The past couple of weeks have been extremely interesting and activity-packed times at CSC. Emotional, too. Six of our kids left for adoption in the week before Christmas; they had all been with us for more than four years. Saying goodbye is never easy, but doing so right before Christmas is even tougher, at least for me. So many of my great memories of them are from Christmas pageants, recitals and parties. I can remember when they received their first gifts, or sang solos or played their instruments publicly for the first time.
But the reality of life at CSC is that, even as we wipe tears out of our eyes as kids are leaving, we greet new ones who are being admitted to the Shelter. Since the beginning of December seven kids have come to live with us, and the whole series of "firsts" begins again.
It is really hard to capture in words what Christmas is like here at CSC. It is, in some ways, a crazy time, with lots of activities, fun, laughter, music and surprises. It is a time for the staff to pour themselves into planning, arranging, creating, purchasing, wrapping, decorating, baking, encouraging.... giving. Although we do a lot of those things throughout the year, the intensity goes up five notches for Christmas. And although we all breathe a sigh of relief on Christmas night when the pageant is over and the last manger animal is led out of the Teen Home yard, we know good and well that next year we'll enjoy all the same activities and work. Because next year, and every year, there will be new kids at CSC who have never experienced Christmas before.
For the CSC kids who have left the shelter and are with their adoptive families, or are now parents themselves, trying to establish their own family tradions, we hope that their memories of Christmas as CSC will be precious ones - times when they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were treasured by us and where they developed special feelings about this wonderful time of the year.
If you are thinking that Christmas is a somber and sacred time at CSC, you are right, and very wrong. There is some of that. But, on the other hand, one of the veteran staff members sang a rousing version of "Walking in my Winter Underwear" this year!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Cool Update
I've got some good news as an update on my last two posts. We have taken the sibling group in at CSC. Well, four of the five, anyway. We now have Joevani (16), Sheila May (9), Jeson (4) and James (1) living at CSC. The other sibiling, Genevie, might also join them, although she is quite emotionally distraught and isn't too sure what she wants.
Joevani is still being isolated, as he has t.b., and he will probably live in our Teen Home when he comes out. The three younger kids are doing great, and Sheila May has already started school. There are lots of adjustments ahead, but I am so happy we have these kids and that they are on the road to physical and emotional healing.
Joevani is still being isolated, as he has t.b., and he will probably live in our Teen Home when he comes out. The three younger kids are doing great, and Sheila May has already started school. There are lots of adjustments ahead, but I am so happy we have these kids and that they are on the road to physical and emotional healing.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Basura
The family of kids that I mentioned in my last entry are among the poorest of the poor in our world today. The oldest boy, faced with the responsibility of providing for his four younger siblings, tried everything he could think of to get food for the family. One thing he did was go to the garbage dump in search of anything that he could sell for money.
I was telling the kids at CSC about this family, and when I got to the garbage part of the story, one of our boys nodded knowingly. Victor knows exactly what that group of kids is going through. He worked the basura (garbage) dump before coming to live at CSC. He knows the game. He knows the desperate poverty that causes young boys to dig through basura and the risks of injury and sickness. He knows the competitive nature of the business and the rough people that can be found at the dumps.
Victor will be leaving for adoption very soon. As I think about where he came from and where he will be going, I have to shake my head and whisper a prayer of thanksgiving. Part of me wants Victor, and the boy that we are helping in LapuLapu, to some day be able to forget those sad chapters of their lives. I want them to be shielded from painful or fearful memories. I don't want them to have permanent emotional scars. Another part of me wants them to remember. I don't want them to forget that God rescued them and the many things that they have to be thankful for. Maybe what I want is for their memories to be redeemed - to be purged of the pain but remain as reminders of God's grace.
I was telling the kids at CSC about this family, and when I got to the garbage part of the story, one of our boys nodded knowingly. Victor knows exactly what that group of kids is going through. He worked the basura (garbage) dump before coming to live at CSC. He knows the game. He knows the desperate poverty that causes young boys to dig through basura and the risks of injury and sickness. He knows the competitive nature of the business and the rough people that can be found at the dumps.
Victor will be leaving for adoption very soon. As I think about where he came from and where he will be going, I have to shake my head and whisper a prayer of thanksgiving. Part of me wants Victor, and the boy that we are helping in LapuLapu, to some day be able to forget those sad chapters of their lives. I want them to be shielded from painful or fearful memories. I don't want them to have permanent emotional scars. Another part of me wants them to remember. I don't want them to forget that God rescued them and the many things that they have to be thankful for. Maybe what I want is for their memories to be redeemed - to be purged of the pain but remain as reminders of God's grace.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Its never far away
Sometimes life here in the Philippines can be like a "good news, bad news" joke. The good news is that there are 71 children receiving shelter, good food, medical care, education, spiritual guidance and lots of love at CSC. The bad news is that there are thousands more who need us very badly but who we cannot take in.
The pain and s
uffering of children are realities of life here in Cebu. They are never far away. While we help alleviate those things from the lives of the kids we are able to take in, we are continually brought into contact with others who are living in desperation. We can't take all of them in, but we have to live with the fact that they are there and that they are suffering. For me, these things are expecially hard to deal with as the holiday season approaches.
Today Chris, one of our social workers, reminded me of one of
our pending referrals - a sibling group of five whose parents both died and who are living in very difficult circumstances on a nearby island. The mother died of scurvy in 2003 and the father was buried in September of this year. The kids are living in the worst poverty imagineable. The oldest boy is responsible for finding food for the others and has lots of emotional distress over their needs and his inability to meet them. We don't have any vacancy at CSC right now for these kids, but are looking for ways that we can help until such a time as we might be able to take them in. In the meantime I think about them and wonder how they're doing in that little shack near the ocean.
When I look at our CSC kids I think about those who are left behind in the squatter areas and communites from which they come. When I stop at a red light and my car is surrounded by beggars, usually children, I think of our kids running happily at CSC, and how they would almost certainly be among the beggars if not for this ministry. I see our kids' eyes in theirs.
This is the tough part about living and working here. Although we must try to focus our attention on the kids we can take in rather than those we cannot, it is impossible to isolate ourselves from the realities of life around us. And those realities are a burden that we bear. Because unlike the good news bad news humor, this is no joke. This is about life, death, hunger, sickness, pain and emotional distress. Tough thoughts for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The pain and s
uffering of children are realities of life here in Cebu. They are never far away. While we help alleviate those things from the lives of the kids we are able to take in, we are continually brought into contact with others who are living in desperation. We can't take all of them in, but we have to live with the fact that they are there and that they are suffering. For me, these things are expecially hard to deal with as the holiday season approaches.Today Chris, one of our social workers, reminded me of one of
our pending referrals - a sibling group of five whose parents both died and who are living in very difficult circumstances on a nearby island. The mother died of scurvy in 2003 and the father was buried in September of this year. The kids are living in the worst poverty imagineable. The oldest boy is responsible for finding food for the others and has lots of emotional distress over their needs and his inability to meet them. We don't have any vacancy at CSC right now for these kids, but are looking for ways that we can help until such a time as we might be able to take them in. In the meantime I think about them and wonder how they're doing in that little shack near the ocean.When I look at our CSC kids I think about those who are left behind in the squatter areas and communites from which they come. When I stop at a red light and my car is surrounded by beggars, usually children, I think of our kids running happily at CSC, and how they would almost certainly be among the beggars if not for this ministry. I see our kids' eyes in theirs.
This is the tough part about living and working here. Although we must try to focus our attention on the kids we can take in rather than those we cannot, it is impossible to isolate ourselves from the realities of life around us. And those realities are a burden that we bear. Because unlike the good news bad news humor, this is no joke. This is about life, death, hunger, sickness, pain and emotional distress. Tough thoughts for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
A paperless ministry
I've got this friend here in Cebu who is around 26 years old. He and his wife run a birthing ministry here and they work with a lot of very poor mothers. They are great people and David has helped us with our computer networks and other IT stuff for the past year. It is really interesting to talk with him about ministry promotion. He runs a largely paperless operation. Their newlsetters are all electronic and are distributed through e-mail or via their web site. They don't send out mail to their supporters, but communicate entirely through e-mail. They do webcasting and podcasting and vodcasting to get out the images and needs of their ministry and to do the updates for their sponsorship program . Their donors give on-line, and receive their receipts that way. Most of their donors are their age, and are used to getting all of their information, whether it be news, opinions or even ministry information from internet sources. Growing up in the information explosion age, this is the only way they really know to communicate find out the things that they want to know.
I have a brother who is an editor of a community newspaper. He estimates that in the next decade or so newspapers will disappear. Already they are experience dwindling readership and distribution, as more and more people get their news from other sources. Perhaps other institutions that we, the older generation, have grown up with will disappear. Like missionary prayer letters or ministry brochures of the paper variety.
We are looking at these issues as an organization. We have donors of all ages, many of whom have not totally embraced the computer age. So we must continue to produce the materials that they require to keep up on CSC and to know of our needs and opportunities. But we must also be sensitive those who want to learn and give on-line. We are trying to develop our web site. We are going to offer electronic options for our Foster Friends updates and our news and prayer letters.
