Staff Blog

Just before Christmas, super-typhoon Rai hit the Philippines. It was the strongest typhoon to hit the area in 2021, killing more than 350 people and displacing thousands more. The city of Cebu was hit pretty hard. We sustained a significant amount of damage at CSC, including broken doors on the infirmary and the Duterte home, flooding on the main level of Duterte, and our guard shack was destroyed. Multiple trees fell on the Cherne home, on the gate, and all over the property. Debris from other nearby buildings landed on our property as well. Thankfully, our employees and children inside the shelter were safe!

We still do not have power at CSC. They are estimating power will be restored to most of the city by mid-January. We are using generators sparingly to maintain operations.

We are fixing damage at CSC, but we are not collecting funds for typhoon relief outside the shelter at this time. We budget each year for storm damage. This was obviously more than we anticipated, but we are so thankful to our faithful supporters, who have helped us cover these costs.

As we end 2021, we are grateful for so much. We are ending the year strong financially and have enough resources to meet all of our needs. We were in lockdown for the entire year and despite having COVID inside the shelter, we had no major cases. God is steadfast through all the ups and downs.

Thank you for your prayers, financial support and advocacy as we work to care for children in need in Cebu City, Philippines. We are grateful for you!

This past weekend we hosted a retirement picnic for our founders, Paul and Marlys Healy. They were obedient to God's call on their hearts back in 1978 to care for the people of the Philippines. They moved to Cebu and immediately started caring for vulnerable children and families. They helped plant churches, worked with local missionaries and took in more children as the need grew. They have left quite a legacy. The organization of CSC continues on, providing for children in need, with a great leadership team, wonderful staff and amazing donors.

It's impossible to adequately thank Paul and Marlys for their 43 years of service. We offered our current CSC staff and residents the option of writing a note to Paul and Marlys. As I was thinking about how we could try to say a word of thanks, I came across this note that summed it up well:

"Congratulations on making it to retirement. None of us have completely witnessed every ounce of effort and care you poured into CSC, but God certainly has. May the Lord continue to bless the toil of your hands, even as the seeds you have sown in our hearts continue to grow."

Each spring, we hold a fundraiser in Minnesota to raise donations for the shelter and school in the Philippines. This year, we decided not to gather in-person, but instead to celebrate the work online. This allows us to connect with more people all over the world.

I realize you are probably tired of online gatherings and staring at screens, but will you please consider joining us on Saturday evening at 7pm CST? We promise to keep it short (less than 30 minutes). Here is the link to the Facebook event where you can join the conversation: https://www.facebook.com/cscshelter/posts/10159367966463151. Or you can watch on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSeeDmuHlUE.

Our theme this year is "Every Child Has a Story!" and we see this everyday at CSC. Children often come to us with a trauma-filled past. Their story might mean the loss of a parent or living on the streets for a period of time. But at CSC, their story changes. God uses YOU to change their lives, one story at a time. So tune in Saturday evening on our Facebook page. We'll tell you a bit more about the work, highlight a few stories of changed lives and share some of the challenges we're facing as a ministry. And you'll get a chance to see a bunch of adorable kids of course!

Thanks for being a part of CSC's story.

Those were the words I said when the accounting team added up the donations at our recent banquet. We had a lower attendance this year: 650 instead of our usual 750-800 people. Statistically, the offering should have been substantially lower than usual.

The day of the banquet, the staff and volunteers gathered and prayed for the event. We prayed that God would work in the hearts of those who were attending and those who couldn’t attend, that the night would be honoring to God and that the donations received, whatever amount, would be what we needed to sustain this part of the ministry. 

And then all of you showed up. You stepped up to sponsor the event, gave donations that night, and many of you gave gifts despite the fact that you could not attend the banquet. So at 8:30 pm, when the accounting team gave the total of $142,820.90, we weren’t sure what to believe. Could it be possible that even with fewer people in the room, we broke a record for our banquet offering? Yes, it was possible. 

Just over a week later, when the online donations have been processed, all the checks have been double and triple checked, and a few other gifts arrived in the mail from those who wanted to contribute to the banquet offering, our total is now sitting at $144,686.43. It is amazing and is only possible because God used all of you to make this happen. We certainly aren’t in the clear for the rest of this year. The banquet total is about 14% of our budget for the year. But we know we will be all right because with God all things are possible.

This year’s theme of our annual banquet was FRIENDS and this rang true for the entire event. What an amazing group of friends we have at CSC. Almost 800 of our close friends came together to pray for, celebrate and financially support the ministry. We watched videos, heard from former residents, recognized adoptive parents and rejoiced with updates and happy news. 

We also shared about the Foster Friend program and offered the chance to sign-up that night. We had many banquet attendees who joined the program that evening. One donor walked up to me and handed me a foster friend sign-up card. She wanted to support one of our children, Shelanie. I got the chance to share with her about this little bubble of energy named Shelanie and what a joy she is to everyone at the shelter. I asked this new donor how she was connected to CSC. She explained that just a few months ago, her dear friend died. It turns out her friend was a dedicated foster friend and long-time supporter of CSC. With tears in her eyes, she said “I realized with her gone, someone needed to step in to fill her role. So I want to do that.” 

We are so thankful for everyone who steps in to help Shelanie and the other children at CSC.