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.
First Tears
Level A class has one girl
and six boys and that lone girl is a sweety. She always wears a beautiful smile every day.
But one day during the first week of school, her smile turned to a frown and she
eventually shed some tears. The reason she was crying was because she got tired
of writing her name! The class kept on encouraging her to do it, but it didn’t
help. She was then brought outside the room to calm down. After a few minutes,
she was back with her beautiful smile again.
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Basketball!
The kids like games, sports, activities and visitors. Right before school started, a visitor shared his love of basketball with the kids.
Every morning for a week, the driveway was full of bouncing balls and kids learning new skills in basketball. Dribbling, passing, shooting, and rebounding were the focus, of course.
Basketball is not a new game at all in the Philippines, but all kids need to start learning at some point. This past week was the time for some of the CSC kids to learn a bit.
Some terms that are used in basketball vary from one side of the Pacific Ocean to the other. In the US, a made shot which hits only the net, not touching the rim or backboard, is called a “swish.” In the Philippines, that shot is called “ringless.”
Different cultures’ coming together always opens doors to learning new things, from new terms to different approaches to a game.
Check out the video of the basketball fun.
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Twin Babies Arrive
Today was fun at the shelter. Twin babies arrived!
The little boy and girl were born at Glory Reborn maternity clinic. So many loving hands and hearts have already cradled these precious children in their few short days. CSC is excited to continue the loving care which Glory Reborn started.
As the twins came in the gates of CSC, aunties from all the houses were buzzing, “Are those the new twin babies?” Hundreds of babies have received loving care at CSC and still the arrival of two more babies is an exciting event.
The little twins are settling into the Eicher nursery. The other toddlers are peeking into their crib. In the evening, the older children in Cherne home crowded around a camera to see a picture of the two new children.
The love and care for the new twins will come from everyone—toddlers to adults.
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When is snack time?
School opening is one of the most exciting events of the school year after weeks of summer vacation. Teachers and students have been waiting for this day to come.
For the teachers, this day marks the new adventure they will have with their students. On day one the teachers try to present the new school year with enthusiasm and anticipation that the students will learn their lessons in school.
For the students this day will be the confirmation of who they think their teachers are and their classmates in the morning and afternoon sessions. For the younger students it’s time to remember where they are going and figure out what comes next.
Here is an experience of one of our students:
At 9:30 the bell rang when it was snack time. All of the students were in the snack room to eat their snack. A new student asked for more snacks, but the teacher explained to him that one helping of snack was enough. So the student went to math class. The next time the bell rang for the start of math class, the new student asked, “Are we eating snack again?” He'll get the hang of it and figure out there is only one snack time in the morning.
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The Five Dollar Bill
A cool thing happened the other day. I was unpacking a box of math workbooks Tammy Vosika had brought over to Cebu. I had actually packed the box of books myself in Minnesota and taped it up, ready to go, and dropped it off at Tammy’s house. In Cebu as I unzipped the travel bag around the box, I noticed the tape was gone from the box. That was not surprising as boxes are often inspected at some point during the travel route. As I was taking the books out of the box, there was a five dollar bill taped to one of the books! I was a bit surprised and wondered out loud if Tammy had taped the money in between the books just to see if the inspection guys were honest. Tammy came around a bit later and I asked her about the money. She said she had not put any money in the box! So that meant an inspector at one of the airports, most likely Minneapolis or Chicago, had taped the five dollars to the box, contributing to the shelter and school. Maybe that person read the name of the orphanage on the outside of the travel bag. Maybe he had a connection to the Philippines. We’ll never know, but what a sweet and powerful reminder of God’s work. Thank you to that anonymous donor!
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