So goes the leadership of a ministry in the 21st Century. Things change. It is exciting to be a part of an organization that has maintained its values and focus over the years, while trying to keep current and being willing to change.
I have a brother who is an editor of a community newspaper. He estimates that in the next decade or so newspapers will disappear. Already they are experience dwindling readership and distribution, as more and more people get their news from other sources. Perhaps other institutions that we, the older generation, have grown up with will disappear. Like missionary prayer letters or ministry brochures of the paper variety.
We are looking at these issues as an organization. We have donors of all ages, many of whom have not totally embraced the computer age. So we must continue to produce the materials that they require to keep up on CSC and to know of our needs and opportunities. But we must also be sensitive those who want to learn and give on-line. We are trying to develop our web site. We are going to offer electronic options for our Foster Friends updates and our news and prayer letters.
So goes the leadership of a ministry in the 21st Century. Things change. It is exciting to be a part of an organization that has maintained its values and focus over the years, while trying to keep current and being willing to change.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
A job well done
The other night I had a flat tire. My spare was also flat. And my jack parts were not all in the trunk. (Those who know me well will not be surprised to read this.) I had to call up Undoy, the house father from the teen home to come and bail me out. He brought two of the teens, Julieto and Ronilo.
After bringing my spare to be filled with air, Undoy and the boys went to work. It turned out that their jack wasn't working properly, so it became a pretty difficult task to get the flat tire off. The guys had to use both jacks, and two of them had to crawl under my car. The cranking of the jack was very slow. At several points I asked if I should call someone else to come who had proper equipment. Undoy answered, "just let me try one more thing."
Finally the job was done. After thanking the guy I got back into my car and watched Ondoy and his two boys walk back to their jeep, shaking the dirt off their jeans and laughing and patting each other on the back. They were happy with a job well done, and glad that we hadn't had to call for backup. They were proud that they had been able to figure out how to get the job done. And it was fun to do the job together as a team.
It always warms my heart when I see the relationships that develop between our kids and houseparents. The young people look up to Ondoy and Edith, his wife, and learn about life and how to handle adult situations from them. They learn about work and how to handle challenges.
The other night, as I was driving home, I thought about CSC, and how the job that we have to do is challenging and often frustrating, but one that needs doing. Its one that requires teamwork.
And it is a job that provides lots of satisfaction. I think that CSC, like the tire project, is a job that is done well.
After bringing my spare to be filled with air, Undoy and the boys went to work. It turned out that their jack wasn't working properly, so it became a pretty difficult task to get the flat tire off. The guys had to use both jacks, and two of them had to crawl under my car. The cranking of the jack was very slow. At several points I asked if I should call someone else to come who had proper equipment. Undoy answered, "just let me try one more thing."
Finally the job was done. After thanking the guy I got back into my car and watched Ondoy and his two boys walk back to their jeep, shaking the dirt off their jeans and laughing and patting each other on the back. They were happy with a job well done, and glad that we hadn't had to call for backup. They were proud that they had been able to figure out how to get the job done. And it was fun to do the job together as a team.
It always warms my heart when I see the relationships that develop between our kids and houseparents. The young people look up to Ondoy and Edith, his wife, and learn about life and how to handle adult situations from them. They learn about work and how to handle challenges.
The other night, as I was driving home, I thought about CSC, and how the job that we have to do is challenging and often frustrating, but one that needs doing. Its one that requires teamwork.
And it is a job that provides lots of satisfaction. I think that CSC, like the tire project, is a job that is done well.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Jenny's Life in Cebu
For any missionaries, family matters have a big bearing on their work. This is certainly true for the Healys. We have been concerned that Jennifer find meaningful things to do here in Cebu. We are thankful for some good developments in that area in recent days. Jenny is going to help out in the Children of Hope School library two days a week, and attend a local special ed. school two or three days a week. She will be learning life skills and benefiting from socialization and interaction with people outside the home. And she can be of help to our volunteer librarian at the school by learning to put away books and helping out the kids when they come into the library.
Please pray for Jenny. Change does not come easy for her. But we are thankful that these two opportunities came about for her and know that having a meaninful routine will be very good for her. Thanks for your prayers!
Please pray for Jenny. Change does not come easy for her. But we are thankful that these two opportunities came about for her and know that having a meaninful routine will be very good for her. Thanks for your prayers!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Things beyond our control
The difficult part in leading a ministry is dealing with important factors that are beyond one's control. Governmental policies and priorities, weather and health issues are some examples. But the most difficult to manage are the financial variables. Like the exchange rate.
CSC's ministry in Cebu is paid for in Philippine pesos. The money sent to us from Minnesota for our ministry budget comes to us in US dollars. So the rate of exchange is very important. For several years the rate has grown consistently, putting us in a favorable position. But this past year the exchange rate has gone down - about 17%. That means that we have 17% fewer pesos to work with here in Cebu. Our expense remain the same, but we have less money to pay them with. We have had to use our cash reserves to make up the difference.
In the next days we will be making a budget for 2008. Part of that process is trying to peg an exchange rate for the year. That is really a difficult decision. The exchange rate is determined by a combination of economic factors and government policies. Making a forecast is kind of like trying to predict the weather many months in advance. It is hard when something that affects us dramatically is something that we cannot influence. No manner of hard work or creative genious on our part is going to change this.
In some ways, the same is true of God's will. He is on the throne of the universe, and nothing happens apart from his willing it to be so. We cannot bribe or manipulate him. But we know that God is aware of all our needs, and that He loves us and the children that we serve. Unlike government officials and others who influence our future, God has our best interests in mind.
CSC's ministry in Cebu is paid for in Philippine pesos. The money sent to us from Minnesota for our ministry budget comes to us in US dollars. So the rate of exchange is very important. For several years the rate has grown consistently, putting us in a favorable position. But this past year the exchange rate has gone down - about 17%. That means that we have 17% fewer pesos to work with here in Cebu. Our expense remain the same, but we have less money to pay them with. We have had to use our cash reserves to make up the difference.
In the next days we will be making a budget for 2008. Part of that process is trying to peg an exchange rate for the year. That is really a difficult decision. The exchange rate is determined by a combination of economic factors and government policies. Making a forecast is kind of like trying to predict the weather many months in advance. It is hard when something that affects us dramatically is something that we cannot influence. No manner of hard work or creative genious on our part is going to change this.
In some ways, the same is true of God's will. He is on the throne of the universe, and nothing happens apart from his willing it to be so. We cannot bribe or manipulate him. But we know that God is aware of all our needs, and that He loves us and the children that we serve. Unlike government officials and others who influence our future, God has our best interests in mind.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
A letter from the past
I ran across a letter that I wrote a few years ago for CSC. I thought it might be interesting to put it here. It is always good to look back at the things that God has allowed us to experience and to reflect on the lessons we have learned. During these difficult financial times at CSC it is great to know that we have a God who helps us overcome disappointments and setbacks.
Dear Friends,
My brother Dave sent me an advertisement from the St. Paul paper announcing a B.J. Thomas concert coming to a casino in Minnesota. It was meant as a joke, but it brought back a flood of memories, most of them pretty grim ones.
In 1978 a small group of us were trying to raise money to start a ministry in the Philippines. We were concerned about the needs of homeless and hungry Filipino children. But none of us had experience in fund raising! We tried everything, from donut and candy sales to supermarket collection cans and marathons. Finally, after having raised almost nothing for our efforts, we got the idea to have a benefit concert. We decided to have B.J. Thomas come to the Minneapolis Auditorium, and one of our group members put up the money to book him and his group and to pay for the initial promotion of the concert.
The concert was a disaster. The auditorium held about 10,000 people; less than 3,000 showed up. I’ll never forget the feeling of standing in the lobby waiting for the crowds that never came. We couldn’t pay the orchestra, the ticket office, the printer, the radio stations or the newspapers. There we were, a group of youngsters with a desire for a ministry in Cebu, surrounded by angry, threatening creditors. It seemed like our organization and our dream for an orphanage were dead. But for some reason we didn’t give up. We still felt called to the Philippines and a ministry to homeless children. Somehow we managed to placate the creditors, make small but consistent payments, and pull ourselves out of the hole that the B.J. Thomas concert had put us in. Within a few short weeks we received a donation of $40,000 from a Bethel College student and we were on our way to Cebu to begin the ministry. All our plans and efforts to raise funds had netted us a pile of debts and a load of frustration. But God’s miraculous work in the heart of a young man resulted in enough money to purchase property in Cebu and begin the work.
Tat has been a lesson we have learned so many times over the years. God reminds us that this is his ministry and that He will provide the resources. He is continually touching the hearts of people, who respond with gifts of prayer, money and time. We know that it is not just the words that we write or the quality of our visual presentations that bring in the funds. It is how God uses those efforts, or creates other situations to bring people into the CSC family. Our efforts are inadequate, even pathetic at times. But God takes our faith and commitment (although sometimes found lacking) and makes something great out of them, in the work of the ministry in Cebu and in the promotional efforts in Minnesota.
