Staff Blog

It is Holy Week.  This week is a meaningful time for Christians everywhere.  In the Philippines, most stores and restaurants are closed on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and schools are not in session on those days either.  Therefore, our school, Cebu Children of Hope, held it's Easter celebration on Wednesday.  The event started with a reading of Scripture - recounting the events of Jesus' last days on Earth.  Then there were games, crafts and praise and worship.  

I was moved during the praise and worship, and as you can see below, I was not the only one!  How blessed are we to be children of the Most High God!  That He, being without blemish, laid His life down for ours when we needed it most, but were also the most undeserving.  

May you and your families be blessed this Easter and remember God's goodness and Jesus' sacrifice.

Praise the Lord!  He is risen!  He is risen indeed!

This past Monday some of our kids got to experience a music event at CSC.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, for the past 4 months I have been teaching private voice and piano lessons to 8 talented CSC kids.  All of their hard work culminated into a special music recital.  For the past month or so, the 8 students had been working hard to make their 2-3 songs performance ready. I had been working equally as hard to prepare the setting for what I believed would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some of them.

For the voice students (there are 6), Disney and Broadway songs have been the focus in our lessons.  Some of the songs performed included:  Part of your world - The Little Mermaid, Consider Yourself - Oliver,  I Could Have Danced All Night - My Fair Lady, Colors of the Wind - Pocahontas, Do Re Mi - The Sound of Music, and Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again - Phantom of the Opera.  As you can see, we had quite the selection! Considering the fact that most of their pieces were very theatrical songs, I decided that I would gather costumes for EACH of their songs. I really wanted the kids to have the chance to get in character, and perform in a more dramatic and theatrical way. In all honesty, the costumes actually helped them become better performers, because it helped them use better facial expressions and actions, so as to match their costumes. 

The piano students (2 of them) performed a mix of classical and contemporary pieces. Some of the selections included: Somewhere Over the Rainbow - The Wizard of Oz, Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven, Carol of the Bells, and A Whole New World - Aladdin. 

There was a lot of action building up to the performance. Besides finding all the costumes and fitting the kids, I had to coordinate helpers, set up the stage, create a picture board, make snacks, prepare a slide show, and coordinate group practices. Normally individual lessons take place after school each day, but the week before the performance all of the students stayed after school every day for group practices. It was a bit chaotic at first, trying to pull all the acts together, but at last I could see the big picture. On the Friday before the performance we had dress rehearsal. This was really fun for me (and the kids) because we could at last see all of our hard work coming together. It was also really exciting to see the songs put together with hair, makeup and costumes! 

The excitement of the kids was clearly building, both for the performers and for the other kids at CSC.  This recital was a bit different than other recitals, because it did not include every child at CSC.  The performers were each given 3 invitations to pass out to friends, so that in the end there would be a total of 25 children, along with house parents, teachers, counselors, staff and other outside guests (making the total around 80). The kids at the shelter could not wait to see what we had in store for them!

The day of the recital finally arrived, and the performers headed up to school around 3 for some last minute notes. At about 4:00 we started doing hair and makeup (without lipstick), because at 5:00 we had 2 3-foot pizzas delivered for dinner. No I am not joking, these pizzas were 3 feet in diameter!! It was crazy! After chowing down, we finally got everyone into their costumes in time to go out to the music room for warm ups before the show. The kids expressed that they were nervous, but very excited. After a short prayer we headed out to start the show.

Everything about the recital went just as I had planned - maybe even better! The kids really came through in their performances, and truly showcased how hard they had been working in the past 4 months.  It was exciting to see the performances come to life as the kids added their actions and personalities to the songs. I was particularly impressed by one of my student's performance. All throughout practicing and lessons she had quite a hard time learning and memorizing the words to her songs. Even all the way up to the day of the performance I was worried that she would not have the confidence to sing her songs completely.  I had been working with her so hard on building her confidence in herself, so despite my worries, was feeling hopeful for her performance. Boy was I surprised what she would bring to the floor!  Not only did she say the words better than she ever had in practice, she had strength in her voice and sang with confidence and accurate pitch! I felt so proud.

We ended the recital with our surprise number "Let it Go". Once we finished, I felt instantly relieved, and I know the kids did too. It was a complete success, and I have never been more proud of my students!

I spent a few days last week in Manila hanging out with some pretty neat kiddos. We spent most of our trip waiting for the next thing to happen. The primary reason was to process some of their paperwork, but for them it was the trip they could never imagine.

The adventure started on a Sunday afternoon as three kids, another social worker, a few houseparents and I left from CSC and journeyed to the airport. We made it through security and check-in just fine, found some seats and proceeded to wait…and wait…and wait some more as our flight was delayed.

I felt really bad for the kiddos as they expressed a great deal of eagerness and enthusiasm to fly on an airplane for the first time, and instead they were met with some sort of cruel form of delay gratification. However, once we were on board and headed up, I was met with some smiles, nervous glances and many questions.

It was really fun to be a part of this journey with them, even though it was a bit challenging to answer some of their questions. We talked about when they needed to wear their seat belts, what causes the plane to shake in the air, how the pilot knew where to go, what landing on the ground would feel like, and many more things. The added challenge to this was that their primary language is Cebuano…mine…not so much. So I had to be a little creative with my answers and think of ways to describe things in basic English for them to understand. I would say I mainly succeeded with this, but felt extremely grateful when on the airplane ride home, a nice Cebuano-speaking woman helped me out.

