Staff Blog

Nothing brings a boy more joy than playing with his very own "caperlaler"---i.e. caterpillar!  :)

Some of his playmates were a bit hesitant to go near to it at first, for fear that it would bite!

Once she held it and learned it was docile, it was immediately cute and she wanted to hold it again and again!  Oh, and pose for pictures again and again!

He is now holding a "pling mantus"--praying mantis!  He is a lover of the critters!  :)

CSC is full of great people caring for the children.  Child care workers, house parents, counselors, teachers, social workers, office workers, therapists, management, nurses, and guards come together each day for the children.  I am one of these workers, and, as a man, I realize that the men are outnumbered.  For every man working at the shelter, there are five women.

Over the years, the men have started a Bible study just for the men.  It usually takes some creativity to find a good time to meet since each person’s schedule varies.  At times it has been a weekly meeting.  Holidays that land on a weekday are also good days to do something a little different than a Bible study.  When we are lucky to get this, the men usually join together for basketball and food.  These mornings are a lot of fun.  It is always good to spend time with co-workers outside of work hours.

When Matt Buley was in Cebu a while ago, the men were able to organize a morning of playing basketball.  It was fun to see a part-time guard on the same basketball team as the president.  No one in this group is a PBA (Philippines Basketball Association) star.  We just enjoyed ourselves.  Good plays were acknowledged by both teams.  Mistakes were laughed off by both sides.

After several hours of grown men with mediocre basketball skills playing all out, it was time for food.  The morning feast was spread out on banana leaves.  This is a called a boodle fight.  No utensils or plates.  Hands were all you needed to get the food from the banana leaf to your mouth.  It was a fitting way for a group of men to culminate a morning of fellowship.

When I was a kid, my family did not have the luxury of buying me books.  I only received a book for my birthday or as a Christmas present—and even that was not every year.

The kids at the shelter are very blessed to have books within reach. From toddlers to teenagers, these kids are exposed to the beauty of what books have to offer. It is amazing to see how engrossed they are when they start looking at and reading books.

One of the kids I work with in therapy enjoys books.  A lot.  It is easy to tell how much he enjoys books just by looking at his facial expressions. Some of the physical therapy stuff I introduce when working with him is not received well.  He thinks it is hard, uncomfortable or boring.  But when we get to floor time and I incorporate books into the therapy, he does not care what he is asked to do.  He will go on all fours, kneel, or sit cross-legged as long as he gets to touch, look at the books, and flip the pages.

Yes, this toddler’s day looks like this—Read. Eat. Play. Sleep.

For the past month and a half, the older girls of CSC have had the chance to experience "girls night". Almost every weekend, two girls are invited to my apartment for an evening of fun! 

The event starts long before the weekend even arrives. On Monday after school the group for the week is told that they are invited to girls night. Their excitement is immediate, and only builds over the coming days. On Wednesday the girls are given menu choices. I have  a variety of dinner dessert choices that the girls have the chance to agree upon, and then make. Many of the foods on my list are meals that are uncommon here in the Philippines, so I often have to explain what the meal consists of. So far, each group has chosen something that they have never tried before!

At 4:30 on Friday, the girls meet me at the guard shack. From there, we get a ride down the road to One Pavilion, a shopping center near my apartment. I give the girls a list, and they are then responsible for finding all of our needed ingredients. Once we check out, we make the trek to my apartment on foot. It has been fun to provide this experience for the girls, and have the chance to teach them life skills like cooking and grocery shopping. When we arrive at my apartment, I give the girls instructions on how to prepare the food. Everything we eat that evening will be prepared and cooked by the girls. 

Cooking has been a joyful experience for all involved. Jonnalyn and Andrea enjoyed mixing up and frying meatballs. Jannice and Pretchy made some interesting choices in dessert (corn and cheese ice cream!!). Joanna Mae and Hannah devoured their tacos (they each had about 5!). Adelyn and Ven Ven went into a sugar coma with s'mores dip. Cheryl Mae and Sarah got messy kneading cookie dough. 

The final event of the evening includes watching a movie. With these girls, it was no surprise to find my collection of chick flicks exhausted. Like any teenage girl, the girls of CSC are saps for a good romance movie...especially a Disney one! Watching their reactions to particular scenes has been the most entertaining part for me. Cheryl Mae almost started hyperventilating as the kissing scene in Pride and Prejudice approached, Jonnalyn giggled constantly during A Cinderella Story, and Janice melted at the romance in The Lizzy McGuire Movie.

With the rotation of teens finished, I can say that girls night has been a great success! I look forward to many more nights of fun with these wonderful girls!

Two weeks ago I started teaching private music lessons. Right now I have 9 students, 3 piano and 6 voice. I am teaching lessons every day after school (about two students per day). This is something that I was thinking about doing before I moved to Cebu, and now have finally started! I am mostly teaching teenagers, though I have two younger students. 

So far is has been a complete joy to teach lessons! Music has always been a big part of my life, and I love to share that with others. I started taking piano lessons when I was in second grade, and continued lessons until I was a sophomore in High school. I started taking voice lessons when I was a sophomore in high school, and participated in many choral activities, including all-state choir and college choir. 

It is very encouraging to teach the kids at CSC. All of my students have a genuine desire to learn. Each week they come to lessons prepared, and full of enthusiasm. In the states, I noticed that practicing is something students often fail to do, but not my students! I was surprised to see my students asking me for copies of their music, and coming up to me throughout the week telling me  how they are practicing. Their attitudes are completely amazing! They are also very talented!

Right now the voice students are working on a vocal compositon from a broadway musical. Some of their pieces include: I could have danced all night, Climb every mountain, My favorite things, and  Consider yourself. The kids all enjoy their songs, and have been learning a lot about pronunciation in singing (how it differs from our normal speaking voice), pitch matching, breath support and musical style. Piano students have been learning through the book series Piano Adventures. One of my stuends is in the primer level, and two are in level 1. The three piano students are very quick learners, and listen well to instruction. Though there are not pianos or keyboards in each of the homes, the piano students take time out of their own free time to go up to the school and practice. 

Dedicated is the best word I can use to describe my musically gifted students. Though we are only in our third week of lessons, every moment has been enjoyable and full of ah-ha moments. I feel so blessed to be able to teach these wonderful children!