Brief update on the Venture:

Kathy and I just had a Skype conversation with the Global Ministries Director, and CFO at our mission.  Great guys to work with.
Trying to keep track of where we are, in regard to our fund-raising has given me greater sympathy for economists.  It's not quite looking into a crystal-ball, but trying to balance verbal assurances of, "We are going to be part of your support team. . . ." with hard numbers that come from monthly reports, and then comparing that with estimates of needs, which are just that, estimates, involves a measure of art as well science.  I say that, because I need to leave some room to be wrong.  That being said, we praise the Lord, that through the kindness and sacrifice of many it appears that we have passed the 70% mark for funding for 2016.
As always, when we look at these reports we are humbled.  We see names and numbers and are aware of some of the burdens being carried by those represented there, and we feel unworthy of such support.  Thank you.

We continue to work the lists.
Lift-off is just a few days away.

I'm writing this on Christmas Eve.  Kathy is in the kitchen getting ready for company that will be arriving later.  Mannheim Steamroller is booming on the stereo.  Our "office" upstairs is piled full.  It's not the hiding place for Christmas presents.  It's the staging area for packing.  We have a couple of big suitcases to use for checked luggage, and we'll max out what we can carry on.   We have been making lists. Unlike Santa our goal is not to check them twice, but to check stuff off.  We are making progress. I leave on January 3.  The trip will take over two days, but 21 hours of that will be in Guam, so I'll be able to sleep at our friends and colleagues, the Owens' house, and likely do some business at the PIU main campus.  Kathy will leave exactly a week later--same schedule & layover.  She is remaining behind to play for a wedding and to give me an opportunity to do some setting up. Among our check-offs are these items for which we praise the Lord: The response to our fund-raising efforts has been very encouraging.  Over the past couple of weeks we have received gifts and/or words of commitment about gifts almost daily.  Our last calculations indicate that we are at about 60% of the need for 2016. This mailing list now has 120 email addresses.  I was hoping to have at least 100 people who would be praying for us.  Some of you just signed up.  To all of you, thanks. We have a place to live and a car to drive when we are in Palau. I just got word today that there are 3 students in the application pipeline.  Others are inquiring.  Keep praying 7. After consulting with our registrar, provost, and department head, the decision was made that I'll be teaching New Testament Survey and Introduction to Christian Doctrine in the classroom.  I think I have a schedule worked  out that will fit.  I'll publish it soon. At least part of the time that we are in Palau, a newly-wed couple will be house-sitting here in Covington. That's enough for now, except to ask prayer for three requests: Pray 7. Pray that we'll be a blessing. Pray that we'll get what we need to get done, done, before we go. Merry Christmas. Thank you, and thank the Lord. Howard (for Kathy, too.) You can find past prayer letters and other news about our mission venture at http://micronesianadventure.blogspot.com/   Our home address is: Howard & Kathy Merrell 2106 S. Carpenter Drive Covington VA 24426.  We'll be making arrangements to have our mail shipped in bulk every few weeks, so if you send us a snail-mail while we are in Palau, our response will really be snail-ish.  We aren't sure about the speed of our internet, but we will have some connection, so email will continue to be the best option.  Our covbchm@gmail.com and kmusiq@gmail.com, addresses should be just fine.  We are using my PIU address, hmerrell@piu.edu as our "official" missionary email address, while we are in Micronesia.  We'll let you know more about phone connection after we arrive. The contact information for our sending church, CBC is: Covington Bible Church 2140 S. Carpenter Drive Covington VA 24426 covbcsecretary@gmail.com, 540 965 4256 The address for Liebenzell Mission USA is: Liebenzell Mission PO Box 66 Schooley's Mountain NJ  07870 Donations can be sent to that address, or given online at http://liebenzellmission.org/give/.  If you want funds to go to our account designate them to Howard and Kathy Merrell.

Copyright © 2015 Covington Bible Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because of your interest in the ministry of Kathy & Howard Merrell. Our mailing address is: Covington Bible Church 2106 S. Carpenter Drive Covington, Va 24426 If you would like to be added to our email list, write hmerrell@piu.edu

Two weeks till wheels-up.

Two weeks from this Sunday, on January 3, I'll take off for Palau.  Because of some commitments she has, and in order to give me a chance to take care of some things there, Kathy will follow a week later.  Each of us will have a long layover in Guam.  We'll be able to spend the night with our friends, Dave and Joyce Owen.  That will certainly make our trip more pleasant.

