Staff Blog
We hear quite a bit about the front liners who are among the heroes of the pandemic. They care for people who are sick with the virus, do testing and put themselves at risk for the sake of the public. They will get the first round of the vaccine and that's how it should be. It seems to me that there are some other heroes who have come through for us during the past year. I'm thinking of companies like Amazon who have delivered millions of packages during the pandemic, allowing people to stay home and still get the things they need. Just in household alone we have bought masks, medical equipment, medicine, software, hardware, books, Christmas decorations, kitchenwares and tools on-line. These companies have helped slow the spread of the virus buy allowing people to stay home and avoid contact at stores.
In Cebu we also have different kinds of heroes who have made major contributions towards keeping our children well. First there are the CSC front liners, the child care workers, social workers, teachers and house parents who have been locked in at CSC for nine months. They have shown amazing perseverance, personal sacrifice and dedication to the kids. We owe them a big debt of gratitude and we will always remember their contributions to CSC during our most difficult days.
Next in line for appreciation are our leaders, who have been working hard in difficult situations to insure that food, medicine and personpower are there for the children. You wouldn't believe the planning, foresight and flexibility needed and the number of Zoom meetings required to keep things running smoothly.
But there are other, more unsung heroes, people whose names we don't even know but who have helped, in their own ways, to keep our kids healthy and happy. I'm thinking of the drivers and delivery people who have brought food and medicine up to CSC throughout this pandemic. Some bring sacks of rice, fish, dry goods, meat and milk from our various suppliers around Cebu City. And our CSC drivers had to bring children to the hospital emergency room late at night or get workers home or to work, dealing with changing government policies on quarantine passes, and unpredictable road closings and police checkpoints.
Through this whole time our new Field Director, Roberto Atienza, has been at the helm, navagating CSC's ship through the choppy waters of this time of crisis, monitoring government policies, leading twice weekly staff meetings, seeing that lines of communication are open and functioning well, helping keep morale as high as possible, attending to the spiritual needs of the CSC community and keeping in touch with our stateside leaders.
The contributions of all these people have resulted in our kids never missing a meal, having all the medicine and medical care they needed and being able to continue with their schooling. But most of all, these efforts have helped keep our kids safe. Not a single case of covid has touched our kids or workers! Thank you Lord, and all the people who have given their time, talent and sweat for the sake of these precious kids.
Mothers to the motherless
Mothers' Day is a time to focus on our moms, their love and the great contributions they have made to our lives. Let's take some time to think about the aunties at CSC who take on the role of substitute mothers for our children. Most of these women have children of their own, so their work with the CSC kids is a testimony to the depth of their reservoir of love. CSC relies so heavily on the contributions of these workers, women to mother the motherless children of CSC. God bless them, especially on this Mother's Day.
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Places unseen
Last week I was walking into the Duterte House and was struck with what an incredibly beautiful building it is. It made me realize that you, the blog reader (or Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube follower), have probably never seen some of the "nooks and crannies" of CSC. So I decided to do a photo walk yesterday to try and capture some of these "places unseen." Hopefully these pictures help to communicate (1) how well CSC takes care of their facalities (2) how safe, secure, and protected these kids are and (3) that the only way these buildings and walls could have been built was with the generous donations from CSC supporters all around the world.
The Duterte House
The Cherne House
The Eicher House
Trees in the yard (the colored specks are kites).
The walkway that connects the infirmary with the Duterte House (and three boys flying kites).
The view from the infirmary.
The infirmary.
Iso, short for isolation - This is the place kids stay when the are first admitted to CSC (or are sick). As you can see, it sounds worse than it actually is. :)
The water tower in the back yard of the infirmary.
All of the walls around CSC have barbed wire to keep intruders out.
The main gate to CSC.
The hallway into the Children of Hope School. Daniel, one of the CCHS guards, is writing my name down in the "log book." Every person that comes and leaves CCHS is recorded in this book.
The main area in CCHS. This area is partitioned into classrooms during the school year.
The guard house and motorcycle parking at CCHS.
