Staff Blog

Last March the National Achievement Test (NAT) for Grade 6 was administered by the Department of Education.  This is a nation-wide test given to all students in their last year of elementary school.  This was the first time we had any of our students take the national test because we had been exempt from taking it in the past.  The rules changed recently so we had two students who qualified to take the test.  To be honest, we did not have a good feeling about what the results would be because of a planning glitch in the Department of Education.  We had not been informed of the exact day the test was going to be administered, so we had to scramble the day of the test. 

The results of the test did not come out until about 6 months after they were taken.   Cris Tabra, the principal of our school, was attending a private school administrators meeting a couple of weeks ago and she noticed one attendee looking at a print out of the results of the NAT.  She started looking at the back of the list of results for private schools in Cebu City.  When Cebu Children of Hope School did not appear on the back couple of pages, she kept turning forward to the first page.  There was the name of our school third on the list!  Our students had done well enough to rank third out of 98 private schools in the city.  Wow!

The girls were excited they had done so well.  Their efforts at school paid off in a big way.  The teachers might have been even more proud and excited than the girls.  What a great encouragement for all.  As teachers we are thankful for the children's achievement.  We are also very thankful for the reading and math curriculums we use.  Both programs expose the children to a broad knowledge base and prepare them to think critically.  Thank you for being a part of Cebu Children of Hope School, praying for the students and staff as we gather each day to learn and grow. 

Our Third Place Girls!

The children have lots of good people around them.  The children look up to the aunties and uncles.

Recently, Auntie Yayang suggested an idea to a few of the girls—a cute, short haircut.  The girls liked the idea, but had one condition.  They wanted Auntie Yayang to join them in cutting their hair.  She liked the idea, and could not say no to their persistent nagging.  Auntie Yayang did the honors of cutting the girls’ hair into a cute new do.  A few days later, she fulfilled her end of the agreement and came to work with a matching short haircut.  She knew better than to leave her hair at the mercy of a bunch of young girls.

It is cute to see how an auntie and children bond over a few snips of a scissors. 

Visitors often ask what a typical day is like for those of us working at the shelter.

"Good question!," I usually respond with as I scramble for the words that can best answer that good, but complex question.  And the truth is, there isn't one!

The beauty of CSC is that it is a vibrant place with a pulse.  No day is the same as one you have had before.  We all have job descriptions, but those go out the window when a need arises that has to be addressed.  And sometimes that need was maybe never anticipated.  So, you respond, you address the need.

There are common tasks for all of us: reports we should be working on, pictures we could be organizing, and blogs we should be writing...  ;)  

But there are other tasks that can become part of your day with little notice: spending time with adoptive families or visitors, meetings (in 1 week, I could attend 15 meetings!), taking children for appointments, being on duty (when a house parent is on their day off), sleeping at the shelter when the house parents will be gone overnight, attending birthday parties, taking notes during school conferences, organizing donations, attending school programs, assessing and admitting children, and the list goes on.

Every one of these tasks is just as important as the next.  Attending a child's birthday party and praying over them as they start a new year in life is just as important as updating a report.  

Assessing children for future admittance is just as significant as meeting with the house parents to discuss the health and behavior of the current children in their home.

During assessment:

Now:

The tasks before us on any given day are largely unknown!  We can think we know what the day will look like, but God's plan for our day is usually different than ours.  And that is okay.  CSC is His ministry, He has made it what it is today and it is our job to just do what He puts before us.  And truth be told, serving at CSC and being a part of these kids' lives is truly a blessing.

Life also seems to be a bit more exciting when living in a tropical country.  Last week, during a house parent meeting, I happened to see an unusual shadow moving along the outside of our office.  It was a snake!  There were screams and excitement as we ran outside to see where it was going.  The house father we were meeting with just so happens to like snakes (Thank you, Lord!), so he was eager to catch it.  In fact, he decided to take that opportunity to practice a snake-catching technique he had seen before on TV!  Amazingly, it worked.  He was able to stop it and with the help of one of our guards they picked it up and put tape on its mouth---since it was actually poisonous!

There is never a dull moment here at CSC!  Thanks for being a part of it all!

After a day of learning in school and fun on the playground, the kids settle down for an evening inside the houses.

Suppertime is a busy time, with lots of kids around the tables refueling for the next day.  After the kids join the “clean plate club” by finishing all the food on their plates—even the vegetables, it is time to help clean up.  Some kids are assigned to sweep the floor, wipe the tables, and wash the dirty dishes.

Homework comes next.  The kids spread out around the house.  The dinner table is transformed into a big desk.  A few aunties take over as tutors.  Some kids like to do their homework in their room.  Some kids grab a chair and sit around the coffee table downstairs.  The school Reading Challenge has taken over homework time.

August has become “Reading Challenge” month.  For several years, the kids have an added incentive to discover the great books on the shelves in the library.  The kids actually do not have a problem taking advantage of the library throughout the year, but it is fun to create excitement for reading.  Each level has a reading goal appropriate for their abilities.  At the end of the month, totals will be tallied and winners will be announced.

After homework is done for the evening, it is time to play.  The preschoolers actually get to play most of the evening since they have less homework.  Crosswords, building blocks, animals, and much more fill the rest of the evening.

Finally it is time to put everything away and go to sleep, to be ready for the next day.

I overheard a conversation the other day while waiting for a friend to arrive to lunch. Near my table two guys, apparent former coworkers, bumped into each other.

It was odd. After exchanging greetings the one asked, "so, how long you got?" Hopefully my face didn't betray that I was eavesdropping, because I was confused enough by the question to let on. Were these guys prison inmates? It sounded like he was asking, "how long are you in for?"

It turns out he basically was. Both men were nearing retirement, and the crux of their conversation had to do with how much longer they had to work. They were counting down the years until they could quit.

I hope I don't ever have a job in which I wish away years of my life because of it. In college I had one that caused me to wish away days, and that was bad enough. On my way to work in the morning I'd look at the other side of the highway and daydream I could press fast-forward and automatically be on the other side heading home. It wasn't a very uplifting commute.

I'm not sure what line of work those guys in the restaurant were in, but I'd bet they weren't missionaries. I know several missionaries. They have really hard jobs--and there are certainly days they wish would end. They work tons of hours, live far from family, have to learn a culture and are constantly putting others ahead of themselves. But, wow, do they live lives of purpose.

Are you wondering what you're going to do with your life? There are many good jobs out there, and many paths to take. Don't forget that missions is a valid one...including at the Children's Shelter of Cebu. We will have needs for teachers, administrators, coordinators and practitioners to work alongside our Filipino leaders in the coming years. I can promise it would be a challenge, and a career full of purpose.

If you think you might have what it takes to be a missionary, shoot me a line at cscusa@cscshelter.org. I'd love to chat with you.