Staff Blog

The Christmas tree is up at the school.  The kids use their pictures to make star ornaments for the tree.  New and old ornaments hang and twist in the breeze.

The many pictures draw in the kids.  The kids like to see how they have changed and grown from their ornament pictures of past years.

On this one side of the tree there is a kid who has been at CSC 14 years, the next star ornament is a kid who arrived last month, and so many others in between.

The kids can see a part of their history on this tree. 

CSC loves making new friends, and we made a few yesterday. I received an email about two women who were interested in visiting us in Cebu and learning more about shelter work in the Philippines. They feel called by God to explore this and potentially start a shelter. I got to spend some time talking with them.

It was a very exciting conversation! I was asked a lot of questions about how we do our work. Their hearts were big, but I was especially thrilled to learn about the careful consideration with which they are approaching this idea. According to my limited wisdom, Cebu could certainly use more people who are working to benefit the poor but that doesn’t mean it’s what God has in store for these two ladies. Big hearts can sometimes become so excited to give that they begin to serve because of what they get out of it, or because the need seems so great, instead of because God deserves the glory of our service. It’s okay to feel good serving others and the need is HUGE, but the point behind any ministry should be to bring glory to God. A big heart is an amazing first step. Being patient, listening carefully, and working hard in order to learn and grow are next steps.

It was an honor to be part of the next steps with our two visitors yesterday. I hope they will continue to listen to God and follow the path he has for them. Maybe that’s to Cebu!

Most Cebuanos my age grew up with a saying that goes “Bisan saging, basta loving.”  This saying means that even when the family is eating bananas all the time, as long as they love each other, the family is okay.

The passage, Proverbs 15:17, “Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred” reminds me of that old saying.  It also reflects on the situations CSC’s children came from.  Not the whole, but the part about bananas and hatred.  The kids at CSC have come from different situations of poverty, neglect, abuse, and abandonment.  Some of the kids came from loving situations that deteriorated because one parent died suddenly. The one parent left behind could not cope up with trying to earn a living while taking care of the children at the same time.  Some of the kids came from broken families.  Most of them were abused before being cast aside when a parent got involved in a new relationship.

Bisan saging basta loving.  Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.  Some of these children did not have anything at all, no bananas, no vegetables, no fattened calf, no one to turn to, and most of all, no love, but had an abundance of hatred at times.  

Kindness, understanding, patience, hope, faith, joy, grace, and most of all, love.  This brings to mind that this is what CSC is all about.  It is not because of the beautifully maintained houses, medical building, and school, nor the playground and other things, though all of these have helped.  But, it is the people that made the shelter what it is.  Feelings of warmth and welcome are created by people who are kind, generous, patient, hopeful, understanding, even-tempered, and most of all, loving. Different backgrounds, educated to the less educated, Americans and Filipinos, people who answered God’s call to pray, give generously, volunteer their time during mailings, and serve on the CSC Boards both here in Cebu and in the US.  They came together to serve in a ministry that not only provided a roof over the heads of these children, but the loving-kindness and the grace of God that the children had not experienced before.

At CSC, there is no “bisan saging basta loving,” and  “no better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.” CSC is a big home, a big family that God has blessed with His love and grace.  Thank you Lord for the people who answered Your call to serve in this ministry.         

Everybody needs friends.

For our CSC children, making a new friend is often the most important part of their adjusting to life at the Shelter.

Someone to run with……. Play with…..talk to…….laugh .……study .…..eat… and pray with.

CSC friends  teach new kids the ropes, are partners in mischief and sources of understanding, comfort and encouragement. And not only that, they are a lot of fun to hang out with.

Our children come from backgrounds of poverty, neglect and loss.  Who better to understand them than a friend  who has experienced the same things before coming to live at CSC.

The memories of these friendships could last for a lifetime.

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.