Equipment needs:

One of the issues we are dealing with, here in our Teaching Facility (Extension) is seriously old, worn-out equipment.  If somebody knows where we can get a computer, that would be great.  Write me at hmerrell@piu.edu.

Mailing address:

Howard & Kathy  Merrell
c/o P.I.B.C
PO Box 10065
Koror Palau 96940

It is in the US Postal system.

Why are we here?

My younger son has changed careers more frequently than many of us change shoes.  I don’t mean to say that he is flighty or irresponsible.  All of what he has done can be filed under the same heading—Serving the Lord – Making a difference for Jesus!  Under that heading, though, there has been pastor, youth pastor, driveway-sealer-applicator, janitor, missionary, student, and Great Commission-people-mobilizer.  From the perspective of a guy who spent all his career pastoring the same church that’s a lot of movement.  A few jobs ago my son was in a position in another country.  It was one of those situations in which if he said, “I’m coming here to do ‘X.’” the country wouldn’t let him in.  So, he decided to do “Y,” and he really did “Y,” but the reason for doing it was so he would have an opportunity to do “X.”  “X,” of course is telling people about Jesus.  Chris has learned a lot about combining X and Y since then, and he’d love to talk to you about it.  Let me know and I’ll put you in touch with him. 

To get back to my point, back when Chris was in that former position, I used to refer to the job that gave him standing in the country where he was serving as his “front business.”  He preferred the term, “platform.”  Here in the part of the mission-field (There is an old term we don’t see much anymore) where I’m currently serving I don’t need a front, or a platform.  I am welcome to be here as a minister of the Gospel of Christ.  Officially I’m here to help run a tiny extension of a small Christian University.  Most of my time is consumed preparing for and teaching a couple of classes.  If it weren’t for one important fact, one could make the case that what I am doing is the most inefficient way of delivering Christian Education to this part of the world that one could imagine.  Somewhere there is a group of internet engineers, and venture capitalists, who have a plan that would lead to the opportunity for the people here where I am teaching to be able to tap into incredible college, university, and seminary programs.  Instead of a few students sitting across from me, those same students could be a part of a vast group, cyber-sitting in front of some incredible teacher, interacting with other incredibly bright students around the globe.  Instead, I sit in a room with a broken air-conditioner, preparing to teach students who will sit in the three chairs at the table in front of me.  Ask people about the part of the world where I am and they won’t get very far in their description before they tell you, “The internet is really slow, there.”  Yep.  It is really slow in those places where it works, and right now the place where I am isn’t one of them.  We are on a waiting list.  We hear stories of personnel being elsewhere and there being no equipment available to install. 

The one fact that makes it make sense for an old preacher to be here teaching a small group of people is this.  If I don’t do it, it won’t get done.  Don’t get the wrong idea.  I don’t have an over-inflated view of who I am.  I know that when I pull my foot out of the water I don’t leave a hole.  The fact remains, though, lots of the whizz-bang solutions that are working other places don’t work here—at least not right now—and I checked the line of those waiting to do what I’m doing.  No one else was queued up. 

So, Chris, go ahead and ask me, “Dad, what is your front business?” 

Thanks for asking.  My front business is I’m a teacher/administrator in the extension of a small college. 

But somebody else asks, “I thought you said you were welcome to be there as a missionary?  Why do you say that is your “front”?

It’s because of what happened last night.  It had nothing to do with my job description.  Kathy and I were doing our thing, when all of a sudden lives began to intersect.  A process of touching lives in a way that could last for eternity began, while we were doing something else.  My front is Christian Education.  My real reason for being here is Impact for Christ.  I think that is in line with that greatest of all missionary scriptures.  In Matthew 28:19-20 the main thrust of the passage is not going.  It is making disciples.  Wherever we are, and whatever our reason for being there, as God’s people, that is our primary task.  Likely, there is some part of that work that needs to be done, that for the here now, can only be done by you.

HM is here.

Very brief:

I'm here.  Drove our car, to our apartment.  Ready to go to bed here in Palau.  Kathy will be here in 1 week.

Already had company.  Steve and Anne Stinnette, fellow missionaries, stopped by.

I'll post updates in the next couple of days.

hm

Brief update on the Venture:

Kathy and I just had a Skype conversation with the Global Ministries Director, and CFO at our mission.  Great guys to work with.
Trying to keep track of where we are, in regard to our fund-raising has given me greater sympathy for economists.  It's not quite looking into a crystal-ball, but trying to balance verbal assurances of, "We are going to be part of your support team. . . ." with hard numbers that come from monthly reports, and then comparing that with estimates of needs, which are just that, estimates, involves a measure of art as well science.  I say that, because I need to leave some room to be wrong.  That being said, we praise the Lord, that through the kindness and sacrifice of many it appears that we have passed the 70% mark for funding for 2016.
As always, when we look at these reports we are humbled.  We see names and numbers and are aware of some of the burdens being carried by those represented there, and we feel unworthy of such support.  Thank you.

