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NEWS
NEW SPARROWS
We have three new sparrows join our POC Children’s Home family this month. They are Shamae who is 12 years old and twins Shaira and Shaara who are 8 years old.
Their mother is a single parent and is currently detained at the police station for a drugs related offence. As is so often the case when parents are arrested, the children were abandoned and left to fend for themselves without any adult supervision, living them very vulnerable.
A concerned neighbour alerted the social services. The girls were about to admitted into SDC (Social Development Centre) which is a girls home run by the local government where the girls are kept under lock and key, so we were only too pleased to accept them when they were referred to POCCH.
As we are already in the 4th quarter of the school year, the girls were not able to officially be admitted to POC Christian Academy, but to ensure their education doesn’t suffer too severely because of their circumstances they have been able to sit in on the classes. The girls are settling in amazingly well. The older girl was visibly relieved to no longer be responsible for her siblings’ safety.
Sander, who joined us just a couple of months ago, has just celebrated his 2nd birthday. He is settling in well and his sister is the princess of the baby unit. If you are interested in sponsoring any of these new sparrows please contact us, it is a massive help for the children and for us too.
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R.S.L
We are so grateful to the Australian veterans charitable organisation, RSL (Returned Services League) for all the renovation work they have done on the POCCH Girls and Boys houses over the last few months. They have replaced windows, doors, repaired ceilings, gutters and roofs, installed outside lights and so much more for the benefit of the children, all at their own expense. This has been an amazing blessing helping us maintain the homes in the months of financial leanness. They have certainly gone the extra mile to meet the needs and show love and care to our POCCH children.
OUR CLARK
Some of you will remember Clark. He was abandoned in the streets as a child. He is blind and has severe autism and suffers from seizures.
A neighbour referred him to ‘O Care’ (which is the boys version of SDC referred to in our ‘New Sparrows’ story) and after 6 months of sleeping on a wooden bench there, I was introduced to him offered for us to care for him at POCCH.
As he got older Clark’s seizures gradually got worse. The doctors told us that they didn’t expect him to live to being 18. We celebrated his 28th birthday this year. However there has been a bout of sickness in the boys house and Clark has really not been well. He has lost his appetite and struggling to eat.
So we would value your prayers for him. He has also been struggling with more and more seizures. Although we buy filtered drinking water for the children’s homes, we suspect that the sickness has started from a problem with the drinking water. Many of the children in both the boys and girls homes have been ill with sickness and diarrhoea. This tends to happen from time to time and we have to change our water suppliers until it happens again.
Louie, who grew up in POC Children’s Homes now has his own business supplying water filters up and down the country, so we are looking into the possibility of purchasing our own filter. We would value your prayers for the children at this time.
prayer requests
We would value prayer for continued financial provision for the daily needs of the children in the Homes.
Healing for Chrissy’s brother Steve who is in hospital due to infection in his leg where the veins were taken for the heart bypass operation which; Praise God, was successful.
Financial provision for Kryzniel’s motor for his tricycle.
SPARROW’S café
It was always a dream of my Nana Jean (who was an amazing cook and baker) to open a café with my mum and I as partners. We never saw it come to pass but shared the dream. With Monique’s talent for cooking and cake making, the dream soon became hers too. She and Simeon had wanted to open their own small business to help support their family for a few years, but they waited to be sure it was the Lord’s will and it has finally become a reality. It has become a bit of a family effort as Rannel and I help by supplying the breads and Nathanael adds a special touch to some of the dishes with his special sauces and of course Monique’s recipes and delicious cakes
As you know from our newsletters ‘Sparrows’ have a special meaning for us since my mum read an article in a magazine, the true story of a woman who saw caged sparrows for sale in a foreign country. She bought all the available sparrows so she could set them free. From that time we started to refer to our POCCH Children as ‘Sparrows’. It also has a special meaning for our family as my Nana’s maiden name was Sparrow. So mum and I were delighted when Simeon and Monique decided to call their shop “Sparrow’s Café”. Of course it has been a big step of faith for them, but the Lord has led them every step of the way and has met their every need thus far. And although the café has only been open one week, they have had opportunities to share their faith, especially through playing live worship songs and Christian music They have been able to provide steady work for 2 former POCCA students, to enable them to go to college and 2 boys who were raised in the POCCH boy’s house.
More updates
Prison ministry continues to be very encouraging.
We are getting more and more inmates attending and responding to the word of God. Whilst it has been quite tough ministering in extreme heat and humidity, we leave the jails very exhausted but very blessed. In Iba jail last week we had more than a hundred inmates attend, and they are very receptive and appreciative of the ministry team. It is a joy to minister to them. We are really blessed with the number of attendees also in Angeles District Jail. One of the inmates told us that we are actually the only Christian group going to minister in the jail at this time.
Thank you for your prayers for Joshua. His doctor is very pleased with the progress of the healing of his jaw and have given him the all clear to return to his work in the Boy’s house. Thank you also to those who donated towards helping single dad Kryzniel (who is paraplegic) get a new tricycle. Whilst he hasn’t yet got enough, he feels very blessed and encouraged that people want to help him and are praying for him. He is continuing to save for his tricycle. We would value your continued prayers for him
We would value your prayers for our church in Wea. We have had a lot of opposition for starting work on the church building. The government were planning to put a road right through our building. I met with the Department of Public Works and Highways. They told me it would cost them Billions of pesos to redirect their road. To which I told them that if they do the right thing the Lord will bless them!! Praise God we have heard that the road will no longer be going through our church, but we still need prayer as their plan will still cause some villagers to lose their homes.
Thank you all for your faithful love and support of POC.
Together Let’s Make a Difference!
Love in Christ God bless,
Chrissy, Dondie &
your POCM Family