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:

aemedjr@yahoo.com

Best fishes,

AL

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

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

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:

http://pedal4apurpose.kintera.org

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

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!! :-)

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!

We made it! Welcome picture...

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

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.

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!

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.

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

Children's Shelter of Cebu

We are so impressed with the ministry of the shelter that we want to extend an invitation to you. Would you consider joining the shelter in financial and prayer support? Below are some of the things the shelter is doing. Please spread the word about the shelter and visit their website http://www.cscshelter.org/help/help.php to sign up to support them and receive newsletters.

The Children's Shelter of Cebu:
1. Searches out kids from all over the Philippines who are not being cared for and could be considered for adoption.
2. Intentionally brings in special needs kids and cares for them for their entire lives if adoption is not an option.
3. Provides quality schooling for all the kids at the shelter and modifies for special needs kids.
4. Has over a hundred Filipinos working at the shelter doing various jobs ranging from cooking to social work.
5. Gives the kids back their childhood where they do art, music, and athletics.
6. Gives the kids a schedule they can trust that includes meals, school, chores and play time.
7. Teaches the kids to attach to adults and to trust so that they can be adopted into families.
8. If kids are not adopted before they reach the age of 16 (or 18 if they have younger siblings) they are transferred to the teen home where they continue into high school, college and vocational training.
9. The shelter continues to support kids to help them find jobs, places to live and community once they leave the teen home.
10. And last, but not least, the shelter has taught over 700 kids who Jesus is, about His love for them and how to walk with Him. They learn to praise God, read and memorize His Word and be a part of a Christian community.

Please join Children's Shelter of Cebu as they reach the poorest of the poor, the fatherless and the defenseless with hope and the gospel.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

Follow up Prayer Requests

Please pray:
That the 5 kids who were adoped last weekend will adjust well to their new families in the States.
That our churny stomaches will go away.
That God will use our stories to touch the hearts of prospective adoptive families.
That God will continue to bless the ministry of Children's Shelter of Cebu with financial support (the value of the dollar is dropping in the Philippines so they need more supporters), prayer support and adoptive families.
That God will provide families for the older kids and sibling groups.
That God will continue to use this trip in our lives to spread God's heart about adoption.

Praises:
We were pretty healthy on the trip.
We had a great time with the kids and were able to show them Christ's love.
We had safe travel.
We worked well together as a team and each fulfilled different roles.
The adoption forums went well and opened up dialoge about adoption despite cultural differences.
God is using Children's Shelter of Cebu in mighty ways in the lives of hundreds of kids!

On the road again. . .

What a long trip home! It took us 48 hours from the shelter to DIA. We flew to Singapore on Sunday and slept for 12 hours in the airport hotel-what a wonderful place! Headed on to Tokyo on Monday and then were delayed leaving Tokyo because a sick woman boarded the plan and Sheryl's professional opinion got her off the plane before we took off. Way to go Sheryl in stepping up to the plate when the airline needed medical personel. When we arrived in Los Angeles our bags were the last of 700 bags to get off the plane and given the hour delay, we missed our plane to Denver. This was not without trying. . . we ran around LAX with like 13 bags on carts to check back in and go through security after customs! Oh well. We got on a later flight but the luggage was put on a different flight that was delayed. I'm still not sure if everyone has their luggage yet! We arrived in Denver at 9:30pm on Monday night (Monday was the world's longest day as we crossed over the dateline in the Pacific Ocean!). Whew! We made it!

Sunday

On Sunday, we woke up preparing ourselves to return home. We packed our bags and headed to the shelter one last time to say goodbye to the kids. We did have time to play a few last games of marbles and tag though.





All of our goodbye pictures.


Before we left the shelter, the kids gathered and sang, "God will take care of you." It was very difficult to keep from crying as we considered being sung to about God's care from orphans. Amazing. It was very hard to leave the kids.

Later Sunday, 5 kids would be meeting their forever families and 2 would be going to Manila for their medical exams to further their adoption processes. Praise God.

Saturday

What a day Saturday was! We met the kids at the shelter at 7am to take about 25 of them by Jeepnee 2 1/2 hours across the island.


We laughed as the kids passed out in the Jeeps and sprawled themselves all over eachother. Kids will be kids.


When we arrived to MoalBoal, we were greeted by snacks of fresh coconut and a beautiful white sand beach.


The kids swam and splashed in the water. It was amazing, many of them opened their eyes under the water! They searched for hermit crabs and caught tiny fish by hand. They buried eachother in sand and climbed all over eachother (and us!) in the water.


