Hafa adai from AZ!

This is the e-note sent to our supporters this evening

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Warm greetings from Phoenix, where we're thankful for the 92° fall
weather. People start to come alive here as summer wanes and things
cool off.

We want to update you on our progress -- transitioning from ministry
in the Western Pacific to ministry in the Phoenix area. So much has
happened! Mostly, though, we want to thank you all again for your
faithful support during our three years on Guam. Some of you have even
been able to continue helping us catch up on the expenses incurred
while we were serving as Covenant project missionaries.

Here is the latest:

• Even though we are no longer on Guam we are still connected with
Pacific Islands University (formerly Pacific Islands Bible College)
and enthusiastic about the ministry there. The office seems to contact
Cheryl almost every week with questions about accounts and procedures.
Brad will be teaching a PIU class through online distance education
this spring. The current plan is that he will be teaching Spiritual
Formation for groups of students at the extension sites in Chuuk and
Palau -- and perhaps a few from the Guam campus will join the class.

• We purchased a house in Laveen, a village within the city of
Phoenix. It's on the southwest side of the city right up against South
Mountain and the Estrella Mountains. It's a great house but we were
able to get it because of the distressed market. The previous owners
had walked away from it -- taking with them the light fixtures, shower
heads, closet rods, kitchen appliances, and kitchen sink. During the
two years in which it sat empty thieves stole the air conditioning
unit for the copper tubing. So, we've had our work cut out for us
putting things back together. But it's starting to look good and feel
comfortable.

• We had our second VP (vision and prayer) gathering for MasterPiece
Church last Sunday evening. We're really very excited about two
families who prayed for an opportunity to start a new Evangelical
Covenant Church in the Laveen area. Even though we are starting from
scratch -- so to speak -- having families of this caliber instills
confidence and hope. Because everyone was busy inviting friends and
neighbors we had 18 people at the second gathering!

• Laveen is an interesting village -- formerly a farm community, the
suburban sprawl rapidly expanded into the area about seven years ago.
But the population is more urban in character. Most of our neighbors
are African-American and/or Hispanic. We'd definitely like to see
MasterPiece Church take on a multi-cultural character. A few weeks ago
Brad got to talking in the market with a Chamorro man from Guam and
discovered that there are many islanders living in the area, too. We
think that there are between 25,000 - 30,000 people living in Laveen
(it's so chaotic with the rapid growth and then the foreclosure crisis
that no one has an accurate count right now). There are only eight
churches here, six of which are so new that they're meeting in
schools.

• Daisy Ho arrived from California yesterday. We met Daisy on Guam
when she was the pastor of Guam United Methodist Church. She is
relocating to the area to help with our church plant and will serve a
Pastoral Residency in Church Planting with Brad. She is hoping to
learn the ins and outs of new church development so she can eventually
plant a church on her own. Daisy is originally from Hong Kong and
should be able to help us build some bridges with the Asian community,
too. She is staying with us while she house hunts.

• Please pray for us. Our third VP gathering is scheduled for Sunday
evening October 25th.

• Also, continue to pray for our job hunts. Cheryl has put in dozens
of applications for an office job but nothing has panned out, yet.
Since we are doing this church plant as a bi-vocational ministry Brad
has been looking for part-time work, too. None of the online college
teaching positions for which he has applied have yet landed him a job.
We are grateful that the Pacific Southwest Conference has jumped in
and offered to pay for our health insurance. That helps a lot.

• This morning the orthopedic surgeon put a bright pink(!) cast on
Cheryl's left wrist. (Check Brad's blog for a picture) She fell about two

weeks ago and broke it. Up to this point it has been in a splint and

it seems to be healing well.

So, we thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support. While
this transition hasn't been easy we've never felt alone or overly
anxious. The Department of World Mission has been great! The church
planting leadership team from the Pacific Southwest Conference has
been very supportive. Our colleagues from Guam have continued to stay
in close touch. And you, all of you who have supported us over the
past four years, have gone above and beyond the call of duty in so
many ways. God has blessed us through you and we hope we can be a
blessing to many because of you.

Keep in touch!

Brad & Cheryl Boydston

--
B R A D & C H E R Y L B O Y D S T O N
• Brad's email: brad@boydston.us
• Cheryl's email: cheryl@boydston.us
• Brad's blog: www.boydston.us
• MasterPiece Church web: MasterPieceChurch.org
• Cheryl's music: CaminoMercedMusic.com
• Brad's phone # is 602-903-5085.
• Cheryl's phone # is 602-820-8948
• Our mailing address -- PO Box 1113, Laveen, AZ 85339-1113 USA

Update on our plans and situation

We sent the following out to our mailing list this evening.

