Staff Blog

If you read Peter Arneson’s past blog about the Therapy Department, you will remember that we were in the process of taking out the Jacuzzi inside the therapy room.  Uncle Jerry was taking a warm dip in the picture in the blog.

Well, we have removed the Jacuzzi and replaced it with more shelves.  We also have new carpeting!  During the process of remodeling, I contemplated putting in a sensory wall and a climbing wall for the benefit of most of the kids we service.  With the help of Uncle Jerry’s team, we were able to put up a climbing wall and a sensory wall.  The sensory wall consists of four panels: textures, gadgets, magnets and falling objects.

Some of the kids are already enjoying the new digs! Take a look at our new therapy room.

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. 

As an adult, we wonder what the future will look like.  Too often, we are afraid of it, not trusting.  It is funny.  Even though we are more experienced than little children they often teach us to keep calm and have faith.  The future is in God’s mighty hands.

Kids arriving at CSC are unsure, uncertain and sometimes doubtful.  They have been through a lot at a very young age, but they never waver about the future.  At CSC they learn to trust again; to know that they are provided for and do not need to worry if they will have another meal.  They look straight forward with hopeful hearts.  They rest in God’s knowing hands that they will have a bright future ahead.

 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  --Jeremiah 29:11

There are different departments at CSC:  Child Care, Counseling, Office, Medical, School, Therapy, and Maintenance.

Some of the departments do not interact with the kids on a daily basis.  They are either dealing with paperwork or fixing a broken light bulb.  Their work is as important as an auntie cooking a meal for the kids.  The children are blessed no matter what a person’s job is because they are surrounded with gifted individuals who provide care to them in so many ways.

When you think of a physical therapist, an engineer and a housefather, it might seem like an odd mixture for a team, but not at CSC.  Odd is beautiful.  Recently, these three joined together to help one of the toddlers.  The toddler is developmentally delayed and he receives more care than others because of his needs. 

We do not always have the correct or needed equipment around the shelter, so we make do or figure out a way to make what we need and we try to do that well.  With lots of brainstorming between the physical therapist, the engineer and the housefather, they were able to create a piece of equipment that allows the toddler to cruise around the playground.

The little guy’s smile was priceless!  People watching were teary-eyed.  The proud team was also beaming with smiles.  One kid’s success is everyone’s success.  Whether you are fixing a light bulb, making a meal or just visiting CSC, the impact you have on a kid’s life is priceless.     

This little boy came to CSC in 2011. He was not healthy, he was scared.

I worked with him not knowing how to start. He showed a lot of concerns in so many areas.

With the everyday schedule we have for therapy, he and I formed a bond.

If you have been to CSC, you know that it is hard not to have a favorite, but this little guy captured my heart.

Last year, Joel and I went to the States for a one year furlough. It was hard to leave the kids behind, especially the ones I had been working with everyday for 6 years. When we came back to CSC, I was amazed with the many positive changes the kids showed. One especially was this little dude.

He continues to receive therapy at present and is very eager to come to his sessions. Just the other day, he kept on bugging an auntie that he needed to go and see me for therapy. It was in fact not his scheduled time, but what do you do with an eager child? Yes, we did our therapy and we had a great time cutting playdoh!

Now, every time he sees me, wherever he is – at school or at the shelter, whatever he is doing, he calls and shouts out my name, “Teacher Jinkee!!” That, for me, is the most rewarding part of my job.