Building relationships:

Ministry, wherever and whenever involves relationships.  You just can't reach people without reaching out to people.
We are getting close to being 3/4 of the way through this semester and our time in Palau,  We begin the journey back on April 29.
Just recently some new opportunities are beginning to appear.  We are getting better acquainted with our neighbors here in the apartment building/hotel on Malakal Island, Koror, Palau.  We were glad to welcome Vivianna, the wife/mom of the family, who just became an American citizen.  New openings are beginning to open up in our relationship with the Palauan Evangelical Church.  I'll be preaching in the English Fellowship at the Koror church this Sunday, Easter.  The two young ladies who are our students are leading a program a Emmaus High School, the boys school PEC operates.  Kathy is helping them with some music.  I'll tell the students about the opportunities at Pacific Islands University.  I'll also be sharing with the boys this Thursday in their last chapel service before their Easter break. One of the leaders in the church asked me about working with the church deacons.  These guys, most of whom have not had formal training, do a lot of the preaching, especially in the smaller churches.  We'll probably get together before we leave so we can make a plan for when I'm here in 2017.  The goal is to help them with communicate the Word of God more effectively.  Also, I'll probably be doing sort of a Theology-o-thon--a several hour overview of basic Theology--with a group of missionary trainees.

We knew that this term of service would be a building time.  Pray that we can find ways to bridge the gap during the eight months we are gone.  A short trip is not out of the question.  We are seeking to establish lines of communication that will continue.  We need prayer.

We are well.
Like the Apostle Paul, we can say "At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent."  (Philippians 4:18, NLT). Thanks much to our partners.

Privileged to be in His Service,
Howard & Kathy

PS:  I was going to upload some pictures, but the internet tonight is even slower than usual.

Spring Break, & some other news:

Last week was Spring Break here at PIU-Palau.  Since Howard serves as a volunteer, as far as Pacific Island University is concerned--thank you, partners--he is still able to serve as the chairman of the board of PIU.  Last week was our annual board meeting.  This year's meeting was scheduled in conjunction with the school's 40th/25th anniversary celebration.  The school began in 1976 and moved to Guam 25 years ago.  A week ago we were part of a fund-raising dinner, held at one of Guam's loveliest places, Two Lovers Point.  It along with the whole week were great.
Just before leaving Palau, I (hm) had given my students their midterm exams.  Everybody passed.  :)

We are well.
We just addressed thank-you cards to our partners.  Thanks to all of you who pray for us.

April 29 we'll be leaving Palau.  We'll stop in Guam for the PIU graduation.  May 2 we'll fly to the

US mainland.  We'll land in NE Louisiana, where we'll attend our granddaughter, Carrington's graduation.  We'll also make a trip over to Texas to see Chris & his family.  We are hoping to be home around May 15.

Here are a couple of praises & prayer requests:

• We are both healthy.  HM's cold or flu or whatever only lasted a couple of days.
• Kathy has a couple of possibilities for ministry.  Pray that opportunities materialize.
• HM is preaching on Easter Sunday at the English Fellowship of Koror Evangelical Church.
• We are working on building some long-term stability into our program here in Palau.  Several people and organizations have to come together.
• Shamira Ldesel (pronounced kind of like a french truck engine) is our office manager and one of the students in the classes HM is teaching.  Her little boy has asthma and has spent several days in the hospital.  Pray for Dillon.
• We praise the Lord that one of PIU's infrastructure projects is working well.  A couple of we board members and VP for Adminstration, Nino Pate' had our picture taken at the conclusion of a field trip to see the solar array on the roof of the library/dormitory building.  Our savings on electricity are enough to pay the loan for the project + leave us with a small surplus.