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26 July 2009

Dear friends,

We are blessed! We returned to the States from Guam about 6 weeks ago and have been busy connecting with friends and family since then. This is what we mean by blessed -- so many friends -- so much family. And you all have been asking so many good question around the theme: "What exactly are you up to next?"

That's the point of this letter -- to try to answer some of the great questions that people have been asking.

Where are you living?
We spent a couple weeks with Brad's brother Gary and his wife Joy in Tempe. We traveled to the Pacific Northwest for the annual meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church and to visit family. Then we spent two weeks with Brad's parents in Mesa. We're currently condo-sitting for a few weeks at Jeff and Mary Johnson's newly refurbished place in Fountain Hills.

We've been bidding on houses in the Laveen area and hope to become homeowners again soon. However, most of the real estate in the area is "distressed." This means that buying is more complicated and protracted than what we we're used to. We are confident that something will come together but are asking prayer that it will be sooner rather than later. We're quite ready to give up our nomadic lifestyle. :-)

You're going to start a new church where?
Laveen is a "village" in Phoenix. It's on the south side of the city -- bordering South Mountain, the Estrella Mountains, and the Gila River Indian Reservation.

Why did you choose Laveen?
There are many reasons that we've settled on Laveen. We really like the area -- the mix of people from so many different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, "the buzz," the obvious potential with so few existing churches in a developing area. There are also a couple of families living in Laveen who are a part of Hope Covenant Church in Chandler. They've been praying that God would bring church planters to the area.

Laveen is a part of Phoenix which, because of so much recently-built housing, has experienced great financial stress. People are open and looking for some anchors in their lives. It is interesting, too, that even with the economic slowdown new homes are still under construction. Phoenix itself, in spite of the lay-offs and financial chaos, added 50,000 new people last year. It is the fifth largest metro area in the US with 5 million people.

We are very fortunate to have lots of connections and relationships in the greater Phoenix area. Brad's brother and sister-in-law live about 30 minutes drive to the east of Laveen in Tempe. His parents live about 45 minutes east in Mesa. We have friends living north, south, east, and west. Proximity to so many friends is important to us.

Is this a Covenant church plant?
Yes -- with the blessing of the Pacific Southwest Conference and with the encouragement of other Covenant pastors in the area. However, because of the economic downturn there are currently no conference funds available to add this new church to the list of conference-supported plants. Financial support is a possibility for the future but for now we are going to be self-funded missionaries. Once we get situated in Laveen Cheryl will look for a local job. Brad is already looking for some part-time adjunct teaching.

What is your time frame?
The tentative plan is to spend the rest of the summer looking for a place to live and getting settled. Once the dust settles in the fall we'll try to get together with people who live in Laveen for some vision-development gatherings. In the spring of 2010 Brad would like to have regular gatherings of the launch team, develop community, and to begin some all-church outreach and service projects. Hopefully we can start regular worship services in the fall of 2010. This is a fairly relaxed time frame to accommodate our "bi-vocational" approach.

How can I help?
Move to Laveen to help us form the launch team! Seriously! We also need people willing to pray for us and the community. And since there are no conference funds available at this time we need to raise all of the start-up money for the church. Financial contributions from individuals and churches would go a long way at this point. Checks can be made out to "MasterPiece Church" and sent to PO Box 1113, Laveen AZ 85339-1113.

Where did the name MasterPiece Church come from?
Ephesians 2:10 in the New Living Translation of the Bible says, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." The point is that the church is the premier work of God -- the "masterpiece" -- created for the purpose of carrying out his plans in the world.

What do you hear from Guam?
Pacific Islands Bible College is now Pacific Islands University. They're gearing up for the fall semester which will begin at the end of August. This is a time of change at the school -- but it is good for the students and the institution. We do miss our Guam friends, students, and church fellowship and are looking forward to island visitors once we get situated. Fortunately, we're able to keep in touch through Facebook and email.

We want to thank you all for your ongoing prayer and support. We are indeed blessed to be "surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses" and find joy in you and your faith.

Blessings!

Brad & Cheryl Boydston

Address:
MasterPiece Church
PO Box 1113
Laveen AZ 85339-1113

Phone:
602-903-5085

Email:
brad@boydston.us
cheryl@boydston.us

Web:
http://boydston.us
http://facebook.com/BradBoydston
http://twitter.com/boydston
http://CaminoMercedMusic.com
http://MasterPieceChurch.org (coming soon)

Hafa adai from Arizona!

Hafa adai from Arizona! Here is a quick update on the transition from ministry in the Western Pacific to ministry in the Phoenix area.

• The cargo container with our household goods arrived from Guam and everything is in storage in Arizona until we find a place to live.

