to bring honor and glory to himself.
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Hanging out on the Basketball Court
Most of my day is spent working in the office doing HR
responsibilities. At the end of the day I look forward to going to the
shelter and hanging out with the kids. One of my favorite things to play with them is basketball. Basketball is popular at CSC and you can always find someone playing on the
basketball court. I enjoy getting to know the kids through shooting
baskets, playing one on one, or a team game. Basketball is always fun at CSC. It’s a great way to end my day!
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A Solution
Teacher Cris’ class was working on ordering numbers in math class recently. She had taken her students through the steps of comparing two three-digit numbers to figure out which one was the least and which one was the greatest. They had worked on the skill together using many different number pairs.
Then when it came to independent practice, things got a bit
more confusing. Right away one student
piped up and said, “The numbers are different!”
Teacher Cris reassured the student that the process was the same even if
the numbers had changed. She said, “Look
at the numbers in the hundreds place value and see if they are the same or
different.” And so on.
When Teacher Cris looked up next, the same student was clutching his paper to his chest, walking around the room and singing the worship song 10,000 Reasons:
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship His holy name.
He went back to his seat and continued to work on his math as he sang. Teacher Cris was humbled by her student’s response to his problem. What a sweet reminder to call on God when we need help.
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Continuing the Commitment
The past week was a little intense for our inspirational speaker. If you remember, last year Jacob had his launching as an inspirational speaker at Cebu Children of Hope School. He then spoke at one of the local colleges. After a long rest of not giving speeches, Jacob got booked at two different schools last week; Baptist Theological College (BTC) and Southwestern University’s (SWU) Physical and Occupational Therapy Department.
The 3rd and 4th year students and teachers of BTC lingered around after the short program. They told Jacob how blessed they were hearing his testimony. It was an awesome experience not only for Jacob but for Ginda, Joemar and Wilmar who attended the program as well.
Wilmar was asked to give a
sample of his singing voice. Without any hesitation, he stood up, grabbed the
microphone and sang “One Way.” It was amazing to see him singing with so much
confidence. Ginda and Joemar, on the
other hand, were surrounded by students and teachers talking and asking them
questions.
The 4th and 5th year students at SWU also had a lot of good questions to ask. They were interested to know what kind of physical therapy exercises Jacob receives. Some were also interested to hear more about CSC itself. Others recognized Joemar as a server at a fast food chain. Wilmar graciously sang “Let It Go” from the movie Frozen.
The therapy department at CSC continues
to do its best to pursue this endeavor—exposing our special needs kids to the
community and in turn teaching the community through this effort. Keep us in your prayers as we look for new
avenues for these special needs young adults.
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