Glimpses Granted

No ray of sunshine is ever lost,
but the green which it wakes into existence needs time to sprout,

and it is not always granted to the sower to live to see the harvest.

All work that is worth anything is done in faith.
- Albert Schweitzer

Very emotional morning, April 4th, 2011, watching former students of One Candle Schoolhouse's Saturday class as they graduated from their Philippine public school. 

But it was equally heartening to recognize present Saturday Students from the Bright Lights Community Learning Centers--students now taught by the Volunteer Teams--who were undergraduate students receiving awards. Many of these students' parents were unable to attend the ceremony because they work overseas to provide paychecks for their childrens' education.  Many Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and even Siblings become the primary caregivers then, supporting and witnessing these childhood milestones for absent parents. 

Madeleine, one of our German Volunteers, was privileged to perform that role for one such student when she received her award.  It was deeply touching to glimpse this tender outgrowth of seeds planted in faith.

To all of you who have been such an important part of One Candle Schoolhouse's  evolution into the Bright Light's Community Learning Centers,  please share with us this happy occasion and know that you, like overseas parents, have made it possible...

Blogging Begins...again

Lilith Kugler

Madeleine Baensch

"If you've only
one breath left,

use it to say thank you."

 --Pam Brown

Yesterday was a special day.  It was our regular Team Meeting day, but for me it heralded a long, longed-for, return to sharing and thanking supporters for the many blessings we celebrate because of them.

Lilith and Madeleine are Volunteers from the German DED/JVS program, Weltwaerts.  They arrived September 2010, and will be with us for a year, to assist the two Learning Centers' development.  This is the second year we've been fortunate to have talented, enthusiastic, creative partners to work with.

Leoni Ocker was our first, arriving in October 2009, and shouldering a more-than-substantial share of my work that year.  The One Candle Schoolhouse/ Bright Lights Community Learning Centers would not have survived if not for the Weltwaerts program.




Here are a few of the photos taken while we worked, yesterday:

Evenlyn Bucad, Siit Director, composing Thank You Certificates

Lilith instructing how to make a posting to the new TEAM page in our blog

The transition and transfer of One Candle Schoolhouse into the two BLCLC communities of Bonbonon and Siit, has allowed OCS to now focus on a Livelihood Skills program for talented individuals who cannot afford college.  

Shane Mae is asking for input on the name of the hand-painted T-shirt business she shares with Aljendra, one of the eight original students of OCS.

Reviewing their published post, Jesslie May reads aloud their individual statements

"I only wish you could see what I see when I look at you." --Kobi Yamada

Grand Opening - Siit Campus

"Are you in earnest?  Seize this very minute: 

What you can do, or dream you can,

begin it.

Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

Only engage and then the mind grows heated. Begin and then the work will be completed."

--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Building Sites...

"What good is a life unless you give it away

...bring your grain of sand to the building site?"

 Three years ago One Candle Schoolhouse began the process of evolving from  a single, individually supported project into TWO Community-based Learning Centers.  The path has not been either straight, clear, or simple, but in the Barangays of Siit and Bonbonon, Saturday classes are now being held in newly-erected buildings under the name:

BRIGHT LIGHTS COMMUNITY

LEARNING CENTERS

There is much to catch up on in this blog, and a recent video made by one of our two German Volunteers, Lilith Kugler, with the students of Bonbonon's Learning Center is the perfect place to begin: