Boydston Global

New PIU module

2012-01-16T19:26:00.001-07:00

I am super pleased to be teaching the World Religions class online for PIU this semester. In the past I've taught the classroom version. And I've also led a few students through the content using individualized instruction. This time, however, I am formatting it as an online individualized instruction module.

This means that I am developing the content in such a way that even if there is only one student interested in doing the work he or she can take the class. PIU is small and course offerings each semester are limited. Often there are students who need a particular class but it isn't offered because there aren't enough students on campus who need it (or there is no one on campus available to teach it).

I've been teaching the spiritual formation class (a freshman level class) this way for a couple of years. World Religions is a fourth year class. I'm hoping to develop an ongoing series on new online modules that individual students can take as needed. They can even be offered every semester.

Most of the PIU students are Micronesians. Micronesians are highly group oriented people. This means that on a whole they would much prefer to sit in a classroom with each other. That is the experience they most enjoy. Ironically, though, in my experience of teaching both in the classroom and online, students seem to master the material better in an individualized online system. I think it has to do with the fact that they don't have to live up to the strong social expectations of the group. That is, they are freer to express what they think without worrying that they are offending someone. And they are less able to hide in the group.

It is a struggle for some to develop the discipline to work alone -- and to have to write so much. But most will rise to the occasion.

Fire

2011-11-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

I'm very sad to see that the Hindustani Covenant Church in Pune, India has lost their building to fire. ~ link

10 minutes and you know about China

2011-10-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

via Beth Bilynskyj

CWR partnering with Habitat for Humanity in Haiti

2011-09-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

Progress

2011-09-23T08:56:00.001-07:00

These are good trends -- five of the nine students in the spiritual formation class this semester have very recently become Christians. And none of the five were even raised in a "Christian environment." In other words, everything is new -- vocabulary, ideas, the Bible...

I love it! Those who know that they know nothing are often the most open to instruction.

Three of the nine students are in Yap, FSM. They do their class assignments on computers housed in the building pictured above. The building was destroyed by Typhoon Sudai in 2004. But a team from Gateway Bible Church in Santa Cruz, California spearheaded the rebuilding effort -- an effort that took several years (as resources and workers were available). It reopened in the spring of 2010.

Charity Sam, a PIU grad, and one of our former students on the Guam campus, is coordinating the Yap center. (And I might add, is doing an outstanding job.) Her husband, Jonathan Sam, also a PIU grad, and at one time the leader of a discipleship group in which I was involved as adviser, teaches high school at Yap High School.

Haiti

2011-09-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

We're huge fans of the approach to relief and development taken by Covenant World Relief and Covenant World Mission. This is an update on the situation in Haiti sent by Dave Mark this morning. David and Wendy Mark are the regional coordinators for Covenant World Mission work in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This August 21-26, I (Dave) visited Haiti with David Husby and Chrissy Parmerlee of Covenant World Relief, Covenant missionary Tammi Biggs (tammi.biggs@covchurch.org) and SouthEast Conference Superintendent, Robert Owens. This trip continued our efforts to sort out our best responses and mission direction in Haiti.

Here are some of the critical issues.

1) Haiti has thousands of NGOs (relief agencies) and vast numbers of denominational, non-denominational and independent missions present in the country. So how do we figure out with whom we should work as primary partners and whom should we recommend to Covenant people and churches who want to serve?

2) The default model for doing ministry in Haiti has more than a century of history. In it, typically, a strong, capable leader develops a set of ministries - usually a church, a clinic, a school and/or an orphanage but does so in a highly independent way. Each of these leaders, rather like "lone rangers" tends to seek and find some supporting church or churches in the US to serve as "patrons" for their ministry. By and large, these are hard working and gifted individuals who serve others with great passion. Their system of working, however, tends to isolate them from cooperation with other Haitian ministries. Some may jealously guard their donor sources and routinely belittle the efforts of others. This makes sense to them because they do not want to lose their limited donor support to neighboring ministries. This historic system also tends to promote a kind of dependency state in which donors may overly control vision and outcomes. The leaders are then accountable to their donors more than to their own constituents - which is not a healthy way to be. While change is neither easy nor automatic, Covenant World Mission does want to work to encourage cooperation and locally shared ownership of vision, goals and ministry practices. We also want to do this in ways that do not discourage the heart passion of these independent leaders. They are simply working with an inherited and common style of ministry.