• We traveled to the Pacific Northwest at the end of June to attend the annual meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church. On "the way home" we stopped and saw Cheryl's brother's family in Nelson, BC, Brad's brother's family in Blanchard, ID, and Brad's uncle and aunt in Boise, ID. While in Arizona we have stayed with Brad's other brother and family in Tempe, AZ, and with Brad's parents in Mesa, AZ. Next, we're borrowing a condo in Fountain Hills, AZ for a few weeks.

• At the encouragement of the Covenant Church leadership we've begun to focus our church planting efforts in Laveen, which is a village in the south part of Phoenix. The tentative name of the congregation will be MasterPiece Church. We'll pass along more information about that as it becomes available.

• We've been bidding on houses in Laveen but up to this point none of our offers have been accepted. Please pray for an open door.

• Our Arizona phone number is 602-903-5085.

• We now have a PO box.
Our mailing address is:
PO Box 1113
Laveen, AZ 85339

• We're grateful for all who are continuing to provide financial support this summer as we transition back into Stateside ministry. We are still dependent on this funding during the transition.

• We really miss our colleagues, students, and friends on Guam. We're looking forward to hosting visitors once we get established in Phoenix. We expect to continue involvement with PIBC in the future -- teaching occasional classes online or as onsite intensives. By the way, on July 1st PIBC became PIU -- Pacific Islands University. As a small university the school will be better able to meet the needs of the people and churches in the islands.

SUPPORT INFORMATION

The address for sending support is:

PM Support for Boydstons
Department of World Mission
Evangelical Covenant Church
5101 N Francisco Ave
Chicago IL 60625-3676 USA

Transition progress

We traded in our Guam driving licenses this afternoon. That means no more engaging conversations with store clerks and bank tellers explaining what they are -- or who we are. The new Arizona licenses expire on our 65th birthdays.

With the license application we also registered to vote. (I'm expecting the first jury summons next week.)

The Post Office in Laveen called today to tell us that they had a PO box available. So now we (and the church) can be reached at PO Box 1113, Laveen AZ 85339.

Yesterday we looked at another batch of foreclosures and short-sale houses (almost all houses on the market here are foreclosures or short-sales -- no normal ordinary sales). We still haven't heard anything about the house we bid on three days ago. We're now preparing to bid on a HUD house.

We did manage to squeeze in a movie this morning. We were the only ones in the theater for the 9:30 a.m. showing of UP! Like everyone else we loved it.

Latest on the situation in Thailand

More from Melissa:

Just wanted to send a quick update....

Erten is still in the hospital but will be coming home tomorrow. He will need to have the hand cleaned each day of the week for a week. I am told he is in good spirits but when we went to visit he was tired and seemed sad. Kalvin (our other leader ) is staying with him. We will be excited to have him back tomorrow.

Some good news is that the medical bills will only be in the neighborhood of $1200 which we have. It may leave us a bit short at the end but we are trusting that God will provide for our needs.

Another good news is that the doctor believes the surgery was successful and Erten will eventually have full use of his hand.

Please continue to pray for God's provision and protection.

Also pray for some Thailand Campus Crusade staff in the south park of Thailand. A van with about 7 - 8 people had an accident and are now in the hospital.

These things are not positive but have put us in a position where we are forced to rely on God... and we know that He is good. We are all thankful to be here.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Blessings,
Melissa

PIBC student hospitalized in Thailand

Melissa Heck, the PIBC dean of women, who is a part of the Thai mission team this summer sent this emergency email a few hours ago.

Although it is hard for us to understand exactly what happened one of our team members, Erten, walked into a glass door and it shattered severing the tendons in his hand and severing two veins. He was rushed to the hospital where he needed surgery to repair his hand.

He is in the hospital recovering --- should be okay but is in a lot of pain.

Please pray for Erten's recovery.
Please pray for the medical expenses to be covered some how.
Pray for God's protection over the rest of the team.
Pray for God's wisdom and discernment in the ministry. The spiritual battle here is fierce.

Thanks.... Melissa

Erten is the guy in the yellow shirt in the picture. He helped us pack our container last week before we moved.

We've landed

Guam to Phoenix in 26 hours, 8,000+ miles, 3 airplanes, 4 airports -- all luggage and passengers made it on Tuesday.

After a solid night's sleep we hit the ground running yesterday morning and spent some time scoping out ministry opportunities in the area (more of that tomorrow). In the late afternoon we hung out with my parents. This evening I've been scrolling through the 1,000+ blog posts that have accumulated these past 3 or 4 days in Google Reader. So far no jet lag. It may be that fatigue trumps the clock.

The Phoenix weather is a comfortable 94°/20% humidity/no sweat.

Hafa adai from Guam! We have some good news!

