Staff Blog
Love is defined differently by every one of us. It is, after all, a very significant matter. The necessity of this in our day-to-day existence is something we cannot fight or ignore. When it comes to writing, I am an inspired and driven teacher. I enjoy sharing my opinions and thoughts on various topics, including my own experiences. I simply enjoy expressing myself, perhaps to uplift and encourage others to feel comfortable doing the same, or even just to simply tell others about the goodness of God in my life.
I want to share my cooking experience with the sixth-grade students at CCHS. I am blessed for the opportunity given to me. It all began on a lovely Friday afternoon in January, with gathering the supplies and ingredients needed for my students.
Even though I'm not really into "cooking," I had great joy and excitement while I was preparing. To get compliments from everyone who tastes what we prepare will be fun. While the students started to get inside the kitchen, I was honored and excited. We snapped a quick picture before the activity started. I observed their joy and enthusiasm by their broad smiles. Take a peek at our cooking adventure!
It's now time to start cooking. The pupils were occupied in chopping the spices. One of the students among the four is already proficient in handling a knife. Even though the others aren't accustomed to it, they're making a sincere effort to learn how to chop spices with care. I could tell how much love they had for each other and how much they enjoyed what they did. Here, "love" is defined as having a strong passion for what you are doing. Despite their lack of experience or fear of getting a cut while using a knife, they persevered and made an effort to successfully mince and grind the spices into little pieces.
I helped them combine the remaining ingredients once they had minced the spices. All the ingredients (ground pork, eggs, veggies, salt, and other seasonings) were combined in a bowl. I taught them how to wrap after I had mixed them up. Amazingly, they did a great job. They wrapped successfully and neatly. They were able to wrap about 50 pieces, and they started cooking. I love seeing them happy and enjoying themselves. They love to help each other and to accomplish the activity together. They're wrapping and cooking lumpia rolls together. They shared laughter and shared compliments for each other's efforts. We were all happy, and I felt the real ingredient and secret joy of harmonious activity—love.
It's time to start serving the food! They prepared some drinks as refreshments and arranged the lumpia rolls on paper plates. The lumpia rolls were delicious! After learning and discovering the fantastic taste, we were overjoyed!
Love is the key ingredient; everything works out when there is love. That was all we knew up until we had the opportunity to eat. The best result arises when love is the key. Unbelievable or impossible things can come true - thanks to the mystical power of the four-letter word love! It encourages us to push ourselves to connect with others' skills, talents, and individuality while also assisting in understanding one another and accepting differences. Indeed, it is a gift from God because He is love. It has no end and is priceless.
A rainy day...
Yesterday was a glorious day! It was overcast, breezy and there were intermittent bursts of rain. It was welcome relief from the unrelenting heat of this summer, but also, I just love a good storm! Because of the rain though, outside activities were at a minimum. Normally at 3:35pm, any available space in the yard, on the driveway or on the playground equipment is being utilized. I decided to document this rather rare occurrence...
It was definitely a riding kind of day...
Even for our Aunties! :)
And a coloring kind of day....
And a looking at books kind of day...
And a taking silly pictures kind of day...
Pretty much my favorite part of ANY day! :)
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Thank You
In a few days, Bjork and I will head back to Minnesota. There are so many mixed emotions that we have as we get ready to see family and friends as well as saying goodbye to the kids, staff, and CSC family.
I have been so thankful for the opportunity to work with such wonderful people this year. Here is a little glimpse at the American staff and some of the things that we appreciate about them.
Amy: Inviting, Relational, Adaptable
Lindsay: Thoughtful, Trustworthy, Insightful
Tammy: Fun-loving, Reliable, Optimistic
Sandy: Nurturing, Dedicated, Positive
Marlys: Dedicated, Compassionate, Inspiring
Paul: Dedicated, Hard Working, Loving
Thank you to all the American and Filipino staff and workers who have helped us and inspired us this year. Thank you to the kids for being cooler than we could ever put words around.
THANK YOU supporters from all over the world for making it possible for these amazing people to do such life-changing work.
And thank you to our God for working miracles through this place!
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Ew...
A new craze has hit the shelter. And it is one I cannot understand in the least. The current trend on the playground involves beetles.
Step 1: Catch the beetle that you fancy most.
Step 2: Attach string to the leg of your choosing.
Step 3: Run!
There is NOTHING about that that is in any way appealing to me.
Okay, okay, if I could get past touching the beetle for the length of time it would take to tie a string around its leg, it MIGHT be kind of cool to have a pet on a leash that would fly alongside me. Operative word being might.
And yet, it is an activity that currently captivates the attention of many of our children!
Check out the pure joy on the face of one of our newest kids!
The beetles (yes, more than one) are on his finger here...
In flight...
Mind-boggling happiness...
Happy Summer all! May yours be filled with joy...and bugs, if that is what it takes!
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Expression
Our kids are incredibly gifted in many forms of expression. They dance with a fluidity that astounds, and tumble and flip in a way that looks effortless. They pick up song lyrics crazy fast and belt out those lyrics without abandon. They smile readily and are prone to giggles.
We have some talented artists among us as well. Recently the kids were having fun decorating our driveway. Many were content with just autographing the cement, others were more focused in their artistry.
My favorite decoration, however, was the one you see below. "Marty love Jesus." That was written, not entirely grammatically correct, but quite neatly, by a 5-year-old. You can see his proud little feet at the top! :) I was taken aback when I spotted this message among the flowers, butterflies and names that surrounded it.
The message was so simple, so sweet...so perfect.
As adults we worry about raising the children around us in the right way, being a good witness and teaching them about Jesus. This message was fulfilling for me---this little boy gets it, if he does not get anything else in the world, he knows the most important thing.
And to tell you the truth, I was humbled in that moment as well. I was brought back to the heart of why we do what we do here at CSC. We do this work because we love Jesus.
Lindsay love Jesus too! :)
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"Juggling"
Our kids go in waves with their favorite activities. For quite a while, everyone was into waveboarding. Sometimes it's playing marbles and sometimes it's rubber bands. The current craze is a game called "Juggling". The kids take turns kicking a ball in the air. The first person has to kick the ball once, the second person kicks it twice, and so on. They have up to 3 tries to get the desired number of kicks in. Sometimes they also have contests to see who can get the most number of kicks in one try. I haven't asked everyone, but the highest number I've heard is from Maricris. She kept the ball in the air for 60 kicks in a row! Amazing!
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