MONTHLY FOCUS

 

The last twelve months have seen a lot of ups and downs at POCM. 

The children's homes have continued to reach out to children in desperate need and several neglected, orphaned or homeless children have come to live at the homes.

A permit and licence is needed to run the homes and  this needs to be renewed every year. Every year seems to bring more rules and regulations. A new requirement this year for all child caring agencies is that they must provide 2 rooms in each unit to be set aside as an isolation room and an infirmary with beds and basic medical equipment. All this is totally unnecessary as the children could be taken to hospital if the need arose. However the homes have been given 2 months to comply or lose their licence.  Please  pray that the extra funds to carry out this work and other repairs will become available.

Many of the youngsters are now becoming teenagers with all the attendant problems that brings. Raising over 60 children is certainly not easy , it is especially challenging raising so many teenagers. POC are currently understaffed and in search of applicants for this demanding job. Please pray that the right people will apply.

This year is the 38th anniversary of the POCM church in Subic. They had a week of celebrations which included a sports day ,talent show, worship night and finished with an early morning prayer walk around the town by 100 people.

The 5 church plants in the surrounding villages are all flourishing and over 80 young people meet for prayer and worship during the week. Work has continued at the school as again further government rules have meant changes have to be made before a recognition certificate can be granted. A cookery classroom has been added and  various safety measures have been installed. The standard of education is improving with many of the students going on to college when they reach 18. Some have returned to POC as teachers and carers, while others have become nurses, engineers and computer programmers.

The greatest development in-the last few months has been the purchase of the derelict hospital just behind the school. The hospital was built by the Americans just after the war. It stands on top of a very steep hill with no public transport to it. In 1992 the volcano Pinatubo erupted and covered the local area and the hospital with volcanic dust. The Americans left the area and because of its difficult location the hospital fell into disuse. When Chrissy first went to the area she heard God tell her that one day she would own the hospital and use it for a school and home for disadvantaged children. She has waited patiently on the Lord for 30 years. When another government requirement meant that all private schools had to own their premises Chrissy felt that this was the time to try to buy the hospital which was now in a. state of considerable disrepair. She approached the owners and asked if she could buy the original school that POC had used for many years and suggested they might give her the mountain and hospital behind it. This was obviously met with much amusement by the owner who asked sarcastically who was going to pay for it. Maybe the Queen of England he suggested. "No," replied Chrissy,  “the King  of Kings.”

After many negotiations an offer was made and the existing school and derelict hospital bought. POC were given 5 years to pay in instalments but within less than a year most of the money had been raised. God is amazing. The original cost was £107,000 but with decreasing exchange rates this figure has risen but we still have sufficient.

The ongoing plan is for the hospital to be renovated over many months. the first priority is a roof ! It will provide classrooms and accommodation especially for children with special needs as there is very little provision for these children in the Philippines. A fund raising campaign is being organised both in the UK and the US. It is both exciting and daunting but it is not Chrissy’s plan or the trustees but the Lord’s so how can it fail.

Val Vincent