Here is the latest edition of PIU's newsletter, The Tide's Current.

http://piu.edu/the-tides-currents-february-2018-newsletter

Two new videos on the PIU Coffee with the President Youtube channel

Part of the Coffee with the President partnership is me sending periodic video reports. I recently added a report that features fellow missionary, Alex Tavarez.

Mayson Red, PIU 2017, gave me permission to post this video of one of his poems.

Please pray for us. February 8-10 is our Ministry Equipping Conference. 

My good friend and fellow Liebenzell USA missionary Steve Stinnette is our main speaker.

H (for K, too)

A Missionary Saturday

What do missionaries do on a Saturday morning?
Missionaries are a varied lot, so nothing applies to all of us--well, Jesus loves us, so almost nothing.
This morning, I spent my Saturday morning a lot like the way many of you spend your "day off." There is a project that's been on the "Honey Do" list for a while now. Our lovely little apartment has limited storage. When we have company, like we do right now, it can be hard to find a place for everything. We decided a while back that a shclf above and to the side of the door would be useful. Yesterday I was at the building supply store, I saw what I thought would work, called Kathy for a measurement and came home with the materials. The first two hours of my day were devoted to

getting it installed. I think it will really help, and I earned points. : )
Our maintenance staff here at PIU is stretched thin, so I try to help out with mowing. I walk several days a week, anyhow, so on the days when I mow I do my exercise behind a mower. Since "our yard" is right next to the campus entrance, I figure it is also part of my public relations responsibilities. No doubt some millionaire will drive by, be impressed, and write us a big check. One can always hope. Bottom line, I figure being a good steward in an institution like ours, where we can't afford to do big things, means being faithful in doing little things.
After I finish writing this, I'll do something I did probably a thousand Saturdays in my life--I'm preaching tomorrow in a local church, and then on Tuesday in chapel--sermon prep is on the agenda.
Kathy's been cleaning up the mess I made hanging the shelf, doing some other cleaning, and organizing some paper-work. Wherever in the world, whatever title one has, a woman's work is never done.
A fellow missionary, Alex, lives over near the shop where the lawn equipment is stored. He was out doing some adjustment on one of his kid's bicycle--a Christmas present from grandparents. Don't forget missionaries have families. You know those pressures that sometimes make family hard for you? We deal with those, too, plus some other heavy things that are unique to folk who leave home and go somewhere where things are different than what they are used to.
To get back to my point, though, the missionaries here on the PIU campus are spending their Saturday, much like you will when you get up on Saturday morning a few hours from now. There is one other similarity. I mow grass and do household maintenance, just like you. My friend fixes bikes for his kids, just like dads all over the world. Missionary wives and moms are first wives and moms; like women all over the world in those roles they make life so much better for us all. In addition, just like you, we have to work hard to obey the Scripture, "Be anxious for nothing . . . pray." As I put pressure on the drill to bore into the block wall, as I walked up and down, and back and forth behind the mower, as I drug palm fronds away, and pulled weeds from a rock-garden out front, I had to fight the urge to worry. As you know, college administration is not what I've done all my life. When I stepped into this role I was aware that the possibility of failure was very real. I regularly read about institutions much bigger and better-funded , and with presidents more capable than Pacific Islands, shutting their doors. We just began a new semester. As my predecessor reminds me, that always brings new hope. Except when I let worry take hold.

For the year I've been here, we've been like the rebels (the good guys) in the new Star Wars movie. A large part of our strategy has been to stay just out of reach of the forces of doom that are chasing us hard. I take pleasure, and generally draw hope from the fact that we are still out in front.
Scripture tells us to pray instead of worry, so let me close this by asking you to pray for something specific. Pray for the accrediting reaffirmation that is upon us.
If we are going to make it and continue into the future, we need to maintain our status as an accredited institution. We are beginning the process that will lead to the reaffirmation of our accreditation. This time, and one more will make twice that I've led a school through a major accrediting project, but I have talked to enough people who have, and I've read and heard enough about what we have to do, to know it's a lot like the Great Tribulation. Plus, we have to pay a bunch of money for the privilege of enduring the affliction. "What if"s, and "I don't know if can"s pulsate in my head nearly as rapidly as the firing of the spark plug on the mower. Doubts spring up as fast and as plentifully as weeds in the tropical earth. I can't imagine worse timing. Don't we already have enough to deal with? Pray for me to be able to guide the team through this process. Pray for us to work well together. Pray that we will have the resources we need to complete the self-study, to pay the fees, host the accreditation team, etc.. Pray that we'll find ways to address the deficiencies we will find as we do our self-study, and hear from our auditors. Pray that God's will will be done.

Thanks for spending a few minutes with me on Saturday. I pray that you will have a great Lord's Day, tomorrow.

By His Grace,
Howard (for Kathy, too)

The Word of the year.

I posted this over at "The View Through My Keyhole," but it applies here.

http://howardmerrell.blogspot.com/2017/12/my-nomination-for-2017-word-of-year.html

Thoughts on our almost one year anniversary on Guam.

This STTA has a missionary ring to it, so I thought I'd post it here, as well as over at Something to Think About.

