Staff Blog
A toddler proudly rushes to show her Sunday school artwork to her big sister. A school-aged child scans the audience to see his parents watch him perform. A teen gets emotional over the applause she receives after delivering a heartfelt speech. You and I, whether we admit it or not, also long to be lauded, validated, or acknowledged for some of our accomplishments or for simply doing a good job. Be it on birthdays, special events, and occasions—like being on stage to get a diploma—we all want to be recognized or appreciated.
When it comes to students—kindergarten, elementary, or high school—it's not any different. Being in a phase where there's not only much learning but also change and growth, they, too, need to be recognized for their milestones and successes. This is where the Baccalaureate comes in. The Baccalaureate is a celebration of our students' hard work and achievements. It is where graduates are recognized and praised for finally crossing the finish line. It's a joyous celebration, but only so because the people grace the occasion and express love to the celebrants. That's what makes it special—you and me and the love that we share with them.
Warmly welcomed by our Program Director, Eunice Guinanoy, and Field Director, Roberto Atienza Jr., the tone of the celebration was set. In a moment, the graduates began to be recognized, and first up were two kindergarteners who beamed with pride upon hearing their names called for their first graduation. After the recognition, three elementary graduates and a graduate's sister sang and danced with smiles that showed how much they cherished each other. Six junior high school graduates also carried out a skit that spoke some snippets of their high school journey, hearts' worries and desires, and a message affirming that the Lord's purpose will prevail in their lives. One senior high school graduate also shared a thank-you speech expressing gratitude to CSC and two other graduates' reflections and gratitude to the Lord and everyone who supported them to make their way to the end of a chapter. Their journey was not just about academic achievements but also about emotional growth and resilience, which we all can relate to.
Heartfelt prayers echo in the room where heads are bowed. One of the celebration's highlights is when houseparents prayed for their respective graduates. We surrendered the graduates' new chapter to our unchanging Heavenly Father. To continue the lovely atmosphere, everyone enjoyed various snacks and refreshments. The attendees were delighted to see the appealing colors and flavors of the food and enjoyed the bites while conversations flowed easily, punctuated by laughter and shared memories.
Our presence, applause, prayers, and efforts to celebrate are the ways we validate their achievements. We were there, too; we graduated, too. And we had our share of victories and celebrations. Some people were with us, too—many or few. There may have been times when no one was there to watch us succeed. It doesn't make the milestone any less significant. What's important is that we finished something. What is better though is that we celebrate with people. That's what a Baccalaureate is—a celebration of shared achievements and the community that makes it possible.
Nutrition is Important
Recently, Children of Hope School emphasized nutrition along with the rest of the schools in the Philippines. There are some many benefits to eating healthy foods. The children learned many things from the basics of what foods are healthy to why some foods are good for you and some are bad for you.
Enjoy this song from two of the students!
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God bless and Godspeed to you, Auntie Sandy!
Last Saturday, the staff, the Aunties, Uncles and children of CSC sang the traditional farewell song for and prayed over Auntie Sandy. It was a surreal experience to be saying goodbye to one of CSC's founders. Auntie Sandy has been a fixture at CSC for the past 36 years. She is a very important and real part of so many of our children's and adoptive families' stories. She has left an impressive legacy and she will not be forgotten.
There are many things we will miss about Auntie Sandy:
Like the fact, that she and only she, can put that beaming smile on Joemar's face! :)
The fact that her arms and her heart are always open for a child in need of loving.
Her excitement when passing out donations!
How she values and and encourages others.
What she means to everyone at CSC: Aunties, Uncles, staff and children.
How much she loves the color blue! ;)
There are so many more things about Auntie Sandy that we miss; I cannot possibly list them all here. And truth be told, her absence is felt every day, but the shelter that she and others started all those years ago, must continue on and move forward. Because there are still children that need help. God's work is not done in Cebu. And though CSC will not be the same without her as it was with her, she has left a foundation upon which this ministry can and will build.
