OOSH FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS “The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.” I have been the pessimist, the optimist, and the leader. The journey that God has taken me on has permitted me to grow and develop as a Christian throughout my time working at Pacific Hills. Through my time of growth, God has enabled me to act as the vessel for Him to allow the Out of School Hours (OOSH) service to thrive. In 2013, when I began working at Pacific Hills, we only had a small After School Care service with a maximum of 15 children each afternoon. We had a small room with one tin cupboard with a few old board games and some colouring pencils. The children were content with this at the time, but I could see that God could do more. As time progressed, the demand for After School Care increased. More and more families needed care for their children. This was when I had to begin creating waitlists for families requiring care which we couldn’t provide. We didn’t have enough space. I became the pessimist. I complained about the wind. I accepted that this was how it was. It is what it is. Many nights, I prayed. I mentioned to God that we needed to increase the After School Care. I knew in my heart that if He wanted, He would make it happen. In 2016, God delivered. This was when I realised that God was using me as His vessel to provide a service for the families of Pacific Hills. God blessed the After School Care. He provided us with new resources and He permitted us to expand our space. Parents were in need of a Before School Care service to commence and God permitted this too. Since both Before and After School Care were in operation, we gained our first ‘official’ title of “BAASC”, an acronym for “Before and After School Care”. Upon expanding the service to the BAASC, the rolls filled quickly to our maximum capacity of 60 children each afternoon. The demand was high again. I then became the optimist. I expected God to make the change. He had done it before, so He will do it again. But was I wrong? Yes, but only for a few years. I continued knocking on God’s door, asking for Him to increase our service and allow us to provide the best care possible. In 2018, God answered. Our service was finally approved to increase from a maximum capacity of 60 children to a maximum capacity of 100 children. It became obvious to me that God’s mission was not yet complete. Requests from families for a Vacation Care service began to flood in. We opened Vacation Care in 2019. A safe and familiar environment for the children of the BAASC during holiday periods. After opening Vacation Care, we then became known as “Pacific Hills OOSH”.
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