Staff Blog
When you care for 80 residents, from infants to young adults, you want to make sure you are prepared as a global pandemic creeps closer and closer to your front door. Though CSC (and most of the world) is maneuvering through uncharted waters, I am proud of the way Roberto, Paul, and the CSC leadership team have been proactive and creative in their response.
One of the top priorities before COVID-19 became prevalent in Cebu was to make sure we would have the manpower and supplies needed to continue to provide fantastic care for our kids. As we were working to stock up on medicine, food, diapers, and other daily necessities, God was working in the hearts of many CSC employees who volunteered to be "locked in" at the Shelter. These people (pictured below) were an answer to prayer as the best way we could keep our kids safe from the virus was to do a total lockdown.
We are now in week 3 of lockdown at CSC and God is continuing to show His goodness. I am so thankful for our team of dedicated CSC employees and the ways they are using this time at the Shelter to create fun memories for our kids and enable them to continue progressing academically. Teacher Cris, our CCHS principal, signed up to be locked in at the Shelter and is helping lead the kids in academic activities every morning. Everyone from house parents to aunties to social workers to nurses have stepped up to do what is needed for the ministry at this time. God's presence is so visible at CSC!
As a leadership team God has been helping us be creative with how we can support our "locked in" coworkers. Prayer has been our main vehicle. Every night at 9:30pm we pray for the kids at CSC as well as our coworkers who are living and working at the Shelter. We also divided up all the locked in employees among the leadership team so each of us have 3 or 4 specific people we are more intentionally praying for every day. During Holy Week we set up Facebook Live events so both the employees locked in and those locked out could worship together and encourage one another. The Saturday before Holy Week the locked in employees had requested a special worship time that would just be for the adults, a time when they could focus their worship without having to divide their attention with monitoring kids and helping them worship. Roberto and Paul arranged a time after the kids went to bed to gather all the adults. The employees were so thankful for that time of refreshing! As a leadership team we are meeting together online 2-4 times a week to be proactive and planned as the COVID situation constantly changes in Cebu. Pictured below is one of the many checkpoints around the city.
The immediate outlook in Cebu is not promising. A couple of days ago they set up road barricades around our part of town (pictured below) as we have growing numbers of COVID cases. Now, today, there are rumors that the road that the Shelter is on will have its own barricade, prohibiting anyone from coming in or going out. Many questions like how we'll get food deliveries to the Shelter are on our minds. But, just as God has been faithful and present continually over the past 40 years, He will show Himself able and good in the midst of increasing restrictions.
Thank you for your continued prayers! We at CSC know that there are many, many places in the world that need your prayers and financial support. We are extremely grateful for your continued commitment to our amazing kids!
The Sun
Every day at Cebu Children of Hope School (CCHS) we start our day with something called Morning Meeting. This is a "soft landing" time for our children which enables them to calm their bodies, practice social skills, and prepare for a great day of learning. Part of every Morning Meeting is a time for kids to share. Sometimes the question is about what they did over the weekend, sometimes the question is related to the day's lessons.
Teacher Chery and Teacher Mae lead the Morning Meeting for Level A1, our four energetic kindergarteners. Here is a conversation they recently had in their classroom, with the question relating to the day's science lesson.
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Teacher Mae asked, "Where do you think the sun will go during the night?"
Student 1: The sun goes under the sea at night because it goes under the line (he means the horizon).
Student 2: The sun is on the ground teacher.
Student 3: Hmmmmmm... the sun will go to bed and sleep.
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Even with their young minds, these children have great ideas that even surprise us adults at times. Each child at CCHS is surrounded by great teachers who have dedicated their lives to help enlighten and empower their students so they can understand everything from where the sun goes at night to understanding how the God who made the sun loves them unconditionally. Thank you for supporting the work that is happening every day at CCHS!
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Pag Ibig Award
Recently CSC received an award from the Pag-IBIG Fund, the Philippine government financial agency that is handling the mortgages for our 60 employees who are receiving Habitat for Humanity homes. The award recognizes the role of CSC in this project on behalf of our employees, who are all automatically members of Pag-Ibig.
This award is a testimony to the work of Paul Reasoner, who raised funds to help alieviate the financial burden for our workers and make their mortgages more affordable for them. We are an organization that values our employees and we have been concerned that they have decent housing. Many have lived in sub-standard houses prior to this project, and would not have had even the hope of having their own house and lot without the cooperative efforts of CSC, Pag-IBIG Fund and Habitat for Humanity. This award reflects that concern of CSC, and the partnership of the agencies who are all dedicated to getting deserving people into safe and affordable housing.
Pastor Fred Verdeflor, who is the husband of our CSC nurse Arlyn and President of the CSC Happy Homes homeowners association, went to Manila to accept the award on behalf of CSC.
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Life Cycles
All living things undergo different stages during their life. Some living things start as a seed, pollen, or spore. Other organisms such as animals start as a live young or an egg that sometimes needs to undergo the process of metamorphosis which completely changes their appearance.
In my Level B2 science class the students were able to witness the process of metamorphosis. We started in the caterpillar stage where the students saw how many leaves the caterpillar consumed. After several weeks it became a pupa. The students were very eager to look at the changes every day though it stunk when they opened the lid of the box. The day finally arrived when the caterpillar became a moth! We all went outside and set the moth free. The students were so excited to be a part of this process!
The whole activity took a lot of time and dedication but the result was very fulfilling. The students were able to learn not just how metamorphosis works but also about patience, perseverance, and having a love for nature.
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2018 Highlights
CSC Higlights of 2018
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Christmas 2018
Click to see pics of the different activities at CSC this Christmas. Our generous donors allow us to give lots of fun times to the children. God bless you all.
Junel's Box 2018 - Inayawan, Cebu City
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