Staff Blog

Last August, Grace arrived at CSC having committed to giving a year of her life to this ministry---whatever that might entail!  And she did just that!  Grace has spent the last year creating and implementing a daily educational experience for our toddlers, she has spent time teaching and encouraging our children's musical interests by facilitating individual voice and piano lessons.  Grace also built relationships with our kids by just being on the playground with them having fun.  Additionally, she has been a great help to the Child Development department in keeping good records on the infants and toddlers she oversaw.

Below you will find some pictures of how Grace spent her time at CSC.

To you, Grace, CSC thanks you for your service.  You have left a mark on this ministry in more ways than one.  You have a place in the kids' hearts because of your investment in their interests and your time spent helping them hone their talent.  And for our youngest residents, you have helped them learn and have taught them that learning is fun!

Please keep Grace in your prayers as she embarks on her next journey!

I'm Marcel, the guy on the right! I am happy to be back in Cebu after spending the past year in the States with my wife and her family. It was great to meet so many of you while we were there. Upon returning to Cebu I have joined the Human Resource Team at CSC. We are working together to make improvements for all of the workers and processes for the organization. I am excited to be  a part of CSC and work alongside Joel and Peter!

Friend.  Pal.  Buddy.  Comrade.  Everyone has one or maybe more.  It is a need in human life.  As the old saying goes, “No man is an island.”  One can’t go through life alone.

The recent CSC banquet’s theme was: Friends.  CSC, in its entirety, has many friends all over the world. Different connections, but connected nonetheless. CSC is standing because of its many friends supporting, loving, and praying.

Inside the four walls of CSC, friendship starts.  The kids come from different backgrounds, but it is amazing how quickly they form a bond; a bond they keep forever.  Distance is never an issue between friends.  Whether it is 10,000 miles or a couple of staircases away, they find a way to exchange a few words and be in touch in each other’s lives.

At CSC, when you get sick and if it is contagious, you are put in isolation.  Now, the word isolation seems scary because you are separated from your friends.  However, most of the kids like to be in “iso” because they get to watch movies all day long, which is the only entertaining thing you can do when you get sick.

Being sick and being in “iso” did not stop these two friends from having a little chat.  The girl on top is sick while the girl on the bottom is well.  There are no visiting hours in the infirmary, but that did not mean she could not visit her friend.  They found a way.  And to top it all, she was not scared that she might get sore eyes from the friend she was visiting.

That’s how friends are. 

Erna is helping out at Cebu Children of Hope School for a couple of months.  She is assisting in preschool while Teacher Junelyn is on maternity leave and helping out in a number of classes in the afternoons.

Erna lived at CSC years ago. She and her sister were adopted by a family in the United States in 1999.

It's great to have Erna back with us at CSC for a couple of months.  Thanks for sharing your gifts and talents with the kids at CSC Erna!

The last time I was in Cebu I brought a picture with me to give one of our children, a little girl in our Duterte Home. She has lived at CSC since June, 2011 with her two brothers. They came out of extreme poverty, and have made great strides in our care.

The picture I carried was from a group that sponsors this little one as a part of our Foster Friends program. They contribute a monthly amount to provide care for her as a partner of CSC. We have families and individuals who do so through Foster Friends, and in this case, we have a Kiwanis club who gives love across the ocean.

She was in awe of the picture as I explained who this group of people were to her. I had recently spoken to the group and gave them an update on their sponsored child. What a privledge it was to pass along a picture from them and tell this little girl, "all these people care about you." Her eyes lit up and she held the picture with great care as she scanned the faces of the people who give something of themselves to love her. Here she is proudly displaying the photo with two of her friends.

Every day the children at CSC see people who love them: the auntie helping them dress, the house parent leading devotions and the teacher answering a question. There are many people acting as the hands and feet of Jesus in Cebu. And, there are people all over the world making up those hands and feet along with them. What an honor it was to witness one of our CSC kids getting a glimpse of them.