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Pam & Martin's September 2008 Newsletter
from the Philippines
Dear friends,
Last month was a month of extremes as far as the weather is concerned. It is the rainy season here, but it has largely been either scorching heat or typhoons – rarely just monsoon rain by itself. In one typhoon, sadly yet another huge section of walling was pushed over by the wind and had to be demolished quite quickly just in case anyone was near when it might have fallen.
We had the official Department of Education inspection a week ago. This was quite different to last month’s visit. This time there were only 3 people, and food was not on the agenda. The Inspector was a high-up official and an extremely nice person who gave nothing but praise for our facilities, teachers and paperwork. He was thrilled that half the children are Aetas, as he too has a special place in his heart for them.
The outcome? We have been granted a Permit to Operate, which means that we now come under the Department of Education umbrella and may use their logo etc. For parents it is a benchmark of quality and standards. It is undoubtedly the Lord’s favour upon us. We have been given our Permit in 7 weeks. A local school took 7 years.
What the Lord has started He will complete! Next June, when more classrooms are ready we will have all this same procedure to go through again. Super.
Work has already started on the new classroom buildings. We have demolished the piggery, filled in a big pond with the rubble and have started making some trenches for foundations. The church building is now almost ready for the roofing. All in all, progress is good despite what the rainy season throws at us!
Every month at school there is a special monthly production by the children. Last month was Nutrition Month. Children learned the importance of a good diet and the message is put across in all subject areas, whether Maths, English, Filipino or whatever. At the end of the month each class joins to make a performance with songs, poems, drama, dance etc. and their parents are invited to watch.. This month is Wika Month (Language Month.)
For long enough we’ve overcrowded our small van with up to 40 children at a time as we’ve taken the Aeta children back and forth every day. Well, the school is now the proud owner of a small Toyota bus. It is 10 years old, came from Japan and has been converted to left hand drive. Pray that we can pay for the bus now!!! We have just sold a vehicle to partly pay for it. There are 22 passenger seats so there is sufficient space for all our small children to squash up and sit down. Getting the bus is another huge step of faith at a time when we have such a big building work going. In faith we believe that the Lord will provide funds to cover the cost. Jhay is our only bus driver at the moment because until we get our new visas (possibly in December or January) the driving licence people will not allow us to drive the bus. “White people do not drive buses,” they say. They think we must have a money-making business from it. Lord, give us strength!
Does anyone (possibly a teacher?) happen to have any sets of children’s reading books which need a good home? Possibly old books, a bit tatty, or ones which have been replaced, for example. If anyone does have any, please would you let us know?
Prayer points;
- Thanks to the Lord for our Permit to Operate the school
- Thanks to the Lord for His provision of the school bus. We continue to pray that He will now pay for it!
- For no more typhoon damage to the school/church property
- For us to find a reasonably priced but good quality photo-copy machine for school
Our grateful thanks for all your prayers and support. The power of God is awesome and we continue to see Him working so wonderfully here, despite there being some fierce opposition at times. Thank you so much for all you are doing for His kingdom.
With our love,
Pam & Martin |