“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful“ (Colossians 4:2, NIV).
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
This is our family's second thanksgiving in Cebu, and there is so much to be thankful for! In many ways and for many people, 2020 has been a dark and stormy year. But praise the Lord for silver linings! 2020 is full of them, and while I can't possibly list all of them here, that won't stop me from trying 😊.
First of all, we thank the Lord for all of you; we thank Him for calling us to share His love by caring for homeless children in Cebu, and we thank God for allowing us to partner with you in doing so! Your prayers, love, and support have been felt by our family in powerful and surprising ways! Right when it seemed our energy and endurance had run its course, a perfectly timed note, message, or even package would come our way. When faced with an impossible task (like arguing with an Immigration Officer on behalf of an adoptive family ... a story that I'll get to in a bit), hurdles and roadblocks would disappear, both figuratively and literally! There was a peace that surpassed logic and understanding; a peace that came from the Lord and which was hurried along by your prayers. THANK YOU!
COMPUTERS
2020 forced us to change how we do things in a big way. We were forced to lockdown our Shelter in March, and since then we've been adjusting how we do things in an effort to keep up the quality of the holistic care we provide to our kids (spiritual, physical, mental, educational, etc.).
One of the big changes had to do with our high school students. The high school that our kids attend moved their classes online for the 2020-2021 school year. This was done in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, as well as to abide by decrees put forth by the Department of Education in the Philippines (i.e. - "no face-to-face classes").
While access to computers and internet is common in other parts of the world, it is not nearly as common here in the Philippines. In March, it was reported that nearly 4 million more Filipino youth would be out-of-school due to the pandemic (to put that into perspective, that means only 83.1% of kids will be enrolled in schools this year as compared with the year prior). Notice that I bolded and italicized the word more; that's because it's already commonplace for kids living in urban poor or informal settler (squatter) communities to skip school all together to find ways to survive.
Nearly 4 million more Filipino youth will be out-of-school due to the pandemic (to put that into perspective, that means only 83.1% of kids will be enrolled in schools this year as compared with the year prior).
Some of these out-of-school-youth moved to a completely homeschooled model, but most just simply couldn't cope with the increased cost of admission (i.e. - computer hardware, networking hardware, internet access, etc.). The Department of Education printed tons of educational material (modules) and delivered them across the country in an effort to serve areas with little-to-no internet access, such as rural or dense urban poor communities. They also promoted tv and radio broadcasts, like those on the Knowledge Channel, that presented curriculum and learning modules over-the-air. Even still, it's clear that this pandemic will have a lasting affect on the education of an entire generation of Filipinos.
We nearly found ourselves in a similar, difficult situation. The computers we have on hand for our students (the computers at our elementary school, the Cebu Children of Hope School) were too old to run the software that our high schoolers needed for remote learning: Google classroom, Zoom, Skype, even Windows 10. This hasn't been a major issue in the past since our elementary aged kids didn't do too many computer intensive tasks, and when they did, they could always just "borrow" a laptop from one of our workers. However, our high school kids needed to connect with their teachers online for several hours everyday, so "borrowing" a laptop was no longer a viable solution.
By the grace of God, and thanks to the generosity of so many faithful friends and supporters, our kids have been able to thrive in the midst of this storm. A local company called Arch Global had previously donated money for us to spend on field trips. With the entire country on quarantine, it became clear that we weren't going to be taking trips any time soon. So, we reached out to this donor and asked if they would object to our repurposing their donation to buy a few laptops for our high schoolers to share. They approved and were absolutely overjoyed that we could buy new computers, as were our high school students and teachers (just check out the pictures below).
The next problem we ran into was our WiFi network. With multiple computers streaming and broadcasting video conference calls at once, our "little router that could" determined that ... well ... it couldn't 😊. Again, God's faithfulness and provision shone through, and after purchasing the five new laptops for our kids, we found that we had just enough left over to also purchase new routers! It is absolutely amazing how God always knows what is needed, and it is so humbling and awe-inspiring when He provides for those needs so precisely; not a penny more, not a penny less (or centavo, that is). Praise be to God!
FIESTA!
Another thing I am thankful for is my family. Heather and the kids have been doing amazingly well since we moved to the Philippines; far greater than we could have hoped for or imagined. Not only did they have to adjust to life in a new place, the lock down and quarantine forced them to rapidly adjust to ever changing circumstances.
NOTE: To this day, Filipinos under the age of 15 and over the age of 65 are house-bound; on a 24/7 quarantine except in cases of absolute necessity, such as medical emergencies.
