Staff Blog
It has been 10 months since lockdown was implemented at CSC. A lot of growing pains have happened since then with the multi-disciplinary team, individually and collectively. For team members who were locked-in, that is about 300 days of living out of a suitcase, living with about 130 children and adults, requesting personal toiletries once a month with others buying it for you, yearning for your “own space”, missing face to face conversations with family and friends outside of work, and did I mention having your patience tested and tried?
On the other side of the coin, we have members on the multi-disciplinary team who work from home. One of the challenges included having to learn how to provide a remote service. Turning over or overcoming barriers in communication and technology was also highlighted. I can imagine the heartbreak of the frontliner to face the transition of not being able to see the children and directly work with them.
As leaders, we also battle to protect our frontlines in this pandemic, and I believe it starts with Connection. Keeping the morale and camaraderie high, training relevant, supporting and redirecting team members to keep their eyes on the goal has been a learning experience for me. In pursuit of deepening our connection with each other as colleagues, we are reminded that our identity and value is in Christ and that although challenges seem to limit us, we train our eyes to see beyond and steward the opportunities, skills, and talents that we have in our hands.
Despite these challenges, God is good and kind. He has given us creative ideas to implement, grace to talk about difficult matters, hope to put one foot in front of the other, and assurance in the sovereignty of our King when in doubt.
I hope that these pictures will bring a smile on your face and give you a closer glimpse on our journey as a team through this pandemic. Thank you to our family, friends, and stakeholders who continually remember us in prayer and partnership. Your connection matters to us, too.
Christmas Tree Contest: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
House fathers hanging out.
Normal meetings these days.
Hands that Serve
We have about 76 child care workers who do day-to-day stuff at the shelter. Most of you who have been to CSC might be aware of this. But for everyone else’s information, we have laundry washers, cooks, cleaners and, of course, the rest of the Aunties—as we call them—who watch over the children at the shelter.
Most of them don’t have a college degree, some never got the chance to finish grade school; but they take pride and joy in working at CSC. They teach the kids household chores, sometimes you see them in the playground playing with the kids and often times, they teach the little ones how to pray. They treat the kids at the shelter like their own.
For some of the aunties, being an educator is a gift. Singing nursery rhymes, dancing and learning how to count are some of their tasks that just come out naturally. Below is a short video of two aunties and some toddlers reading the story of Jonah and the Big Fish.
Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness in providing CSC with very willing hands. Please pray for all of our workers at the shelter as they continue caring for and teaching the kids.
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Stacks of Books
The Reading Challenge is finishing up tomorrow! The children have been reading, a lot. Many of them leave school will a stack of books in their hands. The total number of pages read is staggering. Keep reading!
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Sore Eyes
Sore eyes has hit CSC! As this blog is being written, seven babies and toddlers and one school age child have sore eyes. Sore eyes is very common in the Philippines. In the US, it is called pink eye. It affects all ages and usually spreads from one eye to the other very quickly. One’s eyes become swollen, turn pink, and are very itchy and painful. It can be miserable for anyone who has it, especially the babies and toddlers. Please pray for all the kids who currently have sore eyes and that it would not spread to others throughout the houses.
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Friendships
Everybody needs friends.
For our CSC children, making a new friend is often the most important part of their adjusting to life at the Shelter.
Someone to run with……. Play with…..talk to…….laugh .……study .…..eat… and pray with.
CSC friends teach new kids the ropes, are partners in mischief and sources of understanding, comfort and encouragement. And not only that, they are a lot of fun to hang out with.
Our children come from backgrounds of poverty, neglect and loss. Who better to understand them than a friend who has experienced the same things before coming to live at CSC.
The memories of these friendships could last for a lifetime.
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Mabuhay ang Wikang Filipino!
Last Friday, August 28, was a happy day for everyone at CCHS. It was the Buwan ng Wika Celebration, an all-day event focusing on Filipino language. All the students as well as the teachers really had fun.
The Filipino games played in the morning gave every student a chance to participate and every team showed good teamwork. The older kids helped the preschoolers even by carrying the little kids to get the tasks accomplished. It was an amazing sight to see all members of each team working as one.
The afternoon activity was short, but sweet. All the students’ presentations were really great! Each presentation displayed the children’s and teachers’ great efforts.
Mabuhay ang Wikang Filipino!
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