This fact has kept us going through difficult times over the past 20 years. In the past few weeks we have been discouraged over the behavior of some of our children. Some have been unruly, others disrespectful. Some have been unloading some of the emotional bggage that they brought with them to CSC. Some have expressed their curiosity in inappropriate ways. One boy had to be placed out of CSC. There are still painful decisions to make, but our discouragement is tempered by the knowledge that God directs this work, that He gives compassion and perseverance, not only on that night in 1978 when we limped home from the Minneapolis Auditorium, but every day since.
Thank you for your part in helping us with this ministry for the past 20 years. When the raindrops were falling on our heads, you were there to put up an umbrella of love and solidarity. We need your prayers and your gifts to be able to move ahead eith this God-inspired ministry.
Sincerely,
Paul Healy
Cebu City
Dear Friends,
My brother Dave sent me an advertisement from the St. Paul paper announcing a B.J. Thomas concert coming to a casino in Minnesota. It was meant as a joke, but it brought back a flood of memories, most of them pretty grim ones.
In 1978 a small group of us were trying to raise money to start a ministry in the Philippines. We were concerned about the needs of homeless and hungry Filipino children. But none of us had experience in fund raising! We tried everything, from donut and candy sales to supermarket collection cans and marathons. Finally, after having raised almost nothing for our efforts, we got the idea to have a benefit concert. We decided to have B.J. Thomas come to the Minneapolis Auditorium, and one of our group members put up the money to book him and his group and to pay for the initial promotion of the concert.
The concert was a disaster. The auditorium held about 10,000 people; less than 3,000 showed up. I’ll never forget the feeling of standing in the lobby waiting for the crowds that never came. We couldn’t pay the orchestra, the ticket office, the printer, the radio stations or the newspapers. There we were, a group of youngsters with a desire for a ministry in Cebu, surrounded by angry, threatening creditors. It seemed like our organization and our dream for an orphanage were dead. But for some reason we didn’t give up. We still felt called to the Philippines and a ministry to homeless children. Somehow we managed to placate the creditors, make small but consistent payments, and pull ourselves out of the hole that the B.J. Thomas concert had put us in. Within a few short weeks we received a donation of $40,000 from a Bethel College student and we were on our way to Cebu to begin the ministry. All our plans and efforts to raise funds had netted us a pile of debts and a load of frustration. But God’s miraculous work in the heart of a young man resulted in enough money to purchase property in Cebu and begin the work.
Tat has been a lesson we have learned so many times over the years. God reminds us that this is his ministry and that He will provide the resources. He is continually touching the hearts of people, who respond with gifts of prayer, money and time. We know that it is not just the words that we write or the quality of our visual presentations that bring in the funds. It is how God uses those efforts, or creates other situations to bring people into the CSC family. Our efforts are inadequate, even pathetic at times. But God takes our faith and commitment (although sometimes found lacking) and makes something great out of them, in the work of the ministry in Cebu and in the promotional efforts in Minnesota.
This fact has kept us going through difficult times over the past 20 years. In the past few weeks we have been discouraged over the behavior of some of our children. Some have been unruly, others disrespectful. Some have been unloading some of the emotional bggage that they brought with them to CSC. Some have expressed their curiosity in inappropriate ways. One boy had to be placed out of CSC. There are still painful decisions to make, but our discouragement is tempered by the knowledge that God directs this work, that He gives compassion and perseverance, not only on that night in 1978 when we limped home from the Minneapolis Auditorium, but every day since.
Thank you for your part in helping us with this ministry for the past 20 years. When the raindrops were falling on our heads, you were there to put up an umbrella of love and solidarity. We need your prayers and your gifts to be able to move ahead eith this God-inspired ministry.
Sincerely,
Paul Healy
Cebu City
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
I've got 'em
Last Saturday, after being back in Cebu for three weeks, I finally had the names right for all the CSC kids. We came back to almost 50% new faces, so there were lots of names to learn. The kids have been very patient, telling me their name when I asked. Now everyone is happy that old Uncle Paul finally as things figured out.
But that is the easy part. More difficult will be learning the personalities and social histories of the kids - the things that they like and dislike, and their abilities and challenges. With 80 kids under out care, that will take some time. In fact, it is an ongoing process, one that never really ends. Its part of what makes working at CSC so much fun.
I was thinking today about the hassles that come with living in a country like the Philippines. Doing routine business can take a whole day, and there are times when people just don't understand what I'm trying to tell them. Traffic is horrible and the heat can often be oppressive. But life is good. Working with these great kids is a joy and a privilege. Every day we are blessed by having the opportunity to make a difference in their lives,
But that is the easy part. More difficult will be learning the personalities and social histories of the kids - the things that they like and dislike, and their abilities and challenges. With 80 kids under out care, that will take some time. In fact, it is an ongoing process, one that never really ends. Its part of what makes working at CSC so much fun.
I was thinking today about the hassles that come with living in a country like the Philippines. Doing routine business can take a whole day, and there are times when people just don't understand what I'm trying to tell them. Traffic is horrible and the heat can often be oppressive. But life is good. Working with these great kids is a joy and a privilege. Every day we are blessed by having the opportunity to make a difference in their lives,
Friday, August 24, 2007
Adoption at CSC
In the past couple of weeks we have had lots of adoption action around here. Several children have left, for Maine, Michigan and Minnesota, and another family arrives in a few days. We have had the blessing of being able to tell our sibling group of five that they will be adopted. They have been waiting for several years! Next week our twins will go to Manila for their visa physicals. In the midst of this, one of our former residents and her mom paid us a visit.
Lots of things happen around here when adoptive parents come to get their child(ren). Someone from the staff meets their flight and brings them to the Shelter to meet their child(ren). Usually the couples, or in some cases, families, stay for 3-4 days. During that time we take them on a city tour and provide opportunities for them to do shopping and interact with the staff, house parents and child care workers who have helped care for their child(ren). Our social worker meets with the couple to answer questions about the circumstances of their child(ren) coming to CSC. The nurses meet with them, too, to discuss the medical history of their child(ren) while at CSC. For older kids, the parents will also meet with the school teachers and the CSC counselors. In addition, we present them with a home book, that includes pictures of the child(ren) throughout their time at CSC, and complete medical records. Often, we will help the adoptive parents confirm their transportation to Manila or their appointment with the Inter-Country Adoption Board. Before a family leaves with their children, we will have a good-bye party, with ice cream for the kids. Just before they leave the children will sing "God Will Take Care of You," followed by hugs, kisses and, invariably, some tears.
All of these efforts are done for the sake of the children. We want the adoptive families to have a good time and go away with good feelings about CSC and the Philippines. We want them to have all their questions answered. And we want the children being adopted to have the chance to say goodbye to their friends and the ones that have loved and cared for them.
Having an adoptive family come means a lot of work for our staff. But it is an exciting time, too. It is the culmination of months of love and prayer, and,hopefully, the start of a relationship with the new family that will last for years.
Lots of things happen around here when adoptive parents come to get their child(ren). Someone from the staff meets their flight and brings them to the Shelter to meet their child(ren). Usually the couples, or in some cases, families, stay for 3-4 days. During that time we take them on a city tour and provide opportunities for them to do shopping and interact with the staff, house parents and child care workers who have helped care for their child(ren). Our social worker meets with the couple to answer questions about the circumstances of their child(ren) coming to CSC. The nurses meet with them, too, to discuss the medical history of their child(ren) while at CSC. For older kids, the parents will also meet with the school teachers and the CSC counselors. In addition, we present them with a home book, that includes pictures of the child(ren) throughout their time at CSC, and complete medical records. Often, we will help the adoptive parents confirm their transportation to Manila or their appointment with the Inter-Country Adoption Board. Before a family leaves with their children, we will have a good-bye party, with ice cream for the kids. Just before they leave the children will sing "God Will Take Care of You," followed by hugs, kisses and, invariably, some tears.
All of these efforts are done for the sake of the children. We want the adoptive families to have a good time and go away with good feelings about CSC and the Philippines. We want them to have all their questions answered. And we want the children being adopted to have the chance to say goodbye to their friends and the ones that have loved and cared for them.
Having an adoptive family come means a lot of work for our staff. But it is an exciting time, too. It is the culmination of months of love and prayer, and,hopefully, the start of a relationship with the new family that will last for years.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Lessons From Luke
During our time in the U.S. Marlys and I visited many of our supporting churches. The message that I presented in most of my speaking opportunities focused on the life of Luke, a boy with special needs who lived most of his 23 years at CSC. Those who knew him were greatly blessed, and we learned much from his life. I hope this message touches all who read it!
Lessons from Luke
by Paul Healy
The mysteries of God are a part of the Christian life that can often lead to confusion, doubt and even discouragement for believers.
- For some, it’s a pride thing. We want to have answers – we want to understand, to be able to grasp the complexities of Biblical truth and God’s plan for mankind.
- For some, God’s mysteries – the unexplained things of life – are stumbling blocks to faith:
1. Why do bad things happen to good people?
2. Why does He allow pain, suffering and evil to thrive in our world?
Several months ago we were witnesses to the aftermath of the tragedy in Pennsylvania involving the Amish community, where, good, decent, hard working, non violent people were subjected to unspeakable cruelty towards their children. How can this happen?
