"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, NIV).
Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!
It's been another eventful month here at CSC with so many blessings and milestones! We thank the Lord for visits from old friends, for our new building dedication, and for keeping us safe during the recent storm. We give thanks to the Lord whose love endures forever!
MILESTONES
Just this week we were able to witness the heartwarming graduation of Justin from our speech therapy program. One of our talented and caring therapists, Kristin, led the program as we thanked God for all that He has done. We also watched videos of Justin's progress and were so touched when Justin led everyone in the opening prayer!
Justin has been receiving speech therapy at CSC for over three years after his caregivers noticed delayed speech and a lisp. Because we seek to care for all of our kids in a holistic and God-honoring way, we have skilled therapists on staff to help with variety of needs. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was to watch those videos of Justin's progress and to see how caring, loving, and patient our therapists are when they work with our children.
All of the kids at CSC have come from very rough backgrounds; some rougher than others. A lack of proper nutrition, care from an adult, and access to education often leave kids with some physical and cognitive delay. Without food to eat and a safe place to sleep at night, children are unable to thrive.
God has been so faithful and generous in connecting us with the right people so that we can provide this type of care to kids like Justin, sharing the love of Christ in word and in deed. Please continue praying for Justin and all of the kids at CSC
VISITORS
Speaking of connecting us to the right people, this past month has been filled with visitors!
It all started with a visit from Joan Gleddie and Eleanor Kasdorf from CCSSC (Cebu Children's Shelter Society of Canada). CCSSC is a volunteer organization in Canada that has been a tremendous blessing to the ministry for decades (you can read all about them in Paul's blog here). It's so humbling and powerful to see how God has touched people all around the world to prayer for and support CSC out of a genuine love for the children of Cebu; a love that comes from God and is passed on through His people (to paraphrase 1 John 4:19).
What a blessing it was to get to know Joan and Eleanor! They came at CSC's invitation because our newest building was being dedicated in honor of Trevor Gleddie, Joan's late husband who went to be with the Lord in early 2018. Trevor was a founding member of CCSSC and his faithful work over the years has had a lasting impact on countless kids and families. He left a legacy of love and support that has helped to shape what CSC is today, and this newest building is a reflection of that. It houses offices for our social workers that allow us to address the shifting ministerial needs of what we do, as well as comply with governmental and regulatory requirements. It also provides a much needed area for our facilities crew and caregivers and enhances everything that we are able to do for the kids.
It was such a blessing for my family and I to get to meet Joan and Eleanor and we look forward to when we can see them again!
Along with Joan and Eleanor, we also had a visit from Alan Wright as well as Brian and Angela Kusunoki.
Alan Wright is an amazingly talented architect who lives in Hong Kong and the UK. He designed the Duterte Home (pictured to the right), infirmary, and the Cebu Children of Hope School. All of his great design work, as well as his supervision over the construction, was done for free and he was so thrilled to hear about how these buildings have benefited the children over the years.
The Kusunoki's are also from Hong Kong. They were from the church that raised money for the land that the Cebu Children of Hope School sits on today. It was amazing to hear how the Lord provided in such powerful ways all those years ago. Just by sharing the stories of our kids and sharing their passion for the ministry, their congregation was able to raise all of the money needed for that land. They've also helped with various projects throughout the years.
I could go on and on about the blessing of having all of these visitors this past month, but I won't ... otherwise this blog would take hours to read. I'll just end this portion with this:
The history of CSC is very much a history of God sending the right people at the right time, providing for all the ministry's needs and fulfilling His purposes for the children of Cebu. Everything we are able to do, and everything at the Shelter — from the tiniest toy to the beautiful buildings — comes from God through the generosity of people all over the world. May the Lord continue to be glorified, and may lives continue to be changed through CSC!
"For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 4:15).
PRAISES AND PRAYER REQUESTS
• There were many wonderful visitors that I didn't mention above. We praise and thank the Lord for the team from Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park. Thank you so much Boo and Joy Dava for connecting us with them and for spending the day with us!
• It was also such a blessing to spend time with our dear friends Chris and Stefanie Feldmann. I'd written/posted about their visit on our Facebook page:
• Please continue praying for the kids of Cebu. We've had a couple of referrals in just as many weeks, one of which was an emergency situation which required swift action coupled with faith-filled prayer. We can't really share the details of these referrals in our blog (we have to be careful about what stories and pictures we share about the kids), but please continue praying with us for all of the kids that the Lord places in our care!
• Our family experienced its first typhoon since moving to Cebu. Typhoon Tisoy made its way through the Philippines last week, narrowly missing Cebu. Most of the damage was done in the islands to our north, with reports of toppled trees, power outages, and loss of life. Please pray for the people of the Philippines as we continue through this year's typhoon season.
• A quick update on the Cheez-Whiz I posted about in our last blog ... it tasted okay ;). That's all I'll say about that ... haha.
To end our blog, here are some photos from around Cebu. These will hopefully serve as a little glimpse into our lives as we serve God on the other side of the planet. Peace and blessings to you all, and Merry Christmas!
Picture 1: A view of a pharmacy just down the street from where we live.
Picture 2: Heather and Tessi at Ayala Mall (about 20 minutes from us)
Picture 3: The scene in front of the Johnson Home and CSC offices one day as the electric company did work on the power lines.
Picture 4: A shot I took while stuck in traffic on the way to the airport.
Picture 5: A local ad of a self-proclaimed "master of healing" who calls himself the "Jesus Man" (in case you were wondering about some of the spiritual struggles in Cebu).
Picture 6: A close-up of the ad for the "Jesus Man."
Picture 7: BEEF LOAF! It's like meat loaf, but it comes in a can ... in other words, it's nothing like meat loaf ... haha.
Picture 8: A large guitar made of plastic flowers at the Robinson's Galleria in Cebu.
Learn more about the Children's Shelter of Cebu here.
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