Staff Blog

“I’m just a kid and you are a teacher.” 

I laughed and I was amazed at the same time when I heard this statement from one of my students. We were doing our oral development activity when one of my students refused to make his own sentence using the new words we had learned that day.  Other students were thinking hard and constructing sentences using the words, but this student was struggling.  

I called on him and at first he was very hesitant to share because he was not ready. He hadn’t formulated even one sentence in his mind, so I gave him few more minutes to think.  The class discussion had been really good; other students were enjoying the activity and sharing their sentences.

Again I called on the student and I said, “Hey buddy, I think you’re ready to share your sentence with us. You look like you have been thinking hard.” He smiled and looked at his classmates.  They cheered for him and encouraged him by saying, “Try lang.” (English-Cebuano for “try please”)

I stood beside him, cheering him on and praising him as well.  He stared at me and said in a nervous voice, “Teacher, I’m just a kid and you are a teacher.”  I caught myself beginning to laugh when he uttered these words.

Then I stopped and told the student and all of his classmates, “Yes, you are all kids and you’re still young and I was once a kid too.  But let me ask you these questions:  Where are you right now?  Why are we here? Have you thought that maybe we both have the same goal and purpose?

We are here in school to study and to learn.  This doesn’t mean that I’m a teacher and I know everything.  It’s not as simple as that.  Learning is a two-way process.   You learn from me and I also learn from you.  I’m here to help, teach, guide and mold you to be a better person in the future.”

After our conversation, the student was able to formulate his own sentence and everybody clapped for him. In the back of my mind I told myself I’m lucky to be a teacher.  I may not be rich with jewels, but I’m rich with good and happy memories because of my experiences.  I have a lot of memories already to ponder in the future.

 A Day of Friendship

      Every 4^th of July is Friendship Day at Cebu Children of Hope School.  On this day, there is always a special time set aside for everyone to gather together and have fun.

       This year, the celebration was great.  Everybody, especially the students, had fun.  There were a lot of friendship games that taught them good values like cooperation and considering others.  The highlight of the celebration was a parade as a finale with candy tossed to the kids.  It was very special for the students.  They all had fun picking up the candies and sharing with each other.  It was a joyful celebration.  

Meetings. Our ministry relies on lots of meetings. These mostly involve internal matters: staff and leadership meetings; school faculty meetings; social work, child development and nursing departmental meetings; referral meetings; counselor and house parent meetings and meetings with all the child care workers. We meet with adoptive parents when they come to get their children, highlighting their medical histories and developmental and behavioral progress . The other day our Social Work Director Klaris and I met to discuss a needed meeting with the Social Workers to prepare for another meeting. Wow. And sometimes, meetings just kind of happen. The other day I popped my head into Joel’s office and we got to talking about a bunch of stuff, and Willard joined in and pretty soon we had an unscheduled buta full-fledged meeting.  We also have meetings outside of CSC, with government officials, adoption workers and sales persons.

But there are so many things to discuss and decide upon at CSC: case management;  behavioral issues with the kids;  schedules; health matters; counseling strategies and decisions about which children we should admit. Having meetings means that we value the input of others and that we need their counsel to make the best decisions possible. Our staff consists of people with wisdom, experience, enthusiasm and dedication -  good participants in the meetings that help us steer a proper course for the ministry of CSC.

Well, we are fully operational!  Up and running, full steam ahead as last week started a new school year at Cebu Children of Hope School.  Fifty-one eager students showed up in the parking lot on Monday raring to go and we have had a very good start.  The kids are excited about a lot of things:  new school shoes, moving to a new class and teacher, reading new stories, new folders and notebooks.  The teachers spent two weeks preparing for the new year before the kids even arrived.  But the hottest news around school is all the new curriculum materials we have. 

This doesn’t sound very glamorous, but it really is a big deal and a little bit miraculous.  We, the school staff and kids, have affectionately dubbed the three people who made the purchase of new science, civics, Filipino and Bible materials possible, The Three Grandmas.  Three wonderful ladies heard about our need for a bunch of new curricula and they graciously provided all of the funds for the materials!  Wow! 

For the first time in school history (18 years) we have a full formal elementary science curriculum.  We are in seventh heaven. 

The Philippine Department of Education issued new Filipino and civics curricula in the last couple of years which we had been hoping to purchase and now we have it all!

We also added a few more Bible materials to update and beef up our resources for Bible classes. 

What a wonderful, unexpected blessing to get all of this new material in one fell swoop.  We can’t thank The Three Grandmas enough.  Each day when the kids use the new books and experiment equipment, we’ll be reminded of these three ladies' generosity and God’s provision through them. 

Airports have played a significant role in my life and the life of CSC. I was thinking of that the other day when I was sitting in the Cebu airport waiting to catch a plane that would lead me to another plane and another airport, which would get me home to be a part of my dad's memorial service. Sitting there and thinking, wondering what the next few days would hold. I've done a lot of deep thinking in airports. Once I get on the plane it is pure misery, as they are not made for people my height. But airport chairs, while not being luxurious, are okay for sitting and thinking.

I've been in many, many airports in my lifetime, as many as 75. Several of them are in the Philippines. I have spent the most time in the Cebu and Manila airports, waiting for flights to attend matching meetings or meeting to address problems with ICAB, or getting ready to go home to Cebu and report to the staff. Since most Philippine Airlines flights out of Manila are late in leaving, there has been much time to think and reflect on things. Sometimes my thoughts were discouraging ones, my having been disappointed with the outcome of matching conferences or meetings with officials. Other times they were joyous thoughts, and I couldn’t wait to get back to Cebu to share the outcomes with the rest of the staff.

I can remember several times when I needed to make a quick trip to the US to be with my family when my dad had a bad accident, or when he eventually passed away. Airports can be sad places for missionaries in these situations, wondering what it will be like to get home and join a grieving family or to visit someone who recently had to go into a nursing home. I have experienced a lot of heavy thinking in airports around the world.

But there have been lighter times, and joyous ones. I remember times when Marlys and I were traveling to visit former CSC kids in their adoptive families, or going to visit supporting churches with good news about what God was doing at CSC. I remember traveling to different parts of the Philippines, to some of the dinkiest airports that you could imagine, checking up on referrals of children, or, in the days before we had a social worker, to do case management work. Often, those airport visits were far more enjoyable, and thoughts were expectant rather than worrisome.

And for every hour spent waiting to take a flight there was one at the Cebu airport waiting for an arrival. Hundreds of hours have been spent waiting for adoptive parents, family, staff, board members and other visitors. While waiting our thoughts would be all over the map. Would they like Cebu? Would they be good adoptive parents for our child? Would they fit in on our staff? Would they ever arrive?

On the whole, I have not enjoyed sitting and waiting in airports. But those airports, and the planes that they service, have allowed us to go and do the work that God called us to do for the children of CSC. For them, every waiting hour has been worth it.