Staff Blog

Typhoon Hagiput (Ruby) is heading out of the Philippines.  It closely followed the path Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) took last year, passing north of Cebu City.  Children’s Shelter of Cebu braced for the worst over the weekend.  Fortunately, Typhoon Hagupit continued to weaken as it traveled across the Philippines. The wind and rain were minimal in Cebu City.

Thank you for all your prayers of safety for CSC and Cebu City.  Continue to pray for all the people affected by the storm. 

This morning I had the honor of eating breakfast with 45 amazing donors. CSC held it’s second annual Shareholder Meeting today. This shareholder group consists of donors who have given a total of $50,000 or more in gifts OR 150 or more lifetime gifts. I was calculating what that looks like and realized that in order to hit 150 lifetime gifts, it equals monthly gifts to an organization for at least 12 1/2 years. That’s a really long time. And a serious commitment to a ministry.

I was honored to be in a room with people so dedicated to helping the children in Cebu. In a way, everyone who gives to support the ministry is a shareholder. Whether it is your first gift or your 200th gift, you are investing in the work of changing lives in the Philippines. Thank you for your support!

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to preach at my home church, Central Baptist. I spoke about Zebedee, the father of James and John. The title of my sermon was "Stay in the Boat." I took a look at the life of Zebedee as he saw his boys leave the boat to go and follow Jesus. Zebedee's calling was to stay in the boat, to not get in  the way of his boys' leaving, and, almost certainly, to keep working hard to be able to support their calling to follow Jesus.

While some have been called to leave their homes and go to Cebu to serve. Others have answered the call to remain in North America, in their communities, families and places of employment. The financial and prayer support of the missionaries who went to the Philippines has been crucially important to success of the ministry in the lives of the children that God has brought to us.

Praise God for the Zebedees who have blessed CSC over the years, who put the food, medicine, clothing and books in the hands of our staff to brighten the lives of homeless children in Cebu.

The other day, I had the great pleasure of learning how to make pan de munay, a Filipino baked delicacy.  Jules, one of our Teen Home residents, recently completed a Bread and Pastry course.  He is a certified baker now!  Jules has long been interested in the Culinary Arts, but high school was long and difficult for him.  Even so, he never gave up on himself or his dream!  He graduated from high school this past April and he has been eager to pursue his desired field.  Since becoming certified, he is baking up a storm.  Each day trying something new!  Those at the Teen Home are blessed to eat his daily creations and I know, I am excited whenever I visit for the chance to taste one of his products.  For those of you interested in learning how pan de munay is made, check out Jules' step by step instructions in the pictures below.  He was a great teacher for me and he even let me roll a few of them!  :) 

1. Cut the dough

2. Roll it

3. Stretch it

4. Oil the pan

5. Cut the dough

6. Fill with sugar.  Yum!

7. Let rise

8. Bake, then let cool!

9. Enjoy!  (Truthfully, I had intended to take pictures after each bite, but I was overtaken by the warm, buttery, sugary goodness and instead just focused on eating it!)

Thanks for tuning in to baking with Jules!  Please keep him in your prayers as he continues to practice his skills and eventually looks for work as a baker.  He is a great guy and we are proud of him!

I overheard a conversation the other day while waiting for a friend to arrive to lunch. Near my table two guys, apparent former coworkers, bumped into each other.

It was odd. After exchanging greetings the one asked, "so, how long you got?" Hopefully my face didn't betray that I was eavesdropping, because I was confused enough by the question to let on. Were these guys prison inmates? It sounded like he was asking, "how long are you in for?"

It turns out he basically was. Both men were nearing retirement, and the crux of their conversation had to do with how much longer they had to work. They were counting down the years until they could quit.

I hope I don't ever have a job in which I wish away years of my life because of it. In college I had one that caused me to wish away days, and that was bad enough. On my way to work in the morning I'd look at the other side of the highway and daydream I could press fast-forward and automatically be on the other side heading home. It wasn't a very uplifting commute.

I'm not sure what line of work those guys in the restaurant were in, but I'd bet they weren't missionaries. I know several missionaries. They have really hard jobs--and there are certainly days they wish would end. They work tons of hours, live far from family, have to learn a culture and are constantly putting others ahead of themselves. But, wow, do they live lives of purpose.

Are you wondering what you're going to do with your life? There are many good jobs out there, and many paths to take. Don't forget that missions is a valid one...including at the Children's Shelter of Cebu. We will have needs for teachers, administrators, coordinators and practitioners to work alongside our Filipino leaders in the coming years. I can promise it would be a challenge, and a career full of purpose.

If you think you might have what it takes to be a missionary, shoot me a line at cscusa@cscshelter.org. I'd love to chat with you.