February 2013

February came and went in a flash! It was another jam-packed month, both at PCL and out and about. Personally, this month held some new challenges for me, as the reality of living in a different culture, far away from family, friends and all the Australian 'stuff' I love so much, really began to hit me. I also found myself missing the familiarity of teaching primary or middle school and thinking about the best ways to teach students with such varying levels of English in this country. I am thankful for these experiences because I know that God is teaching me so much and that I can learn more and more to truly lean on Him. One of my favourite songs is 'All to Us' by Chris Tomlin, and it is my desire to know the truth of that. May Jesus truly be everything to me, may I find all that I need in Him alone and may I always turn to Him as the source of my strength, hope, peace and joy!



The view from the Gethsemane Prayer Mountain is really beautiful

Student Elections

 This month was exciting for our school, as we began to look toward the next academic year. On February 13 the PCL student council elections were held, where representatives from each year group, as well as a Treasurer, Public Relations Officer, Secretary, Vice President and of course the new President were selected. In the weeks leading up to the election, meetings were held where the candidates shared their visions and their reasons for running. One week after the election, on February 20, the new student council was presented to the student body (pictured below) and we were able to pray for them.

During this time I reflected on the excellent job our current team have been doing this academic year. They have shown excellent leadership as they have organised events, helped motivate their classmates, collaborated with staff and faculty and helped facilitate reconciliation and restoration during the few occasions when there have been misunderstandings between some of our younger students. Their example has been exemplary. I pray that God will give our new batch wisdom, strength and grace as they seek to fulfil their leadership roles within our Bible College.

Pre-Election

Thank you to our graduating students who ran the election

 

Batch Representatives are announced during Dawn Watch

With the current Student Council President, Bro. Anthony (right) and next year's Pres, Bro. Rodel

CHED Accreditation

Well, we thought everything was already approved but this month, we received news that some major adjustments needed to be made to our CHED (Commission on Higher Education) application. With a quickly approaching deadline, we had a week of hard work and very little sleep. As a faculty, we held meetings into the early hours of the morning in order to rework some documents. As was the case in October, the most time consuming requirement was in the library. There was more work to be done! So the students pitched in again, with about 15 students staying for two extra days and working through the night. So many times during this process, I felt myself longing for a computerised system, as we had to write catalogue cards for 3000 books and then document all 10000 books in our records. My heart broke when I saw our hard-working students agonising over the realisation that they had numbered one book incorrectly in the records, and consequently, all the following books were incorrect and needed to be renumbered. Of course, Filipinos, especially some of our students here at PCL, know how to have fun, so there were some funny antics and impromptu performances which kept us smiling during the process.  Finally our requirements were ready for resubmission. Please help us pray for a favourable outcome.

Working in the library... again

We must find ways to entertain ourselves when faced with hours of monotonous work

Korean Mission Trip... Could we have a DBC Mission Trip????

This month we had more Korean visitors who stayed on the Prayer Mountain as they participated in feeding and evangelism. They also blessed us with a wonderful extended praise and worship session during our mid-week service. As I have been thinking about the Koreans who have done short-term mission trips here, I remembered that some DBC members had expressed interest in doing mission work in the Philippines. I would really love to see a team from our church come here and it would be affordable and easy to organise, so if you are interested, please contact me! 

 

  Hearts Day

Febrauary is Hearts Month, with Valentine's Day falling on February 14. Having been single for... ever, I was not expecting to receive anything on this day. However, the sweet and caring students from Batch Joshua (1st Years) overwhelmed me with a surprise celebration, a huge card full of kind and thoughtful messages, a song and some words of encouragement to me. In a month where I had been struggling with loneliness (not unexpectedly, as some of the sense of adventure and excitement of the 1st year in this country has worn off, and I continue to be surrounded by an unfamiliar culture, with few people with whom I can truly relax and confide) this overwhelming gesture of love and appreciation encouraged me more than I can say!

Getting surprised on Hearts Day!

More Philippines Experiences

Outside of school, it was another busy month. I spent a lovely day at Pagsanjan falls with John and Joseph, Korean students who came to Gethsemane Prayer Mountain to learn English. For the past few months I have helped them with their conversational English.  Before they went back to Korea, they invited me to visit this beautiful place in this country.

Stopped to see some animals...
this monkey initally tried to swipe my camera, but I forgave him when he held my hand... so cute!

I don't like Korean food but John and Joseph were happy

 

I also had the honour of attending and singing at a beautiful garden wedding. I was quite excited to catch the bride’s bouquet! J

Congratulations to Sis. Joy and Bro. Paul

 

I caught the bouquet, so apparently I'll be the next to get married... I don't think so, but it's still fun to catch the bouquet!

I attended the youth anniversary of the previous church of my dear friend, Sis. Dang. It was really special to meet the people who have been an important part of her life. Again, I had the opportunity to sing and considering that it was Hearts Month, I sang Deeply in Love, a song for my Lord and Saviour, Jesus.

With Sis. Dang

 

January 24 was the 21^st anniversary of the church I am attending, Gethsemane Dweller Church – Hillside. We had some special guests, lots of special numbers and I enjoyed leading the praise and worship. No Filipino Church Anniversary is complete without food afterwards, so a lot of preparation went into the event.

My church-mates, Bro. Gerven and Bro. Jhone

So that's a snapshot of February. It was quite a full-on month and I know that March is going to be much busier, with Baccalaurete, Graduation, Finals and hopefully a school outing.

Please continue to pray for me. I am still praying for sponsors for the education of Eliane and Johnny Boy, two children I met in Pangapasan Island. Please uphold our PCL students in prayer, that God will meet their financial needs and help them in their studies, ministries and personal walk with the Lord. Pray for God's will for our school, for our accreditation and for all of the staff and professors. Thank you so much, your prayer support is invaluable! God bless!