We can't count chicks that haven't hatched yet, and we are told there are eggs yet to be laid, but based on some news that we just received, and the reasonable expectation of one good-sized egg hatching, it would appear that we have just over half of our 2016 mission-service budget covered.
We are very grateful for all of you who pray for and who partner financially with us.

I just talked to the young lady in Palau who is our receptionist, secretary, and all around handy-person.  She informed me of several potential students who are somewhere in the process of applying to take classes at PIU-Palau.  I have actually been in touch with a couple of interested persons.  Some of you have been praying 7 (explained here).  Keep praying with us.

Thank you, and Merry Christmas

Punch list:

Project managers often have a punch list.  As the end of a project looms it takes on increasing

importance.  Kathy and I are working on a punch list--or more accurately, a couple of them.

• We recently purchased our airline tickets.  
• We have made arrangements for an apartment and a car in Palau.  
• I have a Skype appointment to meet with some administrators at PIU.  
• We saw a lawyer and our financial adviser to get some affairs in order, etc. etc.  
• We are updating our mailing lists.  
• We need to make sure that we have luggage suitable for our trips.  

Somewhere there is  a balance between being burdened with the cares of this world and being a good steward of what God has entrusted to us.  Pray that we can find that balance.

Gauging where we are as far as financial support is a bit frustrating.  While online giving is instantaneous for the donor, it takes a while for the report of a gift to work its way through the various cyber-hoops.  We get reports from the mission around the first of every month, so we don't hear about gifts given close to the first of the month for about thirty days.  Then we can't always tell whether a gift represents a monthly commitment or if it is a one time donation.  (We rejoice in either.)  All that being said, at last count, it looks like we are at about 40% of achieving our 2016 budget.  Thank you, and Thank You, Lord.

I fly on January 3, Kathy on the tenth.  She is remaining so she can play for a wedding, and it will allow me to get some things set up.  From the time we leave the house here in Covington, until we get to our place in Palau will be well more than two days.  Fortunately 21 hours will be a layover in Guam.  Joyce and Dave Owen have opened their home to us so we can get a night's sleep--or as much of one as jet-lag will allow.  We have an apartment in Palau--an extended stay hotel suite.  Thanks to the help of a friend we have made arrangements for a car that will fit our budget.  Other details will be worked out, hopefully by the time Kathy arrives.

I have gotten good reports of folk being interested in taking classes at PIU-Palau.  Pray that there will be follow-through.
We want to be a  blessing in Palau.  Pray that we will know how.

We have been very humbled with the encouragement, prayers, and giving of those who are partnering with us.  We'll do our best to stay in touch.  Please do the same.

Howard (for Kathy, too)

Prayer Update #3:

Here is a copy of our latest email Prayer Letter.  If you would like to receive future updates in your inbox, let us know.

We just returned from many miles of travel.  We are spending a very busy month of December finishing up responsibilities here at Covington Bible Church and getting ready for four months of ministry in Micronesia.  You will pick up more news in the list of praise and prayer items below.  Please share your prayer requests with us.  We want this to be a partnership. Part of the busy-ness of this season is Christmas.  For a number of years our church has presented a Live Nativityto our community. Kathy is one of the leaders in setting up Bethlehem.  I get to wrangle goats & donkeys, as well as play a part in the presentation.  Tonight is the first of the three night presentation.  Please pray for this outreach. I am working on our mailing list, so some of you are receiving this communication for the first time.  (For some of you who were just this morning added to the list, most of this note is repetition.  You have already received a note with the rest of what is in this email.)  If these communiques are just clutter in your inbox, let me know and I will remove you from the list. Our life is really busy, right now, but that is how it is supposed to be. Below are some items for which you can join us in thanksgiving, and which you can present to our Lord as petitions.  Thanks for partnering with us. I (hm) just returned from a short trip to Guam and Palau.  Pacific Islands University's main campus is in Guam.  There I met with some key administrators to get up to speed on some procedures and policies in regard to running the Teaching Facility in Palau.  Most of us would call it an "Extension," but for some reason, that I don't understand, our accrediting agency doesn't want us to call it that.  I'm calling it PIU-Palau.  In Palau I met with some key leaders in the Palauan Evangelical Church.  This is the group of churches that was planted by Liebenzell Mission.  Liebenzell also started PIU.  LMUSA is the agency through which Kathy and I are undertaking this mission venture. We will continue to post information about our mission venture at http://micronesianadventure.blogspot.com/.  It always does my heart good to look at the stats, there, and see that someone has clicked on our page.  Kathy likes it too, I tell her about it.  :) Here are a few items to pray about, and matters for which we are thankful:   Our many thousands of miles of travel--me to Micronesia, and Kathy to Louisiana--were safe and mostly uneventful.   HM's time in Micronesia was productive. Kathy had a great time with family at Chad's house near Monroe LA.  Howard was able to join the rest of the family for their Thanksgiving meal, via Skype, and offer the Thanksgiving prayer over the meal. Thanks to our partners in the Palauan Evangelical Church, we have been able to reserve an efficiency apartment for our stay in Palau, January - April, this spring. We have also been able to make arrangements for a car, that should meet our needs for the four months we are in Palau. I asked you to pray for the things I needed to get done before I left a couple of weeks ago.  Mostly, I finished. Kathy and I continue to be humbled and encouraged by the support we are receiving.  One of our young prayer-supporters gave a fist-pump when he heard that I was home safe.  Wow!   We are finishing up our long time of pastoring at Covington Bible Church.  At the end of this month, for essentially the first time in my adult life, I will no longer be a pastor of Covington Bible Church.  We are very thankful for the way our church is working with us, but there is some emotion involved in this transition. The key human ingredient to the success of our venture in Palau is having students enrolled in PIU-Palau.  Pray for the contacts that are being made as I write. Pray that we will be a blessing to the Palauan Evangelical Church and other sound churches in the nation. Pray that Kathy will find the right place to plug in. I'll have new numbers in the next day or two about our support level.  I'll share them when they come.   Our Prayer card is copied at the top of this email.  If you don't have one, and would like to have one, let us know. Again, thank you.  Stay in touch.

