Staff Blog

A recent hand delivered gift brought smiles and moist eyes here in Cebu. Lloyd, a former CSC resident who was adopted by the Fagerlie family of Norway back in 2003, recently visited Cebu with his family. He is now 10 years old. For his last birthday he told his family and friends that he didn't want any gifts, but asked them to instead give a gift to CSC. While visiting at the Shelter he presented an envelope to the kids with 30,000 pesos (US$750) inside! He had a great time playing soccer with the kids and teaching them a great lesson in generosity and "giving back." Thanks Lloyd, and all the Fagelies for your visit and this amazing gift.

Throughout our history we have faced changes that have made us think about the future of the ministry. Some have been planned, like new buildings and programs. Some have involved losses of staff or board members that make us realize just how significant these people are to this ministry. Sometimes children will leave and we will think or say, "Wow, things will never be the same around here again!"

In these days we are experiencing all of these losses and emotions. In the next few weeks, six of our children, from two different sibling groups, will be leaving for adoption. A group of four, Jonjon, Jocelyn, Jovan and Jeralyn, will be the first to go, after more than five years with us. The youngest two came to us as babies, and have been with us for important health and developmental milestones. We have great memories of all of them in school,  Christmas programs and musical presentations, as well as their exploits in the nursery, playroom and playground.

Another group of two, Sheena Mae and Angelica will also be departing soon for adoption. The have been at CSC for five and a half years. We have seen them grow into beautiful young ladies, and we think of all the joy that they have brought to our lives. It is hard to imagine life at CSC without them. The same has been true for so many children that have left. A couple years ago we had a sibling group of nine leave, followed by another of six within a few months.

We also have a beloved staff member who will be leaving within a few months. Tammy Vosika, who has taught for eight years in our Children of Hope School, will be moving on. She has been such an important part of our school, and has had a great impact on many students and other teachers, that we wonder how we'll ever replace her and what things will be like after she is gone. The same is true for short-term staff like Bjork and Lindsay Ostrom.

Of course, we've gone though all of this before. We know that God will fill the empty places and bring the people we need into CSC. And we know that God has a great plan for the lives of these children and staff. In the future, children will be leaving who have not even come into CSC yet, who we will wonder how we will replace. And staff members will retire or move on to something else, and we'll feel just like we do about Tammy.

The fact is, nobody is totally replaceable. Everyone, staff, children, workers, supporters and volunteers, has a special place that nobody else can fill. Our history has been one of God providing these people at the right times and for the right period of time, to help accomplish the work of CSC.

It will be exciting to see who the new children, staff and volunteers will be, and how God will bless and redirect those who are leaving CSC.

Last night Marlys and I had the chance to attend a capital campaign kickoff for Habitat for Humanity here in Cebu. We attended with Paul and Shari Reasoner. Paul has been working with HFH, with the intention of getting homes built for some of our workers. He has been raising funds in Minnesota, and coordinating with the Habitat leadership, both in Manila and here in Cebu. Habitat is very interested in working with our employees to build homes. It is exciting to see this developing and to imagine what a huge difference it will make to them and their families to have quality housing.

Watching the videos and listening to the speakers last night, I was struck, once again, with just what a quality organization Habitat for Humanity is. They have a great reputation for financial integrity and are meeting basic needs around the world. They are successful because they maintain their high standards, they keep their focus on what it is they are called to do, and they combine compassion with hard and practical work.

I think that CSC has similar strengths to Habitat, though we function on a much smaller scale. I think that our success over the years has been that we have kept our focus on what God has called us to do: to take care of homeless children in the Philippines.  While the needs of children in the Philippines are great, and seemingly insurmountable, we are involved in practical ministry, caring for some of these kids, offering hope and a better future.

I think that, like HFH, people have come to trust CSC for the way we go about our work and the way that we manage our people and our funds. I hope that we will always be an organization of integrity. We certainly are committed to that, from our staff to our board of directors. I hope that when people hear CSC mentioned, they will know easily know what it is we do, why we do it, and how we do it.

The CHS Sportsfest 2013 is history, and it was a great day for everyone.  The CHS teachers planned events that had something for everybody, regardless of athletic ability or interest.  There were coin and egg tosses, cheering competitions, races, hurdles, jumping and lots of other events.

Back in the '80s, Warren and Marie Hagfors were in Cebu as volunteers with the Evangelical Free Church. While there they got to know the CSC staff and were frequent visitors to the shelter. Warren helped as a computer instructor to the staff. Within a few years, they were back in Cebu, this time as CSC short-term staff. Upon returning to the U.S., Warren served on the CSC Board and Marie cross-stitched over 40 designs for the houses in Cebu.

Pat Hoeft learned about CSC from Warren and Marie, her parents. She became a loyal CSC supporter and friend to the staff. She is a medical doctor, and the hospital that she works in donated lab equipment to CSC several years ago. She went to Cebu to help get the equipment set up and running. Just this week she went to Cebu to visit her daughter, Lindsay, who is working on the CSC staff as Director of Counseling as a part of our childcare team. Lindsay is a third generation CSC lover from the Hagfors line!  We were recently overjoyed to learn that Lindsay has committed to a third year with CSC in Cebu!