One fun things the kids have done to mark each month of quarantine is have little mini-fiestas. In the Philippines, a fiesta is a time of joyful celebration that includes lots of food, family visits, more food, street parades, food, as well as food 😊. In the province (rural areas), it's common for doors to be wide open and for the entire community to turn into one big party. Each community has a special fiesta or two of it's own, typically tied to a feast day for a patron saint, marking the start of a new season, or commemorating a significant point in that community's history. The pandemic has put a hold on all of these celebrations (it may even cause the cancellation of Sinulog ... a massive celebration in Cebu City that draws countless tourists and is often described as Cebu's version of the Carnival in Brazil, or Mardi Gras in New Orleans). However, in the Atienza household, our group of six has been having mini-fiestas of our own. Admittedly, it was Bastiaan and May's idea, but I love it (as does my waist line). Each month has had a different theme. One featured Filipino finger foods and snacks. Another fiesta celebrated Heather's Mennonite background with yummy foods that Heather ate growing up in Montana. There was even one that just involved junk food. As goofy as it seems, these little markers of the passing months have actually helped a lot. They've given both kids and parents something to look forward to ... oh, and did I mention it involved food?
IMMIGRATION!
Last, but not least, I want to mention a recent adventure we had with the coming of a prospective adoptive family from Europe. You can read about it in the most recent CSC printed newsletter, but let me just say, I am so thankful for all of your prayers while this family was here!
What we didn't mention in print happened right at the beginning of this family's visit. Right after the family arrived and deplaned, they were stopped at immigration and told that they had to be put back on their plane and sent back home to Europe. It was a hectic 10-15 minutes; I was on the phone with a stubborn immigration officer (the mother had called me from the airport because they were being barred from entering the Philippines), and the adoptive father was on his cell-phone trying desperately to reach the Philippine embassy in his home country. Tears were being shed, and the situation seemed dire.
At the end of it all (and this is the part we may have left out of the newsletter), we're still not sure why or how the family made it through. The father thought it was something I had done; some contact I was able to reach on our end. I, on the other hand, thought it was something the father had done, or someone the father had contacted, at the embassy. When we finally got together and compared notes, it was clear that neither of us had any idea why the immigration officer finally relented and allowed the family to enter the country. In short, it was a miracle.
What I am absolutely certain of, and absolutely thankful for, is the effect of the countless number of you praying for this family. Finally, after months and years of waiting, and after a harrowing hour at the Cebu-Mactan International Airport, this family was united with the child they had been matched with. What at a blessed and joyful unification it was!
The picture to the left (and below) was taken at Vicente Sotto hospital. It is still a requirement that airline passengers be administered a swab test before they board their plane. In fact, they have to test negative for the coronavirus before they're allowed onto their flying metal tube. This is a little taste of the drive-through swab-test facilities here in Cebu City. I took the family there prior to their departure.
PRAISES
Heather's visa situation continues be a-OK! Praise the Lord. Heather is now on a tourist visa after her 1-year balikbayan visa expired. A tourist visa requires regular, costly renewals, but by the grace of God her renewals have been smooth and she is able to stay in the country without issue. Thank you for praying with us!
Praise God that we have still been able to keep the virus outside of our Shelter! Thus far, none of our staff or children have contracted the virus, and sicknesses in general are down to a minimum. This time last year it was the exact opposite; there was a mini-epidemic at CSC. Dozens of kids were coming down with a fever, cough, runny nose ... it was a flu like nothing else and it really strained our manpower. We even called up retired workers to come in and serve for a couple of weeks in November of 2019 because of the number of sick kids we had. This year, our kids are doing great! It's most likely because our high school kids haven't been going back and forth to school, and our workers haven't been coming and going either. Yet another silver-lining to the gloomy storm clouds of 2020.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Please pray for continued health and safety, as well as an end to this pandemic.
Please pray for our plans and preparations for Christmas. This will be a very unique year. We won't be able to do all of the traditions that are common to the Shelter. Our family won't be able to do many of its own traditions either. Please pray for our family and the kids at the Shelter. Pray that all of us are able to remain focused on God and focused on the blessings that we have in Him, rather than focusing on the things we can't do or can't have because of the pandemic.
Just like my last blog post, please continue to pray for the Philippines as we make our way through typhoon season. There are still many areas up north that are recovering from Super Typhoon Rolly (Goni) and Typhoon Ulysses (Vamco). 2020 started with a volcanic eruption in Taal, then a pandemic with its lockdowns and quarantines, and now the year has brought a double typhoon. Pray for healing, recovery, and strength.
Thank you all again for praying with us! May the Lord continue to bless you and keep you safe. We don't know when we'll be able to come see you again in person, but know that you are in our prayers always!
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One last thing ;). Here's May singing Waymaker, as well as a video of me preaching at Banawa Bible Fellowship (BBF) 😊. This pandemic has allowed us to connect with communities digitally; yet another silver lining. BBF is where many of CSC's leaders attend church (that is, prior to the country-wide quarantine forbade in person worship services). God bless!
Also, here's a link of one of CSC's Praise Nights which we broadcasted digitally so that both our locked-out and locked-in workers could participate.
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