April 2010
HAPPY EASTER!
It has been a long time since my last newsletter but here it is again.
WEATHER
After an unusually wet and bad typhoon season we now find ourselves in the midst of a drought. For the past three months we have had very little rain. Never in my 20 years here have I seen it this dry. Being a mountainous area we are usually praying for the rain to stop but now we find ourselves praying for rain.
The rice can not be planted and the dams are drying up. We still have drinking water but even the reservoirs are running low. It is now the beginning of our dry summer months so we don’t expect it to get any better until June. Our town has been placed under a state of calamity.
GRADUATIONS
The school year has just ended and I have attended our last graduation today. We had 1 preschool graduate, 2 elementary and 3 high school. Many received awards for honour students, perfect attendance etc. So we are proud of them all.
I am also so proud of Nilda and Yen-Yen who have just passed their board exams for Nursing. This is a very difficult exam with only a 35% passing rate so this is a great accomplishment. They are now running the special needs center and taking care of all the health issues in the Home.
CHILDREN
The children are all doing fine. We are always battling the common colds, flu and pneumonia from time to time but all is well.
On a Personal Note
I am so thankful to report that my adoption of Casey and Gabby is now completed. I just received the Certificate of Finality so it is final!!! Thanks for your prayers. It has been a 3 year ordeal but our patience and integrity have won out.
Animal Update
Sheba has had 10 more puppies! They are all very cute but very loud. We have found homes for them all already.
50th BIRTHDAY BASH
After enjoying a great birthday at home I threw another party here. I was so grateful for a couple of dear friends (Sharon & Yvonne) who came from Canada to help celebrate. I “butchered” a couple of pigs and invited a few people. The news spread that there was a party and in the end 500 people came! We ended the evening with fireworks like the town has never seen! It was great fun.
OTHER EVENTS
Our annual Pastor’s Conference was another success. This year their spouses were invited and we had a couples theme. We held this near Valentines Day and ended with a banquet in a local restaurant.
I am so thankful for those who were involved in this conference. They were Peter and Sandra McIntosh, Gary and Bev Laing, Fred Middel and Jeremy, along with interns from Vanguard (Ali and Taylor).
Also another team of young people from Vanguard College came and did a lot of activities with the youth and the children of the community. There was an after school program for the elementary children and they went to the high school to do dramas. It was all very good!!
Up Coming Events
Starting on Tuesday we will be holding our annual Daily Vacation Bible School. A team under the leadership of Pastor Gaye Norrie from People’s Church in Hamilton will be arriving to run the program. The following week they will also give leadership to our Child Care Plus Camp. We are looking forward to a great time.
October 2009
Living on top of a mountain in an “ark” does have its advantages!
Today the sun is shining for the first time in a couple of weeks. These past two weeks we have had two terrible typhoons pass through. The first flooded Manila and the second passed through our area three times… Over 500 have died and many thousands have lost their homes and belongings. There is utter devastation.
Here at Noah’s Ark we are so thankful that we have been spared any substantial damage. Some roads are impassible so we will be isolated for a while. We did not have electricity for 5 days and we did not have water for 4 days. The water was back for awhile yesterday (long enough to take a shower!) but it is cut off again now. Today when I went to the market to buy our food for the week there was hardly anything. Because of the closed roads they can not bring in supplies. I have stocked up on rice and canned goods so we will be fine for awhile.
Thank you so much for all your prayers. The first time the second typhoon passed through the Philippines it was heading straight for our province. At the last moment it changed directions and headed further north where there is less population. I believe this was a result of your faithful prayers.
Please continue to pray for the Philippines. It will take a long time to recover.
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September 30, 2009
We are fine here. Noah’s Ark on top of the mountain, how can you go wrong in the flood….However, Manila is in devastation. Unbelievably bad. Was trying to go and help but many roads are still impassible so will wait. Now another 2 typhoons might hit in the next couple of days so that will just add to problem.Really appreciate your prayers for all those people in Manila. Thanks
August 2009
Hello Everyone!
Well, we just weathered another big typhoon. It was very windy but not much rain. The glass in my front door was blown in and no electricity for three days but other than that we survived!
YOUTH CAMP AND DVBS
We were blessed with a team that came from Malvern Christian Assembly headed by Pastor Tammy Hardeen. They ran our Youth Camp and the Daily Vacation Bible School program this year. It was very successful and the participants enjoyed a variety of fun activities and were refreshed spiritually as well.
GRADUATIONS
We are so proud of 2 of our “children” who graduated from University as Nurses! Also 2 completed a Care Giver Course.
CHILDREN coming and going
March to June is usually when some children are released from the Home as this is our summer break and a good time to make the transition. Although it is so difficult to see the children leave we are always so delighted that their families are able get them back.
This year 8 children went back to their families and 6 new children arrived.
On a Personal Note
As many or all of you are aware, I am still in the process of adopting Casey and Gabby. The hearings are all completed. However, it seems the judge is not very happy that she won’t be receiving a “gift” from me and has said she will deny my request for adoption. We will need to wait to see what her final decision is and I appreciate your prayers regarding this
special needs center.
