Many of you have heard about Typhoon Mawar and the devastation it wrought on the US Territory of Guam. Knowing that Kathy and I lived on Guam and served at Pacific Islands University some of you have asked how the massive storm impacted the school.

The short answer is, "Badly!"

The PIU campus was damaged. 

• One classroom (classroom 2) is now roofless. While it is too soon to know about everything, it looks like all the contents of C2 are ruined. 
  Essential wifi-related cables were in that ceiling.
• An adjacent classroom (C1b) has a hole in the roof, caused by the tearing away of the C2 roof. 
• The same thing happened to the roof of the Men's Dorm, which is on the other side of C2.
• One of the fastest-growing lifeforms on Guam is mold. With things wet from Mawar exposed to periodic showers, and with no electricity for power drying aids like AC and/or fans, the mold has free reign. 
• Trees and other vegetation were destroyed or damaged. 
• You can get an idea of the power of the storm by looking at the name of the school on the campus
  pavilion--in many ways the heart of the campus. (picture below) One of the last things Kathy did on campus in the Spring of 2021 was to paint that lettering. It remained nice and bold until Mawar's pressure-washer-like wind and rain descended.
• More than anything else, the people who make up PIU have been, and continue to be, drastically impacted.
  More below:
  

I just received an email from one resident of Guam. "Exactly one week ago we lost power and still do not have power. 26% of Guam has electricity now and 51% have water." Last night I tried to communicate with several friends and colleagues there (that's morning for them). I was unsuccessful on all but one attempt. One person responded by text, "My connection is bad." (Though to tell you the truth, I'm not sure whether that was a response to last night's attempt or a previous one. With the other attempts, I got "no service" indicators. One friend was able to call back. I'm glad that before our call was cut off I was able to hear that she is fine.
I have heard of waits of up to 8 hours in gas lines. Many churches are unable to meet.

One staff member I talked to, a couple of days ago--our call was interrupted 3 times--told me his parents' house was destroyed down to the foundation. Mom and dad are living with my friend's family in the apartment on campus where Kathy and I lived the last year we were there.
Though I'm half a world away, I sense that weariness has set in. The task is huge.

PIU in particular has been in a precarious situation for some time. Obviously, the location of the school,

Post-Mawar kitchen

while optimal for serving the Micronesian communities, is in a place where Typhoons are fairly common. Mawar was more powerful than most, but the threat of a "big one" was always there. The metal roof on the main building had withstood several storms. We all knew, however, that it was vulnerable. That's why we always moved the residents of that building to more secure locations when storms came. The residents of the Men's dorm camped out in the concrete-roofed library during Mawar.
For the history of the school--certainly, while Kathy and I served there--PIU has done a lot with a little. Anyone, with any common sense at all, even from thousands of miles away can look at the "lot that needs to be done" and see that the "little we have" won't cut it.

I'm waiting for further word from the current leadership of the school. I'll pass on more information when I have it. 

In the meantime here is what you can do:

1. By all means, PRAY.
   

• You can see much to pray about from the pictures and descriptions above.
• In particular, pray for President Iotaka Choram, Vice President Delight Suda, and Board Chair, Cita Tomada. Important decisions are being made.
• Pray for those young men who were moved from dorm to library, to, I'm not sure where. I just heard that the mold forced them to vacate the dorm again.
• Other students who are likewise wondering, "What's next?"
• The mom and dad I spoke of, are representative of many who don't have homes right now.
• Pray that resources for repair and rebuilding will be available.
• Pray for the spirits of those impacted. They need strength, endurance, and courage.

      2.  You can Give.

Liebenzell Mission USA has a long relationship with Pacific Islands University. A fund exists at LMUSA, https://liebenzellmission.org/give/piu/, for gifts to PIU. You may choose to await further information, I understand. We'll pass it on ASAP. Or knowing already that the need will be great, you may choose to give now. Either way, or both, you can use this link, 

https://liebenzellmission.org/give/piu/, to make your tax deductable gifts to this fund for PIU. If you choose, you can send a check--inlcude a note indicating it is for the PIU Fund--to LMUSA, PO Box 66, Schooleys Mountain, NJ 07870.