Ten minute AV presentation:

A couple of weeks ago we were privileged to share at Fellowship Bible Church, Shenandoah Junction WV.  The tech crew kindly provided us with the audio of our presentation.  I put it with the slides we used so we could share this 10 minute presentation with more of you.

Prayer & Praise:

I just edited an email that I sent to someone who signed up to be on our mailing list.
Included in the letter is a list of items for prayer and praise.
I figured I'd post it here:

Here are a few items to pray about about, and matters for which we are thankful:
 

• We will be traveling during the second half of November, but not together.
  HM will be flying to Guam, leaving 11/15.  It will be about a 25 hour trip.
  On 11/27 I fly to Palau.  It is about a 2 hour flight.
  I fly home on 12/1.  That trip will take about 35 hours.
  Kathy will drive from Covington VA to Monroe LA to spend Thanksgiving with our sons and their families.  She'll leave the car there and fly home on 11/30.
  (When we fly back to the USA in early May we'll land in Monroe, attend our granddaughter's high school graduation and then drive home.)
  Pray for safety as we travel, and that we will be a good witness.
• While in Guam HM will be learning procedures for record-keeping, reporting, etc., in regard to running the Teaching Facility in Palau.  I'm looking forward to fellowship with friends, colleagues, & students there.
  In Palau, I'll be meeting with key people and seeking to move the program ahead.
• Especially for Kathy:  We have lived at 2106 S. Carpenter Drive for more than 40 years.  We have rebuilt the little house a bit at a time.  We have various things to do to get the house ready for a 4 month absence.  I'm trying to get some stuff done this week, before my 2 week trip to Micronesia.
• Ditto, various business arrangements.  
• This is the final piece in our transition out of a 42 year ministry at Covington Bible Church.  There is some emotion involved.
• Pray 7.  7 is the "foot-in-the-door" number to being successful in Palau.  We need 7 students.  We'd like to have many more.  The news I have gotten from PIU is that there is interest.  Some correspondence is already going back and forth.
• The last numbers I have indicate that we are at about 31% of what is needed to finance our project for the coming year.  Pray that our account will fill up.

 

Here are a couple of things we are thankful for:

• This past weekend we were at the LMUSA headquarters in Schooley's Mountain, New Jersey.  Kathy spent a couple of days helping get a new guest apartment ready for mission related visitors.  Shopping and decorating for Jesus!  HM was there for the LMUSA board meeting.  He also met with 2 new families who have been appointed as missionaries with LMUSA.  It was great to meet them and to get some on the job training for working with "new recruits."  Since Kathy and I are new recruits, we were worked on, while we worked with.  :)
• That I, HM, had enough Frequent Flyer miles to book this 2 week, training/promo trip to Micronesia, and to book Kathy's flight home from LA. 
• The churches where we have shared about our ministry have treated us very warmly.
• That 31%.
• The momentum at PIU is moving in a positive direction.
• That we are healthy enough, at this stage in life, to pursue this new ministry.
• Again, thank you.  Stay in touch.

