Staff Blog

We all take turns being on duty on the evenings when the House Parents in each home have their day off.  It makes our already long day even longer but I have learned that I usually leave the home more refreshed and certainly more blessed than when I walked in a few hours earlier.

It was my night to be on duty at the Duterte Home.  All the little kids had gone upstairs to bed.  I gathered the older kids together to ask for prayer requests and to talk about things that they wanted to talk about.  The conversation quickly became about the recent typhoon.  The kids had heard stories from our workers and from friends at school regarding the death and/or destruction that the typhoon brought,  some of it not very far away.  The kids were unsure about their birth families experience in the typhoon as well.   Everyone just seemed to have a sad story to tell.  Jacob,  who is 27 years old,  wheel chair bound and unable to speak was in our group.  Jacob has Cerebral Palsy.  It was obvious that these stories were hard for Jacob to hear,  he was making sounds indicating distress and was getting more spastic as time went on.   I was afraid he was either going to break the bindings holding him in his wheel chair or break a bone!  I asked one of the workers to take Jacob to another room. I explained that we would ask Jacob to come back for our prayer time.  Jacob agreed.

For our prayer time I asked for volunteers for each of the people, families or circumstances that we had put on our prayer list.  When we got to one family that the kids had told about who had lost their home in the tsunami like storm surge that came with the arrival of the typhoon in a nearby town Jacob shouted and raised his hand in the air, he wanted to pray for that family.  His name went on the list.  We spent time in prayer,  it got quiet and Jacob had not prayed yet.  I looked up at Jacob and he was looking at me,  I just nodded, indicating that it was his time to pray.  He shut his eyes and he prayed.  A more beautiful prayer I have never heard.  As I watched and listened to Jacob pray I looked around at the other kids,  many of them were looking at Jacob too.  I was not the only one with tears in my eyes.  We could not understand one word that Jacob prayed,  we did did understand his emotion and we did understand "amen!"

Later, when all the kids were in their bedrooms I went to Jacob's room.  I thanked him for his prayer for the family and told him that I knew that God heard and understood every word he said.   I told Jacob that I thought that God was comforting the family right then because of Jacob's prayer.  Jacob got his big "Jacob smile" that takes up his whole face and even tends to make his body spastic...but he worked hard and brought his arm up in the air, got his pointer finger extended and with joy pointed straight up.  Yes Jacob,  God in Heaven heard and understood every word of your prayer!  I knew that is what  he was telling me, and I agreed.   I left for home with a smile on my face and an extra blessing in my heart.  

I didn't have my camera with me that night.  This photo is a re-enactment of Jacob telling me exactly where his prayers go! 

Christmas has come and gone, and at CSC, after that holiday season comes "Waveboard Season!"  Okay, okay, it is not a real season, but after this particular Christmas, it certainly seems like it is.  Santa delivered 18 waveboards to us this year and most days there are that many riders out at one time!  It is amazing to watch the abilities that our kids have with this toy.  Within minutes of getting one, some kids are able to get on, master the balancing, and with a little shake to get them going, they are cruising down our driveway.  They make it look so easy, so easy in fact that over the Christmas break, I was motivated to give it a try.

I put one foot on, looked for a handhold and tried to convince myself to put my other foot on it.  AGES later, I put my other foot on and with a little scream, quickly put my foot back on the ground.  The kids, of course, found it very amusing.  They were very encouraging and patient with me, despite their immense excitement at the possibility of seeing Auntie Lindsay waveboarding!  Sadly, I didn't go anywhere, but the sight seemed to be enough to satisfy their curiousity!

Check out the talent we have in our midst!

Another busy and exciting Christmas season has passed at CSC. There were many programs and activities to entertain the children and teach them about the meaning of Christmas. Click on the activity below to see some photos of the event.

Christmas at Church

Christmas Play at Children of Hope School

Christmas Outreach Party for Former Residents

Christmas Eve Party

Christmas Day

Thomas is back in Cebu! He returned after having successful surgery on his nasal passage on November 13 at the Philippine General Hospital, a huge government facility in Manila. Many people contributed to this success, including doctors, nurses, child care workers, a ministry in Manila, and lots of CSC prayer and financial supporters. So many people have expressed love and concern for our little guy! A Christian ministry in Manila, the Nehemiah Project, helped us greatly by bringing money to the hospital and pharmacy to pay bills, so our women didn't need to bring lots of cash with them. (The hospital does not accept checks or credit card payments.) Many thanks to Dan and Carla Chalmers and Darrah for this favor, and for underwriting many of Thomas' expenses at PGH.

CSC's care team in Manila was led by Warlita Manlon, our head nurse. Also along were two of our child care workers who alternated duty at the hospital every 12 hours. (In the Philippines, hospital patients are required to have "watchers" to provide some of the basic nursing type care, buy medicines and pay other bills. Our two workers jnow Thomas very well and he was comfortable with them. They all combined to provide him with excellent, loving care, and he made a great recovery. The doctor removed a significan nasal obstruction, and almost right away.

Shortly after his surgery he was examined by a neuro surgeon, as he needs additional surgery on his hydrocephalus (water on the brain). Marlys Healy was in Manila with Thomas during that consultation, and the doctor agreed to go to Cebu to do the surgery. What a blessing that will be as the logistics of caring for a child in Manila are very complicated.