I have had the privilege of working alongside Auntie Sandy for the past few years. I first started working at CSC in 2011, serving as the Interm Child Development Director while Sandy had a year-long furlough in MN. What a whirlwind year of learning and growth that was! When she returned and resumed her role as the Director, I became an additional member of the Child Development team, working also with Ruth and Amy. In preparing for Sandy's retirement, I was asked to direct the Child Development department. It is an honor I have accepted. I have learned much in the 4 years I have been here and I know I will continue to learn. Thank you, Auntie Sandy, for your wisdom shared and the opportunity to watch you at work.
God Bless and Godspeed to you, Auntie Sandy!
Please pray for Auntie Sandy as she continues to serve CSC in MN over the next year and as she moves into retirement, that God will continue to use her to further His kingdom. Please pray for CSC in Cebu as well. I would appreciate your prayers as I start my new position and as the Child Development team learns to function with only three members now instead of four.
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Update on Julieto
Many people who are familiar with CSC are familiar with
Julieto. He hasn’t been around much the past several months because he’s been
working as a baker. It was pretty exciting news when he got his job. You maybe
read about it on facebook or heard about it from someone else connected with
CSC.
I’ve been looking through old blog posts and seeing Julieto the other day made me think about some of the posts I read. He’s had quite a journey through his time at CSC and it’s been great to get to know him a little bit. You should get to know him better and read these two old posts!
As I mentioned earlier he finally got that job as a baker. It’s common for many jobs in the Philippines for people to be employed on short contracts, usually six months or so. Julieto enjoyed his job and recently fulfilled his contract but he’s glad to have a little break. He was working very hard, often picking up overtime shifts and most of us rarely saw him.
That was last week and he’s already looking for more work. Please pray for Julieto and that God will lead him as he looks for the next thing!
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Uncle Mitch
I wanted to take this time to highlight one of our missionary staff---Uncle Mitch. It is more likely that you find him behind the camera, rather than in front of it, so I had to search far and wide to find pictures that he is actually in! ;)
Uncle Mitch cares for and invests in CSC's children. And has for quite some time, as you can see!
He represents CSC well in all sorts of occasions. And is a pro at groundbreaking ceremonies!
He is an organized, polished and entertaining emcee!
He lovingly prays over our kids at birthday parties!
These are just a few reasons why Uncle Mitch is important to CSC's ministry and to our children. Next week he will be speaking at GLOBAL, a major adoption conference, held in Manila. Please pray for him regarding his speech and his time there, but beyond next week, please pray for him as he continues to oversee so many tasks that are integral to the smooth running of this ministry.
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Erna and Bobong
Erna Ahlmann is a former CSC resident who returned to CSC for the summer to work at Children of Hope School, filling in as an instructional assistant for a person who was on maternity leave. Since Erna is an instructional assistant at an elementary school in Minnesota, this was a perfect fit. A number of cool stories could be shared about Erna and her time in Cebu, so here is one story:
Actually this is going to be more about Tomas Marayan who is affectionately known as Bobong around school. Bobong has worked as a maintenance man at the school since it opened in August of 1998! He does pretty much any and everything related to taking care of the facilities. If we have a question about anything at school, Bobong is the go-to guy. He also does many tasks that are probably not really part of his job description like serving morning snacks to the kids.
Well, the first day Erna was at school and we introduced her to Bobong, he remembered her immediately! I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised, but a lot of kids have come and gone over the years and Erna left more than 15 years ago. But Bobong remembered Erna and he went on to tell her who her teacher had been (Teacher Grace) and where she sat in the classroom. Wow!
Later in the day, we had a problem with the
laminator and Bobong was trying to fix it.
Erna jumped right in and helped Bobong, fanning him to stay cool and problem
solving. Right away it struck me how
significant this day was with Bobong and Erna meeting each other again. Erna went to Cebu to give back some of the
kindness she had been shown. Bobong had
helped Erna when she was a very young girl and his heart is so big he even
remembered her after all those years. Here
they were working together to help the children who are at the shelter now. Priceless.
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