Thank you,

Howard Merrell

Privileged to have served at PIU for 4.5 years. 

 

May 2023 Prayer Letter

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

Dear Partners,

In an effort to stay on the road, Kathy and I recently cheated. We used two vehicles. We have been seeking to help a loved one whose spouse has a serious medical condition. Kathy has been going to this loved one’s house—three hours away—every four to six weeks to help out. I go sometimes. Last week we left after the morning service at Woodland Church, where I am interim, and drove there, me in the truck and Kathy in the car. She returned to Covington on Tuesday in order to teach in ladies’ group on Wednesday (two sessions) and teach her three piano students. Then she went from Covington to Rockhill SC to look after our youngest grandchild, Ava, while Tanisha was in Ghana helping to run a missions conference and Chad was in Louisiana speaking at a men’s retreat. Meanwhile, I left from the loved one’s home and traveled to LMUSA Head Quarters in New Jersey, to work on a project with Mike Branch, Global Ministries Director, and take part in the Board meeting. Kathy got back home Saturday afternoon. I arrived late that night. The next morning, we got to ride together, 😊, as we went back to Woodland.

We thank the Lord for good health. We are keeping busy.

Specifically in regard to our missions work, we continue to offer pastoral care to our missionaries. Some of you are very much involved in the missionary program of your church. Here are some numbers and facts that should be of interest to you.

·       A “big” sister mission, OMF, did research “. . . data from 11 missionary organizations . . . between 2016 and 2018, these organizations sent 1014 new missionaries to the field and saw 974 of their missionaries leave . . ..” (https://omf.org/us/missionaries-get-lonely-too-its-contributing-to-missionary-attrition/) That’s barely more than holding our own while the world grows exponentially.

·        “[I]t is estimated that 1 career missionary in 20 . . . leaves the mission field . . . every year. . .  71% leave for preventable reasons.” (“Research and Data on Missionary Attrition Worldwide,” here)

·       This preventable attrition is pronounced during the first term of missionary service.

Not to overload you with web addresses, but to demonstrate that this isn’t just coming from my gut, I’ll link one more article. BTW, my gut agrees. One of the leading reasons for leaving the field that this article presents is “lack of missionary care.” It would seem that this lack is most pronounced in small agencies, like LMUSA.

Here is a place where what we should do coincides with what is useful. Yes, we at LMUSA would like to address the missionary attrition issue, but, more so, we want to simply care for the missionaries who serve with us. They are people, bearers of the image of God, and they are servants of our Lord. They deserve to be treated as such.

It’s not rocket science:

·       We try to pray for our missionaries and let them know they are being prayed for.

·       We want each missionary to get a happy birthday/anniversary greeting, and we want each missionary child to receive a birthday gift.

·       We want to work with supporting churches to explore ways to leverage church-based missionary care.

·       LMUSA is small enough that I (HM) have a place at the table. My boss, Global Ministries Director, Mike Branch is totally behind efforts to provide better missionary care.

·       Likely some travel to places where missionaries do their work is in my/our future.

·       Mike Branch and I are working on our onboarding process. We want to work with missionary candidates in such a way that we maximize their opportunity for success. We want them to survive, but more, we want them to thrive.

It has been said that concerning the Great Commission the child of God can be either a goer, a sender, or a disobeyer. Somewhere between the goer and sender there is a place for the missionary-carer. We are trying to fit in that gap.

Personally, to you:

Thank you so much for your prayer and financial support. While Kathy and I don’t draw a salary, your support covers our ministry expenses.

Kathy and I have a fairly unique experience base when it comes to missions. I was pastor of a small church that had/has a substantial global impact. We were also missionaries in Palau and then Guam for about five years. We have also been guests in the homes of several missionary families around the world. We would love to use what God has entrusted to us in missionary conferences, and other opportunities to promote Great Commission ministry in general.

As part of the recent Board Meeting Steven and Gwen Anderson (seated) were received as missionaries with LMUSA. They are planning to serve with Kathy and Kevin Bruce, among the Awa in Ecuador.

 

We’ll be in Texas with our son, Chris, and his family for the next two weeks. We’ll still be on the grid, however, and, we’d love to hear from you.

By His Grace,

Howard and Kathy

covbchm@gmail.com