3) While we will continue to relate in positive ways with many independent folk, we have also tried to discover ministries that exemplify "best practices." For example, it could be said that "relief is easy and development is hard." To provide emergency aid in a disaster like the great earthquake required enormous effort, but it still boiled down to bringing in goods and services and distributing them in some kind of orderly fashion. It really is a lot harder to help people develop sustainable means of providing for themselves, particularly when infrastructures are damaged (like no roads between farms and markets, irrigation systems are damaged and the like.)

4) Last, though not last in priority, we want to encourage mission that is well balanced. We believe that "God wants lost people found" and "God wants hurting people helped" as Covenant President Gary Walter put it. So we are anxious to serve together with people who are committed to bringing people to new life in Christ, forming them into communities of faith and to critical response to the physical or material needs of their situations.

So, here's where we are so far... We continue to work to network and encourage the initiatives of local US Covenant churches that serve in Haiti. Most are connected with some local Haitian ministry or independent US based ministry that vary a great deal in size and focus of ministry. We think these ministries can be strengthened by awareness and interaction with other Covenant ministries in Haiti, as well.

We continue to engage closely with Covenant World Relief and its partners. CWR Director David Husby, as a former World Mission Regional Coordinator, has a deep understanding of how we do things and has made good use of that knowledge in building stronger cooperative efforts between CWR and CWM. Our relationship with Covenant World Relief has always been strong and fruitful, but David's specific background as a missionary leader has brought it even closer.

Here's a quick look at some of what we visited: Pictured below is a well built by one of our primary partners, World Relief International. The hand pump that makes the well work was designed and developed by the Hindustani Covenant Church of India, another of our partners in world mission.

This is a photo of a new clinic in Haiti's largest slum. It is run by another of our primary partners, Medical Teams International. MTI is doing well in developing sustainable health care systems in Haiti.

The man pictured on the left, below, is Jean Thomas, his wife, Joy, is seated at the head of the table. The others are David Husby, Robert Owens, Tammi Biggs and Chrissy Parmerlee. Jean Thomas leads an exciting and excellent ministry in Fond des Blancs, Haiti. This wide ranging and very effective ministry has been intentionally designed on the principles developed by John M. Perkins. Jean and Joy learned those principles under Perkin's tutelage at Voice of Calvary Ministries in Jackson, Mississippi. We believe that Jean and Joy Thomas' ministry can serve us as an effective model for mission in Haiti and as an excellent partner in mission. We highly recommend Jean's book (written with Lon Fendall and with a forward by John Perkins), At Home with the Poor. Barclay Press, 2003.

We were pleased to see how Habitat for Humanity works to build homes in Haiti. (The Haiti Director of Habitat for Humanity is a Covenant Church member.) Habitat provides the materials and technical direction, but Haitian people build their own homes. This retains their dignity and provides them with an appropriate pride of ownership. All of the Habitat homes that we saw were well kept up and personally decorated by their owners.

We hope this serves you as a good report on our progress toward effective mission in Haiti.

Next stop, Colombia and Ecuador followed by Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.

Please pray for us as we travel and meet with missionaries and the leaders of churches and ministries.

As you may know, we are now 65 years old and probably should not do this forever. So, please pray that Covenant World Mission will have God's wisdom in finding people to replace us. We are anxious to see excellent leadership for the next generation, for the Glory of God and our Neighbors' Good.

Spiritual formation class

2011-09-19T13:41:00.002-07:00

This semester, fall 2011, I'm teaching my spiritual formation class online to nine Pacific Islands University students. All but one are Micronesians (and the one American in the class was actually born in Palau). Three of the students are in Yap and the other six are on Guam.