Thanks.

Prayer Update, #1

This is a prayer update for Howard & Kathy Merrell, 10/22/2015.. View this email in your browser

Getting Ready: Most of you have read our letter announcing our future ministry.  If you haven't, you can find the information here, and even read more by scrolling around on the blog. Support: Based on CBC's missionary-committee's recommendations, reports of supporters who have already begun sending funds, and one time gifts, we calculate that we have over a quarter of our budget for 2016.  We have been privileged to share about our ministry with our home church and another church here in Covington.  We'll be doing a presentation at a church this Sunday. PRAYER: Several folk have committed to pray for us.  One youngster has blessed us with his requests that we be preserved from solar-flares.  There are a couple of prayer requests at the end of this note. Transition:   We have continued to take steps back from our former role and are taking steps ahead.  Here are some thoughts on one step, mostlysymbolic, but real all the same.  We have begun putting together both an email, and postal mail, list.  Obviously you are on the email list. On November 15, Howard will leave for Guam.  He'll be at PIU's main campus for training until November 27.  Then he'll be in Palau a couple of days to meet with key folk and promote the spring semester at PIU-Palau.  He'll be back in Covington late on December 1. While Howard is in Micronesia, Kathy will drive down to Louisiana, where she'll celebrate Thanksgiving with both boys and their families.  She'll leave the car there and fly back home.  We'll both be here for the Live Nativity outreach our church is doing, December 4-6. While we aren't moving out of our house, we need to make sure it is ready to leave for the four months we'll be gone.  Likewise we need to make sure bills get paid, prescriptions are filled, and other stateside obligations met. Plans Coming Together: We'll be headed to Palau shortly into the New Year. We'll let you know when tickets have been purchased. Our church partners in Palau have already made housing arrangements for us.  We have contacts working on a car, and HM hopes to nail down some other details when he is there next month.  Our new role with Liebenzell USA is taking shape.  We plan to return to the States around the first of May, we'll fly to Louisiana.  Then we'll drive home after attending our granddaughter's high school graduation. We praise the Lord for: The opportunities we have to present the work into which the Lord is leading us. Good news we hear from other Liebenzell ministries. Likewise, good reports that my counterpart Iotaka Choram is having success in reinvigorating the PIU Teaching Facility in Chuuk. Folk who pray for, and support us. That our public presentations, letters, posts, etc. will not only be about our ministry, but that we will encourage others to step up in Great commission ministry. Please pray: That we can get what we need to get done, done before we leave. For coworkers in Palau and Guam.  What we are doing is good, but it involves work on the part of others. That we'll have sense enough to realize what we don't need to get done. We might have house-sitters for at least a part of our time in Micronesia.  Pray that we can use the resources that the Lord has given us to be a blessing. Pray 7.  If you see the number seven remember to pray for us.  Seven is the number of students that would make a core at PIU-Palau.  Let's start praying for 7. We'll let you know when to raise the number. Lot's of travel. The rest of our support team. Romans 8:26 Our home address is: Howard & Kathy Merrell 2106 S. Carpenter Drive Covington VA 24426.  We'll be making arrangements to have our mail shipped in bulk every few weeks, so if you send us a snail-mail while we are in Palau, our response will really be snail-ish.  We aren't sure about the speed of our internet, but we will have some connection, so email will continue to be the best option.  Our covbchm@gmail.com and kmusiq@gmail.com, addresses should be just fine.  We are using my PIU address, hmerrell@piu.edu as our "official" missionary email address, while we are in Micronesia. It depends on having a fast enough connection to use Skype, but we are hoping that our 540 784 1195 number will work.  We'll let you know.  If you are interested, you can find information on how to be a part of our support team here. Apparently Ava takes after her other grandpa, who is from Zimbabwe, where they drive on the left.  In Palau, though some of the cars are right-hand-drive, we drive on the right.  Either way we are moving on. Thanks, H&K

A High Tolerance for Ambiguity, I Think, Maybe:

I (hm) have been reading a couple of books on cross-cultural ministry. Kathy is reading a book, on the subject, I have already read. (see below) Some veteran missionaries recommended all three.
It seems that a common element in all three books is to identify some element of difference in various cultures, and then set up a scale. Is this culture more this way, or that way? One of the authors, 

Sherwood Lingenfelter (Kathy is reading his book), does a good job in reminding us that cultures are not monolithic. None of us fit perfectly in the culture where we spend most of our time. In reading James Plueddemann's book I observed a couple of ways that I don't quite fit in with the low-context trait of many of my country-persons.  High context oriented people tend to value relationships over tasks.  Donald Trump's famous "You're fired!" line is  perhaps the pinnacle of low-context, if such a mixing of metaphors is possible.  I on the other hand have a tendency to hang-in-there with folk past the point where some of my colleagues think I should let the non-performer go.  In their view the project, ministry, or goal is more important than the relationship.  So all that to day that I'm a bit more high-context than the broad North American culture.

