PCL Happenings
We are
already half-way through Semester One and as usual, PCL life is eventful for
students and staff. I am continuing to enjoy teaching my English Grammar class.
My first-year students are doing really well, and their results in their
mid-term exams were great. Our students have also had opportunities to research
and present lessons themselves, with the results being informative, fun and
entertaining. The data projector purchased with a donation from DBC at the
beginning of 2014 has continued to be a great help in my class, other classes
and our dawn-watch and mid-week services.
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| My English Grammar Class |
There are
now eight PCL students (as well as a library aide, and a handful of other children
or students who are not from PCL) receiving sponsorship from Australian
friends. We call them the Verzosa Scholarship students. As part of their
scholarship, they spend 2 hours per week helping in the library, which is a
great help to all students, as it means the library can be open in the
evenings. They have commented that they enjoy their library service and that
the time goes very quickly. Sadly, 30 scholarships from Korean sponsors that
had been available in previous years is no longer available, and many students
are really struggling with their finances. The Verzosa Scholarship students
(and I) are therefore very grateful for the support from overseas.
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| Some of the Verzosa Scholarship Students |
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| Scholarship Students helping in the library |
Ministry in San Mateo
We are continuing
our ministry in Divine Mercy, San Mateo. It has not always been easy, but we
have had some wonderful moments and we are excited about what God has planned
for our little ministry.
One of our
biggest struggles has been the weather. In this subdivision, when it rains,
it’s very hard for people to move about. There is only one actual road; the
rest of the ‘roads’ in the subdivision are just grass or dirt tracks. Most of
the people who attend our church live beside a river with a very simple bamboo
bridge. When there is heavy rain, the bridge is removed to prevent it from
being swept away. I feel for the people, as they can’t cross the river to leave
their homes during heavy rain. Thankfully, we haven’t had any serious floods in
our area this year, but on several occasions, the rain has certainly been heavy
enough to stop people from attending our services.
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| This bridge has to be removed during heavy rain, so our members can't go anywhere |
Last week, however, we had nice weather for
the start of our service, and we realized how much we need our new church
building to be ready. With no rain to stop them attending, we had people
sitting on the stairs and in the doorway, and we took the children outside for
a while as well. We are thankful that Sis. Leonie allows us to use her house,
but we can’t wait to have more room.
It is very
exciting to see the progress on our church building. We hope it will be
finished by October. We see so many opportunities for spreading the Word of God
and showing His love in this little community through the use of this building.
Birthday and Fellowship
In July I
celebrated my 33rd birthday. The night before my birthday, as I was
walking from my room back toward the school, the second year students surprised
me in the dark with a poster filled with messages, a little cake, and of course
singing. They intentionally surprised me a day early, because last year their
birthday greeting was a few weeks late. Not to be outdone, the 4th
year students knocked on my door at 4:15am on my birthday, wanting to greet me
before the day began. Even though they brought cake to my room, we decided to
wait until the afternoon to eat it, along with a few other snacks, together at
a more reasonable time. Throughout the
day, all the students and staff greeted me and made me feel special. A few days
later, when I went home, I enjoyed having a few friends around to our house for
another celebration.
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| 2nd Year students surprising me before my birthday |
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| Eating cake and snacks with the 4th years at a more reasonable time than 4:15am |
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| Celebrating my birthday at home with some friends |
Tagalog
Having stayed here for 3 & ½ years now, I would like to
say that I’ve got a grip on the language. However, with PCL’s English only
policy (not my rule, but so the students can really improve their English), my
husband’s good English, and the ability of most Filipinos to communicate the
basics in English, together with a busy schedule, I haven’t managed to get
beyond a very basic level of Tagalog. This semester I have a less hectic
schedule, and I’ve picked up the Tagalog books and started studying hard. One
of the lovely 4th year students, Sis. Marj, meets me once or twice a
week to check my understanding and memory. I’m really enjoying my study and
hope I can get used to how quickly Filipinos talk!
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| Sis Maj, my Tagalog teacher |
Prayer and Family
Sometimes it’s hard to be away from
family, and I have felt that more than ever over the past month or two. Members
of my family have had some health problems, and then in August, we were shocked
to find that my mum had a tumor. This is a journey that she is still going
through, although we are very hopeful that surgery can remove all the cancer.
At this point in time, we don’t have the answers. Over the past couple of weeks
I have done a lot of thinking and praying, and considered flying back to Perth.
This isn’t ideal, as I don’t want to let my class down, and I really don’t want
to be away from my husband who is still studying and doesn’t currently have a
visa for Australia, but of course I will go if my family needs me. For now, we
are hopeful that Mum will be fine and I am tentatively planning to stay in the
Philippines as normal, with the option of flying to Perth if things take a turn
for the worse (which we don’t expect and pray against). While I won’t pretend
that it has been easy or that I haven’t been worried, I have felt the love and
comfort of God as I turn to Him in prayer. One morning in Dawn Watch, He gave
me the most beautiful picture that filled me with peace and hope. I didn’t hear
any answers about what would happen to my mum. I didn’t receive any promises
that my family would always be healthy and safe. What I received was comfort that
God loves us more than we can comprehend, that He is in control, and that He
isn’t limited by our human, earthly perspective. We believe that Mum will
be fine, but no matter what, we know God is with us and find peace and comfort in knowing who He is and remaining in His presence.
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| Thankful that even though I'm far from my family, we have regular communication through Facebook |
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| Thankful for my loving, supportive husband (with amazing bread roll abs) |
Thank you for your love and support. We would really appreciate prayer for:
- Mum's surgery today (Tuesday Sep 9th - that all cancer can be removed
- Peace and comfort for my whole family
- PCL staff and students - that God would provide all their needs (spiritual, academic, emotional, financial)
- Ministry in Divine Mercy - for growth in both number and especially spiritual maturity for our attendees
- Construction of our church building
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