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)
The Sun
Every day at Cebu Children of Hope School (CCHS) we start our day with something called Morning Meeting. This is a "soft landing" time for our children which enables them to calm their bodies, practice social skills, and prepare for a great day of learning. Part of every Morning Meeting is a time for kids to share. Sometimes the question is about what they did over the weekend, sometimes the question is related to the day's lessons.
Teacher Chery and Teacher Mae lead the Morning Meeting for Level A1, our four energetic kindergarteners. Here is a conversation they recently had in their classroom, with the question relating to the day's science lesson.
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Teacher Mae asked, "Where do you think the sun will go during the night?"
Student 1: The sun goes under the sea at night because it goes under the line (he means the horizon).
Student 2: The sun is on the ground teacher.
Student 3: Hmmmmmm... the sun will go to bed and sleep.
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Even with their young minds, these children have great ideas that even surprise us adults at times. Each child at CCHS is surrounded by great teachers who have dedicated their lives to help enlighten and empower their students so they can understand everything from where the sun goes at night to understanding how the God who made the sun loves them unconditionally. Thank you for supporting the work that is happening every day at CCHS!
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Pag Ibig Award
Recently CSC received an award from the Pag-IBIG Fund, the Philippine government financial agency that is handling the mortgages for our 60 employees who are receiving Habitat for Humanity homes. The award recognizes the role of CSC in this project on behalf of our employees, who are all automatically members of Pag-Ibig.
This award is a testimony to the work of Paul Reasoner, who raised funds to help alieviate the financial burden for our workers and make their mortgages more affordable for them. We are an organization that values our employees and we have been concerned that they have decent housing. Many have lived in sub-standard houses prior to this project, and would not have had even the hope of having their own house and lot without the cooperative efforts of CSC, Pag-IBIG Fund and Habitat for Humanity. This award reflects that concern of CSC, and the partnership of the agencies who are all dedicated to getting deserving people into safe and affordable housing.
Pastor Fred Verdeflor, who is the husband of our CSC nurse Arlyn and President of the CSC Happy Homes homeowners association, went to Manila to accept the award on behalf of CSC.
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Life Cycles
All living things undergo different stages during their life. Some living things start as a seed, pollen, or spore. Other organisms such as animals start as a live young or an egg that sometimes needs to undergo the process of metamorphosis which completely changes their appearance.
In my Level B2 science class the students were able to witness the process of metamorphosis. We started in the caterpillar stage where the students saw how many leaves the caterpillar consumed. After several weeks it became a pupa. The students were very eager to look at the changes every day though it stunk when they opened the lid of the box. The day finally arrived when the caterpillar became a moth! We all went outside and set the moth free. The students were so excited to be a part of this process!
The whole activity took a lot of time and dedication but the result was very fulfilling. The students were able to learn not just how metamorphosis works but also about patience, perseverance, and having a love for nature.
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2018 Highlights
CSC Higlights of 2018
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Christmas 2018
Click to see pics of the different activities at CSC this Christmas. Our generous donors allow us to give lots of fun times to the children. God bless you all.
Junel's Box 2018 - Inayawan, Cebu City
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