It's a good group and I am definitely enjoying them.

We not only work on the disciplines that help us train for spiritual development, but we also work on writing skills in this freshman-level class. Since all of the interaction in this class is by email it is a great opportunity to coach students in English writing.

I'm also working on putting my World Religions class online. That is coming slowly but it will eventually be available as a self-paced senior-level class.

Because of the way that PIU is structured and the way that students move through the curriculum we're probably going to need more of these flexible, available-every-semester classes. I taught the spiritual formation class to one student during the summer. And in the spring there were six students in my PIU church planting class. In the fall of 2010 I taught Spiritual Formation, an independent study in World Religions, and did internship supervision -- all from my computer in Arizona.

We have smaller classes with a lot of one-on-one interaction. And it sure doesn't hurt that the students are becoming internet savvy in the process.

PIU Promotional Video

2011-09-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hafa Adai and greetings from Phoenix

2010-08-02T07:44:00.001-07:00

We sent this out to our email list yesterday.

It's been awhile since we've updated the people on this list and it dawned on us this afternoon that it would be a good idea to ask you all to pray for us as we're entering into the formal launch phase of our new congregation.

Cheryl and I are now living in Laveen, a "village" within the city of Phoenix, Arizona. We have been working with several families and intend to launch MasterPiece Church on 10-10-10 (October 10, 2010). There are lots of loose end details that need to come together before then -- equipment, assignments, etc. We also need to be connecting with new people -- people who are open to what God is going to do through this church.

Please pray for a great openness and enthusiasm for God's word.

The church website is at: http://MasterPieceChurch.org

After months and months of filling out job applications Cheryl found a part-time job that she really enjoys. She is working in the office of a trucking company whose only customer is a mattress manufacturer.

Brad has been working about 30 hours per week on the new church plant. In addition he continues to teach the spiritual formation class for Pacific Islands University. Teaching online is different than face-to-face interaction but it is fruitful. The students in the spring semester were all living on Guam and in Palau. The Palauans, all enrolled in PIU Bible degree programs, had been waiting for a long time for the class but the school had been unable to offer it onsite in Palau.

The students in the summer class all live on Guam and have been highly motivated. That semester will be wrapping up in the next few weeks. Brad has also been asked to teach the same class again in the fall and is looking forward to that. So, the work we began to do on Guam and in Micronesia continues.

We were excited that the Voices of Micronesia tour stopped here in July. It was so good to be with PIU friends and students again. We were able to host a group at our home and two other families from our church plant helped us with housing.

Our children continue to do well. Kirk still works for AT&T Interactive in Glendale, California. Betsy graduated from UC Berkeley in May and will begin graduate work in genetics at UC San Francisco starting next month. Both Kirk and Betsy will be traveling to South Korea in a week to visit Kent before he completes his English teaching contract at Chinju National University of Education in Jinju.

Kent's next English teaching gig is at the new Pyongyang University of Science and Technology which is opening its doors in North Korea this fall. This school is being started by evangelical Christians from South Korea and the US and will have an international faculty. Obviously, this is a sensitive area of the world and we would appreciate your prayers for Kent and all those who be going there later this month.

There is a Wikipedia article about them at: http://goo.gl/bIP1. Also, Dr David Kim, the vice president of the university, gave a "TechTalk" for Google employees that has been posted online -- http://goo.gl/f6my. The school's website is http://pust.kr. This is all very exciting -- but also very venturesome. We appreciate your prayers.

Thank you, again, for your support and friendship -- especially this fall as there are so many new endeavors in the works.

Blessings!
Brad & Cheryl Boydston

COMMUNICATION

• Brad's phone number is 602-903-5085

• Cheryl's phone number is 602-820-8948

• Skype us -- BradBoydston or seespleez

• Address: PO Box 1113, Laveen AZ 85339-1113

• Email us -- brad@boydston.us or cheryl@boydston.us

• Pacific Islands University -- http://piu.edu

• Cheryl's music -- http://CaminoMercedMusic.com

• Brad's website/blog -- http://BradBoydston.com -- updated almost daily

• MasterPiece Church -- http://MasterPieceChurch.org

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. If you would prefer to receive Hafa Adai at a different address, email Brad at brad@boydston.us.

