In the Gap

The other night we asked some friends to come to Banawa and help us pray for our children. There have been some challenging behavioral issues with some of the children in recent weeks. We felt like we needed to ask for healing, release and cleansing for all of our kids, and for our facilities, and for strength and wisdom for our workers.

We only asked people who are close to the ministry to join us. It was so encouraging to us that we had a group of 20 people praying that night. We went around the CSC compound to every room in each house.

Before we prayed I told our friends that praying for our children is something that we do as parents, almost without thinking about it. But our CSC kids do not have parents, so the staff and workers "stand in the gap" left by parents who abandoned, surrendered or neglected them, or who died or were too sick to care for them. Sometimes it is a big gap. Some of these kids have very deep hurts from abuse and neglect. Some suffer from fears and bad thoughts. What a joy it was to welcome others into the "gap" to pray for these precious kids.

We have a lot of faithful supporters who live far from the Philippines, but who still take the time and effort to pray for our CSC children. They can't join a Sunday night prayer meeting at the Shelter, but they bring the needs of ouf kids to the throne of grace. They join our staff and friends here in Cebu, standing in the gap for the kids that God brings into CSC.

Nothing could be cooler than that! Please, keep praying for protection and release for our kids.

Marlys on Jacob

I was reviewing the case of little Jacob with Angelie, one of our medical staff, for a report that needs to be made, and hearing about it in greater detail was even more disturbing than what we had heard before. The parents were drug addicts and drunkards, and they beat him nearly to death. The chest x-ray reveals that he had a broken clavicle that the doctor thinks must have been from a blunt blow to his body. He had a fever in the hospital of 106 but the doctor in charge would not give any medication to bring down the fever. He told Angelie to simply wrap him in a warm blanket as he had the worst chills she had ever seen. It went on for a couple of days and she thought he would perish from the shaking. It was heart wrenching that he was calling for his mother at that time. Jacob was living in an area south of the city where there are many horrible things taking place, such as witch craft, and lots of crime. Around 4 am one day dogs were barking uncontrollably but the people in the area were too afraid to go and look so they called the police. When they got to the area there was 3 year-old Jacob lying in a crumpled heap on the ground. He had been thrown over a wall outside of a compound. He had many open wounds and burns that the parents inflicted on him. There were dogs licking his wounds, which could also be a problem, as rabies is rampant here. In fact, a person can get exposed to it and not get sick with it for many years to come so we may still need to give him rabies shots. He has scars on his head that look like he had been cut with a sharp object. He was taken to the government hospital but was all alone there so nobody fed him the whole time he was there. Basically, nobody cared about him. That is when we received the referral. When Angelie picked him up to transfer him to Cebu Doctors hospital, he was skin and bones, and extremely weak. He almost went crazy when he saw food. The doctor told her to give him something to eat and he grabbed it and shoved in to his mouth so fast that he almost choked. When he drank he tapped the bottom of the glass to get every drop out. Thankfully, he is recovering slowly but surely physically, but we wonder how he will be affected emotionally for years to come. The parents were also cruel to his brother Joseph. The sister was the mother's favorite so she didn't suffer like her brothers. All three of them are at CSC. The parents are in jail, so they will never hurt those children again. Thankfully, Jacob and his siblings will never go hungry again, nor will they ever suffer the physical pain of torture and abuse. We pray for wisdom in figuring out the extent of the damage that was done to those precious children. Angelie just informed me that the mother recently gave birth again, and the baby is living with a grandmother.

Remembering Luker

October 31 to November 2 is All Saints Day and All Souls Day in the Philippines. It is also known as "Araw ng mga Patay", "Día de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead) or "Undas". During All Saints and Souls Day, friends and families visit the cemeteries, and pay homage to their dearly departed. The cemetery takes on a party atmosphere, and the holiday is often festive rather than a solemn celebration. Families return to their respective provinces to clean and repair the tombs of their deceased loved ones, and to pay their respects.

Although I do not embrace all of the beliefs surrounding these holidays, I think it is good to remember the lives of those who went before us. Today I've been thinking about Luke, who lived at CSC for 23 years before he died several years ago. Luke was born in 1982 in a charity ward of a small hospital in Cebu. His heart stopped beating during birth and he was born with massive brain damage. He lived his life at CSC without ever having voluntary movement of his arms or legs. He never said a word nor was he able to walk. He lived in the nursery most of his life, and in a seperate isolation room for the past few years.

Luke was a superstar at CSC. His smile could transform people's moods. He struggled to breathe for much of his life, spending months in hospitals. But he taught us so much and we loved him so. I remember him as a person who clung to life even though life was such a difficult proposition for him. The cares and problems of my life always seemed so small and insignificant when I spent time with Luke. Oh, how I miss his smile.