Anyway, it was pretty memorable to go through this really new thing with this sibling group and to see the airplane ride and the hotel stay through their eyes. It was humbling to think about the privilege I’ve had to travel many places and to not even need to think twice about turbulence, runways, hotel beds, taxi rides or passports. Coming from a life of poverty really doesn’t allow one to think about what a hotel would be like. The kids’ minds were blown when they saw 2 televisions in the one hotel room and all of the pillows on one bed. They really were living the life of luxury. And I think they enjoyed the airplane ride home a little bit more than the ride to Manila as they knew more of what to expect, and as that flight back was in the daylight where they could see the city, and the water surrounding the various islands. We all (yes, I left with 3 children and returned with the same number!) were a bit exhausted on the drive back to CSC, but they have enjoyed telling their friends about the journey and the many things they saw. And I returned grateful for having the opportunity to venture with them…and to have another adult with me!

I have been involved in a complete whirlwind of activity this week! For one thing, this week has been very busy because it is the first normal week we have had since the Christmas holidays. I have been working hard on catching up on my reports, and getting back into toddler program (we took a break for the holidays). So far it has all been going well! My reports are all caught up and toddler program has been a blast! It has been fun because we have a lot of younger toddlers moving up into the program. Our group moved from 9 toddlers to about 13 or 14! Needless to say, it has been a bit of a different dynamic! 

Another reason I have been busy is that I have been working hard on planning for my music recital. On February 2 at 6pm I will be having a music recital for my 8 voice and piano students. I have been planning everything from program order, to creating a program, creating invites, gathering supplies, preparing the kids, informing staff, houseparents and teachers and much much more! I have pretty much completed the program, and this is what my plans are thus far.  The program will exist in two parts.  The first half of the program will start with 6 Broadway vocal selections followed by a piano interlude. We will then have a brief intermission so that the kids have the chance to change costumes, and then the second half of the program will include Disney and movie classics.  

One thing I have been working on gathering this week is costumes. This has been really fun for me, considering my background in music and theater.  Each of the songs is sung by a different character, which means that some children have up to three different costumes! I am proud to say that I have found most of the costumes already, and am now just working on the finishing touches.  As you can tell from my writing, I am super excited for this event, and so are the kids! It has been so much fun to see them grow in their musical and theatrical abilities, and to watch some of them come out of their shells as they gain confidence through music. 

Christmas is a pretty big deal in the Philippines, yes, you might argue that it is a big deal to many other places as well, but it is only in this country where you start hearing Christmas music in September!!  :)  

Similarly, Christmas at CSC is a big deal.  There are many events and traditions held.  It is an important value at CSC that this very significant holiday is celebrated well and that it's true meaning is highlighted, amongst the glitz and glamour of the presents and beautifully lighted Christmas trees.  

Of course there is quite a bit of planning that happens even before December, but the break-neck pace of non-stop Christmas parties, dinners, programs, and other such events begins around the middle of the month.

Below you will see pictures taken during the hair/make-up/all other kind of prep done before Cebu Children of Hope School's annual Christmas program.  This year, the main feature was a play called Hotel Bethlehem, a modern spin put on the Christmas story.  It was a huge success!  The children put their hearts into it.  And the countless hours invested by the teachers (rehearsing lines, making the set, working on the sound equipment and many other tasks) could be seen in that night's polished production!

A beloved tradition at CSC is the annual Progressive Dinner.  The children travel to the homes of the missionary staff to enjoy some food and to hear and see different parts of the Christmas story acted out.  After the groups have made it to each home and are quite busog (full) they head back home and the missionary staff follow and everyone enjoys eating cinnamon rolls in the shape of a Christmas tree!  It is a great night of fun and food, but the true meaning of Christmas---Jesus' birth is shared in a memorable way as well!

Another really special event during this time of year is called Junel's Box.  It is a great opportunity for our kids, who once had nothing, to give to others.  Every year, our social workers find a family in the community in need of assistance.  We share information about this family to our kids and give them the opportunity to give money from their bank (they receive an allowance each week for completing their chores).  That money is then used to buy the things the family needs, such as food, house needs, building equipment, clothes, etc.  And their generosity astounds---it happens frequently that a child will give all of the money in their bank, without hesitation.  Below you will see pictures from the day we delivered all of those goods.  The family was so grateful and our kids were able to help others, to give to others, when so many of them had once been on the other side of need.

People that know about CSC often want to bless our kids around the holidays and this year was no different!  Marriott Hotel contacted CSC to say that they wanted to throw a Christmas party for our 7-10 year olds.  We were so excited!  Marriott came and picked up 28 of our kids and a handful of our adults and treated them to an afternoon of storytelling, Christmas cookie decorating (and eating!), balloon popping, snacks, present opening and eating (I say it so many times because it was a frequent activity!)

And on Christmas Eve night, Santa came to the Philippines!  There are many new children at CSC at this time and for them, this was the first Christmas experience they had ever had.  Several were a bit wary of Santa, but with gift in hand he seemed to be an okay guy.  It was such a blessing to see the ecstatic smiles of those getting their first Christmas gift---but for those not new to CSC---well, they were still extremely excited as well.  A Christmas like this is only made possible by those of you who give, so I just want to say a special thank you for your generosity! 

Christmas day is not complete at CSC without the formal Christmas dinner.  The missionary staff, the house parents and all of the children enjoy a nice meal outside together!  The food is good, the tables are decorated beautifully, the children get all dressed up and the meal is finished with Christmas cookies for dessert!  This year, after the meal, everyone went to the school to participate in a unique telling of the Christmas story, interspersed with the singing of hymns.  After that came a time of prayer.  As you will see in the pictures, not all of the little ones made it through the whole event!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!  CSC has been blessed this year and we trust that God will continue to provide for this ministry and these children.  Thank you for reading about the many Christmas traditions at CSC.  What is your favorite Christmas tradition in your family?