Chorus of the Needy

I was working in the office this afternoon when I got a text message from Marlys. She mentioned that there was terrible flooding in Manila with several new deaths and incredible loss of property. I clicked on the MSN home page, but nothing was there. Lots about celebrity dating, football scores, Lady Gaga sightings, and bizarre dance steps, but nothing about Manila. Maybe the death toll needs to get higher before it makes the news. Maybe there have been so many natural disasters this year that nobody really cares any more. Maybe the sight of people walking through armpit high water carrying a little one isn't something that people really want to see. Maybe there is a viewer fatigue that makes news choosers go with political intrigue on the campaign trail rather than the suffering of people on the other side of the world. I don't know.

One problem here in the Phililppines is that typhoons hit here every year. This is the season. In 2009 Typhoon Ondoy hit Luzon with a fury not seen in decades. One encyclopedia tallied the loss of life at 747 and the damage at $1.09 Billion. And the thing of it is, that was one of eight typhoons and two super typhoons that hit that year. The human suffering just goes on and on.

Sometimes we worry that the needs of homeless children, like the ones we minister to, might be- come wearisome for people are constantly barraged with human needs. Children are suffering in many parts of the world. My brother Will is a board member of a fine organization, Feed My Starving Children, that sends food all around the world to help meet the nutritional needs of malnourished kids. One of my friends works with an organization in Kenya that takes care of orphans. There are thousands of good programs helping kids around the world, and the parade of needs just does not nor will not end. We will always be one ministry of many, voices in the huge chorus of appeals for attention to needs and gifts to make a difference.

As I reflect on this reality it makes me realize how dependent we are on a God who has the needs of all his children in his heart. Our job is to do the best job we can of taking care of the kids in Cebu who need us, using the resources that come to us with care and integrity. Our job is to spread the word about the needs that exist in our part of the world with honesty. God's job is to touch hearts and minds.

So we grieve with those in Manila who have lost loved ones and houses. We weep with those who weep in Haiti. Our hearts fill with compassion for orphans in Africa and hurricane victims in the United States. And in the midst of those emotions, we put another meal on the table for the kids under our care, nurse sick kids, prepare school lessons and provide counseling and spiritual guidance to those whose lives have been affected by abandment, neglect and abuse.

Walking the Line

Seems like we're always walking fine lines at CSC. We want to protect our children from the negative influences of the world, but not shelter them from the realities. We want to give them nice things but not spoil them. We want them to like CSC and learn to love those who are caring for them, but we also want them to be excited about leaving us when the time comes for adoption. In the area of fund raising and promotion, we want to work hard to communicate with our donors and find new people to support the ministry. But we also desire to have faith in God to provide and recognize that all good things come from Him.

In my role as a "senior missionary" here in Cebu (I've probably been here as long or longer than any missionary I know), I often get asked for advise from those who would like to start a ministry like ours. I have probably had at least 50 conversations over the years with people who felt a leading of God to work with homeless children. Most of these ideas never got off the ground, or started and fizzled out. To summarize, these failures, if I can use that term, resulted from one of two reasons. Either the people in mind didn't want to work within the priorities and parameters of the government system here in the Philippines, or they did not give proper attention to their support. By failing to do the former, they were always at odds with the department of social welfare concerning requirements for licensing or for the type and quality of services that they will offer. The government has requirements for agencies having a board of directors, proper funding, well thought out ideas about programs and services and area of coverage, and proper staffing including one or more licensed social workers. In the area of support, some prospective ministries never got off the ground because they couldn't come up with the funding, or they withered and died because of insufficient resources.

These two areas, conformity and funding, are "fine lines" that we have to walk. We have our sense of calling to a certain type of ministry, and we have principles and core values that are non-negotiable. But we live and work in another country, and this country has different ways of setting priorities and allocating resources. They have different ways of looking at child caring work, and they represent the legal authority and maintain the ultimate custody of the children under our care and set the rules for adoptive placement. We must work within their system and be transparent about how we care for the children. We need to cooperate, make some compromises in certain areas, and show that we are willing to work within the basic system.

In fund raising, we walk the line between faith and work. We ask God to provide for the children He loves. We take prayer and faith seriously at CSC, both for the ministry in Cebu and for the funds needed to support it. Sometimes the rub for some organizations has to do with the nature of faith. I remember a guy here in Cebu years ago who believed that any fund raising effort exposed a lack of faith. Either you're going to believe that God will provide or you aren't. He cited the writings of George Mueller, who believed that God could be trusted to provide for the thousands of orphans under his care in England in the 1830s.