3. One of our CSC children, who grew up in the worst poverty imaginable in Cebu City, was adopted into a family in the United States several years ago. Well meaning people would tell her how lucky she was and how God obviously had a wonderful plan for her life. She had a hard time with that and would sometimes ask her parents, “But what about all the kids who are still there, who weren’t adopted, and who are still suffering and dying? What is God’s wonderful plan for their lives? Why me and not them?
For many of us, we celebrate the goodness of God in our lives, we praise him for his healing, for material comforts, for blessing our efforts – even as we observe people who remain sick or disabled, who suffer in poverty – those who efforts and initiatives end in disappointment and ruin.
There are two extremes in terms of people’s reactions to the things about God and life that are not understood.
1. There are those who try in vain to grasp the ungraspable – to be able to reduce the mysteries to understandable formulas or explanations. I remember a young seminarian who came to Cebu and who filled the pulpit of our church on a Sunday evening. He preached for an hour on the “peace of God that passes all understanding.” Perhaps he felt that if he preached long enough he could crack that nut and open our understanding!
We all know those who have reduced the book of Revelation to precise charts and timetables, giving us easy to understand categories for all of human history and, most especially, the times to come.
2. A second category are those who shake their heads and say, “We’ll only know these answers when we get to heaven.” They suspend inquiry, not bothering to seek answers to the perplexing questions of life.
Living and working in a Third World country like the Philippines brings some of these mysteries to the front of our lives. Poverty, and all that goes with it, is “in your face.” People often ask me “How do you like living in the Philippines?” That’s a tough one to answer. Life anywhere has its highs and lows. Some days are great, others are difficult. I often answer this way:
1. When I’m sitting down to a nice breakfast I am aware that, within a few meters of my house are families that have no breakfast.
2. When I’m driving to the office or the Shelter I often pass people walking along the road who, for lack of a few cents can not even afford public transportation and must walk.
3. When I stop to buy medicine for my family or the CSC kids, there are people standing nearby whose children are dying for lack of that very same medicine.
Why am I blessed and they are not?
I recall a conversation with a missionary a few days after Cebu was hit by a strong typhoon. Many of our CSC workers lost their roofs or their entire homes. The houses of the poor were devastated by the high winds and torrential rains. The missionary said that it had been such a miracle how God spared the missionary homes from damage, holding his hands of protection around us during the storm. I remember wondering whether it wasn’t more a matter of our having cement houses and strong metal roofs.
Why did our CSC kids have to suffer so much? And how much more, those who live on the street and cannot be admitted to CSC?
These are tough questions. When it comes to trying to understand our own suffering, the Bible gives some answers. For example, Romans 5:3-4 tells us that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character, hope. And the Bible gives us additional hope that we will someday come to see God’s purpose and mysteries:
“But now we see through a glass dimly, but then face to face.”
And we hear the testimonies of Christian brothers and sisters who have lived through terrible times and have turned negatives into positives in their lives.
Several months ago I was attending a conference in Bismark, North Dakota. One of the featured speakers was Steve Saint, Steve’s father, Nate Saint, was one of the five missionaries killed in 1956 by Aucan warriors in Equador. Steve told about what that tragic day meant to his family, and what it was like when his dad, his hero, didn’t come home that day. We saw video of his current family life, and saw a man who was interacting with Steve’s children, and who was being referred to as “Uncle.” It turns out that this was the very man who had killed Steve’s father, who had come to know Jesus and had experienced the forgiveness of God and of the Saint family and now was a part of their family – an amazing story of how good things had come out of tragedy and suffering.
So the clear message is that God has a plan for our lives, we will discover that plan in the right time. He is writing our life’s stories, but some of the chapters are difficult ones.
We can understand this. We can, when aided by the Holy Spirit, see how difficulties and suffering are part of a purification process for us, and that we, like Job, will eventually be better people for it.
But what about people who, because of major disabilities, are unable to understand their situation, unable to discern the hand of God or his plan for their lives. Where is the purification and growth and ultimate value for these people? What could God’s purpose possibly be?
Back on 1982 a baby was born in a charity ward in a small hospital in Cebu City. The baby underwent cardiac arrest during birth and was without oxygen for an extended time. Unlike many cases of charity patients, the hospital staff decided to resuscitate the baby, even after he had suffered massive brain damage and cerebral palsy. The baby’s mother abandoned him in the hospital, and after a couple months Luke was referred to CSC. When we took him in he appeared to be a bouncing baby boy. We did not know that he would not develop physically beyond about a year and a half, or mentally beyond a few months. Luke would never speak, nor have voluntary movement of his arms or legs.
Luke became a fixture at CSC. For over 23 years he was an integral part of our lives and a symbol of CSC and what we are all about.
Many times Luke would be hospitalized – often due to upper respiratory infections. He fought for his life many times. There were at least a dozen times when we were sure that he would die. The doctors had told us that he wouldn’t make it past five years old. Then they revised it to nine, then 11 – certainly he wouldn’t reach his teenage years.
One time, when Luke was critically ill our staff met to pray and I asked them to reflect on his life. Here is why: I believe that God had a purpose for Luke’s life when he created him. I believe that He uses people like Luke to teach us important things. But here is the rub: If we don’t spend time reflecting on these lessons, then Luke’s life is useless. Its up to us to allow God to make sense of Luke’s life.
And what are the lessons that we found? What has God taught us through his life?
1. First, life is precious. Even though he had nothing to live for, from the world’s point of view, Luke clung to live almost ferociously. Some of us who have much more to live for take life casually, we take life for granted. Not Luke. Every day was a struggle. Every breath had to be fought for. Life is a gift from God and we should treat it carefully.
2. God has provided us with opportunities, through Luke’s life, to minister to him in significant and life-saving ways. He has provided an avenue for us to live out the biblical mandate to minister unto the “least of these,” because, truly, Luke was in that category. Hundreds of people have been given a blessing to participate in the support of CSC that reaches out to children like Luke and many others with other special needs.
3. In so doing, He has given us a chance to show others a Godly value system that doesn’t reserve love and attention for those who have something to give back, or who have “potential” or a bright future. For many people who live in a developing country, where resources are limited, this has been a difficult lesson to learn. How could we justify spending so much money for Luke’s hospitalization when other, “normal” kids needed care? Luke’s life gave us the opportunity to teach about the value of life and about how God looks at all of us.
4. Luke has been a tremendous ambassador for CSC. People around the world remember observing the loving care that he received by our staff and workers. They remember his famous smiles. They may quickly forget the names of the staff or other children, but they remember Luke. “How’s Luke doing?” we get asked wherever we go to talk about the ministry of CSC. And our care of Luke helps us explain the true nature and core values of our work in the Philippines.
5. Luke has been a safety valve for those that had an opportunity to know him. My job as Field Director of CSC involves lots of administrative chores, like making budgets, government relations and various kinds of problem solving. There are days when I get stressed out and start to feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. But all I needed to do is to drive a few short miles to where Luke lived, to hold him in my arms, and I get a clear picture of what real struggles are all about. My struggles paled in comparison to what Luke faced every day. Self pity may be easy for some people, but those that knew Luke have no excuse for feeling sorry for themselves. What a great gift that was to all of us.
A little over a week before we left Cebu, Marlys called me on my cell phone and told me that I should get to the hospital quickly, as Luke wasn’t doing well. He had been hospitalized for over a week and his breathing was bad. I had gotten messages similar to this one throughout Luke’s life, so I went to the office and took care of a few things. But the Lord laid it on my heart to go see Luke and when I entered his room his breathing was extremely labored. He looked different than I had ever seen him, and it became clear that he was dying. I sat down next to him, kissed him and looked into his eyes. For 23 years we had loved this boy. It wasn’t easy to say goodbye. I said to him, “Luke. You can go. Go to be with Jesus, Luke. I love you.” Within a couple of minutes Luke took his last breath. 23 years of pain, suffering, limitations, hospitalizations, forced breathing, skin rashes and infections were over. We would never see Luke’s smile again.
As Luke was dying in that hospital room, I made a promise. I’m not sure if I was making a promise to Luke, to God or to myself. But I decided then and there that I was going to talk about Luke on our coming furlough. I believed then and do now, that the church of Jesus Christ needs to hear about Luke, that the lessons of his life are important ones. Many Americans are complainers - full of self pity. People who have so many material comforts are unsatisfied. American discourse is increasingly a chorus of victim and entitlement claims. Charles Sykes, in his book “A Nation of Victims: The Decay of the American Character” states that, “in a nation where everyone is a victim, no one is a victim.” In our preoccupation with our own needs we have a hard time seeing the needs of others – people like Luke.
In his song “God Help the Outcasts,” the Hunchback of Notre Dame poses several difficult issues:
I don't know if there's a reasonWhy some are blessed, some notWhy the few You seem to favorThey fear us, flee us,Try not to see us.The first part we have already examined. The second is our call to arms. “Why the few You seem to favor, they fear us, flee us, try not to see us.”
