January 2013

Gethsemane Dweller Church – Hillside

Church Building Dedication

January 22^nd was a very exciting day for my church-mates and me. It was the dedication of our beautiful new church building. When I first joined GDC-H in March last year, our church had no roof, an uneven concrete floor, empty holes in place of windows and no doors. Now we have a beautiful two-storey building with small classrooms and a workers’ room downstairs and the main hall, a small library and a room for meetings on the second floor.

Our church is part of the Gethsemane Dweller Churches, a group of churches here which were established by Korean sponsors. There are now 14 Gethsemane churches in Manila and the surrounding areas. Our Bible School is linked to Gethsemane; it is under the leadership of a Korean missionary pastor, Pastor Lee, who is also the senior pastor of the main church, Gethsemane Dweller Church – Cainta, and our school is located on Gethsemane Prayer Mountain.

Our Korean sponsors came to the Philippines for the dedication of the building. I felt so blessed as I considered the investment they have made into the ministry here in this nation.

It was also so lovely that the PCL students were able to come and support this wonderful event. GDC-H has been so blessed and I am excited for the future of our church. I truly believe that we can shine the light of Christ into our community and that through our church, people can find the hope, love, joy and peace that comes from a relationship with our wonderful Lord and Saviour.

With PCL students at the Church Building Dedication

Preparing for the feeding

The Opening :)



With my church-mate Lanie

Singing an unrehearsed, unexpected 'Special Number' at the Dedication :)

PCL Students Ready to Serve the Food

 

Visiting other churches

One of the things I love about my role here in the Philippines is having opportunities to visit other churches. On January 26 I joined a group of PCL students to sing some praise and worship songs at the anniversary of Jesus Christ, Chanel of Blessing Church. It was quite an experience. After we had sung some quiet, reflective songs, we began an upbeat song, ‘Let Everything that has Breath’. Then one of the electric fans caught on fire! All of a sudden, the church members were out of their seats and once the fire was out, they remained standing and began clapping and praising the Lord with great energy and enthusiasm. So there you go… to add a little ‘spark’ to the praise and worship, simply start a small fire!

 

The next day the same group of students (plus a few more) visited Jesus Christ Potters Hand Christian Church, the church of two students, Bro Ely and Bro Glenn. It was a blessing to again sing to the Lord and celebrate His faithfulness in that place. I had the opportunity to meet the pastora of the students and spend time with some of the leaders for dinner.

I told Bro Johnard that only people wearing sunglasses were allowed in this photo :)

PCL Life

Of course, we continue to have classes, services, administration and events here at PCL. We have passed the half-way mark of semester two and students have completed their mid-term exams. The students have a heavy work-load, so it is always nice to take time for bonding. In January, two of our first year students celebrated their birthdays and their batch-mates surprised them with a special night including praise and worship, games, a short message and of course food. The students always invite me to join them in their celebrations, which I love to do. My contribution was to allow them all to try Tim Tams, which I had brought back from Perth. Not surprisingly, they were well-received!

Games at the Birthday Celebration

 

Having our school located on a beautiful mountain is a wonderful and peaceful contrast to the crowds, traffic and pollution in metro Manila. For the most part, the animals here add to the beauty. But last week, the boys had an unwelcome visitor in their dorm. I don’t know what type of snake it was, but apparently it was venomous. Thankfully, one of the Gethsemane Prayer Mountain maintenance staff, Bro JoJo, caught the legless intruder. I’m glad the snake didn’t come to my room!

 

 

The months ahead

This month, PCL will begin the process of electing the new leadership teams for the academic year 2013-2014. The roles of the student council, the discipline team and particularly the president are such an important part of PCL, so we pray for God’s guidance. I am grateful to our current team who have faithfully served the student body here.

Preparations are already underway for the upcoming Baccalaureate Service and Graduation Ceremony. The graduating students have had their special graduation photos taken. We are excited for the plans God has for the next chapter of their journey in serving Him.



Batch Leviticus - To graduate in March