My goal is not to criticize those who believe this way or run their organizations according to these kind of principles. They are certainly often strong, idealistic, brave and faithful people whose primary purpose in ministry is to glorify God. And their beliefs about faith help us understand the dangers of relying on ourselves and forgetting God in the financial provision and management of our programs. At CSC, we believe that God is the ultimate provider, that He chooses to provide through his people, and that he is honored by the compassion and faithfulness of people who give to ministries like CSC. We work hard to inform people of needs and opportunities and to give the glory to God.

Yes, we walk the line at CSC. We work and we wait.

Would you do it all over again?

One of our former residents is here in Cebu for a visit. She spent some time with the staff and kids the other day and I was the one who brought her to where she was staying after a birthday party for one of the kids. She is a person who thinks deeply and asks penetrating questions. As we were driving along she asked, "Would you do it all again?"

That is a great question, and one that a person should think about before answering. I didn't. I just blurted out "Yes, for sure." It seemed like a no-brainer. We believe that God led us into this ministry and we would always want to think that we would follow that leading, again and again. And its been a good life for us here in Cebu. No question. We have had many difficult times over the past 32 years: financial crises, children who have died, natural disasters, disappointments and heartaches. But more true would be the good times, the joys and victories, the dedication of new buildings, graduations, recitals, celebrations, watching kids overcome physical and emotional hurdles.

After I dropped her off I thought about how I might have answered if I'd have thought about it for a day instead of answering almost as soon as the question was finished. The answer would still be "yes." But I would have a meaningful addition: I would tell her that she is both the questioner and part of the answer to the question. The joy of being a part of this ministry can be summarized this way: changed lives. We have had the opportunity to invest in young lives, to give them opportunities to learn, to be healthy, to have families, to get educated in some of the finest schools in the world, to have choices that never would have been possible if we hadn't brought them into CSC. The girl who asked me that question probably doesn't understand all of the motivations and rewards involved in our work. She likely doesn't know how we feast on the accomplishments and victories of our children. Maybe if I had answered her question more thoughtfully she would have a better understanding of what makes working at CSC such a delight.

Roles of all Kinds

I was looking at pictures of CSC in albums that Marlys has put together over the years. It is fun to see the kids that grew up at CSC and remember their stories and the fun we had with them.

It is also fun to see the adults in the pictures. It is amazing to me how many different people have visited Cebu over the years. Some came for just a few minutes to see our homes and the kids; others stayed for weeks, months or years. Some played bit roles in the story of CSC, while others have had major parts to play. As I think about the whole scheme of things, it is clear that God has provided just the right people at different times to perform different functions when it was needed most. Some heard about a financial need and met that need. In addition to the people who are regular supporters of the ministry, there are those who came onto the scene for only one gift in response to a situation that came to their attention. One guy, a Bethel college student, made a gift of $40,000 to us before we even left for Cebu that allowed us to purchase the house that we started with in 1979. That guy moved away and we have never heard from him since! Some friends of the ministry have been around for quite a while, but were needed for extraordinary situations that came up. Their help was crucial at the time, and afterwards, they returned to their supportive roles. A Northwest Orient pilot helped CSC in amazing ways when one of our kids, Jackson, needed to come to the States for surgery at a hospial in Texas. Years later I still shake my head and wonder what we would have done without his help at that crucial juncture.

In addition to our long-term staff members who have given many years of service to the ministry, there have been others who have served shorter terms. Kathy and Sned Flora, and Jeff Snyder didn't stay on our staff for more than a few years, but their contributions were great in helping the ministry get started back in 1979. Lynne Green was a staff member for a couple years. Alan and Rachel Lecher, Nora Dorsey, Michelle Peterson, Dawn Miller, Ben and Mari Bonnett and others taught in our school for a year or two. Others have come along for periods of time ranging from a few months to a couple years, helping out with the child care leadership or performing specific tasks that were needed at the time. Several people quit their jobs or took leaves of absence to join our staff and help us take care of the children in Cebu. On our very first furlough back in 1982 a couple named Joe and Kathy Graft took leaves to spend a whole year in Cebu to help out. Tim and Karen Erickson went to Cebu every 18 months for 16 years to provide free dental care to our kids. Doctors have come over to see our children. Teachers have helped with tutoring or done seminars with our teachers. One young lady came for a month to work with our therapist, giving ideas on the therapy program for our special needs kids. Teams have come to build, do camps with the kids or lead a Vacation Bible School program. A doctor came and delivered lab equipment to us and helped us set it up in our lab. Several college students did their internships in Cebu, helping at the school or with our computer system. One retired guy who was in Cebu working with another ministry spent a considerable amount of time with me, helping me learn how to use a computer. Choirs and drama troupes have stopped by to perform and share good times with the kids and staff. We've had clowns, mimes, acrobats, athletes, musicians, singers and dancers over the years, some of them excellent, others.....not so much! But they have been there to contribute something to the kids. And there have been many, many others who have used their time and talents for CSC.