On our boad ride around the bay, we came across a whole bunch of dolphins. They came right up to our boat and jumped, twirled and played in our wake. The kids love them and most of them had never seen dolphins before.


After the beach we took a crazy drive up a mountain to a cave where we waded through cold water to get into the cave. It was amazing and most of the kids liked it. Some thought it was creepy because of the bats and the dripping stalagtites.

After another swim at the beach, we loaded the Jeepnees up again and headed back to Cebu. Once again, the kids slept and we were alert as can be praying we wouldn't get in a wreck given the wild traffic rules.


On the way home we stopped at Jollibee (their form of McDonalds which serves spaghetti and fried chicken!). What a day!

Friday

On Friday morning, Shannon, Claudia, Brad and Kim rode a Jeepnee and a Hobble Hobble (the motorcycle up the dirt road to the shelter) to the shelter to experience the local transportation. What a blast!


Brad and Kim were able to see the kids begin their day at school singing the national anthem of the Philippines. We helped in several classrooms at the school during the morning and here you see the preschoolers singing "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes."

Sheryl was able to visit all the local hospitals to see the medical care and to gain understanding about why the shelter is in process to build their own clinic on campus. Tammy, Claudia, Shannon and Molly were also about to play with bubbles with the toddlers.


In the afternoon, we took the kids on bike rides. First the 9-10 year olds rode BMX bikes in a subdivision where the Baptist Missionaries have a retreat house. Here Al is helping a little one who couldn't quite reach the pedals!

We also took about 30 10+ year olds to a mountain road to ride the mountain bikes we bought. The kids had so much fun and worked so hard to avoid the dump trucks and motorcycles on the road. The girls rode the bikes up the hill (ladies first goes wrong!) and the boys rode them down.


Here the kids are bursting with excitement as they wait to ride.


The local kids gathered around to see our parade of bikers. There was a stark contrast between the local kids and the kids from the shelter. Our kids had joy in their eyes and freedom in their steps while the local kids carried the burdens of poverty and separation from God.


Praying before the kids ride.


The girls riding up the hill.


The boys riding down the hill.


Later Friday night we had dinner at Teacher Amy's house. It was there that Ruth, one of the social workers who originally started the shelter, introduced Brad to Belot.


She and Brad ate 14 day old eggs. The inside had a little grey bird surrounded by yellow yolk with veins running through it. Brad and Ruth ate an egg each and Tammy tasted the yolk.


During dinner we heard geckos barking or quacking or making some kind of strange noise and we did our best to dodge the bats. What a day!

Thursday

Well, the last few days of our trip were so busy that we were unable to update our blog. We'll recap. . .

On Thursday, we had a busy day. We started off with an adoption forum with the childcare workers at the shelter. Although they were very quiet, they did ask if Filipinos and especially the shelter workers were allowed to adopt the kids from the shelter. This was a major breakthrough because adoption is unacceptable in Filipino culture. Adopted children are considered to be maids or second class citizens. We were able to share with them that if Filipinos adopt Filipino children, it is free! The workers were excited as several couples have been praying about wanting to adopt children from the shelter.

After the forum and lunch, we did art projects with the kids.

The younger kids did necklaces and picture frames with foam.

The older kids made bracelets with their names on them out of beads.

After school we did another adoption forum with more of the teachers and specialized childcare workers. It went well and many great questions about adoption were asked. We had dinner at the shelter and then had the privilege of going back to the school with the kids to hear the praise band play.

The kids played drums, keyboard, guitars and sang. We were so blessed to see their hearts for the Lord and the talents that God has given them. They love to sing praises to the Lord. You can hear the kids singing while they work at school, while they play and while they travel together. How great is that?!

Prayer Requests

Kim with a student displaying her picture of God's creation.

Please pray:
For energy as we are tired emotionally and physically.
For continued safety as we travel throughout the area.
For the families coming on Sunday to adopt several children from the shelter.
-transition for the kids into the families, safety during travel, wisdom for the families as they integrate the children into the family, comfort for the shelter workers as the children leave, peace for the children who have not yet been adopted.
For safety and fun for our bike ride with the kids on Friday afternoon and for our adventure outing to the beach with the kids on Saturday.

Praise:
Our team has been working very well together and we are all healthy.
The teachers and childcare workers asked great questions at the adoption forum and several childcare workers are interested in adopting kids for themselves.
The kids love our art and science projects and playing with us during freetime.
We have been able to share about God's love with the kids and their foundations in Christ are growing strong here at the shelter.