September 2, 2017
Dear, Friend,
I thought that in this report, I’d tell you about some of the dangers and hardships that we face as missionaries.
- Like carrying water that collects in a bucket and taking a sponge bath.
- Or having a yard is full of animals, and just a few yards away, creatures that live to kill.
- Or beginning our day with a three mile
trek through a nearly impenetrable jungle.
- Or living under constant threat.
- The other day there was a flood. Fortunately, though water was close to our door, our home was not flooded. I did have to remove my shoes and socks and wade water to get into my car.
- In addition to all of that, I’m being persecuted by government bureaucrats.
All of those things are completely true, sort of.
I did take a bath out of a bucket, but it was only because Alex Tavarez, a missionary partner, and I were working on some plumbing. We needed to wait for the glue to cure before we turned the water back on, and I needed to get ready for a meeting.
 There must be a million geckos in our yard. Dani Tavarez and I have spotted a monitor lizard. I’d say he’s about twenty inches long. It was obvious that he didn’t want anything to do with me. We do walk about three miles most mornings. It’s our regular exercise. An abandoned road not far from here is a popular place to walk or jog (see here, http://sttaspots.blogspot.com/2017/08/you-can-tell-lot-by-how-someone-walks.html, for some people-watching observations). The wild things are “boony-chickens,” just like the chickens your grandma keeps except these live on their own. The killers next door are roosters raised for the fighting ring. It’s legal on Guam. The constant threat is seen by most as little more than a joke. I haven’t observed anyone change their routine because of Mr. Kim’s bluster. When it rains heavily, the low spot in our yard floods. The car was surrounded. Our apartment was never in danger. Persecution? I was helping a friend who needed a transcript sent to a Seminary in another nation. It had to be aposealed, and red-ribboned--half a day, two governments, four offices in two locations. It’s in the mail. I  grew up on stories of missionaries in pith helmets who rode in dugout canoes, and ate things that caused those who heard their stories to go, “Yuck!” Me? The only problem with my diet is too much good food. Still, we do face difficulties.
- We are trying to operate PIU with few resources and no clear way to expand that supply.
- Many of our students come to us with poor educational backgrounds.
 While our students come from families that are very close and supportive, they often do not see education as a high priority.
- We are partnering with churches that are seeking to lead people through the transition from a pre-modern world, into the rapidly changing Twenty-first Century. That is hard enough in the West where we have had a gradual build-up to the way things are today. On the one hand, there is a sweetness and innocence about the young adults with whom we work. On the other hand that is accompanied by a vulnerability. We are aware that what happens in the lives of these Millennials may impact this region for the next hundred years. We want to help them get it right.
You don’t spot a missionary by their clothes, house, or car (By the way, ours is “island casual,” a nice little apartment, and a twelve year oldFord Focus that does quite well).
Missionaries are folk who “have been called by God to a full-time ministry of the Word and prayer (Acts 6:4), and who have crossed geographical and/or cultural boundaries (Acts 22:21) to preach the gospel in those areas of the world where Jesus Christ is largely, if not entirely unknown (Rom. 15:20)” (Herbert Kane, missiologist).
Kevin DeYoung expands that definition. Looking at the missionaries who went out from Antioch (Acts 13), he sees a “three-legged stool” of missionary work, “New converts . . . (Acts14:21), new communities . . . (v. 23), and nurtured churches – ‘strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith’ (v. 22).” So:
A missionary is one who has been called by God to a full-time ministry of the Word and prayer, and who has crossed geographical and/or cultural boundaries to preach the gospel in those areas of the world where Jesus Christ is largely
, if not entirely unknown, and/or one who crosses those same boundaries to disciple converts and help provide the resources necessary for the gains achieved through evangelism to become a sustainable movement—
disciples who disciple others and churches that plant other churches.
It is within that addition to Kane’s definition that Kathy and I work.Specifically we are seeking to raise up capable workers and leaders who will lead the church into the future. Thank you for partnering with us.
- We are well.
- At work, at home, at our Guam church, and across the ocean, we are surrounded by people who love us, and encourage us.
- It has been said that some teachers teach classes and others teach people. We go beyond that. We seek to change lives.
- We took three days off to celebrate our 45th anniversary, August 12, Mr. Kim caused a minor interruption, but not bad(http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2017/august/guams-christians-respond-to-north-koreas-threats-in-a-powerful-way).
- We praise the Lord that we came through the recent financially difficult time. We aren’t out of the woods, yet. We currently have sixty-four students.
Please pray with us:
- Student recruitment. Pray that we can get traction.
- Our new LMUSA missionary partners, the Tavarezes, are a breath of fresh air. Pray that they don’t get over-committed.
- Some of the students we work with have serious issues. If we don’t succeed with them, their options are very limited. Pray for wisdom.
- In the small group that Kathy and I attend we have been working through “Becoming a Contagious Christian.” Pray that we will have evangelistic opportunities.
- I (HM) just taught my first class session of Survey of Christian Doctrine. Pray for me and the other teachers.
- Dave Owen just began a new round of chemo-therapy, following the recurrence of his T-cell Lymphoma. Dr.s are hoping to do a bone marrow harvest for a possible transplant, later on. He and his wife, Joyce, are still in California. Please pray for them.
- Tuesday, I'm privileged to speak in Chapel. I'll talk about how we are on a mission from
 God. We'll have some fun along the way. After all, one of the chase scenes in The Blues Brotherswas filmed in a shopping center where Kathy and I shopped as teens. My main intent, though, is totally serious. Please pray that students and staff will accept the challenge.
Speaking of challenge: Be watching for a communication about Coffee with the President (or some such title). I'll be looking for a group of people around the world who will join me, donating the price of a couple cups of coffee each month to help us move forward with our mission. I'm praying that 999 others will join me. I'm looking to folk like you to help me reach out to a broader audience. Be praying.
Thank you for partnering with us.
Drop us a line or call us. We always enjoy hearing from you.
By His Grace,
Kathy and Howard Merrell,
Howard and Kathy Merrell
c/o PIU
172 Kinney’s Road
Mangilao, GU 96913
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