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 suffering 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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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,