I am so excited to announce that we finally opened our special needs center on July 15th. We have two children to start with, John Ray and Jade who both have cerebral palsy. They are living on our second floor with three of my recently graduated nurses taking care of them. There are more than 18 children with cerebral palsy in this immediate area whom we will be helping in one way or another.
Animal Update
We are continuing our poultry raising and it is going well.
Our newest member of the family is a Maggie our golden retriever puppy. She is so cute and very playful!! All shoes need to be hidden.
OTHER EVENTS
A team from Crosslands Church in Newmarket came once again and held a three day Pastor’s Conference. It went very well and the Pastors were very grateful to the team for coming and encouraging them. This has become an annual event and the Pastors really look forward to it. The team also did work around the Home like painting, bicycle repair and child caring, which also was great.
Also a team of young people from Vanguard College came and did a lot of activities with the youth and the children of the community. There was an after school program for the elementary children and they went to the high school to do dramas. It was all very good!!
I was also excited to have my niece Amanda and her three friends come for a couple of weeks. We had a great time and the children loved them!
BIBLE CLUB
In June we started a “Noah’s Ark Bible Club”. This is held every other Saturday for the neighbourhood children. We play games, sing, tell Bible stories and of course have a snack! There is an average of about 50 children who attend. My high school students take an active role in the leadership of this and they are learning a lot.
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March 2009
Dear Friends and Family:
Hello Everyone!
After 4 months of continuous fog, drizzle, and cold temperatures it seems that summer has finally arrived. The outside temperature at this moment is 34.2 celcius with clear sunny skies. Hope you aren’t jealous as I know most of you are in the snow.
Christmas Presentation
Our Christmas parties and presentations went well. A couple nights before the presentation the children were given their Christmas presents. Each of the older children each received crocs. I was shocked when Mary, Joseph, the shepherd and angels all came out wearing crocs! What a blessing it was to also have the covered gym. It did not matter that it was bad weather and we had so much space. As usual many people came and were blessed by the presentations and food.
20th Anniversary
2009 marks the 20th Anniversary of Noah’s Ark. I am filled with thanksgiving at what God has done and how many lives have been touched through this ministry. For example:
123 children have lived at Noah’s Ark Home
18 children have graduated from college or university
343 students have received educational scholarships through Child Care Plus
27 babies have received milk and vitamins
We were so pleased to have Jr and Ivy Andrews and Al and Pat Paddock with us for the celebration. Jr shared in song and preached.
As usual my faith was small when I estimated that at the most 200 people would attend the service but as it turns out there were 400! Thanks to my staff for quick additional cooking and we were able to feed them all.
Global Conference
I had the privilege along with many other workers of the PAOC to attend a conference in Bali, Indonesia. We had a great time of reuniting with old friends and getting new ones. Spiritually it was also a great blessing and I left refreshed and encouraged.
Driveway
We are so pleased to now have our driveway cemented. A team of 4 men from Peoples Church in Hamilton, lead by Pastor Gaye Norrie, came to do this. They had the 550 meters completed in 5 days! That is using two small cement mixers and some local men.
Recent Donations
Marilyn Curtis and Gail Tucker came in January bearing many gifts and food donated by New Faith Family Children’s Home in Manila. What a blessing!
We were also picked in a draw to receive 1,200 dollars from the Mercury Drug Company in Manila.
Then again we were picked to receive a donation of ice cream from the Nestle company in Manila as well. The freezer was full and the children were very happy!
We were also blessed with a new generator from Real Hope Christian Assembly in Deep River, Ontario.
Personal Notes
As many or all of you are aware I am in the process of adopting two children Casey and Gabby. Many of you met them while we were in Canada this summer. I am still in the very long process of adopting them. I have had one hearing and another is scheduled for March 20th. Please pray that the process will go smoothly and I will have patience as they make it take so long.
I was very pleased to find out this week that Casey who despite missing the first 4 months of the school year still has the second highest grades in her class! Gabby also has gone back to school and is enjoying it and doing the best he can.
Animal Update
As I write this Sheba our dog is going to start giving birth any minute! Will let you know how many next time!
One of our turtles is lost. You know how fast they can get away… I was very careful in cutting the lawn yesterday….
Tomorrow we will also be getting 100 chicks. These are for eating and will be ready for the pot in 45 days.
UPCOMING EVENTS
We are looking forward to a couple of busy months. The following are our upcoming events.
Team from Crosslands Church, Newmarket Ontario will arrive next week. They will be here hosting a three day Pastor’s Conference. 70 Pastor’s have pre-registered and we are looking forward to a great time.
Team from Vanguard College will be here March 15 – 21. They will be doing an after school program, a youth program, going to visit the schools and lots of things around the Home.
Staff Outing – March 18th
We will be going to a resort for fun and relaxation.
Vacation Bible School – May 5 – 9
This is for the community and neighbourhood children. This will be run by a team coming from Malvern Assembly in Toronto.
Child Care Plus Youth Camp – May 11 – 14
We expect over 100 youth to attend. The team from Malvern will also be running this.
Youth Camp – May 18 – 20
This will be held for the youth in all the local churches.
Noahs Ark Childrens Retreat – May 27- 29
FUNDING
Nothing can be accomplished without your prayerful and financial support. Thanks so much for partnering with us.
Thank you so much and God bless you!