Many people have helped in big ways without ever going to Cebu. One guy in Montana who worked for a medical equipment company got a very expensive brain shunt for us when a child faced a life threatening brain condition. Several years ago when funds were scarce we decided to sell bicycles in Cebu to raise money, and a group of men in Ham Lake acquired, stored and shipped the bikes to us. Ladies have made towels, diapers, bibs, blankets, clothes, puppets, toys, costumes and other useful stuff. One great friend of CSC who worked at a printing company got tons of stuff printed for free or cost by just asking his boss. Another guy set up our computer network in Cambridge during his spare time.

Among our many donors are friends who have given monthly for 30 years, and those who, like the guy mentioned above with the $40,000 donation, made just one gift to CSC. There are people who have hundreds of thousands of dollars for building campaigns, like Harry Schmidt of Canada, and those who perhaps gave a memorial gift at a funeral and never donated again.

It is overwhelming to think about all the great contributions of time, talent and treasure, and the people who have come onto the stage of CSC to play various roles over the years. Some, I confess, have been long forgotten, and the memory of others is only refreshed when perusing the picture albums. But I am thankful to God for all of them and what they have meant to CSC and to the kids we have cared for. Its good to reflect and to remember.

Banquet Musings

We put a lot of time and effort into our annual banquet. With virtually no exceptions, we feel that it is worth it. This year we had a splendid banquet where everyone did a great job and lots of people showed up and they gave generously. We had former residents presenting testimonies and poems. We had a video that explored our theme of "Take a Hand, Join the Family." We had a US Senator in attendance and the sibling group of nine whom she helped get adopted together in a fantastic family, who were also at the banquet. We had great music featuring Sam Butler and his family. And we gave an award to Tim and Karen Erickson, the volunteer dentist and his wife who went to CSC over the past 16 years to work on our kids' teeth.

It is amazing the number of people that it takes to do the job that we do with the children under our care. It takes many workers: child care workers, therapists. counselors, nurses, teachers, social workers, accountants, house parents, janitors, guards, drivers, administrative assistants and carpenters. It takes Senators, immigration officials, adoption agency personnel and embassy workers. It takes board members, US office staff, supporters and prayer warriors. It takes pastors and missions committee members. It takes adoptive families. I know I'm forgetting some people. Our banquet brings a lot of these people together. Our web site brings others in who cannot attend. How I wish that someday everyone who participates in the success of CSC could get together in one place so we could thank them and we could reflect together on just how great God has been and what joy we have experienced in being a part of CSC.

It has been a lot of fun and a great joy to be part of this ministry for the past 32 years. We have ridden the crest of the wave as God has continually taken us through challenges and tough times, and given us not only the basic needs of the ministry, but the desires of our hearts for the children.

Thanks for being with us for all or part of those years. Who knows how much longer God will allow us to be a direct part of CSC. But we will enjoy every opportunity to bless the children in Cebu and be blessed by them. Thanks and God bless you all.

Jenny's Latest Drawing

Jenny has been doing a lot of drawing lately at Anodyne Art Center, where she has been going for the past few months. This one is entitled "Food Chain," and reflects her interest in sharks, whales and other sea creatures. We are so proud of Jenny and her work! Enjoy.

Before anything else...

I need to comment on the great month that was December. As usual, we came down to the end of the year needing a huge months to make our budget. 2010 had been a slow year. Many churches and charitable organizations were hurting, and were sending out strong appeals for year-end giving. Some were in pretty desperate straights.

Although our situation was serious, it wasn't desperate. I don't think its possible to ever describe CSC's financial position as dire. Every year since our inception in 1979 God has provided exactly what we needed. Recent years have followed a pattern. Lower than needed income during the middle of the year forces us to use our reserves to pay our bills and send the needed money to Cebu. Year-end giving is strong and allows us to replenish our reserves and pay all our bills. Every year. We try not to take it for granted, but we certainly live in expectation of God doing

great things through the people of CSC.

The year's change, the Annual Financial Reports remain the same. In the recorded history of CSC, God has been faithful, helping us meet the needs of the children that we take in. Looking back to the year's of God's provision we can never look at our situation as desperate. As He has done in the past He continues to do.


So we look to 2011 with a confidence and assurance. I can't wait to see the ways that He will use to make good things happen this year, and the people who will step forward to help us reach our goals for this year.