One of the important ministries of the Anglican Church in Batam is the running of several schools on the island.  The largest one, St. Andrew’s, is hoping to move into their new building/campus later this year.  Mrs. Serene Kong is the Principal of the school, and it continues to grow.

Here is the building under construction:

As I have mentioned in a previous blog, 90% or so of a local community has to give approval prior to building a house of worship.  For building a Muslim mosque, there is no problem.  However, for Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus, it is another matter altogether.

The new school building, though, is coming with a chapel that the Church of the Good Shepherd will be using for their Sunday morning worship services.  Here is where the chapel will be:

Access the building was up this ramp.  I was feeling my age when I walked up it:

The construction workers were all brought in from Java, so they build their own temporary housing out of plywood:

 

The building is four stories high–and it will provide ample space for all the students, teachers, and administration.  The building was originally going to be three stories high, but the contractor recommended a fourth floor for expansion.

I have noticed that many of the schools in Batam do not have much area for recreation, other than a playground for the younger children.  The current location for St. Andrew’s School is actually in a “sub house”, and their recreation area is entirely inside.  I think (and this is just conjecture) that with land as scarce and expensive as it is, there is just enough room for the building(s) and not much else.