Staff Blog

Eight years ago today I arrived in the Philippines to begin my work at CSC.  It's amazing how it seems like such a short and long time ago at the same time!  I can still remember that trip so clearly, but yet it seems as if I've always been with CSC.   

Recently I did a count, and, if my count is correct, 241 kids have been a part of CSC during my eight years here.  Some for just a short while and others for the entire time I've been here.  What a blessing it has been for me to have each of them as a part of my life!  

Now my time at CSC is ending.  In three short weeks, I'll be moving back to Minnesota.  While I'm excited to see what God has in store for my future, I'm going to miss everyone at CSC so much!  My goal this summer was to spend time with all of our 7-year-old and above kids outside of the shelter.  I made a list and very slowly I've been working my way through it.  Often, when the kids see me, they ask, "Is it my turn?!"  It's been so much fun to hang out with them!  Here are some pictures of our outings!

1.  Lunch at McDonald's

2. Lunch at Jollibee!  This guy was so excited to "eat outside" that he hopped, danced, and cartwheeled his way across the yard as he yelled, "Yeah!!! Jollibee!!!"  I love his enthusiasm!

3. Glow-in-the-Dark Mini-golfing!

4. Nail Polish & Cupcakes Party!  I took all of the 7, 8, and 9-year-old girls to my house.  For those who wanted, I let them try to put the nail polish on themselves.  Let's just say it was a bit messy, but so much fun!  (I had to do a few fixes.  The girls would come up and ask me to "erase" the messed up nail polish!)  Then we headed out to a cupcake store.  The blackforest cupcakes were the most popular choice...I think the cherry on top had something to do with it!  

5.  Dinner at Davinci's Pizza!

6.  A Narnia Party!  We have a sibling group at CSC that has 2 brothers and 2 sisters.  Several months ago, they made the connection that they were the same as the family in the Chronicles of Narnia movie.  We decided that someday we would have a "Narnia Party".  This last week, we finally got around to it!  The kids all created props for their characters (swords, shields, crowns, bow & arrows, etc.) and I was Mrs. Beaver.  We watched "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and acted out different parts of the movie!  The evening was filled with laughter and fun!

Our kids go in waves with their favorite activities.  For quite a while, everyone was into waveboarding.  Sometimes it's playing marbles and sometimes it's rubber bands.  The current craze is a game called "Juggling".  The kids take turns kicking a ball in the air. The first person has to kick the ball once, the second person kicks it twice, and so on.  They have up to 3 tries to get the desired number of kicks in.  Sometimes they also have contests to see who can get the most number of kicks in one try.  I haven't asked everyone, but the highest number I've heard is from Maricris.  She kept the ball in the air for 60 kicks in a row!  Amazing!  

Continuing on with the theme of kites!  Recently, I spent an afternoon hanging out with the kids at the shelter.  Almost immediately, Jhaycob ran up to me with a tangled-up pile of string.  He wanted me to untangle it so he could use it to fly his kite.  I began looking around the yard and it was incredible how many kids were playing with kites.  Some were making them, and others were busy untangling strings.  Some of the kids were the "holders" and others were the "runners".  Toddlers dragged plastic bags across the yard, and the older kids and houseparents had huge, fancy kites flying high in the sky!  Some of the kites even had writing on them: "Fly CSC", "Cherne WOW", and "WOW CSC"!  Enjoy a video of some of the different activities that were going on that day!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" -1 Peter 1:3

There have many different activities at CSC over the last few days to remember and celebrate Jesus' resurrection!  He is RISEN!  Praise the Lord!

On Wednesday, we had an Easter program at school!  We sang praise songs to the Lord, watched several performances, and played some games related to Easter and Jesus' resurrection.  It ended with announcing the winner's of the coloring contest!  Here are the winners!

On Sunday, many of our kids performed in the morning church service.  Below is a picture of them up on stage.  It was hard to get a good picture because they were so far away.  Almost all of the kids in white are our kids!

After the church service, each of the houses had their own Easter egg hunt.  The kids had so much fun searching through the bushes and around the yard for the eggs!  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from that event!

This preschooler came to school sporting a hair style just like his older brother's!  

I'm not sure what was happening with this next photo, but I found him lining up to go home for lunch wearing a swimming cap and goggles.  I still have no idea why, but it was a fun photo!

This little boy is our newest addition to CSC.  It took a while for me to get a smile out of him, but he's starting to warm up to me now!!  I love this picture!

Just a few of the darlings you can find on our playground!!

And just a really cute moment, I caught on video!  God is so good!!