Staff Blog

Thursday was Valentine's Day!  The kids had been telling me all week that they were going to give me a "valentine's day" (cards).  As soon as the kids walked into the school gate in the morning, they passed out letters to the teachers!  So fun!  Later in the day, we had a little party in our classroom and made some valentine cards to pass out to the kids' friends, aunties, uncles, and teachers.  

The Level C girls decided to make necklaces for the teachers.  Here is a picture of the Level C teachers sporting their valentine's!  

Thanks to some visitors, we had some of the conversation heart candy!  I passed out a few of them as Valentine's Day messages to the kids.  I gave one of our 11-year-old girls one that said, "You Shine".  Later that afternoon, she came back to my classroom and handed me a flower.  She said, "This is for you Teacher Tam!  You are so very shiny!"  So cute!  I love our kids!      

I had the great privilege of celebrating my 27th birthday with the kids and staff here at CSC. When I came up to the shelter a group of kids rushed towards me to give me cards they had made.

It was the highlight of my day month.

One card in particular stood out. It was from a 9 year old boy named Marko.

The note was precious and sincere, but what really stood out was inside the card.

A brand new notepad and pencil. A prized personal possession that he willingly parted with in order to be able to give me a gift for my birthday.

As is often the case, I've found that the kids here at CSC have taught me more than I've taught them. What a blessing it is to walk alongside these kind, generous, and beautiful children.

Thanks, Marko, for giving me the best birthday gift ever.

A recent hand delivered gift brought smiles and moist eyes here in Cebu. Lloyd, a former CSC resident who was adopted by the Fagerlie family of Norway back in 2003, recently visited Cebu with his family. He is now 10 years old. For his last birthday he told his family and friends that he didn't want any gifts, but asked them to instead give a gift to CSC. While visiting at the Shelter he presented an envelope to the kids with 30,000 pesos (US$750) inside! He had a great time playing soccer with the kids and teaching them a great lesson in generosity and "giving back." Thanks Lloyd, and all the Fagelies for your visit and this amazing gift.

We have been so excited to have some special visitors this week - my in-laws! Larry and Vicki have known about CSC for many years and it's so great to have them here to share their gifts with the kids. Since Larry has a passion for pottery, we arranged for him to do a lesson with the kids! He demonstrated "throwing a pot" on the pottery wheel and then gave them the opportunity to make their own clay fish with the help of CSC's art teacher, Teacher Jun Jun. It was a really unique experience for the kids and a fun afternoon for everyone.

This week, one of our house fathers celebrated his birthday and he decided to bless everyone by renting a tartanilla for all the kids (and adults) to enjoy!  What is a tartanilla you ask?  It is a horse-drawn carriage.  Back in the day in the Philippines---the Spanish colonial days that is----tartanillas were the common mode of transportation.  They have since been replaced by Jeepneys, but you can still see some here and there----like on the congested streets of the marketplace or in the provinces!  Check out the pictures to see all the fun that was had by the kids, the birthday boy and ME!  :)

Happy riders---Aunties and kids alike!

The birthday boy had fun being the driver!

The view from my seat---pretty cool! 

SMILES GALORE!!!