I don’t know what factors might make it difficult for us to see the needs of society’s outcasts. Perhaps we are too busy. Maybe our personal and church calendars are so full that there just isn’t room for Luke, or the man who had fallen to thieves at the side of the road, to break into our day. Maybe we are numbed or fatigued by the needs of others, or simply overwhelmed by the circumstances of our own lives. Maybe we have become cynical. “Why did that guy travel this road at this time carrying that amount of money? He deserves what he got!”
Maybe, just maybe, Luke can help cut through the apathy, the self-centeredness and cynicism of our lives. He was a person with significant needs that he didn’t cause. He was totally dependent on others to live. His life had none of the possibilities and opportunities that we take for granted every day. He needed us so very much. Maybe Luke can serve as a symbol of many others that we come into contact with. Maybe Luke can help us rescue our lives.
Thank you God for the memory of Luke. May we learn from his life. Amen.
The mysteries of God are a part of the Christian life that can often lead to confusion, doubt and even discouragement for believers.
- For some, it’s a pride thing. We want to have answers – we want to understand, to be able to grasp the complexities of Biblical truth and God’s plan for mankind.
- For some, God’s mysteries – the unexplained things of life – are stumbling blocks to faith:
1. Why do bad things happen to good people?
2. Why does He allow pain, suffering and evil to thrive in our world?
Several months ago we were witnesses to the aftermath of the tragedy in Pennsylvania involving the Amish community, where, good, decent, hard working, non violent people were subjected to unspeakable cruelty towards their children. How can this happen?
3. One of our CSC children, who grew up in the worst poverty imaginable in Cebu City, was adopted into a family in the United States several years ago. Well meaning people would tell her how lucky she was and how God obviously had a wonderful plan for her life. She had a hard time with that and would sometimes ask her parents, “But what about all the kids who are still there, who weren’t adopted, and who are still suffering and dying? What is God’s wonderful plan for their lives? Why me and not them?
For many of us, we celebrate the goodness of God in our lives, we praise him for his healing, for material comforts, for blessing our efforts – even as we observe people who remain sick or disabled, who suffer in poverty – those who efforts and initiatives end in disappointment and ruin.
There are two extremes in terms of people’s reactions to the things about God and life that are not understood.
1. There are those who try in vain to grasp the ungraspable – to be able to reduce the mysteries to understandable formulas or explanations. I remember a young seminarian who came to Cebu and who filled the pulpit of our church on a Sunday evening. He preached for an hour on the “peace of God that passes all understanding.” Perhaps he felt that if he preached long enough he could crack that nut and open our understanding!
We all know those who have reduced the book of Revelation to precise charts and timetables, giving us easy to understand categories for all of human history and, most especially, the times to come.
2. A second category are those who shake their heads and say, “We’ll only know these answers when we get to heaven.” They suspend inquiry, not bothering to seek answers to the perplexing questions of life.
Living and working in a Third World country like the Philippines brings some of these mysteries to the front of our lives. Poverty, and all that goes with it, is “in your face.” People often ask me “How do you like living in the Philippines?” That’s a tough one to answer. Life anywhere has its highs and lows. Some days are great, others are difficult. I often answer this way:
1. When I’m sitting down to a nice breakfast I am aware that, within a few meters of my house are families that have no breakfast.
2. When I’m driving to the office or the Shelter I often pass people walking along the road who, for lack of a few cents can not even afford public transportation and must walk.
3. When I stop to buy medicine for my family or the CSC kids, there are people standing nearby whose children are dying for lack of that very same medicine.
Why am I blessed and they are not?
I recall a conversation with a missionary a few days after Cebu was hit by a strong typhoon. Many of our CSC workers lost their roofs or their entire homes. The houses of the poor were devastated by the high winds and torrential rains. The missionary said that it had been such a miracle how God spared the missionary homes from damage, holding his hands of protection around us during the storm. I remember wondering whether it wasn’t more a matter of our having cement houses and strong metal roofs.
Why did our CSC kids have to suffer so much? And how much more, those who live on the street and cannot be admitted to CSC?
These are tough questions. When it comes to trying to understand our own suffering, the Bible gives some answers. For example, Romans 5:3-4 tells us that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character, hope. And the Bible gives us additional hope that we will someday come to see God’s purpose and mysteries:
“But now we see through a glass dimly, but then face to face.”
And we hear the testimonies of Christian brothers and sisters who have lived through terrible times and have turned negatives into positives in their lives.
Several months ago I was attending a conference in Bismark, North Dakota. One of the featured speakers was Steve Saint, Steve’s father, Nate Saint, was one of the five missionaries killed in 1956 by Aucan warriors in Equador. Steve told about what that tragic day meant to his family, and what it was like when his dad, his hero, didn’t come home that day. We saw video of his current family life, and saw a man who was interacting with Steve’s children, and who was being referred to as “Uncle.” It turns out that this was the very man who had killed Steve’s father, who had come to know Jesus and had experienced the forgiveness of God and of the Saint family and now was a part of their family – an amazing story of how good things had come out of tragedy and suffering.
So the clear message is that God has a plan for our lives, we will discover that plan in the right time. He is writing our life’s stories, but some of the chapters are difficult ones.
We can understand this. We can, when aided by the Holy Spirit, see how difficulties and suffering are part of a purification process for us, and that we, like Job, will eventually be better people for it.
But what about people who, because of major disabilities, are unable to understand their situation, unable to discern the hand of God or his plan for their lives. Where is the purification and growth and ultimate value for these people? What could God’s purpose possibly be?
Back on 1982 a baby was born in a charity ward in a small hospital in Cebu City. The baby underwent cardiac arrest during birth and was without oxygen for an extended time. Unlike many cases of charity patients, the hospital staff decided to resuscitate the baby, even after he had suffered massive brain damage and cerebral palsy. The baby’s mother abandoned him in the hospital, and after a couple months Luke was referred to CSC. When we took him in he appeared to be a bouncing baby boy. We did not know that he would not develop physically beyond about a year and a half, or mentally beyond a few months. Luke would never speak, nor have voluntary movement of his arms or legs.
Luke became a fixture at CSC. For over 23 years he was an integral part of our lives and a symbol of CSC and what we are all about.
Many times Luke would be hospitalized – often due to upper respiratory infections. He fought for his life many times. There were at least a dozen times when we were sure that he would die. The doctors had told us that he wouldn’t make it past five years old. Then they revised it to nine, then 11 – certainly he wouldn’t reach his teenage years.
One time, when Luke was critically ill our staff met to pray and I asked them to reflect on his life. Here is why: I believe that God had a purpose for Luke’s life when he created him. I believe that He uses people like Luke to teach us important things. But here is the rub: If we don’t spend time reflecting on these lessons, then Luke’s life is useless. Its up to us to allow God to make sense of Luke’s life.
And what are the lessons that we found? What has God taught us through his life?
1. First, life is precious. Even though he had nothing to live for, from the world’s point of view, Luke clung to live almost ferociously. Some of us who have much more to live for take life casually, we take life for granted. Not Luke. Every day was a struggle. Every breath had to be fought for. Life is a gift from God and we should treat it carefully.
2. God has provided us with opportunities, through Luke’s life, to minister to him in significant and life-saving ways. He has provided an avenue for us to live out the biblical mandate to minister unto the “least of these,” because, truly, Luke was in that category. Hundreds of people have been given a blessing to participate in the support of CSC that reaches out to children like Luke and many others with other special needs.
3. In so doing, He has given us a chance to show others a Godly value system that doesn’t reserve love and attention for those who have something to give back, or who have “potential” or a bright future. For many people who live in a developing country, where resources are limited, this has been a difficult lesson to learn. How could we justify spending so much money for Luke’s hospitalization when other, “normal” kids needed care? Luke’s life gave us the opportunity to teach about the value of life and about how God looks at all of us.
4. Luke has been a tremendous ambassador for CSC. People around the world remember observing the loving care that he received by our staff and workers. They remember his famous smiles. They may quickly forget the names of the staff or other children, but they remember Luke. “How’s Luke doing?” we get asked wherever we go to talk about the ministry of CSC. And our care of Luke helps us explain the true nature and core values of our work in the Philippines.
5. Luke has been a safety valve for those that had an opportunity to know him. My job as Field Director of CSC involves lots of administrative chores, like making budgets, government relations and various kinds of problem solving. There are days when I get stressed out and start to feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. But all I needed to do is to drive a few short miles to where Luke lived, to hold him in my arms, and I get a clear picture of what real struggles are all about. My struggles paled in comparison to what Luke faced every day. Self pity may be easy for some people, but those that knew Luke have no excuse for feeling sorry for themselves. What a great gift that was to all of us.
A little over a week before we left Cebu, Marlys called me on my cell phone and told me that I should get to the hospital quickly, as Luke wasn’t doing well. He had been hospitalized for over a week and his breathing was bad. I had gotten messages similar to this one throughout Luke’s life, so I went to the office and took care of a few things. But the Lord laid it on my heart to go see Luke and when I entered his room his breathing was extremely labored. He looked different than I had ever seen him, and it became clear that he was dying. I sat down next to him, kissed him and looked into his eyes. For 23 years we had loved this boy. It wasn’t easy to say goodbye. I said to him, “Luke. You can go. Go to be with Jesus, Luke. I love you.” Within a couple of minutes Luke took his last breath. 23 years of pain, suffering, limitations, hospitalizations, forced breathing, skin rashes and infections were over. We would never see Luke’s smile again.
