Introducing colleagues who are making a difference in a needy place. They are worthy of your support.

 Those of you who follow this blog, keep up with us via email, or through other means know that Kathy and I are no longer in the Pacific.  Part of our heart is still there, though. In our new role of helping the Liebenzell USA missionary family, we still have a vicarious function among the people of Micronesia. Seeing the pictures in Gary and Dot Houde's email touched my heart.

It was our privilege to work with Dot and Gary while we were serving at Pacific Islands University (PIU). In mid-life Gary and Dot left careers in the public-utility field and in education and prepared themselves to make a difference among people who needed an opportunity for Bible-based higher education. While they were in the preparation phase, they met Dr. Dave Owen, the third president of PIU (it was the sickness that led to his death that brought me to Guam). Dave recruited them for the work at PIU. The caring, humble spirit of the Houdes makes them a good match for working with the Micronesian people that PIU serves.

A few facts are in order:

• "Micronesia" means little islands. If you fly from Hawaii to the Philippines, you will pass over Micronesia. These tiny islands are spread over an area on the globe about the same size as the continental United States. yet the combined land mass is smaller than that of Rhode Island. 
• Guam, where Pacific Islands University is currently located, is the largest of these Islands. It and the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI), just North of Guam, are under US control.
• The population of the region is just over half-a-million. Close to half of that population live on Guam or in CNMI. 
• In my four+ years of working at PIU we worked with students from three of the four states of The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Palau, The Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), and CNMI.
• Chuuk, is the largest of the four states that make up FSM. The Chuukese are the largest of the people groups of Micronesia.
• PIU started on one of the islands of Chuuk. The campus that was the home of PIU is currently the home of Faithwalk Christian College, a non-accredited institution.
• The current leadership of PIU has a goal of re-establishing a presence in Chuuk. This is the goal behind much of what you read in the Houde's letter.

I realize that the above is complicated. In many ways the complication is due to the fact that this region, in the last four hundred years, was colonized by, often exploited, dominated, and fought over by the  Spanish, Germans, Japanese, and the United States. Currently, the Chinese are seeking to gain a foothold there. Here is an article that gives further information.

Micronesia, and the Micronesian communities that live in various places in the US are in great need of trained Christian leaders. The Houde's letter talks about that. I believe that PIU is an institution that God raised up to help this need. Gary and Dot are God's people using what God has given them to help meet this need. They are a good Great Commission investment.

I encourage you to read the Houde's latest letter, communicate with them, or feel free to communicate with me about them. The Houdes have a donation portal on the LMUSA website. Click here. I am praying that churches and individuals will partner with the Houdes to make a difference in this too often neglected part of the world. Let me know how I can help.

By His Grace,

HM

Our November 2022, Prayer/News Letter

Howard & Kathy Merrell, caring for those who are reaching.  

Dear Partners,

One of the words of advice that I give to young preachers is to “never start with an apology.” I’m going to contradict my advice as I start this letter.

I have been very negligent in communicating with you who are partnering with us in prayer and support. I’m sorry.

Let me see if I can make up for my sorriness and bring you up to date on what is going on with the Merrells and this next phase of our ministry.

First: What have we been up to? We returned from Guam in May of 2021. Our ministry there was busy and full of challenges. Among other tasks was leading the school through the process that led to the renewal of PIU’s accreditation and managing all of the demands that came with COVID 19. I figured I was going to need some decompression time. Thus, a year and half project of rebuilding a vintage travel trailer. If you are interested in the project, check it out at https://68frolic.blogspot.com/. The more recent posts are about the big trip Kathy and I took in celebration of our 50th Anniversary. The earlier posts are about the trailer transformation.

