A call to serve the small ones:
“We fervently desire that our children will grow and bloom like the swaying sunflowers,
framed in the bright, blue sky”
The Sunflower Children’s Center of Saint Louis University in Baguio City is celebrating ten years of mission and service to the children of the Philippines. Remembering those years of service fills us with joy and amazement. We thank God for enabling us to come this far in our mission of helping the most needy children of our society: those who were abandoned and have suffered various types of abuse.
Looking back at the past ten years, I remember an array of smiling children. In those faces and smiles I am reminded of a portrait of Jesus, welcoming children to his side. Upon reflection, I realize that those faces are not only Filipino children, but children from Mexico, from the shanties of Rio and even from the huts in the Amazon region of Brazil. I realize that God’s call for me to serve Him through the children comes from a long time ago. I think He was somehow preparing me for this journey with the children since I was very young: preparing me for a mission to be accomplished.
I remember an early profound experience of God through the passionate expression of the prophet Jeremiah, who cried out: “antes que te formastes to ventre te conheci e te consagrei como profeta” The passage is so important to me that I always first remember it in my native Portuguese. In English, it is: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” (Jer, 1:5) Since my earliest awareness of the call, the Lord seemed to be preparing me for this long journey for and with the children. As we say in Latin America, “the path is made by walking.” So it took time for me to be ready for the task. But now, after all these ten years and more, I can see that the Lord was with me as I journeyed with and learned from children in various parts of the world.
One of the faces I distinctly remember is of a six-year old Mexican boy who was called Goyo. He was a street smart boy living on a narrow road near the central square in Mexico City. Goyo was a happy child who survived in the streets with his brother Pancho after being abandoned by their parents at a young age. They had “complete freedom,” despite having nothing to eat in the urban jungle. Goyo taught me that a maternal hug is more desirable than stable refuge or any yearning of independence. One day, the six year old left the shelter alone, without the adult staff’s knowledge, saying that he was going to find his mother. He didn’t return. We could only pray that Goyo had encountered a mother's arms that would finally hold him.
“Sol” was another Mexican boy who, being true to his nickname (sun), attempted to be the light of those around him. Despite the abuse he had suffered, Sol made sure to smile. He had the desire to see everyone laugh, and when things got tense, Sol just cracked a joke to lighten the mood. Sol came from a gang of children called “Los Moscas” (the flies): like the flies, they lived off of the garbage. Sol was a light in the worst of situations; he was a child of God who brightened dark moments. I learned from him that happiness was not a desire, nor something of the moment or even a place: it is a God-given capacity, even in the face of miserable circumstances. Later, Sol was adopted by foreign parents. Some years after he left I received a letter from him, saying that he was thinking of trying to help some African children he had seen on TV—because he had learned with his own experience the importance of sharing, love, and being strong with hope.
Perseverance is a trait many children of the streets exemplify. I knew a boy in Brazil who was five year sold, yet seemed to have the strength and resilience of a man. He would travel daily by train and bus from a suburb of Rio to join the beggars in Copacabana, a famous beach in the area. It was nearly 90 minutes each way: every day, just to survive. He was too strong to surrender to the challenges he faced.
Resiliency is indeed a gift from God for the many children who suffer unthinkable betrayal and abuse. I first met little Joan in a shelter for girls in Manila. She had survived neglect and regular sexual abuse by her stepfather. As young as 10 years old, she knew that her exploitation shielded her young siblings from the same fate. But one day, she gathered the courage to call the authorities, and her neglectful mother and abusive stepfather were jailed. In this shelter, little Joan blossomed into a warm and intelligent student who excelled in her studies and in dancing. She found happiness through her accomplishments and enjoyed making others happy.
I can recall so many faces and smiles… with strong features, sometimes burned by the hardships of life, or marked by scars of abuse. Regardless of their appearance, I’ve met so many children on this journey who possess a strong desire to be well; they are blessed with joy and an inner strength to survive and to fight for their right to live and thrive in a challenging world. I have indeed discovered the power and grace of God through their will to overcome painful obstacles and dream again. My missionary call to journey with these children has shown me the power of love. Above all, I recognize the face of God in them, and His hands touching the depths of their hearts. Like tiny shoots of sunflowers, these children grow towards the sun and towards the Creator, who absolutely welcomes and blesses them each day of their lives. I pray that our little Sunflower Children’s Center continues to be a place for these children to heal and to shine.
Geraldo Costa, cicm
Baguio City, Philippines
Fr. Geraldo Costa, cicm, is a native of Brazil who joined Missionhurst-CICM in 1987. After his theological studies in Mexico, in 1995 he was sent to work in the Philippines, and was ordained in 1999. Fr. Costa is is a child psychotherapist and is assigned as the director of SLU-Sunflower Children’s Center in Baguio City, Philippines. This center, initiated by Fr. Costa in cooperation with Saint Louis University in Baguio City, was officially founded in 2003 and offers therapeutic programs, support and shelter for abused and homeless boys.
