PRAYER UPDATE #4

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Dear Partners in Ministry, We have been in Palau over a month.  I have shared information on our blog and through other media, but figure it is time to share a more formal update.  So, here goes. Clearly, Kathy and I have failed in one of the prime requirements for being a missionary—we haven’t taken very many pictures.  I will include a couple out of the few that we have taken. We are here working with three entities.  Liebenzell Mission did the pioneer work in Palau.  They brought the Gospel here from Germany in the early Twentieth Century.  The group of churches they established is known collectively as the Palau Evangelical Church.  LM and PEC were part of the founding group of what is today Pacific Islands University.  PIU has a very small extension located on the campus of Palau Community College.  That is where my primary responsibility lies. I am teaching two entry level courses:  New Testament Survey and Introduction to Christian Doctrine.  I have two students officially enrolled in my NT class and two or three more who are studying along with us, though not for college credit.  There are three students, all fully enrolled, in the Theology class.  I have class fromMonday-Thursday, 5:00-6:30.  Here is a big prayer request.  Most of the students in the classes have direct input into the lives of young people.  I was really encouraged this afternoon.  Alex is one of my non-credit students.  Last week we covered the Gospel of Luke.  I told the class that one unique feature of Luke is his emphasis on people that were often ignored or put down.  The Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:30-37, is one example.  Alex taught a group of teens last weekend.  The lesson was the Good Samaritan and how they should not look down on others.  We heard a similar example last night as we had ice cream with another of our students.  Pray that this kind of “from me to others, to others”ministry will continue.  I hope for a bit more reflection and making it “my own” in the future, but it is a good start. Classes are going well.  I have also had opportunity to preach.  The Lord is using us to encourage other missionaries, and we are praying that Kathy can build some meaningful relationships and find opportunities for ministry.  We have some hope in that regard. We are healthy.  Kathy walks daily, and I’m biking.  We have a comfortable apartment and car to drive.  God is good. A little less than a month from now we will go to Guam for the PIU Board meeting and the schools 40/25 year anniversary celebration.  The school was founded forty years ago, and has been in Guam for twenty-five years.  Our Spring Break at PIU-Palau corresponds with these events. We are always glad to hear from you.  Our email addresses arekmusiq@gmail.com and hmerrell@piu.edu.  You can send postal mail, from the US, here at the domestic rates.  Our address is H&K Merrell / co P.I.B.C / PO Box 10065 / Koror Palau 96940. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and support.                             The picture on the left is one of our neighbors.  We can see a harbor from our porch, where several sailboats are anchored.  The picture on the right is a fortification left over from WW2.  Kathy walks past it on her daily route. Again, thank you.  Stay in touch.

A celebration, and a step ahead:

Many of you are aware that Kathy and I are serving with Pacific Islands University's extension in Palau. I also serve on the board of Trustees of the school. In March, at our main campus in Guam, PIU celebrates two anniversaries, our fortieth year of providing Christian education in Micronesia, and our twenty-five years of having our main campus on Guam. Part of our celebration is a fund-raising banquet. Most of my friends and family can't attend, because of the distance. It's a long way! Some of you, though, might like to join Kathy and me in this fund raising project. If you are interested let me know, I'll be glad to tell you more.

Anniversary Celebration

Teamwork: The Superbowl and stuff that matters;

We had some friends/colleagues over to watch the Superbowl this morning.  It was a good time—good game, good breakfast, better fellowship. 

Class went well this evening.  The questions from the students indicate that what we are doing needs to be done.  Pray that we can get the right traction, with the right people at the right time.

In this regard, what we are doing now is no different than any of the ministry that we have ever done.  In the same way that Peyton couldn’t do it by himself, we can’t do it by ourselves.  Obviously, unless God is in this we are like rattling gravel in a tin can, but below that there is the necessary teamwork of people.  God’s work is always like that.  God worked through a Nation in the Old-Testament.  In the New, He has called out a group from every nation.  Most of us match the description of the batch of believers that the Holy Spirit empowered in Corinth—“. . . there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;” who were called,” but “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.”  I know I match up with the first part, I’m praying that God will do the later.  As just folk—impressively ordinary folk—line up to do God’s will, God does extraordinary things through them.

God Working Through Us:

We just received a report of the gifts of those who are partnering with us in this venture.  We are very

thankful, and greatly humbled.  I (hm) just finished teaching a class in which we looked at God’s transcendence and His immanence.  We look for those great, glorious, miraculous acts of God in which He shows Himself to be above and beyond us.  One of our students, a staff member in the Palauan Evangelical Church, just shared a praise-note that probably qualifies for one of those acts. Often, though, God shows us that He is down here among us working in everyday, dare I say, mundane ways.  We ought not to discount that.  We don’t.  As we read through the list of those who are partnering with us in this venture we can see the finger-prints of God.  As we are faithful God works through us. 

We believe that we are where God wants us to be right now.  We are seeing opportunities.  We are seeking to be faithful.  We are thankful for those who are faithful with us.

Not only is God great; He does great things through us.

H&K

Getting wind in the sails of missionary candidates.

Here is an article I wrote published in this month's  Live Ready eNews, a publication of Liebenzell Mission USA.
http://liebenzellmission.org/getting-wind-in-the-sails-tips-for-sending-out-missionaries/