Staff Blog
This week, Heather and I had a Skype meeting with two missionaries from Menomonie, WI. We had never met before, so we took the time get to know one another, talk about our respective ministries, and pray for each other. Before praying, they asked me, "what are some of your needs that we can be praying for at this time?"
It's not an uncommon question, and it certainly wasn't unexpected, but it's been rattling around in my heart ever since.
There are a lot of visible needs at the Shelter during this pandemic. There's the need for health and safety. The need for hand sanitizer and personal protective equipment. There's the need for food, clean water, school curriculum, clothing, and medicine. For those of us going around town, there's the need for documentation and preparation to ensure safe passage through checkpoints. By the grace of God, through the generosity of our supporters, all these things have been provided. The children can play games, enjoy full meals, and receive all the love, support, and care that we can muster.
Then there are those needs that aren't as visible. There's the need for strength and calm; for endurance, patience, diligence, and faithfulness. There's the need for friendships and encouragement. There's the need for prayer and time spent with the One who ultimately provides for all our needs. Thank you for praying with us. I can tell you firsthand that they are being felt as we navigate this pandemic together.
There is a need I fear may go unnoticed, forgotten, or neglected by the world at large ...
But the one need that's been rattling around in my heart is one that I fear may go unnoticed, forgotten, or neglected by the world at large. This pandemic has strained governments and the systems that we have in place to help the vulnerable; to help the widow and the orphan—to help the least of these (Matt 25:40). Since the start of this pandemic, we have not had any children placed with adoptive families, and only a handful of our children have been presented for regional, national, or international matching (that is to say, the processes that governments use to match children with prospective adoptive families, both locally and internationally, has been severely hindered due to the coronavirus pandemic). What makes this reality even more difficult to face is the fact that quite a few of our children will be aging out of adoption in the coming months; meaning, they will reach an age where adoption is no longer allowed.
This is a video of an extremely long line that formed in Guadalupe, Cebu City when the local government announced it would be disbursing aid to impoverished families during the quarantine. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which we work with for referrals and placements, is also tasked with handing out this aid.
We knew this day could potentially come for our older children, and we've been doing our best to prepare all our kids for whatever life has in store for them, including independent adult life in the Philippines. We will prayerfully continue to do so, hoping to launch our older children into a healthy and beautiful adulthood.
But I would like to ask all of you to please take some extra time to pray. Pray for these kids who will be aging out in the coming months. Pray that they will be able to cope emotionally, and pray that all of us at CSC are able to provide them with the love and support that they need to be launched into a beautiful future without an adoptive family.
And pray for a miracle. Some of our kids have less than a few months before aging out. Pray that domestic and international government agencies will be able to process the needed paperwork, and that the right families will be searching at just the right time. Thank you for praying with us.
Teacher Amanda
Yesterday we celebrated Teacher Amanda's
22nd birthday. Amanda graduated from college this May and arrived in Cebu the
beginning of June. Just in time to start the school year at Cebu Children
of Hope School. Amanda has adjusted well to life in Cebu and is a great
addition to our school. She has a contagious positive attitude about everything
and is a wonderful teacher and team member. We are thankful to have
her at our school this year.
As we were celebrating her birthday last night, I couldn't help but think about how our stories are some in the same. Seventeen years ago I arrived in Cebu after graduating from college the month before. The school was opening for the first time and teachers were coming together from the U.S. and Cebu to start Children of Hope School. I was young and excited to be in Cebu.
What was a one year commitment for me has turned into 16 additional years and counting. Days full of blessings and learning and growing experiences. Daily seeing God's hand at work in my life and the ministry of CSC. Not to mention marrying my husband from Cebu and the joy of having our first child together. God has blessed me in ways I never could have imagined at the age of 22.
Thank God for Amanda today as you think of her in your prayers. Pray God would give her wisdom and strength for the year ahead of her. Pray He would guide her steps for the future He has for her.
Thanks Amanda for sharing this year of your life with us at CSC. You are a wonderful addition to our team!
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Thanks Grace!
Last August, Grace arrived at CSC having committed to giving a year of her life to this ministry---whatever that might entail! And she did just that! Grace has spent the last year creating and implementing a daily educational experience for our toddlers, she has spent time teaching and encouraging our children's musical interests by facilitating individual voice and piano lessons. Grace also built relationships with our kids by just being on the playground with them having fun. Additionally, she has been a great help to the Child Development department in keeping good records on the infants and toddlers she oversaw.
Below you will find some pictures of how Grace spent her time at CSC.
To you, Grace, CSC thanks you for your service. You have left a mark on this ministry in more ways than one. You have a place in the kids' hearts because of your investment in their interests and your time spent helping them hone their talent. And for our youngest residents, you have helped them learn and have taught them that learning is fun!
Please keep Grace in your prayers as she embarks on her next journey!
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Meet the HR team
I'm Marcel, the guy on the right! I am happy to be back in Cebu after spending the past year in the States with my wife and her family. It was great to meet so many of you while we were there. Upon returning to Cebu I have joined the Human Resource Team at CSC. We are working together to make improvements for all of the workers and processes for the organization. I am excited to be a part of CSC and work alongside Joel and Peter!
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Friendship Knows No Boundary
Friend. Pal. Buddy. Comrade. Everyone has one or maybe more. It is a need in human life. As the old saying goes, “No man is an island.” One can’t go through life alone.
The recent CSC banquet’s theme was: Friends. CSC, in its entirety, has many friends all over the world. Different connections, but connected nonetheless. CSC is standing because of its many friends supporting, loving, and praying.
Inside the four walls of CSC, friendship starts. The kids come from different backgrounds, but it is amazing how quickly they form a bond; a bond they keep forever. Distance is never an issue between friends. Whether it is 10,000 miles or a couple of staircases away, they find a way to exchange a few words and be in touch in each other’s lives.
At CSC, when you get sick and if it is contagious, you are put in isolation. Now, the word isolation seems scary because you are separated from your friends. However, most of the kids like to be in “iso” because they get to watch movies all day long, which is the only entertaining thing you can do when you get sick.
Being sick and being in “iso”
did not stop these two friends from having a little chat. The girl on top is sick while the girl on the
bottom is well. There are no visiting
hours in the infirmary, but that did not mean she could not visit her friend. They found a way. And to top it all, she was not scared that she
might get sore eyes from the friend she was visiting.
That’s how friends are.
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Erna!
Erna is helping out at Cebu Children
of Hope School for a couple of months. She is assisting in preschool
while Teacher Junelyn is on maternity leave and helping out in a number of
classes in the afternoons.
Erna lived at CSC years ago. She and her sister were adopted by a family in the United States in 1999.
It's great to have Erna back with us at CSC for a couple of months. Thanks for sharing your gifts and talents with the kids at CSC Erna!
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