Sunday, September 21, 2008

A Taste of the Philippines

Dear friends of the CSC
(Children's Shelter of Cebu),

Good food, friends and faith. If you, or anyone you know, has ever had an interest in participating in a short-term mission trip, we would like to invite you to a casual dinner on SAT OCT 4th, 2008 in Lone Tree, Colorado.

Award-winning Chef, Leah Eveleigh will prepare an authentic Filipino meal before your very eyes at 6:00 p.m. After dinner at about 7 we'll have time to share video memories from recent trips and...
In addition to talking about the Discover the World 2009 trip to Cebu, Philippines, we will also briefly discuss the potential for other cycling related short-term mission trips to Uganda, Kenya and/or Ghana. In order to get directions and RSVP for this event, please e-mail me at:
Best fishes,
AL

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Team CSC Update

Dear Friends of the Children's Shelter of Cebu,

Please join us this Sunday, August 3rd 2008, after the third service at Cherry Hills Community Church, to welcome Mitch and Ruth Ohlendorf and their family from the Children's Shelter of Cebu Philippines. Our church has sent mission teams to this orphanage and most recently, one of our families has adopted 3 children from there.

The newly adopted children, will be joining us and this will be a wonderful opportunity to ask any questions regarding adoption from the Philippines, or about support and prayer that is needed for the Shelter. We would love to have you and your children join us. A light lunch will be provided.

WHEN: Sun. Aug 3rd after the 3rd service around 12:00 noon
WHERE: Cherry Hills Community Church Room 249

Friday, July 11, 2008

Children of Hope

It works ! Here it is, our first attempt at posting a video to the blog. Just click on the little play button (the right facing arrow below) and enjoy. Thanks again to all our supporters for the prayers and encouragement that made these pictures possible.

Best fishes,
Al

Friday, June 13, 2008

Life Lessons from Cycling



Thanks to the Intl. Christian Cycling Club (IC3) we had several bikes to ride with the CSC (Children's Shelter of Cebu) kids in Tabunok Canyon on Cebu in the Philippines.
On our rides we learned three important life lessons from cycling:

1) Stay Focused - Keep safely to the right and follow God's directions. Steer with your eyes by focusing on where you want to go;
2) Stick Together - Wherever we went there was always someone nearby to keep us on track and within the peloton; and finally...
3) Keep Rolling - whatever obstacles come up on the trail or in life, in order to keep your balance you must keep moving forward.
Best fishes,
AL
PS Congratulations to the other Team CSC on winning the 2008 Tour de France. Don't miss our annual Pedal 4a Purpose bike ride on SAT August 2nd, 2008. To show your support for the IC3, be sure to visit our Pedal 4 a Purpose website at:

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Are We Back Yet ?

WARNING: For those team members just back from the Philippines - Use extreme caution while driving and do not operate any heavy machinery or equipment - After 2 days of travel and crossing the international dateline, some drowsiness may occur. In fact for the next few days you may be tempted to cross the center divider and honk randomly at oncoming traffic.

After getting home from the airport last night I was watching the news and next thing I remember was waking up with the remote in my hands at around 12 a.m. Re-adjusting to our altitude and American culture after just one week in a third-world country may take some time. Hopefully we will never forget the captivating beauty of the country and its people.

Over the next few days we will attempt to share some of the photos and memories of this mission trip but words will not be adequate to describe the emotions - the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of our trip to the Children's Shelter of Cebu. In order to fully appreciate the miracles happening there, you must begin today to prepare yourself for our next journey in late Spring of 2009.
Best fishes,
AL

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Continuation of the Fun...







Over the past few days we have been very busy... We have been biking, hiking and swimming. On Monday we took some of the boys out riding through a mountains, next to the river, all of them did wonderful listening to us, avoiding traffic, and never giving up; it was incredible to see the endurance that these children have. Later that afternoon we took out 8 beginning riders, of which only 3 knew how to ride; by the end of the time 7 kids could ride on their own with out someone holding onto the back, again seeing the growth and the children's excitement of learning a new task just added to our own. In the evening we got the opportunity to help celebrate a 17th birthday and eat a delicious Filipino meal.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was a very long, but fun day. We took 25 kids to the other side of the island, which was about two and a half hours away, to the city of Moalboal; there we climbed through the lush Jungle to a waterfall (it was quite a hike, even for us! but all of the kids did great and didn't complain).. when we got to the waterfall we received the chance to cool off and play with the kids, which was a blessing for us all. We proceeded down the mountain to a great meal on the beach. After lunch we got onto two boats that carried us out to an island where we all got the opportunity to get off and snorkel around a bit. The kids loved this, and although they are all from the Philippines, it was for some of them, their first time in the ocean.
When we arrived back at the shelter we got to experience a send off since three of the kids are being taken to their new home by their parents. It was incredible to see the light in the eyes of the two sisters and brother as well as their new parents.

