Staff Blog

We do not recognize the contributions of our direct service workers enough. They are truly the heart and soul of our ministry. They feed, cook, bathe, change, medicate, comfort, mediate, encourage, admonish, discipline, and a whole lot more things I can't think of right now. We need to honor them more often. Consider this blog entry and attempt to do that. You can help honor them by praying for them and their families. Our aunties and uncles are very hard working and dedicated, and most of them have families of their own to go home to. There they need to do the same tasks that they perform at CSC. It is not an easy job, but I think most of our workers would tell you of the ways that their lives have been blessed through investing in the lives of our children.

It takes a lot of pictures to  satisfy the needs of keeping our friends up on the latest from CSC. Most of our staff members take pictures. We store them on hard drives, on Dropbox and Picasa. We use them in our newsletters, on our web site, on Facebook and in prayer letters. We keep large numbers of pictures of each CSC child for their records, and to share with adoptive families.

We need pictures to accompany child study reports submitted for local and intercountry adoption. Some of these are used to document the height of the children.  

We take pictures of special days at CSC that involve the children in music, dance, sports or school outings.

 We need pictures of the everyday activities of our children that show our supporters or prospective donors the kinds of facilities, people and programs that constitute this ministry. And we take pictures of highlights in the lives of our kids: graduations, birthdays, or the times when we tell them that they are going to be adopted. These pictures will eventually go with the children when they leave us, and will for an important part of their histories. We never know just how important a picture might be to one of our residents, his adoptive family, or, eventually, her own family. And we never know which picture we shoot might motivate someone to want to get involved in the support of this ministry.

Cebu City has been our home for more than 34 years. It is the home of our ministry and our families. We have seen tremendous change here in our years as residents. It is a place of great beauty. Tourists flock to the beaches of Mactan Island and other places in droves, coming from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, China, Australia, Europe and North America. Sadly, many of these visitors never cross the bridge to Cebu City, so they do not get an accurate picture of what life is like for the greater percentage of Filipinos living here. They see the beautiful white sand beaches and blue ocean water, but fail to observe the teeming squatter areas, the street children and families, and the desperate poverty that is the way of life for hundreds of thousands here in Cebu City. 

Cebu is a fascinating place to visit. Visitors who make it a point to get the full tour go away with an education in the diverse lifestyles, opportunities and expressions of Philippine culture that make this such an interesting place. It isn't pleasant to view the poverty and difficulties of life, but those things are part of the reality of life here. Often that exposure helps reinforce people's resolve to do something to help those in need, through ministries like CSC.

Although a small part of the city geographically, CSC is a part of the beauty and diversity that makes Cebu such a fascinating place. We have children and adults of all sizes and shapes. We have kids who come from very different situations in life, and who have varied interests and talents. But all are a part of the CSC family, and a part of the city from which many of them came. Visiting CSC has been a blessing for thousands of people over the years, and we have welcomed parties from more than 30 nations to come and see what we are doing. Check out this quick view of Cebu City and CSC.

Several months ago we met with Gauvin and Delphine Guillaume, a French couple who had just arrived in Cebu. They had formerly worked in China where they started an orphanage called Bethel. They were considering ministry opportunities in Cebu with an eye towards doing something for children with special needs. Eventually, they decided to start a therapy center and their first  program is something called Equine Therapy. Their ministry is known as the SPACE Project, or Special People Accessing Creative Education.

Equine Therapy, also known as Hippotherapy,  is a treatment that uses the multidimensional movement of the horse. Specially trained physical, occupational and speech therapists use this medical treatment for clients who have movement dysfunction.

 Equine Therapy uses activities on the horse that are meaningful to the client. Treatment takes place in a controlled environment where graded sensory input can elicit appropriate adaptive responses from the client. Specific riding skills are not taught (as in therapeutic riding), but rather a foundation is established to improve neurological function and sensory processing. This foundation can then be generalized to a wide range of daily activities.

Friday was our introduction to this innovative program which will be available to some of our children and young adults with special needs. Maria, Michael, Wilmar and Jhaycob met the horse, Kose, for the first time. They helped to feed and groom him, and all but Jhaycob had their first ever ride. It was supposed to just be a "meet and greet" with Kose but they all did so well that the therapist felt it was good for them to ride. Jhaycob was a little tentative but pet the horse and helped give him a bath. All in all it was a great day and we are looking forward to weekly therapy for these, and possibly other kids in the very near future.  

The Philippines is a place of tremendous contrasts. Rich and poor people live in close proximity in every city and town. There is great natural beauty here, and the ugliness of smog, squatter areas and polluted rivers. Large SUVs and antique looking bicycles share the roads. Some people buy food at modern style grocery stores; others prefer the large open air markets.

CSC is also a place of contrasts. We ride a roller coaster of emotions on an almost daily basis. While we deal with problems and difficult behavioral issues with some children, we celebrate accomplishments in our homes and school. We deal with children like CJ who has been sick for most of his 18 months. He suffers from bilateral vesicoureteral reflux, which affects his kidneys, and has microcephaly. He has developmental delays and gastroesophageal reflux. At the same time we marvel at the growth and health of most of our kids. We watch children running on the playground and those that must be pushed in their wheel chairs. We hear reports of our former residents who are having difficulty in their adoptive families, in school and in relationships, even while we celebrate the accomplishments of others who are exceling in academics and sports, and are growing in their faith.

Someone once said that if you are not experiencing ups and downs it means that you are dead. CSC is alive because we take on the challenges of working with older children, sibling groups, those with difficult pasts and kids with medical challenges.

2013 has provided lots of challenges and blessings for CSC as an organization, even in the financial area. A couple of our supporting churches decided to cut back or stop their support of CSC due to changing priorities or financial difficulties. Our income from the Combined Federal Campaign has gone down considerably. But in the midst of those challenges God has provided in other ways. One of our faithful churches decided to give an "over and above" gift at the end of their fiscal year as they had a surplus in funds. They decided not to put the money in the bank but to help fund meaningful ministry. Some children in St. Paul heard of CSC's financial needs and decided to sell lemonade outside their home, with all the profits going to our kids in Cebu.  Lots of ups mixed in with the downs.

Tom Kelly, a former manager of the Minnesota Twins, used to say that one of the keys to success in Major League Baseball was not getting too high after a win or too low after a loss. Keeping things on an even keel emotionally is easier to do in a baseball context than with a ministry to homeless children in a country like the Philippines. But there is some truth for us. As we ride the inevitable roller coaster of emotions, we need to keep our eyes on God, remembering his tremendous provision in the past, and knowing that in the midst of dark and difficult times, his light shines bright on CSC.