A group of nine people from Cambridge, MN recently traveled to Cebu to interact with the staff and children and to see the ministry up close. Dennis and Sharon Eicher led the group and have been to Cebu many times to visit. They are the adoptive parents of three former CSC residents and long-time supporters of the ministry. They brought three other couples and Dennis' sister, Jan Yohe, with them. All are CSC supporters and all brought a talent or special interest to share with our kids. Jim and Kathy Dehn were able to stay only a few days, but it was a special visit for them. Jim is a judge in Cambridge and has handled the adoption finalization for several former CSC residents and their families. The kids were excited to meet a real life judge. Craig and Patti Paulson are faculty members at Bethel University in Saint Paul, MN and spent time with our teachers and students. They were very encouraging to our faculty and had many good things to say about Children of Hope School. Paul and Gretchen Sanders had been planning to come to Cebu on several occasions but the trips fell through for one reason or another. They finally made it this time and were a blessing to everyone, especially those in the CSC medical department. Paul, a physician, saw many of the children with assistance from Gretchen, a nurse. Jan Yohe, also a nurse, helped out the nurses and assisted Marlys in planning decorations in two rooms that are being redecorated for the girls in the Cherne and Eicher Homes. One of the highlights of the group's stay in Cebu was the dedication of the Harold Haddon Playground behind the infirmary. This was made possible through a gift from the Harold Haddon Memorial Fund. Harold, who passed away a couple years ago, was Sharon Eicher's father and a long-time supporter of CSC.
Many thanks to the group for their loving involvement with the staff and children, and for their support of CSC over the years.
The Children of Hope School's Christmas program of 2011 had many highlights. There was a bit of everything - a violin trio, a flute duet, piano solos, a vocal solo, puppets, dance numbers, story telling, a speech choir, and a big choir ensemble.
The program started with the Children of Hope School students' speech choir under the direction of Teacher Francis. They told the story of Christ's birth. Then the preschoolers teamed up with their friends, the puppets, and delivered a lively performance of "Deck the Halls." Then there was a vocal solo by Arleen, a piano solo by Bernardo, and a flute duet by Jenive and Teacher Tammy. Angelica, Mae Ann and Margie teamed up with their violins and gave their first violin performance. Maricris also made her solo debut on the piano playing "Ode to Joy." The girls of Heaven's Wings dance group performed a ribbon dance to Darlene Zaschech's "Hallelujah." The boys of the Skunk Republic dance group returned for their third year with another entertaining performance.
The evening ended with a performance from the Children of Hope School choir together with the Evangelical Theological College of the Philippines choir. They performed an original arrangement by Teacher Francis of "Joy to the World" and Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus." It was a great end to a great evening!
Watch the children in action in the videos and pictures below.
Melvin has had a dream for a long time to become a pilot. In June, he took a big step toward that dream when he enrolled at Indiana Aerospace University in the course of Aviation Technology - Major in Flying. At the beginning of November, Melvin took his dream from the classroom to the runway for his first flight lessons. Melvin started his pilot training in a two-seater airplane. He admits to being scared before taking off with the instructor at the controls. Though he has been in an airplane before, never had he been in one that small. By the end of weekend of flying, Melvin had been given the controls for taxiing on the runway and also in flight. He was also given the green light to take off on his last session!
At the end of the weekend, Melvin could not stop talking about the entire weekend of flight. Even though he was nervous before the first take off, he is not questioning his dream of becoming a pilot. The first flight lesson solidified his dream as his goal. He said he is very thankful for this opportunity and excited for his dream to be becoming a reality.
Keep Melvin in your prayers as he continues to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot.
See a few pictures Melvin was able to snap when he did not have his hands on the flight controls!
The 2012 CSC Banquet has been scheduled for April 28 at Bethel University. This will be another exciting evening of fellowship, food, updates on the ministry in Cebu and the usual mixture of emotions that goes along with our annual get-together. Those who were at last year’s banquetwere greatly blessed by the testimonies, music and the media presentation.
Watch for announcements at cscshelter.org so you will know when and how to register. For now, just circle the date on your calendar so you won’t miss this opportunity to see and hear what God is doing at CSC.
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The 2012 CSC Banquet has been scheduled for April 28 at Bethel University. This will be another exciting evening of fellowship, food, updates on the ministry in Cebu and the usual mixture of emotions that goes along with our annual get-together. Those who were at last year’s banquet