This morning we took five of the intermediate girls biking along the river where they all did wonderfully. And now we are off to go see a movie with the special needs kids, then later we will be going to dinner and bowling with teen home kids.

It is time to get going soon but look for more updates soon, and thank you again for the continued support and prayers, they are greatly appreciated!! :-)

Sunday, June 1, 2008

1st Annual Cherry Hills Games



Our first afternoon with the kids was awesome! The work team organized the first annual CHCC Games and the kids were divided into 4 teams: Red, Blue, Green and Maroon. We started off with the human knot game where the kids had to grab hands and work together as a group to untwist themselves. The work team split off and had a member working with each team of kids and the teams competed against each other to see who could get untangled first. Then we had relay races with water balloons and air filled balloons. The grand finale was a free-for-all water balloon fight, followed by a sneak attack on Kelly (instigated by Kirk). The very last game was a contest to see which team could pick up the most balloon pieces--clean up has never been easier for the adults!
The work team had the pleasure of joining the kids for dinner at the picnic area and we had our first taste of authentic Filipino cuisine of the trip. Then the winning teams were announced and candy was awarded as prizes.
All in all it was an awesome day and we can truly say that we were the ones who were blessed!

Friday, May 30, 2008

We made it! Welcome picture...


We had a warm welcome Saturday morning... May 31, 2008... by the kids at the children's shelter.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Here we Go!

We had a close call with our plane tickets this morning but we were able to get it all worked out just in the nick of time. We made it to Seattle and we are getting ready to board the plane for out second leg of the trip to Seoul, South Korea. This flight is about 12 hours long. We will check in later.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Ready to Roll !


(From L-R: Shasta, Erica, Al, Kelly, Laura, Kirk, Susan)

The 2008 Team CSC (Children’s’ Shelter of Cebu) prepared for their upcoming trip to the Philippines with a trail ride this Memorial Day weekend at the Alderfer/Three Sisters Park near Evergreen, Colorado. The ride began with a slight downhill grade across Bluebird Meadow to a more challenging ride up the Bearberry Trail. From there we crossed the road to the Wild Iris loop and Evergreen Mountain Trail. The weather and scenery were spectacular, but even more impressive were the spirit and efforts of the team CSC riders. The purpose of the ride was threefold:

First of all, the team realized that moving outside our comfort zone is the first step towards completing this journey. Seeking God’s Kingdom is never easy, but always rewarding. Goals of this year’s team include supporting the CSC in their “Legacy of Hope” construction campaign and providing healthy learning experiences for the orphans awaiting adoption. Greater than funding structures on this trip, is building positive relationships with our supporters, hosts and the children of Cebu.

Secondly, we wanted to show appreciation for the contributions last year of the International Christian Cycling Club (IC3) which enabled the 2007 Discover the World team to purchase 20 new bicycles for the CSC. This year the team plans to share several bike rides with the orphans of the shelter. For more information on the IC3 or to join us for a ride later this summer, visit their website at:

http://christiancycling.blogspot.com/

Thirdly, the ride gave the team an amazing opportunity to enjoy nature and gain a greater appreciation for God’s creation and His glory.

We are grateful to all our supporters for your prayers and financial contributions that will make this journey possible. We invite you to join us on the adventure beginning this Thursday. Through this website we will endeavor to hold you all close to our hearts and keep you posted online with short essays and photos of our daily activities.

The packing is just about done, so it’s time to fasten your seat belts and get ready to enjoy the ride with us. We are clear for takeoff and ready to roll!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The Road to Cebu



Thanks to all who attended the "Taste of Philippines" luncheon and fundraiser this weekend. We had some great food and made great strides towards the goals for our team.

It was inspiring to hear from Eddie Henry, who was the first child placed at the Children's Shelter of Cebu (CSC) in 1979.

David Flower, a member of the CSC Board of Directors talked to us about the building campaign for new facilities proposed and under construction in Cebu (see photos).

For more information on how you can support this project post your comments below.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Here we go again!

Ladies & Gentlemen,

God has put together another incredible team of faithful servants to journey this summer to the Children's Shelter of Cebu (CSC) in the Philippines. We hope that you will come along side us and pray for team unity, strength and peace as we begin this mission together for 2008.

In the coming weeks we are planning to host a fundraising dinner and auction to help provide for our travel costs and new adventures for the orphans of the CSC. Keep an eye on this website as we will add more details as they become available.

Best fishes,
Al