HAFA ADAI
from Brad and Cheryl Boydston ~
preparing to serve the church
in the Western Pacific
and along the Asian Rim
"In His teaching the islands
will put their hope." Isaiah 42:4
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Thursday, 25-May-06
CONTENTS
1) Updates
2) Encouragement Team Members
3) Why Guam?
4) Others on a Similar Path
5) Prayer Requests
6) Communication
7) About This Email
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1) UPDATES
• Good news! Our friends, families, and churches have been very supportive and we have received commitments for just over 50% of the funding that we need to have in place before we leave for Guam. At this point last month that figure was 25%. Thank you! Thank you!
• We're busy painting and getting our house ready to put on the market.
• The church council at Cornerstone Covenant Church has graciously given Brad a three-month paid leave of absence to help with the transition. So, while he will completes his ministry at the church at the end of June, they will still be supporting us through September. This is so helpful.
• JUNE -- The month of June will be total chaos for us. Betsy is graduating from high school and Kirk from UC San Diego. We have Covenant missionary training for a week in Chicago. Brad has a five-day Board of the Ordered Ministry meeting, then the annual meeting of the Covenant Ministerium, followed by the annual meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Grand Rapids -- where Cheryl will be joining him for the commissioning service. We're helping with Vacation Bible School during the last week of the month (which should be a total blast!). We're seeing Kent off for a 6-month study term in Chile. We'll have the house on the market. And we're wrapping up our ministry at Cornerstone. So if we're walking around looking a bit glazed...
• JULY -- During the month of July we are hoping to do several presentations and meet with as many people as possible. We plan on being at Mission Springs family camp for a few days (July 3rd-4th). Brad will be in the New York City area July 7th-12th to meet with our Liebenzell Mission partners and he is open to meeting with churches or individuals July 8th-9th. On the evening of July 13th we will be doing a presentation at Covenant Village of Turlock. On July 16th we will be at the Bayside West Church in Roseville, CA for the Sunday morning service. We're hoping to squeeze in a trip to Arizona sometime during the month. However, there are still days that we'd like to be busy telling the story and recruiting members for our Encouragement Team. Please contact us if you think that there might be someway to connect with you or your church.
• AUGUST -- Cornerstone is having a farewell event for us on Sunday, August 6th. Brad is planning on flying to Guam on August 8th or thereabouts. Cheryl will join him a few weeks later after she gets Betsy situated at UC Berkeley. Currently, the actual cost of a round trip ticket is about $1,500 each. Anyone have about a gazzilion frequent flier miles to donate to the cause?
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2) ENCOURAGEMENT TEAM MEMBERS
If you would like to support the ministry you can send a check or commitment response to:
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.
If you've been thinking about becoming a prayer and/or financial partner, time is of the essence for us as we have to satisfy the Covenant World Mission department (to whom we are accountable in this project) which requires us to have commitments for funding of the first two years of the project in place before we go.
Some of you have actually already started contributing to our support account and we appreciate this greatly ~ you are a great source of encouragement to us!
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3) WHY GUAM?
The Pacific Daily News has an interesting article on the recent Pacific Islands Bible College graduation -- and one student in particular.
Almost all of our students at PIBC speak English as a second language. But they speak a variety of first languages. Guam is a neutral place where people from throughout the Western Pacific can come together. While the island is not large in size (210 sq miles) or population (170,000) it is the crossroads for the Pacific and Asian Rim.
The indigenous people of Guam are called Chamorro. Historically they seem to be related to the Indonesians -- but with lots of Spanish and Filipino blood mixed in. There are also major Micronesian, Filipino, and US military communities on the island -- with significant Navy and Air Force bases. (The US is preparing to move 8,000 Marines from Japan to Guam -- which with dependents and support staff will add another 17,000 people to the population over the next 5-8 years.) There are islanders from the Northern Marianas, Koreans, Chinese, East Asians, as well as a few Australians and Europeans, and quite a contingent of Japanese tourists.
In other words, Guam is this incredibly eclectic mixture of people and cultures situated at an extremely strategic crossroads place. And it appears that God is planting us there for awhile.
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4) OTHERS ON A SIMILAR PATH
We know of several other new Covenant missionaries who are anticipating service in various parts of the world. Among them:
• Frank and Heidi Sanchez, from the Turlock-Modesto area, are in the process of raising support to become short-term Covenant missionaries serving at the Rain Forest International School in Yaounde, Cameroon.
• In June Eric Sorenson completes his ministry as pastor of Crossroads Covenant Church in Concord, California. He and his wife Karyn (a marriage and family therapist) are planning to spend the 2006-2007 school year fundraising and getting their family ready before they join us at Pacific Islands Bible College on Guam in the summer of 2007. They have applied to become Covenant Project Missionaries.
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5) PRAYER REQUESTS
• That support commitments would continue to come in.
• That several churches would catch a vision for this ministry and would include us in their missions budgets.
• For our daughter Betsy, who graduates from high school next week. She starts at UC Berkeley in August.
• For our son Kent, who is preparing to leave in June for a semester in Chile.
• For our son Kirk, who graduates from the University of California, San Diego, in June and who is now looking for a job. He has been interviewing with a company that he'd really like to work for.
• For other Covenant missionaries who are raising their support.
• For the PIBC staff as they regroup during the summer months.
• Cornerstone Covenant Church, as they prepare for a pastoral transition.
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6) COMMUNICATION
• Call us -- 209-632-8353
• Email us -- Brad@Boydston.us or Cheryl@Boydston.us
• Covenant World Mission
• Guam.Boydston.us
• Cheryl's music -- Camino Merced Music
• Brad's website/blog -- Brad.Boydston.us
• Guam Visitor's Bureau
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7) ABOUT THIS EMAIL
Hafa Adai is Chamorro for hello. You are receiving this email because you are a friend or associate of Brad and Cheryl Boydston. A few of you are probably receiving duplicates because at this point we are also sending these updates to the Covnet and Abet lists. If you are on one of those lists and would like to be added to our more permanent update list, or if you would prefer to receive Hafa Adai at a different address, email Brad at Brad@Boydston.us.
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