At the end of the last school year we said goodbye to a few children from Joyville, it was great to see some reunited back with their families as they had managed to find themselves in a better position to have their children return home with them.  There were also many who had completed their schooling and returned home, with two of them gaining scholarships to continue their studies at College.

 

Yesterday we welcomed nine new children, with one more arriving on Saturday, which now finds us working closely with ten young children who have come from extremely difficult and heartbreaking conditions.  This will be a real time of adjustment for our current children as we work towards getting them all to be comfortable together, considering they are all different personalities and ages.  Yet, for the new ones this is a real time of change as they have left their families and are grateful for the opportunity to receive an education and to have their basic needs met… but that doesn’t make it easy to adjust to such dramatic changes in their lives at this point.  Please pray for us as a staff as we spend time with them, listen to their stories and slowly build relationships and help them to feel comfortable in their new setting.

 

These children have come from extreme poverty, abuse situations, been victims of the massive typhoon last year… just to name a few situations.  Every story is different, every case is individual and our love offered must be the same. It has been interesting watching them over the past 24 hours and seeing their personalities shine through, some are struggling and not sure what to do with themselves, they are shy and quiet preferring to be in the background watching everyone else.  Two young boys have just followed the staff around uncertain of what to do at this stage, but over time they will settle in, make friends and start to feel more at ease… such natural feelings.  Then we have some kids who I am already noticing will have strong personalities and will stand up for themselves and have already shown themselves to be leaders even if they are younger! 

 

At our meal last night we discovered that there are children who don’t know how to use cutlery, in their life they have never had them so this basic skill is something they now will be taught.  Some are struggling to lie still on their mattress when sleeping because they have never slept in a bed before, the simple things that many of us take for granted is a new thing for many of our children and these small things are a matter of adjustment and change for them.

 

We have two brothers (7 and 9 years old) who are both starting school for the first time next week, grade one…. so please pray for them and all the children as they start at their new school that they will make friends and settle into their classes and cope well with their studies.

Here in the Philippines there are hundreds and thousands of Street Children, sadly you don’t need to go looking for them because this problem is not a hidden one, it is so open and heartbreaking! 

 

Often when walking around the streets of Manila you will see families sleeping together, eating on the side of the road of washing themselves by a faucet, the problem is so great.  There are many organisations that are doing what they can and this is fantastic.  Food is provided, but on a small scale, places are made available for washing but only in limited areas.  There are no Homeless Shelters for families, no Centrelink (government) payments for people, so life is such a struggle.

 

Due to the lack of funds there are so many children who do not get the opportunity to attend school, receive an education to attempt the long struggle to make something better of their lives.  Although, there are some scholarships available if you know where to go and the right people to ask!

 

Some families are able to find a place to sleep that may protect them from the weather and to keep them safe from predators that are ready to grab children at any time.  But even these places are not the best and there are many health issues that arise with living in such circumstances. 

 

Many families and children only survive by going through rubbish, they then sell their goods (plastics, metal etc) to purchase food for that day. It is definitely a hand to mouth situation!  Hygiene issues arise, children get sick and many of these children do not have the privilege of an education.  Yet, once again it is important to note that there are many organisations that are reaching out to the help these young children, sponsorship is available and that is slowly changing the lives (and futures) of so many.

 

Here at Joyville, due to funding, we can only accept up to 30 children.  This may seem small, but then again it is like a large family and we are able to provide safe accommodation, health care, basic needs, education and life skills training (to name a few).  Over this past week I have had to read through many Case Studies to approve the entry of many new children and they have been horrendous stories of poverty, sexual abuse, loss…. children who have stood with our Social Worker begging to be accepted so they can go to school and try and get a job to help their families in the future.  Young people who have started sniffing glue (rugby) so that they can cope with the physical trauma of their current lifestyles and others who we know will arrive here with a plastic bag of old clothes and nothing more to call their own.

This appointment where I find myself can be challenging, the children come with a variety of issues, strong character as they have had to face many things that young people should never have to deal with.  Yet, what a privilege it is to ‘one at a time’ see changes, development, transformation as acceptance, love and healing is offered.

One word I often use for the children I minister with is, resilience. 

Resilience – the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity.

 

This is so true of those I have come to know.  The ability to ‘bounce back’, although changed and often hurt, they move forward in the knowledge that their lives are about to have a positive change.

Please pray for us as we adjust to many new arrivals, for the children who will come here for those who are already here and will need to have a willingness to show patience and care to new people. 

 

Here in the Philippines the school year starts in June and finishes in April, so I have been quite slack in putting updates on during the school vacation… sorry about that!  My last post was when many of the children graduated, now they are returning to their classes and some are starting high school for the first time.  Here are some photos of their first day:

 

This week has been a busy time as we have watched many children graduate from their schools.  Grace graduated from High School and leaves Joyville with a scholarship to attend College near her home, she is happy to finally have the opportunity to be living again with her family.  Ogie, Noel, Jolly Fe and Rizza all graduated from Grade 6 and were proud to share this moment with their parent/s and the staff and kids of Joyville.  Junie and Gary (Grade 5) were asked to represent the school and participate in the flag ceremony at the Grade 6 Graduation, Junie was the drummer and Gary carried the Philippine flag.  They were both very proud and wore their scout uniforms with pride.