But I digress.  (If you start with a digression, is it really a digression?  Now I'm digressing from my digression.)

 http://www.amazon.com/Leading-Across-Cultures-Effective-Ministry/dp/0830825789

The scale Plueddemann identifies that I want to comment on is, Tolerance for Ambiguity.  My culture, especially the executive/management subculture has a very low tolerance for ambiguity.  Folk in this realm, and senior pastors--the role I have filled most of my life--are supposed to be among them, thrive on measurable goals, six-month and five-year plans, vision statements, mission statements, accountability, etc.  I, on the other hand, have often described my style as "muddling."  Figure out what direction one is going and try to take steps, ad-hoc, as they come up, in that direction.  As I read the book that is supposed to be telling me about those who are different than I am, I found out an important truth about me.  I have a pretty high tolerance for ambiguity.

• I tend not to plan days off.  I'd rather just let them happen.
• Vacations, beyond answering the big questions--where will be go? will we drive or fly? etc. tend to be the same.
• I tried to work with a preaching schedule, but it was not nearly as detailed or far-reaching as many of colleagues, and it is was always subject to change.

The virtue--and clearly there are vices, as well--of a willingness to tolerate uncertainty is that life is uncertain.  Unless we live totally without plans, our program will be interrupted by death or the Lord's return.  We high tolerance for ambiguity types take great comfort from James 4:13-16.

   “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.” (James 4:13–16, NASB95)  

"Amen!" James, "Preach it to those arrogant goal-setters"

I actually think my counter-cultural (counter to my culture) trait is helpful at this point.  This winter when I'm in Palau the success or failure of what Kathy and I are trying to do depends on a lot of factors, most of which are out of my control.

So let me finish with some prayer requests:

• Pray that plans will be made at the right time, by the right people, with the right outcomes in mind.
• Pray that we will be flexible.  We need to trust God.  As James points out, He is sovereign.
• Yet, yet pray that we will continue to move in right direction.  Pray that we will muddle effectively.
• Kathy fits better with our North American culture than I do.  Her tolerance for ambiguity is lower than mine, and her role in this venture is less defined than mine.  I think you can see the prayer request there.
• In a couple of weeks the leaders of the Palauan Evangelical Church will be meeting.  Our ministry in Palau will be on their agenda.  Pray for them.
• Two more, not related to the rest of this post:
  We are in the process of sending out letters, seeking prayer and financial support.
  We are working toward--since I am involved, "muddling toward"--being ready to leave in January.  

Thanks, it would encourage us to know that you are praying for us.  Let us know how we can pray for you.

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Christians-Global-Mission-American/dp/0830837809

http://www.amazon.com/Ministering-Cross-Culturally-Incarnational-Personal-Relationships/dp/0801026474

Support Link:

Our techie folk recently reworked our website.  That made some of the links I put in this post obsolete.  The new address for LMUSA giving page is http://liebenzellmission.org/give/.  When you scroll down on the page you'll see a screen that looks like the picture below.  Click on the picture to take you to the webpage.
I'm updating this post, 11/13/15.  I hope it works now.  Thanks, HM

Several of you have generously asked about how to partner with us in our venture.  Some of what you will find on the LMUSA website is reproduced below.  Thank you.

Checks can be made to Liebenzell USA, Global Ministries and mailed to: 

Liebenzell USA, Global Ministries
PO Box 66
Schooley’s Mountain NJ 07870

Please include the following information with your gift:

I would like to give a (check one) monthly ___ / one time ___ gift of $ ___________ in support of the Merrell’s Ministry.

___ I would like to receive LM USA’s monthly eNews.  Email address ________________

Name:_____________________________________
Street Address: ______________________________
City:______________ State:____ Zip:_______

Liebenzell is a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial

Accountability.  Contributions are tax deductible.  You will receive a receipt.  Contributions are solicited with the understanding that Liebenzell USA has complete discretion and control of the use of all donated funds.