An interesting side note - It's rare to see a motorcycle bigger than 125cc here. Lindsay and I have a Honda XRM. It doesn't go very fast, but on an average week we spend around $2 on gas. :)
While these buildings and structures are incredible, it's what they hold that is truly beautiful:
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H-U-G-S
hug - [pronounciation: hugh]
verb; used with object
1. To clasp tightly in the arms, especially with affection; embrace.
2. To cling firmly or fondly to; cherish.
Synonyms:
verb : embrace - clasp - cuddle - enfold - inarm
noun : embrace - cuddle - clasp - squeeze - grip
And there ends the English lesson on parts of speech and definitions. It was really just a refresher course... :)
I'm writing about hugs because they are an everyday occurence for me and have been since I arrived August 2011. They were an unanticipated perk of the job and are a daily blessing! How love and care is communicated through their hugs is so touching to me for many reasons. Firstly, I am away from the friends and family who would normally hug me. It is honestly hard to feel lonely when you have 5 children waiting in line for a hug from you! :) Secondly, they mean it. We have some of the sweetest kids here. Despite the things they have seen or the things that have been done to them, they have learned to trust and love others. That is the third reason. And they want it too--the fourth reason. When I am able to comfort a hurting or sad child by my presence or with a hug, I am so humbled. I am so grateful that God has allowed me to serve in this way, to love on these kids, and for some it is the first time they have been treated this way. Check out the pictures below of some of our most stellar huggers! :)
This lil' dear hugs me whenever she sees me and rubs my back---can you say heart-melter?
One of our newest tikes---he is a cuddler! And I am just fine with that...
This sweet girl, everyday, yells out a greeting to me from wherever she may be and then runs with arms open wide!!!
If I am sitting anywhere, this one is likely to be in my lap! :)
Legs count, don't they?! :)
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13
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A Day Not Forgotten
Today is a day that has significance for only a few people. May 4 
was the day in 1979 when three young Minnesotans stepped off the plane in Cebu City, to a blast of incredibly hot air on perhaps the hottest day of that year, to begin their plan of starting a ministry for homeless children. There was nobody to welcome us, no brass band or flower leis. But it was an exciting day for Kathy, Marlys and me. We had been thinking, dreaming and praying for this day. May 4, 1979.
Or was it May 5? Sometimes we debate that. We are at the age
now where we sometimes get a little fuzzy on details. It was one of those two days, I'm almost certain. I guess it doesn't matter. I've never been a slave to details. There we were, three young people without much in the way of experience or training about how to live in a tropical country, how to fix up a house or, more significantly, how to take care of children. I've got a feeling that there were a few people back home and here in Cebu who thought that we were destined for failure. In fact, I know its true because some of those folks have admitted it to me. I guess I can't really blame them. But we had one thing going for us. We were convinced that God had called us to go to Cebu and that, having done that, He would be with us. Through thick and thin.
T
here has been some thin over the last 34 years, but its mostly been thick. The excitement of stepping out in faith as we climbed down those airplane steps is still there for our staff. Much has changed in terms of facilities, staff, the number of children we care for, and the size of our annual budget. (Our first year we got by on about $6,000!) But mostly its the same. We get up in the morning, we do the work of taking care of children who do not have families, and we go to bed again. There is no drudgery in this work, and it is as fun and exciting as it was when we took in our first child in 1979.
May 4th or 5th or whatever day it was doesn't seem to matter much in terms of the big picture, and the challenges we face today in caring for 90 children in Banawa Hills. But it will always be important to those of us old timers who stepped out of that plane and into a life that has meant so much to us and to many other people, including almost 900 children.
Thanks to all who have had a part in it!
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The week that was.....
Every week has it's own excitement, and it's own joys and problems to deal with. This week was no exception. We have had a fun week with the kids. Summer vacation is on, summer school and summer fan classes have started. We have recently admitted seven new kids ages three to nine; so we have lots of behavior to observe and respond to with them. One of our little guys had the experience of having his very excited adoptive family emerge from the van....a family was made. We have had birthday parties to celebrate and spent one afternnoon cooling off with the little swimming pools. We were concerned about our Jacob, he had to be hospitalized, but as of a few minutes ago Jacob's very happy room mate (that would be Joemar) came running to my office to report that Jacob was home! Kites are still the afternoon activity of choice for the boys. Sidewalk chalk art was one days project. Roselyn found a way to keep her newly claimed kitten close to home.... We do admit to complaining about how hot is it about every 13 seconds, but, over all it was a good week!
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