As far as our member care ministry: I’ve been working with Mike Branch, LMUSA Global Ministries Director in maintaining regular communication with missionaries, including a monthly Zoom meeting with any of the missionary family who choose to join us. I’m working to get in a groove of reaching out to our missionaries and especially their kids, on birthdays and other special occasions. I continue to work with the LMUSA Board. One of my goals is to expand our internet-based connection as a means of encouraging missionaries. I, or we, will probably do some traveling to meet with our missionaries where they minister. I would also like to minister in churches, especially churches associated with LMUSA, but not limited to those. Missions is fundamentally the work of the local church. Helping churches have a heart for missions and a soft spot in their hearts for missionaries is something we want to do. Contact us if we can help. We don’t draw a salary from LMUSA. Any funds in our mission account will pay for travel expenses, gifts for LMUSA Missionary Kids, etc. I’ll let you know when a trip is being planned. You can get in touch with us with any questions you have about partnering with us financially in this member care ministry.

Howard & Kathy Merrell, caring for those who are reaching.

Other ministry: Our work with Liebenzell is a part-time endeavor. In addition to that we are involved in our local church in teaching, music, and occasional preaching. I am currently involved in helping to fill the pulpit in a little church about 40 miles from Covington. We want this phase of our life to count for Christ. We appreciate you praying for us as the Lord brings us to your mind.

Nuts and bolts: You can call us at (540) 620-7077, Kathy; or (540) 620-8429, Howard. We get our email at covbchm@gmail.com, Howard; and Kathy at kmusiq@gmail.com. Our postal address is 2106 S Carpenter Drive, Covington VA 24426. You can make online donations to our fund at https://liebenzellmission.org/give/merrell/.

Thanks for your interest in our ministry and the work of the Lord around the world. We’d love to hear from you.

June 2022, A New Ministry Reaching Out By Helping Those Who Reach

 Play a bit of Jeopardy with me for a moment.

Here is the answer: $300,000 +.

No, It’s not “What is the cost of a new house.”
Nor, “What does the average professional athlete pay for a sports car?”
It has nothing to do with medical bills.
The question is: “What does it cost for a major corporation to place a higher level employee in an overseas location?” The answer according to a survey of half-a-dozen international corporations is, more than $300K. Let’s suppose that this claim is double the real cost. Still, I find it jaw-dropping to consider the upfront costs of placing a qualified person in an expat situation.

Why should I care? Why do I even bring it up?

It’s because mission agencies place well qualified people in expat situations all the time. Even though we do it much more economically than IBM or Exxon, it is still a huge investment that should be protected.

Let’s take this a step further:

Missionaries aren’t projects or mere investments. They are people created in God’s image, servants of the King sent as ambassadors to needy and, yes, sometimes dangerous places, where they can have a profound impact for time and eternity. They are people who fit in the same category as Epaphroditus. Take time to meet him in Philippians 2:25-30; it’s worth the brief trip. They are people who should be “honored.” As another passage put it—the application is mine—these are people “of whom the world is not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38)

So what does this have to do with a retired ministry couple named Kathy and Howard? Folk like this deserve to be cared for. Caring for them makes sense in regard to the importance of pursuing Great Commission ministry. The life that Kathy and I have lived gives us a wealth of experience from which to draw in reaching out to this worthy group of people. We can do that. We won’t be missionaries, at least not in the usual meaning of the word, but we will be helping the missionaries of LMUSA hang in there in the work to which the Lord has called them

I have taken on a part-time role as “Member-Care Associate” with Liebenzell Mission USA, the mission with we served at Pacific Islands University. Here are a few particulars:

·         We aren’t seeking support for our living expenses, though we have an account with LMUSA that will cover ministry related traveling expenses, etc. If you want to help us with that, we can talk.

·         We very much appreciate your prayers. Like real missionaries we’ll be sending out periodic updates on our work. If you would like to be a part of our mailing list, either email or postal, let us know.

·         We hope to promote a culture of caring for missionaries. We’d be glad to talk to you, or the leaders in your church, about missions and/or caring for missionaries. We are open to ministering in various venues.

Perhaps you have questions or thoughts about what we are doing. If so, please send us a note. Our old PIU email addresses don’t work anymore.  HM’s address is covbchm@gmail.com  or hmerrell@liebenzellusa.org. Kathy’s is kmusiq@gmail.com. We are putting together a new mailing list. If you want to receive our updates, drop us a line.

By His Grace,

H&K Merrell
Helping to reach others by helping those who reach