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.

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.

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.

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.

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 they 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.

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!

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.