As Luke was dying in that hospital room, I made a promise. I’m not sure if I was making a promise to Luke, to God or to myself. But I decided then and there that I was going to talk about Luke on our coming furlough. I believed then and do now, that the church of Jesus Christ needs to hear about Luke, that the lessons of his life are important ones. Many Americans are complainers - full of self pity. People who have so many material comforts are unsatisfied. American discourse is increasingly a chorus of victim and entitlement claims. Charles Sykes, in his book “A Nation of Victims: The Decay of the American Character” states that, “in a nation where everyone is a victim, no one is a victim.” In our preoccupation with our own needs we have a hard time seeing the needs of others – people like Luke.
In his song “God Help the Outcasts,” the Hunchback of Notre Dame poses several difficult issues:
I don't know if there's a reasonWhy some are blessed, some notWhy the few You seem to favorThey fear us, flee us,Try not to see us.The first part we have already examined. The second is our call to arms. “Why the few You seem to favor, they fear us, flee us, try not to see us.”
I don’t know what factors might make it difficult for us to see the needs of society’s outcasts. Perhaps we are too busy. Maybe our personal and church calendars are so full that there just isn’t room for Luke, or the man who had fallen to thieves at the side of the road, to break into our day. Maybe we are numbed or fatigued by the needs of others, or simply overwhelmed by the circumstances of our own lives. Maybe we have become cynical. “Why did that guy travel this road at this time carrying that amount of money? He deserves what he got!”
Maybe, just maybe, Luke can help cut through the apathy, the self-centeredness and cynicism of our lives. He was a person with significant needs that he didn’t cause. He was totally dependent on others to live. His life had none of the possibilities and opportunities that we take for granted every day. He needed us so very much. Maybe Luke can serve as a symbol of many others that we come into contact with. Maybe Luke can help us rescue our lives.
Thank you God for the memory of Luke. May we learn from his life. Amen.
Friday, August 3, 2007
It doesn't get any easier
We have been doing this for 28 years. We've had six furloughs in our careers, and each time it gets more difficult to leave. Its not that we feel any differently about CSC. We love the ministry and miss Cebu, the kids and staff. But getting all our stuff stored, our bags packed, our house prepared for our being gone, closing accounts, cancelling delivery services, and saying goodbye to friends and family get tougher each time we leave. And each time I park my oversized frame in a tiny airline seat for the 20+ hours of flying required to get home it is harder.
This morning we said goodbye to our daughter, son-in-law and grandson in Portland. We had the chance to spend a week with them. We will miss so much of Kellen's life - birthdays, developmental milestones and accomplishments. That is the most difficult part of being missionaries.
A few weeks ago our dear niece got married. It was a great wedding and we were so happy to be stateside to attend. I remember thinking as she walked down the aisle, that I hardly know her. I was gone for so much of her life - the distant uncle that appeared every four or five years. Although our family is close, and we make the most of the limited time we have together, it is a fact that our loved ones grew up for the most part without us in their lives.
But that is the reality of our lives. We move. We live far away. Wethank God for every opportunity we had to hang out with our loved ones and our great friends during the past year.
Well, our plane boards soon. I'll blog again when we get to Cebu. God bless you all.
Paul for Marlys and Jenny
This morning we said goodbye to our daughter, son-in-law and grandson in Portland. We had the chance to spend a week with them. We will miss so much of Kellen's life - birthdays, developmental milestones and accomplishments. That is the most difficult part of being missionaries.
A few weeks ago our dear niece got married. It was a great wedding and we were so happy to be stateside to attend. I remember thinking as she walked down the aisle, that I hardly know her. I was gone for so much of her life - the distant uncle that appeared every four or five years. Although our family is close, and we make the most of the limited time we have together, it is a fact that our loved ones grew up for the most part without us in their lives.
But that is the reality of our lives. We move. We live far away. Wethank God for every opportunity we had to hang out with our loved ones and our great friends during the past year.
Well, our plane boards soon. I'll blog again when we get to Cebu. God bless you all.
Paul for Marlys and Jenny
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Winding down
We are in our final week in Minnesota before heading west. We will spend a week with our daugter, son-in-law and grandson in Portlond before we head for Cebu on August 3. It has been a good year of spending time with family, re-connecting with friends, and and visiting churches and supporters. Some highlightes of our year stateside:
1. The kickoff of CSC's capital campaign, Building a Legacy of Hope, was a great time. We have met with a lot of people in recent months, and have seen lots of positive response.
2. The CSC banquet on April 28 was a fantastic night. So many people contributed to the success of the evening. I can't remember a better banquet in our history. And the offering blew us away.
3. Spending Christmas with our daughters and their husbands, our grandson and the rest of the family was really great. As missionaries, we miss out on so many family times that we great appreciate any opportunities we have to be together.
4. Two family weddings this summer added lots of spice to our lives.
5. Jenny was able to be a part of the Anodyne Art studio this year. This was a great blessing for our family. The people there are really fantastic, and Jenny thrived in that environment.
Tomorrow we have a good bye party with our church friends, and a small art show for Jenny.
Thanks to all who have helped make this a great year for the Healy family.
1. The kickoff of CSC's capital campaign, Building a Legacy of Hope, was a great time. We have met with a lot of people in recent months, and have seen lots of positive response.
2. The CSC banquet on April 28 was a fantastic night. So many people contributed to the success of the evening. I can't remember a better banquet in our history. And the offering blew us away.
3. Spending Christmas with our daughters and their husbands, our grandson and the rest of the family was really great. As missionaries, we miss out on so many family times that we great appreciate any opportunities we have to be together.
4. Two family weddings this summer added lots of spice to our lives.
5. Jenny was able to be a part of the Anodyne Art studio this year. This was a great blessing for our family. The people there are really fantastic, and Jenny thrived in that environment.
Tomorrow we have a good bye party with our church friends, and a small art show for Jenny.
Thanks to all who have helped make this a great year for the Healy family.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
NYC
My travels recently brought me to New York City. We took a moonlight boat trip around the city and saw a lot of great sites. We went past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and I thought about the significance that those two places must have had for the millions of immigrants that have come to our country over the years. I thought about Lady Liberty and what she has symbolized for those who were no longer able to live in the countries where they were born. I thought about my own daughters and all the CSC kids who came to live in America, and what this country has meant for them.
One thing that I have learned about adoption and adopted kids, is that they don't look at adoption the same way that adoptive parents or observers do. They don't always have the same perspective on being "saved" or "rescued" through adoption. One of our former CSC kids had a hard time when people told her how lucky she was to be adopted. She didn't see her life as having been lucky at all. Another girl who had grown up in the worst squatter area in Cebu City had difficulty responding to people who told her that God had a wonderful plan for her life through adoption. She wondered about all the children left behind in the squallor of that slum and what God's plan was for them. Sometimes the people who actually come through the difficult circumstances of losing their birth families and coming to a new country see things a little differently than the rest of us do.
But I still think of Lady Liberty offering a clean slate and a light in the darkness to our kids. I think of the opportunities that they have here for education, medical care and religious liberty. I have a sense of what they have lost but I want them to know what they have been given, as well. I want them to be thankful for the people and institutions that have helped make a difference in their lives. Most of all, I want them to love God and to trust Him with the future.
One thing that I have learned about adoption and adopted kids, is that they don't look at adoption the same way that adoptive parents or observers do. They don't always have the same perspective on being "saved" or "rescued" through adoption. One of our former CSC kids had a hard time when people told her how lucky she was to be adopted. She didn't see her life as having been lucky at all. Another girl who had grown up in the worst squatter area in Cebu City had difficulty responding to people who told her that God had a wonderful plan for her life through adoption. She wondered about all the children left behind in the squallor of that slum and what God's plan was for them. Sometimes the people who actually come through the difficult circumstances of losing their birth families and coming to a new country see things a little differently than the rest of us do.
But I still think of Lady Liberty offering a clean slate and a light in the darkness to our kids. I think of the opportunities that they have here for education, medical care and religious liberty. I have a sense of what they have lost but I want them to know what they have been given, as well. I want them to be thankful for the people and institutions that have helped make a difference in their lives. Most of all, I want them to love God and to trust Him with the future.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Schools unite
I am typing this from Columbus, Ohio, where I am visiting the Genoa Christian Academy. The school is interested in establishing a relationship with our Children of Hope School, so I'm meeting with the students, faculty and parents, introducing them to the work of CSC and the program of CHS. This morning I presented to a chapel service for the younger kids, and they were so attentive and interested to know about our kids.
God is opening up opportunities for us for new avenues of support for the ministry. This is very important for CSC. Every year our financial needs increase. Prices for commodities go up. And, in the past couple of years, the exchange rate in the Philippines has gone down - almost 10%. So our U.S. dollars purchase fewer pesos, even as prices increase.
So we are thankful for opportunities to meet new people who are interested in the needs of the children in Cebu.
