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.