Gemma in the Philippines: February 2014

Preparing for the Next Chapter

With mid-term examinations over and less than two months before the end of the academic year, February saw the beginning of many preparations for the transition of students. A major event was the election for the new student council. We held an information evening on Wednesday February 19^th, where students who were running for the various positions could share with the student body their ideas for PCL and the different roles that needed to be filled. Six days later, the students voted, with the graduating students running the election. The results were announced to a very excited student body on Wednesday February 25^th, after the mid-week service. The voting for the role of president was very close between two students, Bro. Franklen and Bro. Edison. In the end, Bro. Edison was elected to lead the students in the next academic year. Again, I reflected on the wonderful leaders that are being trained and equipped in this college, and I commend the team that has served in student leadership for the past year, as they prepare to pass on the baton.

Thinking very carefully about their vote

The New Student Council for 2014-2015

We have also begun preparations for the Baccalaureate Service and Graduation Ceremony of Batch Numbers (the 4^th batch to graduate, they follow the books of the Bible). There are many things to do. We have formed a small choir to sing in the ceremonies, organized a media team to put together a presentation for the students, allocated various roles for the traditional parts of the ceremony, hired togas… the list is quite long. Then, from the second week of March, the students will have several practices to ensure that everything runs smoothly. This is a busy time of preparation for students and staff alike, considering there are the regular classes, assignments and routines to complete, as well as preparations for finals. We appreciate your prayers!

Student Sponsorship

One of the things I do here at PCL is pass on sponsorship from a number of Australian sponsors from Darwin, Perth and Sydney. This semester the Aussies have been supporting 10 PCL students (as well as a child, 2 adults serving in Christian ministry, a student in another college and the group of people I call my ‘Faith House Family’, who live in the church I stayed in until getting married). The $30-$40 monthly sponsorship helps these people immensely and they identify this sponsorship as the direct answer to prayer that has allowed them to continue studying. I am blessed to be the one who gives them the money from the sponsors who send it to me. There are many students who are still praying for a sponsor, as their churches or families simply do not have enough resources to help them financially. I am challenged as I see some of them skipping meals or eating only cracker biscuits, as they try to save the small amount they have to pay for their fare to come here. I try to help when I can, as I am blessed to have the financial support of DBC and some individuals from Darwin and Perth. However, my budget is limited and I often wish that I could do more for these students who have such a heart to be equipped to serve The Lord. If there is anyone reading this who would like to help a student achieve their dream of graduating from PCL in order to serve the community through education, pastoring or mission, please contact me through email or Facebook. I can even pass on the student’s details if you would like to have communication with him/her. I am always praying for the spiritual, academic and leadership development of the students, but I also pray for their financial provision, as it is a very real need.

Some of the students sponsored by Australians

Filipinos love the 'Look Up' pose... apparently except for Hernan at the front who chose to look down

New Library System

A theme of several of my newsletters has been moving, sorting books and generally fixing the library. It has been a hugely time-consuming project, as everything has been done by hand, with pen and paper. Now, we are updating our library to an electronic system. There will be many benefits in the long run, including monitoring loans and overdues, searching for resources by different categories and compiling reports for CHED (Commission on Higher Education). On Saturday, February 15^th, Sis. Mahalia, our library assistant, and I participated in a day of training with the librarian who is helping us. We are excited about going electronic but also daunted at the thought of putting the records of more than 10,000 books onto the system. Thankfully, a new assistant, Bro Jess, will join PCL in March, help us transition to the new system.

Indoor Games

One of the most enjoyable subjects I have ever taught is P.E.2 – Indoor Games. As a minor subject with few academic requirements, we have a lot of fun as the students practice their skills in chess, dama (a Filipino game similar to checkers), scrabble and word factory. The students were also required to run some games of their own, and the results were quite hilarious and very enjoyable.

Our Progress

Juls and I have found a lovely place to call home for at least the next year. We have moved to a new rental house in a safe, clean and quiet subdivision in San Mateo. A wonderful advantage of our new home (apart from it being slightly bigger and cheaper than our home in Novaliches) is that it takes only 40-50 minutes to drive to the Prayer Mountain. This is much nicer than the 1&½ to 2 hours it used to take. Of course, the purpose of moving to San Mateo is that we have been asked to open a new ministry there. As we settle in the area, we will begin looking for the right lot on which to build our new church. We hope to open Bible studies soon (a major Filipino strategy for community outreach and church planting). We ask the Lord to direct us in this new, challenging and exciting endeavour. We are back at Hillside, my former church and part of the Gethsemane umbrella, for this time.