Church Building Repair Philippines

Dear Christian Friends & Family, Members of the Church of Christ,

Greetings from the Philippines!

My name is John  and I am currently living in the Philippines, 2 hours north of Manila, in the area of Clark. I am from the U.S. and been living here in the Philippines now for the past 3 years. I recently married my Filipina Sweetheart, and we both attend church at Clark Church of Christ in Angeles City, Philippines.
Me, with my beautiful bride and the Elders from our church, and their wives. Far left, one of our Wedding sponsors. (Photo taken at the HardRock Cafe Manila)

On behalf of the Elders ( Brothers: Higato Tulan and Rene' Almonina) at the Clark church of Christ I am writing to ask for your help in our Fundraiser. I am writing to ask for your help with some serious issues we have with out church building, which was built in 1960.


The building as it looked in 1960's
And today....

In 1960 many of the U.S. military men that served in the this area were Christians and members of the Lord's church and built the current building we worship in today. Not only is there a church but its also houses an elder  and his family, our full time minister (Rod Moral) and family, six students of the PIBI, Philippines International Bible Institute and some other staff members also live on the grounds of the dual church building and campus. The 40 members of our church are poor ( but happy) or just getting by. Over the many years the building has sustained serious water damage in the main chapel area, and over the past couple of years the water from rain and typhoons has made matters worse along the walls and ceilings of the chapel, mother/baby's nursery room.
*see video above*
The minimum wage here in the Philippines is 385 Pesos per day, thats about 7 to 8 dollars a Day! Our average monthly contribution from the members is only $250 US dollars per month and half of that goes to the full time minister/teacher so that he can teach the PIBI courses and also conduct his many bible studies during the week. After paying the electric bills, there is nothing left for repairs to the building. Aside from one small donation each month for the PIBI, the church is Autonimous, and has no outside funds or donations coming in. Thus the lack of books, plumbing repairs and other needs.

The last group of Americans left the deed to the church to the Elders in 1990 when Mt. Pinatubo erupted and covered the entire city with up to 6 ft of Volcanic ash. The grounds area of the church building and PIBI are currently 2 feet higher than they were before the eruption. Over the years many evangelist have come to preach the gospel, some where here for 3 to 4 years, but after they left, there has been no ongoing outside funding.

Recently we had estimates by a local contractor, just to repair the roof damage, to stop the rain and the water out and it will take about $2,500 - $3,000 U.S. and that does not include repairing the damaged ceilings and walls which are quite literally peeling. The water has also gotten into the walls and caused some mold and serious damage through out the building. In addition all but one toilet in the entire building has stopped working, so we have had to close the men's room and only one single toilet in the ladies room, but its not up to American standards by any means. You must fill up a water bucket to flush the toilet. Recently Bro. Higato also had estimates done to repair the electrical outlets, breakers and wiring in the small chapel/class room where all PIBI class take place. The estimate was $250 U.S. but I can also tell you that nearly all rooms, walkways and living quarters need new electrical outlets, fans and lighting.

Since most of the facilities were built in 1960 it looks like a time capsule as I doubt that anything has been updated since then. From the ceiling fans to the many broken, non-working light fixtures, flooring and paint, the church is really in need of some TLC. The mens rooms and showers for the students who are training to be ministers in the Lord's church, honestly are old outhouses as you may have seen in old time barracks from the 1960's. Just concrete and no paint, most doors are rotted away. The housing for the Elder ( also head of the PIBI teaching program) also has the very outdated Library, with the most current books being from the 1980's. All of the song books are too old to use during services so we use an over head projector for all songs.

I have prepared a video of all the above and if you can take a moment to look at the footage, about 20 minutes, I walk around our building and show you exactly what I described above.
Water Damage from Typhoons and Rain. You can see the water pouring in during recent rains.



Brother Rod with our Christian Youth & PIBI Students

What We Need
We are estimating it will take about $2,000 - $3,000 US to fix the necessary area ( Roof, not including Plumbing in both Mens and Ladies rooms, Electric) and to fix all the water damaged areas walls, ceilings and mold, another $10,000- $20,000 US. We are hoping to raise $3,000 to $10,000 US or more to repair all the necessities and keep the members safe for years to come. Any amount will help and go to repairing our building and facilities.
Our first Goal is $3,000 for immediate roof & Plumbing repairs.

We are asking bretheren and Churches around the US and Canada to donate what they can in the form of money ( $5, $20, $100, $500 or more), songbooks, teaching materials, old computers (the church/PIBI have none) or even a helping hand if you want to come to the Philippines!  Even 1 Dollar will help! 
Brother Rod Moral - Minister & Teacher at PIBI


The Clark Church of Christ is a non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductable. Please contact Bros. Rod, Higato or Rene', or myself if you need the Non-Profit status information. Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Please take a look at our website
 http://www.ClarkChurchofChrist.com
and our Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/clarkcoc.pampanga

Thank you and God's Blessings to you for your help!

John