Thanks, all & thank the Lord,

H&K

PRAYER UPDATE #4

Welcome to H&K's mailing list. View this email in your browser

Dear Partners in Ministry, We have been in Palau over a month.  I have shared information on our blog and through other media, but figure it is time to share a more formal update.  So, here goes. Clearly, Kathy and I have failed in one of the prime requirements for being a missionary—we haven’t taken very many pictures.  I will include a couple out of the few that we have taken. We are here working with three entities.  Liebenzell Mission did the pioneer work in Palau.  They brought the Gospel here from Germany in the early Twentieth Century.  The group of churches they established is known collectively as the Palau Evangelical Church.  LM and PEC were part of the founding group of what is today Pacific Islands University.  PIU has a very small extension located on the campus of Palau Community College.  That is where my primary responsibility lies. I am teaching two entry level courses:  New Testament Survey and Introduction to Christian Doctrine.  I have two students officially enrolled in my NT class and two or three more who are studying along with us, though not for college credit.  There are three students, all fully enrolled, in the Theology class.  I have class fromMonday-Thursday, 5:00-6:30.  Here is a big prayer request.  Most of the students in the classes have direct input into the lives of young people.  I was really encouraged this afternoon.  Alex is one of my non-credit students.  Last week we covered the Gospel of Luke.  I told the class that one unique feature of Luke is his emphasis on people that were often ignored or put down.  The Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:30-37, is one example.  Alex taught a group of teens last weekend.  The lesson was the Good Samaritan and how they should not look down on others.  We heard a similar example last night as we had ice cream with another of our students.  Pray that this kind of “from me to others, to others”ministry will continue.  I hope for a bit more reflection and making it “my own” in the future, but it is a good start. Classes are going well.  I have also had opportunity to preach.  The Lord is using us to encourage other missionaries, and we are praying that Kathy can build some meaningful relationships and find opportunities for ministry.  We have some hope in that regard. We are healthy.  Kathy walks daily, and I’m biking.  We have a comfortable apartment and car to drive.  God is good. A little less than a month from now we will go to Guam for the PIU Board meeting and the schools 40/25 year anniversary celebration.  The school was founded forty years ago, and has been in Guam for twenty-five years.  Our Spring Break at PIU-Palau corresponds with these events. We are always glad to hear from you.  Our email addresses arekmusiq@gmail.com and hmerrell@piu.edu.  You can send postal mail, from the US, here at the domestic rates.  Our address is H&K Merrell / co P.I.B.C / PO Box 10065 / Koror Palau 96940. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and support.                             The picture on the left is one of our neighbors.  We can see a harbor from our porch, where several sailboats are anchored.  The picture on the right is a fortification left over from WW2.  Kathy walks past it on her daily route. Again, thank you.  Stay in touch.

A celebration, and a step ahead:

Many of you are aware that Kathy and I are serving with Pacific Islands University's extension in Palau. I also serve on the board of Trustees of the school. In March, at our main campus in Guam, PIU celebrates two anniversaries, our fortieth year of providing Christian education in Micronesia, and our twenty-five years of having our main campus on Guam. Part of our celebration is a fund-raising banquet. Most of my friends and family can't attend, because of the distance. It's a long way! Some of you, though, might like to join Kathy and me in this fund raising project. If you are interested let me know, I'll be glad to tell you more.

Anniversary Celebration

Teamwork: The Superbowl and stuff that matters;

We had some friends/colleagues over to watch the Superbowl this morning.  It was a good time—good game, good breakfast, better fellowship. 

Class went well this evening.  The questions from the students indicate that what we are doing needs to be done.  Pray that we can get the right traction, with the right people at the right time.

In this regard, what we are doing now is no different than any of the ministry that we have ever done.  In the same way that Peyton couldn’t do it by himself, we can’t do it by ourselves.  Obviously, unless God is in this we are like rattling gravel in a tin can, but below that there is the necessary teamwork of people.  God’s work is always like that.  God worked through a Nation in the Old-Testament.  In the New, He has called out a group from every nation.  Most of us match the description of the batch of believers that the Holy Spirit empowered in Corinth—“. . . there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;” who were called,” but “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.”  I know I match up with the first part, I’m praying that God will do the later.  As just folk—impressively ordinary folk—line up to do God’s will, God does extraordinary things through them.

God Working Through Us:

We just received a report of the gifts of those who are partnering with us in this venture.  We are very

thankful, and greatly humbled.  I (hm) just finished teaching a class in which we looked at God’s transcendence and His immanence.  We look for those great, glorious, miraculous acts of God in which He shows Himself to be above and beyond us.  One of our students, a staff member in the Palauan Evangelical Church, just shared a praise-note that probably qualifies for one of those acts. Often, though, God shows us that He is down here among us working in everyday, dare I say, mundane ways.  We ought not to discount that.  We don’t.  As we read through the list of those who are partnering with us in this venture we can see the finger-prints of God.  As we are faithful God works through us. 

We believe that we are where God wants us to be right now.  We are seeing opportunities.  We are seeking to be faithful.  We are thankful for those who are faithful with us.

Not only is God great; He does great things through us.

H&K

Getting wind in the sails of missionary candidates.

Here is an article I wrote published in this month's  Live Ready eNews, a publication of Liebenzell Mission USA.
http://liebenzellmission.org/getting-wind-in-the-sails-tips-for-sending-out-missionaries/