 

Today is also the last day of Jolly Fe, after many years of living here at Joyville she is now returning home to be with her mum and two brothers.  One of her brothers, Angelo, left Joyville last year and now due to the ongoing financial support of The Salvation Army Child Sponsorship Program, Jolly Fe can return home to her mum and still attend school.  Glydel (her younger sister) will stay with us for another year and hopefully in the future her mum can manage to have her home as well. 

 

The children are now on school holidays until the new school year starts on the first week of June.  It is going to be quieter here at Joyville, but there are a lot of preparations to be done for the return of all the kids, plus new applications for children to be processed.  We also hope to have Staff Training, Case Conferences and some rest mixed in there as well!!

A year ago today we were thrilled to offically open our new Education Centre "Dave’s Place" here at Joyville, our donor David Knowles from Australia was present and we it was a great day.  Yesterday was celebrated the 1st birthday of this Centre that has become a well used and loved place within our Program… not a day goes by that a child is not studying, reading, sewing, learning computers or watching tv in this special space.  We are so thankful for this incredible gift that was given to us.

 

We were pleased to have Captain Jennie Shrimpton and Emily Viney from Australia here with us yesterday and they led a fantastic Kids Fun Day for all the Joyville children and staff.  The theme was ‘Jonah in the whale’ and all the activities, stories, songs and movies were around that theme. 

 

At night we held a ‘Talentadong Joyville’ which is like, ‘Joyville’s Got Talent’ and the kids performed songs, dances, guitar and speacial ‘skills’ (breaking open coconuts with your teeth!) to an audience that included the Cadets and Staff from the Officer Training College.  Prizes were presented (thanks Megan and Simon!) to the winners and all participants went home with something special!!!

 

The day ended with a yummy supper of pancit (noodle dish) and delicious cake.

 

Thanks for your thoughts and messages… here are some pics of our special celebration!

 

 

We are excited to share with you our new tricycle that was donated by Australians, Alison and Brock Saunders and Les and Mary Sharp. This will help us get the high schoolers to their classes each day and will also provide a small (but regular) income to Joyville. It also allows us to employ a driver from the local community which is incrediblyl helpful.

 

We did have another tricycle, but the bike no longer works, our goal (eventually) is to get a new motorbike and attach it to the sidecar and have another tricycle purely for income.

 

Thanks so much for this incredible gift… much needed and greatly appreciated.

 

 

Envoys John and Kaye Williamson and Stephen their son are good friends of mine from Melbourne, they are currently appointed with The Salvation Army in Jamaica and are busy helping with the relief work for the disaster in Haiti.  They have sent some photos through that I wanted to share with you, these were taken in Haiti at The Salvation Army compound which was greatly damaged, work being done in the Medical Clinic and the Salvation Army Officers/Ministers working together to help those in need.

 

News of hope from yesterday, a young baby girl was born in their care. Mother and baby are both fine.

 

Please pray for Stephen as he prepares to leave for Haiti to assist with the ongoing work there on Tuesday.

 

We are SO excited to finally have work begin on the new boundary fence that will surround the entire compound of Joyville Children’s Home and the Officer Training College.  This is so helpful for our safety and security and has been a long time coming.  Here are a few pics of the first two weeks of work, the final product will be 6 feet high… much to do considering the actual project won’t be completed until March!

 

Also wanted to show you the vegetable garden that the kids have been working hard at…. pechay (like silver beet!).  My three male models are Kimbert Junie and Noel!

 

Well, for those who have been following my journey here in the Philippines, you have seen me settle into a new country, adjust to a new language, food, people, culture and SO much more!  I have loved this experience and am thrilled to be very close to entering my fourth year here.  In that time I have started as a Support Staff of this incredible Children’s Home and for over two years have been in charge as Administrator.  I have found a special someone and married him last Octoberand was so thankful to have 33 Australians to share in this special day here in the Philippines.  Rod and I am thrilled that we are now expecting our first baby and I am now 13 weeks which is great cause I am not feeling as sick (phew!), but not so great because I am going to need a larger wardrobe REAL soon!!!

 

Here are a couple of things we bought recently, couldn’t resist… I know we should have waited, but we thought they were too cute!  The label is ‘Heaven Sent’ which is so true for us, this baby is a miracle, an unexpected blessing from God.

 

Thanks for your continued support of me and this amazing ministry that is such a privilege to be a part of.  Happy New Year….

 

All the kids and staff at Joyville Children’s Home would like to send a huge thank you to the Rotary Club of Surrey Hills, Melbourne, Australia.  We have been blessed with an incredible gift of a new printer, cartridges, paper and heaps more… this is all to go into ‘Daves Place’ our Education Centre.  The kids are SOOOOOO excited about it, we wanted to share these gifts with you.