Staff Blog

So many people work together to make CSC go. Years ago, our friends in Canada put together an organization to help support the ministry in Cebu. The Cebu Children's Shelter Society of Canada was former by people who had lived in Cebu and knew about the work that we were doing. CCSSC is an entirely volunteer-run organization that sends all the money that comes in to Cebu for the ministry. Every year they have a banquet and auction as a fund raiser for the ministry. I have had the pleasure of attending a few of these events and have always been amazed at how hard these volunteers work for the sake of our kids here. It is a labor of love, and the labor is significant - planning, soliciting donations, organizing, displaying, decorating, cooking, greeting, cleaning up, counting, receipting. And lots 0f prayer goes into the event.

It takes many people to make CSC go and these dear folks' love for our children is humbling and very encouraging for our staff. Thank you so much for all you do for the ministry! 

One of the values that guides CSC is especially important to me. We need to be thankful people. And we need to express that thanks. It starts with hearts of thanksgiving to God, the Giver of all gifts. Even though we may thank Him regularly in personal or family prayers, it is important to be intentional about group times of thanksgiving, like staff or team meetings or through corporate prayers at church or small groups. At CSC we need to unify our thinking around thankfulness, because, without God's provision, our efforts are just not enough. 

But we also need to be thankful to those around us. At CSC, we need to continually  express our thanks to those who support us financially and through prayers. In many ways, this kind of thankfulness is an organizational lifestyle. Every gift should be acknowledged and in a timely manner.  The personal touch is important; we should send personal notes with receipts. We are even working on sending occasional thank you notes from the staff in Cebu, when possible. Every form of thanks is important and beneficial because, without the provision of our friends, the efforts of the staff are just not enough.

Here in Cebu, we are aware of the need to teach thankfulness to our CSC children. Although they have had difficulties in their lives, God has been good to bring them to CSC and to give them a second chance at family. People give sacrificially to help provide for their care. Aunties and staff show them kindness. The food is good and plentiful. Their medical needs are met. They have a great school to attend with loving and talented teachers. And many of them will eventually go to an adoptive family that will open their homes and lives to them. We need to help build a foundation of thankfulness for their lives that will help them understand their debt of gratitude to God, CSC and their adoptive families. I wish you could join our kids for their nightly prayers with their houseparents or a staff member. They almost always remember to thank God for our dear supporters, as they should. The kids know that it takes a lot of money to keep CSC going and to allow them to live in a healthy and comfortable way. And they know where it comes from.

Thank you for visiting our site and for reading this blog. Thanks for your interest in CSC and for the gifts and prayers that you might be willing to offer to help us love and care for these children. Thank you so much!

This is certainly a season of change for CSC. We have new staff, new policies, some new job descriptions, a new organizational chart and some refurbished facilities. Although our ministry remains the same - caring for homeless children with the love of Jesus - we have some new ways of doing things.

And we have an entirely new department! We will soon be launching our new Human Resources Department. We have been talking about this for some time. With more than 125 workers, the need for HR is obvious. Finally the pieces are in place and we will soon be hiring an HR Director. We already have the office space created. Soon the department will be fully in place and we are really excited about what this will mean for CSC, our workers and, ultimately, the children we care for. We know that having an HR department will help us do a better job of servicing our employees, seeing to their compensation, training and morale. We want our workers, who are the backbone of the ministry, to feel more connected to each other, and to feel better about their part in the success of the ministry.

Many thanks to those whose hard work helped lay the groundwork for establishing this department, specifically Joel Reasoner, Peter Arneson, Marcel Pacada, Mitch Ohlendorf and Jake Schulz.

Once again our faithful supporters rallied around CSC and helped us make our budget at the 11th hour. Actually, it was more like the 12th hour. Matt Buley and Jill Grasley had kept us abreast of the situation and what we needed for income during the last few days of the year. It seemed insurmountable, but somehow the money came in and we reached our income goals for the year! Thank you to everyone who gave at year-end, and throughout the year.

There are lots of changes around here! We have new staff, a refurbished office, some new kids and some new plans and procedures for the coming year. What remains the same is our commitment to providing the best care possible for the kids that come into our homes. That has remained the same for 37 years. And our confidence in moving forward is grounded in the reality that our supporters are faithful and true. And generous. And amazing.

To our supporters, thanks for being a part of this ministry and what CSC means to the children who call this place home. Thanks for caring, for praying and for giving.

I like to hear songs and see pictures about snowy Christmas times. I remember such times from my youth. Those memories are almost all good ones. But deep inside my mind are a few memories that my Norman Rockwell filter failed to delete, like gifts of socks, brown Christmases, ruined choirs, oyster stew, tone deaf carolers, fruitcake, etc.

Here in Cebu it is hot. No sleigh bells ringing or Jack Frost nipping at your nose. It is 86 degrees at 9:30 am. And its raining! But Christmas at CSC in Cebu has a charm and an attraction that cannot be replicated elsewhere. We are right in the middle of it. Thursday will be the Children of Hope School Christmas program. The kids will dance and sing and recite. The dressed rehearsal was this morning. Next week we'll have a progressive dinner for the kids at the homes of our staff: Schulzes - appetizer; Reasoners - salad; Teen Home - soup, and Healys - main course. Dessert is served back at the Shelter. The aunties will make cinnamon roll Christmas trees. Then comes our Junel's Box activity. The kids have given money from their allowances to buy building materials and food supplies for a poor family that lives in the dumpsite. We will take a jeep full of the kids to present these gifts to the family and sing a few carols. It is a great experience of learning and giving for the children. Though they live lives of safety and relative comfort now, most of them came from backgrounds similar to what this family faces. Christmas Eve will an exciting night of gift giving from Santa with lots of surprises and hijinks. Many of our new kids have never received a gift before and the excitement level is already getting high. Christmas Day will start early with the kids getting up to check out their Christas stockings. The staff will serve them a Christmas dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, rice, green been casserole and Christmas cookies. Then there will be a pageant with live animals at the Teen Home with the staff acting out the Christmas drama. Poor acting, botched lines and off key singing will be the rule but all will be forgiven as the kids marvel at the live manger scene.

So, although there won't be tobogganing, hot cider or a winter wonderland, Christmas will be a great time, and will produce memories that will, for some of the kids, last a lifetime.