Staff Blog

CSC kids have overcome huge odds to get where they are today. Never count them out. Our children include a girl who suffered burns over much of her body, including her hands, but who is amazing everyone with her dexterity, her dogged determination and her zest for life. We have a boy who had multiple major surgeries including brain surgery, before he was a year old. Today he is running around the house, impressing everyone with his ability to communicate and to run around the playground with the kids his age. We have a girl who came to us as a malnourished baby who was way behind developmentally, and who the doctors told us would probably never walk. She is walking. Very well, thank you. We have a boy who was badly abused and didn't have the self confidence to speak, much less be able to learn or join in activities at school. Now he is participating in school plays, is learning to communicate with adults and his peers, and was recently able to join the other big kids at camp.

No, never count any of our kids out. In fact, we should never give up on anybody. With a loving, healing God, and people like our therapists, nurses, houseparents, teachers and staff, there is always hope.CSC is all about hope.

There has been an excitement going around CSC for the past few weeks.  Every other year in February a work team from Minnesota comes and does a camp with the older kids at CSC.  They get to ride a bus and travel to camp. Once at camp it is four days of fun, fun, fun!  The kids get to hear from Gods word, swim, sing, play silly games, eat good food, have camp fires, hang out with really cool people, and so much more.  It is definitely an experience the kids never forget!

Camp is approaching this week but the kids have had their bags packed for awhile already.  Those who have been to camp before have shared with their new friends at CSC all about it. Our work team arrived within the last few days and everyone is ready!  

A big thank you to our work team for coming and giving our kids such a special experiences! Please keep our kids and work team in your prayers as they are off at camp this coming week and weekend.

Yesterday the CSC workers all had their annual physical checkup.  A big truck pulled up into the driveway at CSC and the workers came throughout the day to have blood work, chest x-rays and a physical checkup. The needles were not well liked by the workers but they were grateful to know more about their health.

Aunties waiting for their turn.

Blood pressure check

The least favorite. Blood extraction

Kurume Christ Church, hence KCC, is a church in the city of Higashi Kurume in the greater Tokyo area in Japan.  KCC is significant for a number of reasons, but one reason is that it is the only church in Asia that supports CSC on an on-going basis.  Kurume Christ Church became aware of CSC many years ago through the friendship of Paul and Shari Reasoner and Taizo and Kimiko Morimoto.  Taizo is the pastor of Kurume Christ Church.  Pastor Morimoto wanted his church members to broaden their experience of helping people in need, so he suggested a team of people go to Cebu to see the shelter.  Since that initial trip, a number of people who attend KCC have visited and volunteered at the shelter.  A nurse came to help the nurses at the shelter,  t-shirts were given to all of the workers and children at the shelter, a high school student volunteered in the medical department to enhance her pursuit of a career in medicine, and the church sponsors CSC children through the Foster Friends program.   So KCC has been creative in its involvment with CSC. 

Next week the Reasoner clan in Cebu (Joel, Jinkee, Ethan, Shari and Paul) is heading up to Japan to visit friends, family, Morimotos, and KCC.  It will be great to update and thank the church people in person for their continued support of the shelter.  

I have been finishing up my book on the history of CSC. It has been a great experience to look back on the earlier years of the ministry and see how many times God has seen us through difficulties and helped us meet challenges. We have faced financial hardships, political uncertainties, sickness, natural disasters, death and a fire. And one year we faced all of these. Except the fire.

1990 was quite a year for CSC. Our board had approved a budget that was significantly more than the previous year. But income was down significantly and our reserves were being depleted. What's more, CSC's Executive Director had to resign for health reasons. There were lots of political uncertainties in the country. Many of our children were sick and one, little Sonny Boy, died after a 72 hour battle in the ICU. Three of our staff were on furlough during the year, leaving us short-handed in Cebu. And, in November we got hit by super typhoon Ruping which cause lots of damage in Cebu, though nothing major at CSC. We were inconvenienced by power outage and lack of sufficient water.

Not a great year. But one where we learned a lot about God's sustaining power, his heart, and our ability, with his help, to withstand lots of challenges. We also learned a lot about CSC's supporters, and how they rally around us during difficult times. People stepped up, pitched in with the fund raising, gave sacrificially, prayed for us and help pull us through 1990. And every year since.

Some of you have been around CSC since 1990. If so, thanks for then and for now. If you were a part of our stupendous December giving rally in 2015, or have been praying for CSC or our family, BIG thanks. We have needed you so much. We take on the challenges of today and in the future because of what you have meant to us in the past.  Bless you all.