(Most of you would probably rather figure this out on your own.  If so, just go to the first link and click away.  If you want more detailed instructions, here they are.
I jumped through the cyber hoops to see how they work.  :)

You can also give online:

To give a one-time or a recurring donation using a credit card:

Go to http://liebenzellmission.org/give/
Follow the instructions under "online giving."

·         In the box next to “Category” select “People.”

·         In the box next to Fund select “Howard & Kathy Merrell.”

·         Fill in the amount of the gift.  If you wish to make this a recurring gift, check that box.

·         This form will only allow you to select “Card.”  To do a direct draft from your checking account see below.

·         Enter the information about your card.

·         Enter billing address, etc.

·         Click Submit to complete the transaction.

·         (Note:  You have the option of creating an account that will be saved for future giving.)

To make a donation using elictronic transfer:

Go to http://liebenzellmission.org/give/
See the instructions under "Electronic Funds Transfer."
At this point the link to take you to the EFT Initiation Form is not yet functioning.
Request the form by email, by clicking on the "Contact" link in the upper right hand of the screen.  The form and instructions will be sent to you.

Looking for teammates in this new venture:

For all of our careers as pastor and pastor's wife/musician/teacher/counselor (Kathy has done a lot), Kathy and I have encouraged participation in the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20.  For the past couple of years we have been transitioning out of our pastoral role.  Most people would say we are retiring.  That transition from the role in which we served at Covington Bible Church for more than forty years is coming to an end.  Beginning in January we will assume a new role as Missionaries.  I have previously posted about this new role on this blog, here and here.

As you can see from those previous posts we are asking for folk to join us in preparing and enabling a new generation of world-changers.  Here are the kind of teammates we are looking for.

A wonderful family, with whom we have been privileged to work over the years, joined out team about ten minutes after we announced our intentions.  I got this text from them the other day.

"[Six-year-old son] prayed for you guys tonight.  (This family prays for missionaries after supper, each evening.)  He prayed for a safe flight because a solar flare could take the plane down."

I found out, just tonight, that big sister had been studying about the sun in science class.  She had shared about solar flares and how they could disrupt safe air travel. . . .  

Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it.  That's what we are seeking to do.  We are looking for some other folk who would stand with us financially and in prayer to help make this possible.

I, Howard, am the one doing this letter-writing, Facebooking, blog-posting thing.  It isn't the way we want to do it.  We'd much rather sit down over a cup of coffee, or at least be means of phone or Skype.  So, if, after reading about what we are doing, you say, "I'd like to find out more?" please drop us a line, or just call us.  If we are close enough we'll get together, if not we'll make a time to talk by phone or Skype.
My email is hmerrell@piu.edu, or covbchm@gmail.com.  If you would rather write Kathy you can get her at kmusiq@gmail.com.  Our phone numbers are: Kathy, 540 691 4438, & Howard, 540 691 6539.

Thanks, and may the Lord protect you from falling-rocks, meteorites, rogue elephants, and solar-flares.

Howard, for us both.

ps:  Our pastor, Doug Williams, has been contacting other churches on our behalf.  If you would like to get in touch with him, his email is awa4him@gmail.com.

 

 

This is getting real:

There is no doubt that this next phase of our life and ministry is coming to reality.  Fast, I might add.

I have bought tickets--I was able to get them with frequent-flyer miles--to go to Guam & Palau the second half of November.  I'll be training on procedures, policies, etc. for running a PIU Teaching Facility and I'll be meeting, greeting, promoting in Palau.  I'm looking forward to some of that great Palauan food.
Kathy will be going to Louisiana for Thanksgiving.  Our boys and their families have established a tradition of getting together for Thanksgiving and Easter, so Kathy will get to see all our family.  I hope I can Skype in, maybe for the prayer before Thanksgiving Dinner.  They can give thanks for dinner as I give thanks for my "next day's" breakfast.  Kathy will drive to LA, leave HM's car there, and fly back to Roanoke.
We haven't bought tickets for our January - April time in Micronesia, yet, but we plan to fly from Roanoke VA to Palau in January and then back to Monroe Louisana, stopping in Guam for the PIU graduation, at the end of April.  Our Granddaughter, Carrington, graduates from Sterlington High School, May 9.  Then we'll drive home.
Kathy and I have been privileged to share about our ministry at a sister church, here in Covington, and are looking forward to other opportunities.
Right now I'm in the middle of a two week series of lectures, on homiletics and pastoral ministry, at Appalachian Bible College, our Alma mater.   It wasn't set up to be such, but it is kind of a warm-up.  I don't know, yet what I'll be teaching at PIU.  The registrar is looking to see what will be most useful.  Like most adventures there is a lot

