“I want to come to your school because I want to learn more about Jesus.”
“I want to be a missionary like you. I want to learn how to do that.”
“I want to be a teacher for my own people.”
“I want to be a nurse and care for my people.” These are some of the sentiments we hear each year that compel us to continue developing our Palawano school.
The Palawano people have been slow to accept the value of education, let alone higher education, though that is why they invited AFM into the region in the first place. After running an elementary school in Kemantian for 14 years, we felt impressed to open a high school specifically aimed at developing students mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually for service to God. Though we had no idea how many students would come, in 2009 we opened the Palawan Native Training Center, with our daughter Jilin as the only student.
In 2015 we changed the high school’s name to Palawan Adventist Missionary-Training Center (PAMTA) and enrolled nine students. We were thrilled. The idea of high school was starting to take hold! This school year, we have 10 students. Next school year 10 more students are planning to enroll, and 10 more the following year. Judging by the enrollment and dropout statistics of our elementary school, we expect PAMTA to continue growing by at least six students a year. I believe that as the idea of higher education takes hold and more and more students graduate and begin serving their people, more and more young people and parents will be motivated to invest themselves in this school.
PAMTA is a six-year junior-high and high school covering grades 7-12. Currently we operate in a remodeled 16-by-20-foot hut that is divided into three small classrooms with seven teachers vying for space. Obviously we have great need of more classroom space to accommodate six grades and multiple subjects. Next door to PAMTA sits our elementary school, a 20-by-30-foot space bursting with close to 90 students and five teachers! We all need room to expand. We all teach outdoors at various times or in wall-less huts where the rain blows in from the sides. We’ve been trying to make do with what we have, but I think God has bigger plans for our two schools.
The story of Elijah and Ahab on Mount Carmel after the three-year drought inspires me. After Elijah’s singular victory over the priests of Baal, he steadfastly believed that God would send rain. So he took his servant to the top of the mountain and prayed, asking his servant to look out toward the sea and tell him when he saw rainclouds. Six times the servant went to look but came back each time saying, “There is nothing.” But the seventh time, the servant came back and reported that a small cloud was rising from the sea. Elijah sent his servant off at a run to tell Ahab to get in his chariot and get down the mountain before the rains made the road impassable. And the rain came in torrents.
What this story tells me is that God wants us to believe that He will answer our prayers and that we must keep praying, watching and seeking for His answer. Our high school has experienced some persecution and setbacks, sometimes tempting us to think that we weren’t supposed to continue. But with much prayer and fasting, we believe that our marching orders are to stand still in the face of the enemy and trust God to fight our battles for us (2 Chronicles 20:17) and to prepare for an abundance of rain—a torrent of new students.
Our dream is to have all the PAMTA facilities adequate for living and learning and on their own campus within easy walking distance of where the students do their work practicums, such as the clinic, elementary school and gardens in Kemantian.
We need funding to build facilities, and we desperately need an experienced builder who can devote himself to construction and managing the help of others. A retired contractor or builder would be a Godsend. Please contact us if you feel called to this endeavor.
We are happy to report that we have been able to purchase property. We have divided the construction of PAMTA into phases, with Phase 1 ($28,725) a mandatory minimum in order to reopen PAMTA in September 2017. With God all things are possible, so we are aiming high and believing that He will provide for His school.
The total we need to raise for all four phases, including more classrooms, science lab, library, kitchen, cafeteria, chapel and bridges across creeks that frequently flood, is $93,125.
Thank you for your prayers that sustain us. Thank you for your words of encouragement that inspire us. And thank you for your donations that drive us to strive harder and aim high for Jesus Christ.