It's been a while now.

I'm listening to the roosters crow in the early morning light on the day after Christmas.  I can pick and choose what I do today, but I know that soon my schedule will step back into the driver's seat. Some time early in January, when our one year anniversary of living here on Guam will come to pass, I'll likely be too busy to think much about it. So I'm taking time this morning to reflect on that coming marker on my calendar. I'm 67 years old, and  I've lived longer in this lovely little apartment on the campus of Pacific Islands University than any other place I've lived as an adult, except one. That sounds way more impressive if you don't know that Kathy lived in #1 place for more than 42 years. That doesn't leave much time for # 2 & #3. To say we have "put down roots" here would likely be an exaggeration and might belittle those who have invested so much more, though, to carry the image a bit farther, we are comfortable in the planter on the porch. For those four decades when my address was 2106 S. Carpenter Drive . . . (mail sent to that address still gets to us, by the way) I always tried to maintain the spirit of the old song, "This world is not my home. I'm just passing through." Now, in a sense, that homeless for Christ mentality is easier to maintain, but only in a sense. I find in me a kinship with Jonah, who came to regard the plant that shaded him as his in a particular and powerful sense. Usually, I have a pretty clear idea what I'm thinking about when I write "Something to Think About." This morning, not so much. I guess the best I can do, as I consider my anniversary of living in Mangilao Guam, is to share two things to think about, which might seem contradictory, but which I don't think are: Being transplanted is painful, for some more than others, we have a tendency to resist putting down roots--even in the pot on the porch--knowing that the next move is coming. Resist that self-protective urge. Be where you are. Nothing in the world is permanent. Jesus said of Himself, "Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head" (Luke 9:58). Do we think we are better than He? It's STTA (Something To Think About).

Children's Day 2017

One of the great things I get to do in my role as President of Pacific Islands University is hang out with some really sharp people.
Like Dr. Christel Wood, for instance. Dr. Wood has been teaching Education, and other courses for a long time, but she hasn't lost any of her enthusiasm. Every year, she and her students--another sharp group of people--hold Children's Day. This gives the students an opportunity to put to use what they learn in class, as well as reach out to kids in our community.

Here are some pictures Christel and I took of the most recent Children's Day.

The brain-trust at work: Zaloma, Jen, Andrew (in green), Jella, & Brianna.

The theme of the day was God is love.

We had more than 75 children in attendance.

The students were in charge of decorations.

 Jella & Restme doing their thing.

 Zaloma teaching.

"I know. I know!

Bible lessons, team times, good stuff.

 We didn't lack for enthusiasm

Matty leading he group.

Jones, & Jody join Matty to lead some music.

Dinnery offering cool drinks.

We finished off with a lunch.

I'm proud of our kids and our staff. It is one of the ways PIU is reaching out to our community.

December Newsletter:

From here on Guam we wish you a Merry Christmas.
Below is our latest Newsletter.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas from our little apartment on the lovely Island of Guam. As many of you know, for many years when people would ask if we were “going home for Christmas?” I’d reply, I live at home. Though we have a house in VA, and we miss our friends and family stateside, we are home. Howard took a major trip to the mainland at the end of October. The purpose was to attend PIU’s accreditation conference and make some other contacts, but he was able to visit Chris and Chad’s families, and even spend a few hours with Niece Audrey & Rob Chestnut and their family. He was also able to speak at Covington Bible, and Faith Baptist in Covington VA, and see a number of friends there. Kathy was at Covington Bible for the Missions weekend, and spent a lovely week with all our family, at Chad & Tanisha’s in LA. We were all together for Thanksgiving dinner. That’s me in the computer, under the map. Though we miss you, for now, this is home. We’ll be spending Christmas at this home.

If you haven’t gotten the latest news, scroll down on this blog, In the latest Tide’s Currents you’ll find the announcement about Howard’s appointment as President of PIU.

Kathy is involved with helping to disciple the student girls. She enjoys her “Mama Kat” status. She is active at the church we attend, Faith Presbyterian Christian Reformed. She plays piano and together with Howard helps lead music from time to time.  She teaches a Coffee Break-like women’s Bible study at our church and is involved in maintenance/decoration projects at PIU. She is currently painting the main office area. In addition to teaching, administering, fundraising, and helping with maintenance, Howard preaches once or twice a month. We have a lovely out-and-back walking route where we exercise several times a week.

People ask how things are going at Pacific Islands University. By God’s grace we are still functioning. We need more money, students, and staff. We have some serious infrastructure issues. Other than that, everything is good. It has been very encouraging to see the response to the Coffee with the President campaign, the fundraising initiative that we launched. We are praying for an even greater response. You can read about it at http://piu.edu/coffee-with-the-president-2.

When some folk find out about what we are doing, they respond with amazement. What is truly amazing is that people hear the glorious John 3:16 message of Christmas and yet go on living as if Christ’s coming really made no difference.

He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. (2 Cor. 5:15, NLT)

MERRY CHRISTMAS, from Guam, where America’s day begins,

H&K

PS: if you haven't seen the video report of recent activities, click here.