that is unknown
We do know that God has brought us to this point so that we can use what He has entrusted to us for His glory.  This looks like a great way to do that.We know that all over the world there is a great need for prepared leaders to step up to help lead the church in obeying the Great Commission.  As you can see from our last post, that is what we'll be doing--helping recruit and prepare leaders.   We know that our Pastor, church, family, and friends have been very supportive.  We are told that we have an apartment in Palau.  Several folk have already indicated that they are joining our support team.  So there are some things that we do know.  We have a couple other questions to answer before we know just what our full support package looks like.  We should have those answered in a week or so.

If you would like to be on our email or snail-mail list, let us know.  covbchm@gmail.com

Our last post has more information about what we are doing, not only for the four months we'll be in Micronesia, but for the other eight months as well.

Next. . .

Dear Friends,

 After a long time of thinking, talking, and planning, our future ministry has “suddenly” come to a public reality.  I, HM, have had a long relationship with Liebenzell Mission USA, and Pacific Islands University, a college on Guam founded through Liebenzell Mission.  Out of those relationships, a role that fits our abilities, gifts, and interests and that meets a critical need in furthering the progress of the Gospel, is emerging.  Our Pastor, Doug Williams is encouraging us to move ahead with these plans.

It has been said that “Everything rises or falls based on

James Plueddemann, Effective Ministry and Mission
in the Global Church 

leadership.”   We are seeking to leverage the experience we have gained in over four decades of service in Christ’s Church to help raise up, and assist leaders who will labor in pre-evangelism, evangelism, planting and nurturing churches, and repeat leadership development.  Two broad areas of our ministry are taking shape.

January 1, 2016, we will become missionaries with LMUSA.  Four months of the year we will be assigned to serve with Pacific IslandsUniversity.  Howard will be the Director of the Palauan Teaching Facility of PIU.  PIU’s campus is located on Guam.  The core of our ministry is providing Christian Higher Education to the people of Micronesia.  One of our core values is making this education as accessible as possible to the people of Micronesia.  With that in mind we have operated Teaching Facilities in Yap, Chuuk, and Palau.  If you think of the way Community Colleges are related to State Universities, and then reduce that to a micro-scale, you have the right idea.  Howard will teach some courses, coordinate with visiting teachers, and assist students with online classes.  Some of these students will go on to graduate from one of PIU’s programs.  All of them will receive training to be more effective leaders in their church, and community.  The Palauan Evangelical Church, which has a close relationship with PIU, is currently preparing missionaries to serve on the Island of Papua, Indonesia.  This is illustrative of the potential.  In addition our efforts will make PIU a healthier institution, benefiting all of Micronesia, a region where leaders with a solid Christian worldview are desperately needed.

Click on the picture to find out where Micronesia and Palau are.

This aspect of our leadership development will require us—really tough—to live in Palau for four (winter) months/year.   For these months Howard will be on a full-time schedule.  Kathy will use her gifts and abilities in hospitality, music, teaching, and encouragement to good effect.

The second part of our leadership development will be “assistant to the director of Liebenzell Mission USA.”  Our motto is “Live Ready” (Eph. 6:15).  In this role we will be assisting missionary recruits and their sending churches, working in a pastoral role with existing missionaries, and in other ways seeking to help world-changers push back the boundaries of darkness.  For the eight months that this is our focus, we will be on a part-time status.  While this aspect of our ministry will involve some travel, we plan to keep our home in Covington and work from here.

Part of our income is coming from Social Security, but we are seeking supporters to partner with us in this venture.  We are  currently working on a budget.  We would love to talk to you about what the Lord is doing in our lives and what we believe he will do through us.

I have worked really hard to keep this description of what we will be doing to one page.  If instead of writing about what I know, I had writen about what we don’t yet know it would have extended to ten pages or more.  Pray for us, and join us in Praising our Great God for the opportunities He is placing before us.

We would love to hear from you about this new chapter in our adventure.

H&K

New Chapter:

A couple of weeks ago we received permission to make the following announcement.  Our Pastor, Doug Williams, read it at the morning services of Covington Bible Church:

Kathy and Howard Merrell are applying to be missionaries with Leibenzell Mission USA.  As such, Howard

will become a part-time employee of LMUSA.  He will serve in two roles:

1.     Teacher and Director of the Palauan extension of Pacific Islands University.  This will require residence in Palau for about four months per year.

