Staff Blog

Actually these are not visitors, but family members coming back home.  We have a fairly constant flow of visitors coming to CSC,  we have people who find us online and want to visit to see if we are who we say we are,  we have supporters who make a once in a life time journey to see where their money has been going all these years,  we have adoptive families coming to claim their long awaited son and/or daughters from us, many other mission groups in Cebu enjoy bringing their visitors to see us,  we have our own biological family members come to visit…the list goes on and on.

The best kind of visitors for all of us is when our own CSC KIDS come back home to CSC.  This has been happening a lot and is always a wonderful time.   

Siblings Joe, Roxanne and Carlo are here with us now!  They left us for adoption 11 years ago and are back to visit us as well as their birth family.   We also have Erna, another one of our own CSC kids back here working in our school for a couple of months. We all love seeing our kids come back, but it is an extra special blessing for all the CSC aunties and uncles to see the kids return.  I get to see many of our CSC kids when I am in the States,  but our Filipino aunties and uncles only get to see the kids if they return here.  It is so fun to see their faces when they see the kids that they cared for many years ago back in the home that they lived in while at CSC.  It was hard for them to say goodbye many years ago.  These kids return visit helps our aunties and uncles  to be able to continue caring for the kids here now, and to keep saying goodbye…we need our CSC kids to keep coming back!

We have had lots of kids come back, some of the things that they remember are precious, some are embarrassing and some are just plain funny. I only recently learned that Joemar (who has lived with us almost 30 years) was the willing recipient of quite a few of the kid’s vegetables; no wonder everyone loved Joemar; he was eating their vegetables for them! We have certainly noticed common reactions and comments for kids coming back; we hear many things like  ”I remember the playground being bigger than this!” and “I am taller than the aunties, did they shrink?”

What a blessing our CSC kids are…we hope they keep coming back home to visit!

Steps can be big or small and both big and small at the same time.  Baby steps are big.  Sometimes big kids make slow, hesitant steps.

There are always babies at the shelter.  First steps for a baby are always achievements.  Eyes are full of concentration.  Hands are doing all they can to balance and anticipate a fall. Feet are planted with a shakiness and uncertainty.  These steps are so far from mastery of balance and coordination, but they are some the biggest steps this child will take in the entirety of his life.  Congrats to him!

Big kids can make big steps in ways that might fly under the radar.  At CHS graduation, all the students received an award for some achievement or contribution.  They ranged from Best in Math to Most Helpful, from Best in Music to Most Cheerful.  The Most Improved in grade 4 went to his boy.  He had put in a lot of work this past year and it was bearing fruit.  He is more than capable, but lacked motivation and direction at times.  His teachers have helped guide and challenge him.  They expected more from him and he stepped up!

The Most Improved student in grade 3 was a girl who arrived at the shelter part way through the school year.  The shelter, school, everything was new to her and it was overwhelming.  At times when things in class got difficult, she would just stop participating.  Slowly over the second half of the year, she opened up and felt more comfortable.  She stepped out of her comfort zone!

Thank you for praying for all the steps, big and small, that are taken every day.

As an adult, we wonder what the future will look like.  Too often, we are afraid of it, not trusting.  It is funny.  Even though we are more experienced than little children they often teach us to keep calm and have faith.  The future is in God’s mighty hands.

Kids arriving at CSC are unsure, uncertain and sometimes doubtful.  They have been through a lot at a very young age, but they never waver about the future.  At CSC they learn to trust again; to know that they are provided for and do not need to worry if they will have another meal.  They look straight forward with hopeful hearts.  They rest in God’s knowing hands that they will have a bright future ahead.

 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  --Jeremiah 29:11

Today we had a few Staff  members  from the LOGOS HOPE ship visit us here at CSC. Their ship is docked here in Cebu City for the month of May. It was fun for our kids to interact with young Christians from all over the world,  We had people from Europe, from South America and one young lady from Florida.  It was good for our kids to hear the accents and to learn a few words of other languages, but most important it was good for our kids to see the light of the Lord shining it the eyes and beaming from the hearts of each of these young people. One of our kids was surprised to learn that someone from another country already knew about God....he thought that CSC was the only place that told people about God. That conversation that I overheard really brought home to me the staggering responsibility that we have, we are telling kids about THE GOD, the creator of the universe, their creator.  WOW, what a blessing and what a responsibility we have! All I could think of was the children's song;  "He's Got the Whole World in his Hands".  That HE does,  and I am thankful for that fact.  We all need to be reminded of these simple truths from time to time. Thank you to the amazing young people of the Logos Hope for helping to bring this simple truth home to me today!

Every year CSC children, 10-year-old and above, look forward to summer activities. Summer activities schedule is in the month of May. This year before January was over, the children approached me with a list of activities they want to be in. I tell them to wait in February. I will have the list of names of the kids who will be in the summer activities. In the list they could also put down 3 activities they preferred by numbering them 1 to 3.  Kids were so excited. They continued to ask what activities were available to them. “Is there basketball?” Is there baseball?” “What about music?” “Will we have the same teacher for music as last year?” “Is swimming every day?” “Is it okay to have two activities to enroll in?” Even the 9-year-olds and below were curious to know when summer activities would be. The questions were usually “Is May after graduation?” “Is it far away?” “When will it start?” 

After the lists were out to the homes, the next questions asked were “Who is in basketball or soccer or music or etc.?” Another one was “May I change my activity?” “I like that activity, why is it not in the list?” “I would like to be with so-and-so, may I transfer to that one?” When confusion, agreements and activities were in place, thirty-six children were enrolled in various activities this year. There are 3 in soccer, 8 in basketball, 1 in table tennis, 7 in cooking, 9 in music, 1 in badminton, and 7 in swimming. 

The other day, I was the watcher for basketball. Early in the morning while I was up putting my bags at the child care office, one of the girls asked if we could leave earlier than the time we were to leave. When asked why, she said they did not want to be late. Their coach made them do push-ups according to how many minutes they were late. So we did and we made it! 

It was the first time I was watcher for basketball this year. I was pleasantly surprised at what happened before lessons were started. The head coach told the kids who were there to sit down, bow their heads and he prayed for them and for the morning ahead. After praying, he proceeded to talk to the kids about discipline, practice and preparing for things in the future. He told them Noah did not start building the ark when it started to rain. Noah was ready with the ark and he was safe, together with his family, when the rains came. He finished his talk and encouragement to the kids by telling them to always practice what they learned, to be prepared, to do everything they could to come early to basketball lessons. When they do that, the lessons they learned will help them face difficulties, or trials that would come to them later on. He reminded them not to forget God will always be there to help them if they ask.