God is opening up opportunities for us for new avenues of support for the ministry. This is very important for CSC. Every year our financial needs increase. Prices for commodities go up. And, in the past couple of years, the exchange rate in the Philippines has gone down - almost 10%. So our U.S. dollars purchase fewer pesos, even as prices increase.
So we are thankful for opportunities to meet new people who are interested in the needs of the children in Cebu.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Visiting Churches
Marlys and I have been busy speaking in churches, giving updates on the ministry and thanking those who support CSC so generously. Here are a few of the churches we've visited recently:
Central Baptist - St. Paul Emmanuel Baptist - Mora, MN Trinity Baptist - St. Paul, MN
Little Log Church - Palmer Lake, CO Cherry Hills Community Church - Highlands Ranch, CO
Hillman Baptist - Mora, MN
Speaking in churches is a big part of what we do while in the U.S. I have to say that preaching is not my strongest suit. I prefer the work that I do in Cebu to doing public speaking or promotional stuff. The thing that makes it enjoyable for me is knowing that many of the people that I am addressing share our love and burden for the kids in Cebu, and our belief that the suffering of children is unacceptable. That makes things fun. There has never been a time in 27 years of being involved in promoting CSC that I haven't felt energized in front of a group. It is truly a privilege to represent the ministry and to be able to go to churches and thank the people who support CSC so generously.
Central Baptist - St. Paul Emmanuel Baptist - Mora, MN Trinity Baptist - St. Paul, MN
Little Log Church - Palmer Lake, CO Cherry Hills Community Church - Highlands Ranch, CO
Hillman Baptist - Mora, MN
Speaking in churches is a big part of what we do while in the U.S. I have to say that preaching is not my strongest suit. I prefer the work that I do in Cebu to doing public speaking or promotional stuff. The thing that makes it enjoyable for me is knowing that many of the people that I am addressing share our love and burden for the kids in Cebu, and our belief that the suffering of children is unacceptable. That makes things fun. There has never been a time in 27 years of being involved in promoting CSC that I haven't felt energized in front of a group. It is truly a privilege to represent the ministry and to be able to go to churches and thank the people who support CSC so generously.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
MN bliss
The contrasts between Cebu and Minnesota are many. Too many to mention. But the weather is the one that most people recognize. Imagine a child being adopted from the Philippines and joining a family in Minnesota, and facing a snowstorm of almost 18 inches. Its bizarre enough for missionaries who are only stateside every 3-4 years!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Sermon notes
Our Pastor preached a message from Luke 7 on Sunday. The passage was about the woman who cried at Jesus' feet when he was at a banquet at the home of a Pharisee. The sermon highlighted the difference between those who can identify human needs and those who can only see laws and prohibitions. The Pharisee was scandalized that the woman came into his home, because she was a notorious sinner. Jesus saw her need and accepted her act of love and repentance.
I attended a church a few years back that was very strong on identifying sin and the many things that we should not do as Christians. We were informed of the threats out there in the world and the enemies to the faith. We were constantly circling our wagons in response to threats from without, even while we identified sins from within the camp. It was a breath of fresh air for me to hear a sermon that emphasized the opportunities in the world, and gave some encouragement on things that we should do, rather than things that she should not. In short, I feel we need to be asking "How shall we then live?" in response to our encounters with Christ, and to encourage each other in doing good to those in need around us.
I attended a church a few years back that was very strong on identifying sin and the many things that we should not do as Christians. We were informed of the threats out there in the world and the enemies to the faith. We were constantly circling our wagons in response to threats from without, even while we identified sins from within the camp. It was a breath of fresh air for me to hear a sermon that emphasized the opportunities in the world, and gave some encouragement on things that we should do, rather than things that she should not. In short, I feel we need to be asking "How shall we then live?" in response to our encounters with Christ, and to encourage each other in doing good to those in need around us.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Lots going on
The stateside ministry of CSC goes through cycles of activity, just like in Cebu. This is a fairly hectic time, as we prepare in earnest for the banquet and the adopted kids party, and as we start to crank up activity for the Building a Legacy of Hope capital campaign. Add to that the regular chores of getting out mailings, receipting donations, working with the auditors, producing promotional materials, visiting churches and trying to keep up with correspondence.
Right now we have two young people in Cebu working with the staff. Dennis Schoonmaker was adopted from CSC when he was a toddler. He lives in California and is in his first year of college. He is a very good baseball player and is having an opportunity to impart his knowledge to our CSC Twins baseball team which is has recently started practicing. Mariah Rosedahl is also in Cebu helping out at the school. She is the sister of one of our very first adopted kids, Paul Julio,who left CSC for his adoptive family in Idaho in 1982.
CSC is at the age where we have many former residents who are now young adults and who wish to go back for a visit. We are almost always encouraging when it comes to these requests, because we know how important it can be in their lives to reconnect with the country where they were born, the CSC staff and workers, and, potentially, birth families. Our social workers are very skilled at facilitating these reunions and in helping prepare the young people and the birth families.
In future blogs I'll be writing about some of the experiences that we have had in recent years with former resident's coming back for a visit, and some of the issues that relate to this. This has become a bigger part of the work of CSC, for sure.
Right now we have two young people in Cebu working with the staff. Dennis Schoonmaker was adopted from CSC when he was a toddler. He lives in California and is in his first year of college. He is a very good baseball player and is having an opportunity to impart his knowledge to our CSC Twins baseball team which is has recently started practicing. Mariah Rosedahl is also in Cebu helping out at the school. She is the sister of one of our very first adopted kids, Paul Julio,who left CSC for his adoptive family in Idaho in 1982.
CSC is at the age where we have many former residents who are now young adults and who wish to go back for a visit. We are almost always encouraging when it comes to these requests, because we know how important it can be in their lives to reconnect with the country where they were born, the CSC staff and workers, and, potentially, birth families. Our social workers are very skilled at facilitating these reunions and in helping prepare the young people and the birth families.
In future blogs I'll be writing about some of the experiences that we have had in recent years with former resident's coming back for a visit, and some of the issues that relate to this. This has become a bigger part of the work of CSC, for sure.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Home at Central
On Sunday we made a CSC presentation at Central Baptist Church in St. Paul. Central is my home church and has supported us since 1979. We had a great time. We gave updates, showed video and greeted many friends. My message was entitled "Lessons from Luke," and dealt with the life of our precious Luke and the many things that we can learn from him.
One of the highlights of our Central presentation was when we interviewed Mitch and Ruth who appeared live, via Skype. Technology allows us to do amazing things, and the congregation was amazed that Mitch and Ruth appeared suddenly on the big screen, live from their living room in Cebu City. We hope to do this type of weblink many times in the future, connecting the ministry in Cebu with our supporters. We've come a long way from the old slides shows that we used to show on our furloughs.
One of the highlights of our Central presentation was when we interviewed Mitch and Ruth who appeared live, via Skype. Technology allows us to do amazing things, and the congregation was amazed that Mitch and Ruth appeared suddenly on the big screen, live from their living room in Cebu City. We hope to do this type of weblink many times in the future, connecting the ministry in Cebu with our supporters. We've come a long way from the old slides shows that we used to show on our furloughs.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Jenny's Day
Tomorrow is Jenny's birthday, always a big day in the Healy family. Jenny will be 25. She is such a great blessing to us. When we compare notes with other adoptive families we realize that we have lots in common with them. They say things like
"We can't imagine our lives without _____." (S)He has brought so much joy to our family."
Marlys and I have experienced adoption in just about all of its many aspects. We have worked with pre-adoptive children of all ages, helping prepare them for joining families. We have had the chance to interact with adoption agencies and adoption professionals from many different countries, attending staff meetings, conferences and orientation meetings. We have visited adopted children in their families. We have had the opportunity to help host adopted CSC children and their families in Cebu, and assist in helping some of them find and interact with birth relatives. But, of course, our greatest experiences in adoption have been as parents of three wonderful daughters.
Thanks to all who have blessed Jenny's life over the years. We know that she has been a blessing to many people, as well.
"We can't imagine our lives without _____." (S)He has brought so much joy to our family."
Marlys and I have experienced adoption in just about all of its many aspects. We have worked with pre-adoptive children of all ages, helping prepare them for joining families. We have had the chance to interact with adoption agencies and adoption professionals from many different countries, attending staff meetings, conferences and orientation meetings. We have visited adopted children in their families. We have had the opportunity to help host adopted CSC children and their families in Cebu, and assist in helping some of them find and interact with birth relatives. But, of course, our greatest experiences in adoption have been as parents of three wonderful daughters.
Thanks to all who have blessed Jenny's life over the years. We know that she has been a blessing to many people, as well.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
To the Rockies
I'm off for Colorado tomorrow morning, after a brief breakfast meeting with Matt Buley. Matt just got back from Cebu and I know he's dying to tell me stories of the kids and his time there. From all I've heard it was a good visit and the staff, workers and kids enjoyed being with Matt and Theresa. My trip to Colorado will include a visit to an adoptive family who are great friends of CSC, a chance to speak in their church, and an opportunity to attend a dinner at one of our supporting churches in Denver. I'll be meeting lots of people and sharing about all the exciting things that are happening, and will be happening at CSC. Now that we have officially "kicked off" the capital campaign, my presentations will all include mention of the buildings we intend to build and the ministry opportunities that they will enable.
