PACIFIC VALLEY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL CHRIST, THE CENTRE Humble Beginnings In 2008, in the quiet village settlement of Maclean with its beautiful river and surrounds, parents heard that their precious school of 24 students would have to close. When the debris of difficult news is all around and it’s hard to see, what is your response? Do you take a step back, reach out to someone, get stuck in the emotional rut or pray? A group of parents prayed and listened. God answered in so many ways in providing the beginnings of what would become the Pacific Valley Christian School (PVCS). The parents contacted Dr Ted Boyce who visited the school with senior staff, listened to the concerned parents and prayed with them. Convinced that the founding vision of a Christian school in this valley was good, in January 2009 Pacific Valley Christian School commenced as a campus of the Sydney school while being accredited in its own right. In terms of faith journeys, it was Lee Hackfath and Ailsa Schilling who ‘accidentally’ formed the bond, under God, with the man who would become their principal, and more importantly, their fellow journeyman (David Johnston). Lee remembers the beginnings very well: “The day St Andrews was offered ‘the land’, now home to the PVCS Junior School, Admin and VHCS buildings, Ailsa, myself and the other St Andrews teacher together with all the students, climbed the farm fence into what was an overgrown, weedy paddock with a few cows. We formed a circle and talked with the students about God being a God who cares and provides for His people, and that it would be good to thank God for this land and for the purposes God had already planned. Just before we prayed, David Johnston, Deputy Principal at St Andrews, pulled up in his car and joined us in dedicating the land to God’s plan and purposes. So, the three original PVCS staff prayed over this land, even though they were all part of another school at the time and Pacific Valley wasn’t even a thought in anyone’s mind. I’m always amazed at how God works! To think that the three original staff were all there to pray a blessing over the land as it became a school site, miraculously bought by Pacific Valley for a dollar – God’s amazing!” Yes, God provides - Little did these prayer warriors know they were the starting combination for Pacific Valley, but God did. Little did they know then of the provision of stunningly affordable land (for only $1) that people such as the Dougherty family would provide, but God did. Little did they know of the families outside their usual church connections that would come to the school and enrol their students, but God did. 18
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