TFO

"Thursdays For Others". Part of the community outreach ministry at church. Went for my first visit and of course had a great time. There were about 20 older Filipino ladies and me and Jim. Jim is a twenty something year old Filipino guy who has been a member of the church for about 3 years and adjusted his work schedule so that he can have Thursdays off. Good guy. We met at church in the morning and off we went in two vans. We visited Concordia Children's Services. About a thirty minute drive north of the city. Crazy how you can see the poverty level change after driving about 20 minutes out of the city. We spent half the time meeting with Anna Bella who is the director of CCS and the other half playing with the babies and toddlers. CCS offers two main programs. An on-site program that takes care of abandoned children (who live at the center) as well as a community program that assists some of the poorest neighborhood children with nutrition, education, and counseling services. One story that sticks in my mind is that of a newborn baby boy who was left in a garbage can (umbilical cord still attached). After initial hospitalization, he came to CCS and eventually was adopted by a family in Sweden. He's a happy and healthy toddler now and the staff still receives pictures and emails from the family. A miracle baby. I think I was too engrossed in the visit and didn't get a chance to take any pictures, but something tells me I will be back there again.

http://www.concordiachildrens.org