During the past week we had a chance to entertain some old friends, some more recent friends, and a family who will soon be adopting one of our boys. These people ranged in age from 10 years old to 84. The thing that they all have in common is that CSC has touched their lives. We often think about how our ministry impacts the lives of the children we serve, but CSC also brightens the lives of people who support them, those who visit CSC and serve on work teams, and those who adopt our children.
During the past week we had a chance to entertain some old friends, some more recent friends, and a family who will soon be adopting one of our boys. These people ranged in age from 10 years old to 84. The thing that they all have in common is that CSC has touched their lives. We often think about how our ministry impacts the lives of the children we serve, but CSC also brightens the lives of people who support them, those who visit CSC and serve on work teams, and those who adopt our children.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Super Bowl Confusion
Last night I watched the Super Bowl with my younger brother. I didn't get most of the ads. I had to ask by brother to explain the humor or the context. I've been living abroad too long. Sometimes I feel like a cultural alien when I'm in the States. That is certainly one of the results of having lived most of my adult life in the Philippines. I missed out on so many things. I never saw a single episode of Friends, for example. I don't have the cultural context to get into reality t.v. or American Idol. As my daughter once said, "Dad, you're a dork." I guess that's part of the life of a missionary, feeling kind of "between cultures." It helps me realize some of what our CSC children go through when they are adopted, not always understanding what people are talking about or referencing. It gives me a sense of the catching up that they feel they need to do when they get to their families. Hopefully, nobody will call the dorks.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Jenny is an Associate Artist
Finally, after months of filling out forms, getting diagnosis, waiting for social workers and cutting through incredible red tape, Jenny started her day program at the Anodyne art center in St. Paul. She is an Associate Artist, and will be honing her skills in a number of different areas of art. Today was her first day and, in addition to drawing, she participated in some drumming and dance. Who knows what skills might be unearthed. We are so proud of Jenny and her talents. I'll post as much of her work here as I can.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Campaign Kickoff
You can read the basics of our kickoff event on the CSC web site. Here I'll tell you a little behind the scenes stuff. We were kind of worried about the webcam connection that we had promised for the Minnesota event. Since we had pulled it off at the banquet last year, we were confident it would work again. But because of the earthquake that hit SE Asia a few weeks ago, a cable was damaged and internet had been kind of iffy for the past few weeks. I asked the gang in Cebu to make a video of what they were planning to do live, and we'd use that as a backup if the live connection didn't work. I got to the venue for our event early and their tech guy helped my get set up. We had a great connection! The sound was almost perfect. But then, just about 20 minutes before we were to start, we lost the connection. Try as we might we couldn't get any video. Thank God for my son-in-law Rich Erickson, who is a computer whiz and who came early to help out. He made some adjustments to my laptop and we were in business. The centerpiece of our evening was the connection and it was really cool.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
A Way of Life
Tonight we had a visit from Greg Swanson, who recently got back from Cebu. He spent his Christmas at CSC, serving as our guest Santa for the Christmas Eve festivities. Greg had tons of pictures and video for us to watch and lots of stories of the kids and staff. Greg used all of his vacation to be in Cebu over the holidays, and loves the kids and the ministry as much as anyone associated with CSC.
After being with Greg I have been thinking about the number of people for whom participating in CSC is more than just a financial relationship - its a way of life. As we travel around presenting the ministry we meet lots of people who care deeply about CSC, who know the kids and follow their progress. We meet people who have seen God's hand in the growth and development of the ministry and over the years, and who are proud to be involved. People like Greg.
A number of these folks will be gathering in St. Paul on Thursday night to kick off our capital campaign - Building a Legacy of Hope. We will be talking about the ministry expansion in Cebu that this campaign seeks to fund, and, together with the staff and children in Cebu, officially turn this whole campaign over to God. We will remember God's goodness in the past and ask for his blessing on our plans to improve our facilities and services to the children He has given us to care for in Cebu.
This will be a busy week as we prepare for this evening, and as I put together the February newsletter. It is an honor to work for CSC, and to work for and with people like Greg Swanson and our many other supporters.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Westwood Conference
I just got home from my trip to Olympia, Washington, and the Westwood Baptist Mission's conference. I was able to share the ministry of CSC with lots of people and I was happy with the interest shown.
To be honest, I don't enjoy traveling. Maybe I'm getting old, but the flying and driving aren't as much fun as th
ey used to be. But when I get up in front of a group of people who are interested in the Philippines and CSC, I get invigorated. It is exciting to tell people what God is doing in Cebu. I always tell about the changed lives and the stories of the children who come to live with us. I tell them about Kim, Ardian, Adelyn and Janice, and how CSC has had a life-changing impact on their lives. I notice people in the congregations wiping away tears as I tell about the ways that children have to suffer and the miracles that happen at CSC.
ey used to be. But when I get up in front of a group of people who are interested in the Philippines and CSC, I get invigorated. It is exciting to tell people what God is doing in Cebu. I always tell about the changed lives and the stories of the children who come to live with us. I tell them about Kim, Ardian, Adelyn and Janice, and how CSC has had a life-changing impact on their lives. I notice people in the congregations wiping away tears as I tell about the ways that children have to suffer and the miracles that happen at CSC.Sometimes I wish that some of our Filipino workers could be with me when I speak at a church. I wish they could help me tell about the ministry and see how interested and generous some people are. I think it would give them a new appreciation for CSC's support system and the work that goes on in the U.S. on behalf of the ministry.
Friday, January 5, 2007
A Lesson from 2006
2006 provided us with many remarkable experiences and learning opportunities. I would like to write about one of them. During 2006 I saw the greatest acts of forgiveness and Christian mercy that I will probably ever see in my lifetime. On October 2 Charles Roberts murdered five Amish girls in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. He also killed himself. Within a few days, the Amish community, in the midst of their grieving, reached out in love and forgiveness to the family of he murderer.
The Rev. Robert Schenck told CNN that "as we were standing next to the body of this 13-year-old girl, the grandfather was tutoring the young boys, he was making a point, just saying to the family, 'We must not think evil of this man.' It was one of the most touching things I have seen in 25 years of Christian ministry."
The secular media did not know how to deal with this type of reaction. They are used to rage and revenge, not forgiveness. They did not have a clue on how to report on what they were seeing. So, as we could have expected, once the funeral was over they story was dropped. Most people have already forgotten about the whole thing, or only remember the carnage.
Perhaps Christians, too, remain a little incredulous about this amazing act of forgiveness. Have we allowed this to speak to us, to cause us to examine ourselves and our hearts and to wonder how we would react? It would be simpler to just pass it off as a kind of fanatical behavior from people who live an alternative type of existence - people who are very much unlike us and who don't live in the "real world." I, for one, was deeply moved by the Amish, and convicted by my own lack of faith and forgiveness. I see their behavior as being extremely courageous and Christ-like, examples of practical Christianity that most of us never witness. I thank God for the lesson from the Amish!
The Rev. Robert Schenck told CNN that "as we were standing next to the body of this 13-year-old girl, the grandfather was tutoring the young boys, he was making a point, just saying to the family, 'We must not think evil of this man.' It was one of the most touching things I have seen in 25 years of Christian ministry."
The secular media did not know how to deal with this type of reaction. They are used to rage and revenge, not forgiveness. They did not have a clue on how to report on what they were seeing. So, as we could have expected, once the funeral was over they story was dropped. Most people have already forgotten about the whole thing, or only remember the carnage.
Perhaps Christians, too, remain a little incredulous about this amazing act of forgiveness. Have we allowed this to speak to us, to cause us to examine ourselves and our hearts and to wonder how we would react? It would be simpler to just pass it off as a kind of fanatical behavior from people who live an alternative type of existence - people who are very much unlike us and who don't live in the "real world." I, for one, was deeply moved by the Amish, and convicted by my own lack of faith and forgiveness. I see their behavior as being extremely courageous and Christ-like, examples of practical Christianity that most of us never witness. I thank God for the lesson from the Amish!
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Marlys, Jenny and I had a great weekend. We traveled a couple hours north to Palisades, MN to the Hillside Chapel. Marlys spoke at their New Year's women's brunch on Saturday morning, and we did the Sunday School and worship on Sunday. They were so happy to learn more about CSC. We talked, answered questions, showed video and shared some of our vision for the future. And we told them about the child, Cherramee, who is their Foster Friend.
On Sunday, to our surprise, the Pastor, Randy Hite, announced that there would be a special free will offering for CSC. This small group of people dug deep and gave over $600! Thanks to Hillside and all the great people we met. There is something very special about small churches, and the opportunities that they provide for us to really share about the ministry and some heart warming stories about the children.
On Sunday, to our surprise, the Pastor, Randy Hite, announced that there would be a special free will offering for CSC. This small group of people dug deep and gave over $600! Thanks to Hillside and all the great people we met. There is something very special about small churches, and the opportunities that they provide for us to really share about the ministry and some heart warming stories about the children.
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