• The sale of our Guam condo was completed on Friday. The keys were transferred and the money was deposited in our bank account. Done deal. We're now homeless and grateful.

• We leave for the States at about 4 a.m., Tuesday. We fly to Tokyo, then Dallas, and then on to Phoenix -- arriving at about 11 a.m., Tuesday in Arizona.

• Our Arizona phone number is 602-903-5085.

• We'll be staying with Brad's brother Gary and his wife Joy until we get situated.
Our temporary Arizona mailing address is:
1416 E Westchester Dr
Tempe AZ 85283

• We are planning on attending the annual meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Portland, Oregon, June 25-27.

• We're grateful for all who are continuing to provide financial support this summer as we transition back into Stateside ministry. We'll have more detail about what that is going to look like as the specifics come into focus.

• These have been a tremendous three years and we're grateful for:

the opportunity to serve as Covenant Project Missionaries (something that we would recommend -- lots of opportunities out there!)...

the support and encouragement of the Evangelical Covenant Church Department of World Mission and in particular the Asia regional coordinators. Dave & Ronna Husby have done a fantastic job of caring for us...

the opportunity to be a part of what God is doing through the work of Pacific Islands Bible College...

Dave (PIBC president) and Joyce Owen and all the people at PIBC with whom we've been working...

the students at PIBC -- relationships that will be with us for the rest of our lives...

the ongoing connection that we'll have with PIBC -- perhaps teaching some classes by distance education in the near future...

the opportunity to be a part of what God is doing through the Lutheran Church of Guam -- great people and ministry...

Pastor Jeff and Mary Johnson from LCG -- from whom we've learned a lot, felt loved, and with whom we will undoubtedly continue to work in the future...

our children and extended families -- who adjusted to our Stateside absence and have been supportive. Kent was even able to volunteer a semester at PIBC as an English teacher...

all of you who have prayed for us and supported us financially so we could contribute to the lives of our students and the churches of the Western Pacific. There is no way that we can adequately express our gratitude for your faithfulness.

• We look forward to reconnecting with you all -- soon!

SUPPORT INFORMATION

The address for sending support is:

PM Support for Boydstons
Department of World Mission
Evangelical Covenant Church
5101 N Francisco Ave
Chicago IL 60625-3676 USA

Checks should be made out to the "Evangelical Covenant Church" with the clear designation "for the support of Brad & Cheryl Boydston." If possible print and include this .pdf form.

Pictures taken during the last few days

You can control the speed of the show and stop it to read the captions through the control buttons on the bottom of the pictures. Or you can double click on the pictures to open them up into a larger show.

Transition update

• With the help of the PIBC Thai mission team and a mission work group from Messiah Lutheran, Albuquerque, New Mexico we got the heavy stuff loaded up into the cargo container this afternoon. They were so helpful!!! But I'm pooped.

• We bought tickets today. We leave Guam @ 4:20 a.m., Tueday, June 9th -- fly to Tokyo then DFW -- and arrive in Phoenix @ 10:55 a.m. the same day.

• Our Stateside phone # is still 602-903-5085. It currently goes to voice mail (and sends an email with the voice mail message). However, once we get to Phoenix we'll have it forwarded to our cell phone. So that # is the best way to get hold of us -- other than email.

Clearing customs

Our doctor friend Cindy Hoover, who operates out of Mexico, asked a good question of me on Facebook. I had mentioned that we were creating packing lists to keep the US Customs people happy as our stuff is being shipped back to the US. She said, "But why do you have to clear US Customs when Guam is a US territory?"

The answer is that while Guam is a territory controlled by the US it is not technically in the US. In many ways it operates as a separate sovereign state -- but not consistently so. Some matters of sovereignty in Guam are controlled by the US federal government (e.g. immigration) but others are controlled by Guam itself (e.g. customs).

There are things that have entered Guam from Asia and elsewhere which have never cleared US customs (only Guam customs). So when goods and materials enter the US from Guam they have to get a US customs clearance.

Of course, none of this makes a whole lot of sense on any level. But it is seen as temporary until the relationship between the US and Guam can be normalized. However, from my perch it doesn't look like normalization is going to happen under the current leadership. That's mostly because the local people can't agree among themselves as to what normal should look like (commonwealth, US statehood -- with or without the CNMI, independent sovereignty, something like a US Indian reservation...) -- so this imposed patchwork has become the quirky norm.

My sense is that if the locals would speak with a unified voice they'd have enough political clout to solve the problem. I'm hopeful that the younger generation of Chamorro leaders -- those guys now in their 20's and 30's will eventually be able to do an end-run around the political quagmire of Guam and come up with a solution. Otherwise this place will remain in limbo.