Staff Blog
A couple of weeks have passed since Easter, but the joy of the season still lingers on at CSC. During the Easter season, we celebrate forgiveness, reconciliation, renewal, and rebirth. On Resurrection Sunday, we revel in the new life we have been born into thanks to Christ's victory over sin and death. A new life; one that is defined by life, love, and living, and one that has an opposite trajectory to the life we had been living before. As you can imagine, this holiday holds very special meaning at CSC. At CSC, faith, love, forgiveness, renewal, rebirth ... new life ... are at the core of everything we do.
To celebrate the season, we use many symbols and, of course, have a ton of fun doing it. After church, a massive Easter Egg Hunt sends the kids running across the big field between the homes, searching inside of plants, pots, and dark corners. It's tons and of fun, and we explain how the eggs are meant to symbolize new life and living. The fact that they're hollow eggs made of plastic is meant to symbolize the empty tomb where Jesus' lay; a tomb which is empty because He is Risen! And the hunt? Well, that's just meant to be fun and goofy, and the smiles and laughter filling the Shelter make the effort of hiding the eggs completely worth it.
Aside from the Easter Egg Hunt we also play fun games, like an art and coloring contest to showcase our kids' talents, and an egg toss for a little fun competition. The little ones used hard-boiled eggs for their games to make it a little easier for them, and I admittedly might have eaten a hard boiled egg or two while watching.
It's been two weeks now since Easter Sunday, but the feeling still lingers on. Not only is life marked by joy and happiness at CSC, it is also marked by renewal and rebirth. CSC is a place of a healing and growth, where children are able to heal from past hurts and grow past them, finding a new life that is no longer defined by their history or circumstances, but instead by who God has made them to be. I love Easter, and I love the fact that we can tangibly express the very meaning of Easter in everything we do.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
An early morning hike with Uncle Marv and Auntie Marlys
7:00 am is early for some folks on a Saturday morning, but for the CSC kids its a great time for a morning hike. Recently Auntie Marlys invited a visitor, Marv Hadenfeldt, to join her and 20 of the kids for a hike up the mountain to see the sights and enjoy the beauty of nature. Marv is a regular visitor to CSC and loves to hang out with the gang. And the feeling is mutual.
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Science Fun!
Friction, motion, and static electricity are just a few of the topics we've been learning about lately in science! It is EXTREMELY difficult to teach about static electricity in Cebu's very humid climate. There are no flannel sheets to show off sparks, rubbing your feet on the carpet doesn't do anything, and even rubbing balloons in your hair doesn't always produce the desired effect. But along with the help of the air conditioned library, we have been attempting to see or feel a little bit of static electricity. The kids were extremely excited on Friday when the balloons finally "worked".
Friction and motion are easier topics to tackle! After discussing them for a week, we had some fun with the "tablecloth" pull. We started simple with just a small piece of paper and a marker. Soon we moved up to using a large piece of paper and several dishes, bowls of water, pencil boxes, and other things. The kids loved it, but I had to make sure to tell them NOT to try it at home!!
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Satisfaction
Ruth, Anthony, Andrew, and I traveled to the West Coast this past week to visit family and friends, giving us the opportunity to spend the afternoon with several "kids" who were adopted from CSC 15-20 years ago. We were hosted by Neil and Nelia (Healy) Collins for a delicious lunch of Filipino fare.
Joining us from the greater Washington and Oregon area were Jennifer, Nolly, and Aida, along with their families and friends. It was a great joy to be "cared for" by these wonderful "kids" whom we ourselves had cared for so many years ago. We all got to wow over each other's families and share stories from the past. Often the discussions drifted to the topic of how tall some at the gathering had grown and how vertically challenged others had remained. Puzzling.
But an even greater joy was to see how these now young adults have grown in their personal lives, established loving marriages, had beautiful children of their own, and gone on to find success in life despite some challenges along the way.
It gave Ruth and me a great deal of satisfaction to see a few of the successes of CSC's ministry and the ongoing benefits children are having from adoption. God has continued to bless so many who received the gift of a new family so many years ago!
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Elesio and the Workshop
I'd like to introduce you to Elesio Ewayan, or as he's known as around here, Sho.
Sho has worked at CSC for 13 years.
Sho is one of the reasons why, as a visitor recently told me; "the Children's Shelter of Cebu has the best kept facilities in all of Cebu."
If you're looking for Sho the first place to check is the workshop. The kids know that this is a place they can't play, but they will often times stand at the invisible fence in front of the shop doors as Sho works to patch the sole of a shoe, repair a desk drawer, or mix a batch of paint.
The workshop isn't state of the art, but it's amazing what he can accomplish with a basic set of tools.
When CSC's president Matt Buley came to Cebu earlier this year he met with the staff and handed out bracelets. The braclets had CSC's logo on them and the phrase "These hands change lives." As I watched Sho work I looked down and saw that he was wearing his bracelet.
What an incredible example of someone using their hands to change lives.
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Student Interviews
The Group 4 kids recently finished a video interview project for one of their afternoon classes. Everything about this was done by the students! The questions, the recording, and the video production. I hope you enjoy getting to know three of our very smart, creative kids in this video! :)
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