Joel's Journal

The construction of the new residential and medical buildings has been going on for two years and the planning started several years before the land was even cleared.  They are nearly done! The finishing touches and final cleaning are underway.  The doors are in, ceiling tiles put in place, light fixtures and switches wired, walls receiving the last coat of paint, beds and cribs being delivered,...  To see it all coming to fruition is amazing.

From the beginning, Joemar has known we will be moving into the new residential building.  He will be sharing a room with Jacob, who has cerebral palsy.  Joemar can hold three or four thoughts at a time, one of which is always "his" new house.  He will ask, "Balay?" ("House?").  In return I will ask, "Mana?" (Finished?").  Joemar will answer disappointedly, "Wala pa." (Not yet.")  That interchange will have to be edited to end with Joemar exclaiming, "O, MANA!" ("YES, IT'S FINISHED!").

Joemar and I walked through the new house one evening last week.  Joemar pointed out each fan in every room.  The rooms are looking great.  Cabinets finished, door hung, windows installed, fans wired, tiling and painting done.  The rooms are big and wide open.  It reminds me that they need to be filled with beds, cribs, chairs, toys, clothes, papers, books, and (of course) children.  These building are a wonderful blessing.  Now that they are nearly finished, we are looking to furnish them so they are ready for the children.  Follow this link to find out about the needs for the furnishings of the residential and medical buildings. 

The dedication of the residential and medical buildings will be June 20th.  Be sure to check out the CSC website to see the buildings completed!

Summer activities are underway.  There is basketball, guitar lessons, cooking, swimming, art and badminton.  I am responsible for getting the kids to guitar lessons and swimming class.  They all want to sit in the front seat so I have them take turns.  One day, Joselito was riding shotgun.  We passed an old man walking along, carrying a child of six or seven on his back.  Both the man and child were very dirty, but the boy wore no clothes.  Joselito asked, "Could I get some of my moneyand buy shorts and give them to the boy?"  Some kids know how to ask the right questions. 

The kids and I talked about the offering at church and tithe and giving to others the rest of the ride home.  Teaching opportunities can arise from simply passing a child on the road.

This week, April 20-24, the CSC kids will be going on a field trip!  Not just a field trip.  There will be three different field trips!  The little kids, 4-7 years old, will be camping overnight at the school complete with tents, hiking and smores.  The middle group, 8-10 year old kids, will be traveling to the neighboring island of Bohol to see the Chocolate hills, tarsier monkeys, a giant snake and more.  The older kids, 11 years and up, will be going to Manila for four days and three nights!  They will visit museums, historical sights, the presidential house, an ice skating rink and much more. 

The teachers will be accompanying the kids on these trips.  I will be joining the Manila trip. 

Check out the Mega-Field Trip website for more information of the kids on the trips, where they are going and what they will see. 

Daily the Mega-Field Trip Blog will be update!  Check here frequently to keep up with the fun the kids are having on their respective trips. 

The Level C students have been taking a life skills and industrial arts class this year.  I taught the industrial arts part.  The students learned how to work with wood to make a small box in which they can put some belongings.  They learned the basics of measuring, sawing, hammering, gluing, sanding, screwing and more.  Each student started off with the same basic design.  I encouraged them to make some variations, especially with the lids of the box.  When the plans were finished being drawn no two boxes were the same. 

Once a week for 45 minutes they worked on their boxes.  That is a short amount of time for beginners to accomplish a lot, so the weekly progress was some what slow.  Things started coming together and moving faster when the sawing was completed.  When the boxes were assembled with hinges and latch installed the students painted their boxes.  They used their knowledge of painting from art class to create a variety of colors and designs.  The students were very excited to bring the boxes home once the paint dried.  The boxes were filled that day.  Check out the pictures of the box building process and of course the final products. 

Saturday was a good day.  The kids 9 to 13 years old participated in a baseball tournament.  The CSC Twins took the field after a two year hiatus and placed second!  The kids had loads of fun! 

The first game ended in a flurry of runs by both the Phillies and Twins.  With the score tied at four entering the fifth and final inning the Phillies cranked in five runs.  The Twins were not to be out done.  Arnel hit a three run home run bringing in Paula and John.  Then Milbert followed suit with his own three run home run hitting home Christian and Birny for a 10 to 9 win! 

The second game was against a tougher team, but that did not stop the Twins from playing well.  Even though the final score was 10 to 2 in the other team's favor the Twins still held their heads high, because they knew they had played well.  The defense played better and little John hit a solo home run in the last inning.

The sun shone on the kids as they enjoyed a day of playing baseball.  By the time we returned to the shelter stars were out.  The kids jumped out the of vehicle and hustled to their houses for a much needed supper.  As I shut off the vehicle I noticed John laying in the grass.  Thinking he was being dramatic I walked over and asked, "Are you tired?  Do you need me to carry you inside?"  He said, "No.  I am looking at the stars.  Look, an umbrella."  So I lay down in the grass to his right and he pointed out the umbrella in the stars.  After only a minute or two we stood up, he gave me a hug and said, "Thank you Uncle Joel."  He turned and jogged inside to get his supper.

John had a blast simply playing a fun game today.  It did not really matter that he was one of the better players even though he only 11 years old.  The solo home run he hit did not really matter.  It was a just good day.