I delivered a sermon on several occasions following Luke's death. It was published in the Baptist Pietist Clarion in May of 2008. I include it here because I think that Luke's life was important for all of us to reflect on. He was a teacher. A minister even. He was one of the great persons I have known in my life. I consider him a Saint, so let's think about Luke during All Saints Day!

http://www.cscshelter.org/shared/lukesermon.pdf

A Panorama of Blessings

I was "on duty" the other night in the Eicher Home, reading with the kids and praying with them before they went to bed. After they hit the sack I spent a few quiet moments sitting upstairs just looking around and reflecting on God's goodness. There are so many reminders in that home of his love and provision. There are several cross stiches on the walls, given lovingly by Marie Hagfors. Marie is the grandmother of Lindsay Hoeft, who is working here for a year. Marie made more than 40 of these works of arts for all our homes. In the corner is a large mobile made by visitors Nancy Thielen, Becky Hallstrom and Mary Mork a couple years ago. On the bookshelves are many volumes, all sent to us by thoughtful friends in the U.S., Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada. Some of the kids were playing with puzzles and board games, all of which came over in boxes from the States, compliments of friends of CSC. Several of the kids were wearing tee-shirts with Cherry Hills Community Church (one of our faithful supporting churches) on the back. Every part of that home, and our other residences, has the mark of our supporters on it and in it.

As I was getting ready to pray with the kids I inquired about who we should pray for. Some mentioned the sick kids or the staff or their birth families. One girl said, "supporters!" Our kids know that there are people behind all of the good things that they enjoy. We talk to them about all of you and encourage them to thank God for you and what you mean in their lives. For tee-shirts, art work, books, food, medicine....everything that they have here at CSC.

We really want to raise children and young adults who are thankful people.

As I was praying

Arman

Last year I wrote about a homeless guy who was living outside the wall that surrounds our house.
http://thehealyblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/somewhere-out-there.html

He just showed up one day and started living there. He never hassled anyone. But he bothered me. I still think about him when I pull my car up to the curb near where he would sleep. I wonder if he has reconnected with his family in Mindanao, and if he is feeling safe and secure.

His name was Arman. I suppose he made me feel uncomfortable because he was a symbol of poverty and the ravages that it inflicts on people. He wasn't a category or a statistic. He was Arman, and he was outside our wall while I was comfortably inside the house. In many ways he was everything that I wasn't - homeless, desperately poor, hungry, without hope. Every day he would wake with a blank slate. There was no money or food or job prospects to carry over for the new day. But it wasn't really a blank slate, because the hunger would carry over and the despair would accumulate. But he would greet me with a smile when I'd park near his cardboard bed roll. It would probably have been easier for me if he was beligerent or demanding or posed a threat to me or my family. I could have called the police and had him taken someplace else. His smile and his total poverty haunted me, and continues to bother me as I reflect on Arman. As I mentioned in last year's blog, we helped him get a ticket for a boat back to the province in Mindanao where he told us he was from. Did I do that primarily just to get him out of my sight and lessen my guilt? Was there more I should have done to help him while he was here?

The issue of dealing with poverty is an every day thing here in the Philippines. You can't escape it. Beggars confront you while you drive through the city. Often it will be a young girl with a baby on her hip. I drive to the Shelter and pass people who cannot afford public transportation, so they walk. I buy medicine for my family and outside the pharmacy are people who are sick and dying for lack of that same medicine. I sit down to eat knowing there are hungry people going without lunch. I sleep in my comfortable bed while Arman and the thousands of other Armans curl up on a piece of cardboard.

I hope you are not expecting that this blog will have the answer here. I don't know why some people have to suffer and I don't. No speaker or author has answered that question for me in my 57 years of life. And I confess to being more than a little numb to the realities of life for the poor. Maybe I'm just not really willing to share my bounty. I can always hide behind my job, telling myself that I'm doing a lot to help homeless kids and prevent other Armans being on the street. Or I can just ignore the needy people all around me. The needs of Arman confronted me because he came to my house to sleep, and I was forced to deal with him and look him in the eyes and experience his poverty.

I don't think that I'll ever forget Arman. I think that is a good thing. Maybe we all need to live with an Arman in our head, reminding us of the desperate needs around us and the disparity that exists. Jesus did not isolate himself from the Armans of his day. As a man, He was limited in his access to the needs of all the poor people. But to those He confronted or that confronted him, He offered something. Maybe it wasn't always what they wanted but it was something they needed. Maybe Jesus knows our emotional and spiritual limitations, and the Holy Spirit's work in our lives is to move us with compassion for those that He selects for us to help. Maybe that's why out of the crowd, Arman stepped into my life.

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.