We continue to work the lists.
Lift-off is just a few days away.

I'm writing this on Christmas Eve.  Kathy is in the kitchen getting ready for company that will be arriving later.  Mannheim Steamroller is booming on the stereo.  Our "office" upstairs is piled full.  It's not the hiding place for Christmas presents.  It's the staging area for packing.  We have a couple of big suitcases to use for checked luggage, and we'll max out what we can carry on.   We have been making lists. Unlike Santa our goal is not to check them twice, but to check stuff off.  We are making progress. I leave on January 3.  The trip will take over two days, but 21 hours of that will be in Guam, so I'll be able to sleep at our friends and colleagues, the Owens' house, and likely do some business at the PIU main campus.  Kathy will leave exactly a week later--same schedule & layover.  She is remaining behind to play for a wedding and to give me an opportunity to do some setting up. Among our check-offs are these items for which we praise the Lord: The response to our fund-raising efforts has been very encouraging.  Over the past couple of weeks we have received gifts and/or words of commitment about gifts almost daily.  Our last calculations indicate that we are at about 60% of the need for 2016. This mailing list now has 120 email addresses.  I was hoping to have at least 100 people who would be praying for us.  Some of you just signed up.  To all of you, thanks. We have a place to live and a car to drive when we are in Palau. I just got word today that there are 3 students in the application pipeline.  Others are inquiring.  Keep praying 7. After consulting with our registrar, provost, and department head, the decision was made that I'll be teaching New Testament Survey and Introduction to Christian Doctrine in the classroom.  I think I have a schedule worked  out that will fit.  I'll publish it soon. At least part of the time that we are in Palau, a newly-wed couple will be house-sitting here in Covington. That's enough for now, except to ask prayer for three requests: Pray 7. Pray that we'll be a blessing. Pray that we'll get what we need to get done, done, before we go. Merry Christmas. Thank you, and thank the Lord. Howard (for Kathy, too.) You can find past prayer letters and other news about our mission venture at http://micronesianadventure.blogspot.com/   Our home address is: Howard & Kathy Merrell 2106 S. Carpenter Drive Covington VA 24426.  We'll be making arrangements to have our mail shipped in bulk every few weeks, so if you send us a snail-mail while we are in Palau, our response will really be snail-ish.  We aren't sure about the speed of our internet, but we will have some connection, so email will continue to be the best option.  Our covbchm@gmail.com and kmusiq@gmail.com, addresses should be just fine.  We are using my PIU address, hmerrell@piu.edu as our "official" missionary email address, while we are in Micronesia.  We'll let you know more about phone connection after we arrive. The contact information for our sending church, CBC is: Covington Bible Church 2140 S. Carpenter Drive Covington VA 24426 covbcsecretary@gmail.com, 540 965 4256 The address for Liebenzell Mission USA is: Liebenzell Mission PO Box 66 Schooley's Mountain NJ  07870 Donations can be sent to that address, or given online at http://liebenzellmission.org/give/.  If you want funds to go to our account designate them to Howard and Kathy Merrell.

Copyright © 2015 Covington Bible Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because of your interest in the ministry of Kathy & Howard Merrell. Our mailing address is: Covington Bible Church 2106 S. Carpenter Drive Covington, Va 24426 If you would like to be added to our email list, write hmerrell@piu.edu

Two weeks till wheels-up.

Two weeks from this Sunday, on January 3, I'll take off for Palau.  Because of some commitments she has, and in order to give me a chance to take care of some things there, Kathy will follow a week later.  Each of us will have a long layover in Guam.  We'll be able to spend the night with our friends, Dave and Joyce Owen.  That will certainly make our trip more pleasant.

We can't count chicks that haven't hatched yet, and we are told there are eggs yet to be laid, but based on some news that we just received, and the reasonable expectation of one good-sized egg hatching, it would appear that we have just over half of our 2016 mission-service budget covered.
We are very grateful for all of you who pray for and who partner financially with us.

I just talked to the young lady in Palau who is our receptionist, secretary, and all around handy-person.  She informed me of several potential students who are somewhere in the process of applying to take classes at PIU-Palau.  I have actually been in touch with a couple of interested persons.  Some of you have been praying 7 (explained here).  Keep praying with us.

Thank you, and Merry Christmas