2.     Assistant to the Director of Global Outreach, Liebenzell Mission USA.  While this ministry will require periodic travel the Merrells will maintain their home in Covington, working from there the other eight months of the year.

Kathy will assist Howard in this ministry, and will use her gifts and abilities in serving both in Palau and here at home.
Upon approval as missionaries with LMUSA, and under the direction and authority of Covington Bible Church, the Merrells will be seeking a support team to pray for them in this endeavor and to underwrite the expenses of this ministry. 

We have been working on this for some time, now.
In fulfilling this role I am expecting to travel to Guam and Palau for a short trip this fall, and then Kathy and I will be moving to Palau for January - April.

Stay tuned.

http://mission.liebenzellusa.org/

Pictures from last days, not The Last Days. :)

A few pictures for our last days here.  I may comment later.

Finishing up:

The last few days have been a switch in focus for Kathy and me.
Billy Edwin, the staff member, here, who is holding things together as far as maintenance decided to take me up on my offer to help.  A bathroom vanity in one of the units used by staff had basically disintegrated--chipboard doesn't fare well in this climate.  We salvaged the front of the unit, oak, and I was able to make the sides bottom, etc. out of some material that was on hand.  When we were getting ready to install the vanity we checked out a plumbing problem.  The cold water hadn't been working in the bathroom sink.  A bit of backtracking & I found that a pipe had been broken off in the past & just capped off.  Why?  I have no idea.  Anyhow, we got that fixed.
After getting the bathroom operational, I looked into a four tube fluorescent fixture that worked intermittently, and never worked right.  With some help via the internet and a couple trips to Home Depot we were able to get it converted from using T12 tubes to T8--more efficient.  It works great now.  The lady of the house was pleased.
We also tracked down an issue with an outlet.  Mostly looking, figuring, checking, isolating.  We tracked down the issue and got it operational.

We have three units on campus that are converted cargo containers.  That is pretty common here, since they are typhoon rated.  The oldest is used for housing for ladies.  Kathy has been up to her eyeballs in swamping out, cleaning and painting there.  Tonight we head to the baccalaureate service.  Tomorrow we help set up for graduation and attend that ceremony.

I gave my class their final today, and attended a faculty meeting.

We fly on Monday.    

Theo 200 class.  The smiles are probably because they are done.  I hope they all passed.

Front,:Robert Choi, Yumiko Linny, Mary Jane Edwin, Back:  Lian Stae, Jordan Charley, Jordan Darrow--at first I called them Jordan with a hat and Jordan without a hat, but then Jordan without a hat started wearing one--a Yankees' hat, no less--me, Cedric Hollowell, and Jele' (Jele' is only part of his first name)  Binejal.  1st languages in the group.  Chuukese, Korean, Marshallese, Pohnpeian, Palauan, & English.

I'll miss you guys! 

Shopping and decorating for Jesus--hard work, but Kathy did it well.

Shopping for Jesus.
That's been part of Kathy's ministry while she has been here at PIU on Guam.
Liebenzell Germany has sectioned off part of a house they own, here on campus, to be a guest apartment for visiting personnel--primarily teachers.  They provided most of the resources for the project.  Kathy and Joyce Owen, the President's wife, and staff member here, had the task of doing all the finishing up.  Which included a lot of shopping.  :)
The unit is fully furnished with a complete kitchen.  The new cabinets and appliances were here before we arrived.  Joyce and Kathy, scrounged, visited thrift shops and other stores to get it outfitted.  A very important piece of equipment--a coffee-maker was donated.  A lady won it as a prize & didn't need it.

As those of you who know me, Howard, know, when it comes to decorating, I have no opinion.  I do like the end result, though.


There is one more room in the apartment.  It has a desk shelves & futon.  It still had some extra stuff in it on the day we took pictures.  Anyhow.  We'll be here for another week.  If you come for a visit you can sleep on the futon.


 Kathy & I enjoyed having a group of students over for a snack and Bible study.

Here, the table is set, ready for guests.

Jele', on the left, is a student in my class.  His wife, Kaki is a counselor and is on staff at PIU.  Jele' has pastored in the Marshall Islands for about twenty years, but had no formal training.  While he is a student he is pastoring a Marshallese church here on Guam.  We enjoyed an evening with them, in our temporary home.

Like much that Kathy has done, her work will be a blessing to many who come after her.

Thanks for enabling us to serve the Lord here for these weeks.