Hafa adai from AZ!

2009-10-15T20:51:00.002-07:00

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

- - - - -

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

2009-07-26T22:25:00.001-07:00

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

- - - - - - - -

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!

2009-07-16T22:02:00.002-07:00

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

2009-07-15T17:18:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-13T11:35:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-12T23:51:00.004-07:00

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

2009-06-10T07:27:00.003-07:00

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!

2009-06-08T01:53:00.003-07:00

• 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

2009-06-07T01:50:00.002-07:00

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

2009-06-02T03:39:00.003-07:00

• 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

2009-05-30T22:11:00.002-07:00

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.

Graduation

2009-05-22T17:39:00.017-07:00

Here are a few pictures from graduation on May 12th. Eight PIBC students received their BA degrees and one received an AA. I had trouble taking pictures from where I was sitting but the Pacific Daily News had some great photos. Dave's blog and Melissa's blog have photos, too.

Quick Update

2009-05-06T18:11:00.002-07:00

Hafa adai from Guam! We want to pass along a quick update:

• We are sad to report that Kathy Newell, one of our PIBC teaching colleagues, died yesterday while scuba diving outside Apra Harbor. We're all in shock but coping well. Our students who are taking final exams this week might be a little more distracted than usual. Please keep them in your prayers. More detail at: http://bit.ly/15AJDd

• We also heard that Tim Johnson, our Covenant mission colleague in Japan, lost his eldest sister Karen Pegors in a head-on collision on Sunday near Seattle. Our prayers are with that family.

• Even as we grieve, we find comfort in the PIBC community. Our PIBC community group will be meeting over lunch today for the final time. It's been a great group of student-staff-faculty which grew out of Brad's spiritual formation class last semester.

• The PIBC graduation ceremony will be held Tuesday afternoon, May 12th. There will be 9 students participating in the ceremony. Be sure to check our blog next week for pictures.

• A few weekends ago we redeemed some frequent flier miles and went to Korea to visit Kent. Slideshow at: http://bit.ly/qq5PQ

• Our very good news is that we have another contract on our condo.The first contract terminated when the buyer's financing did not materialize. If all goes according to plan we will be back in the States sometime around mid-June. We're cautious about making detailed plans with our summer schedule until we get past this stage.

• We're still needing some extra financial help to finish up with our work in Micronesia and make the transition back to the States. We'll have moving expenses and we will remain on the World Mission payroll through August fulfilling some Guam related obligations. So, we will continue to depend on the generosity of our supporters through the summer months. We are thankful for the ways that you have supported us on so many levels.

Thank you for your partnership!

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.

Kathy Newell

2009-05-06T05:04:00.002-07:00

Our friend and PIBC teaching colleague Kathy Newell died this morning while scuba diving. It's been a rough day. A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m., Friday, May 8th @ the Lutheran Church of Guam.

Car wash

2009-04-18T02:47:00.005-07:00

PIBC students were
washing cars today
to raise money for
the Thai mission trip.
It hasn't been raining
much on Guam this
past week -- nothing
in 3 days. That all changed
just as they finished
with our car.

Playing in the water

2009-04-09T22:59:00.003-07:00

When Dave Husby, our regional coordinator, comes for a visit from Japan we usually try to go snorkeling for a few minutes at Ypao Beach -- which we did yesterday afternoon. However, Dave is not in the picture. He's out a few hundred feet further having a confab with Eric and Karyn Sorenson. Pictured is Cheryl with Katie and Noelle Sorenson. (Click on the picture for a much better view.)

The water was great and the fish were beautiful.

Dave is preparing to leave his "RC" assignment and startng next month will be the Director of Covenant World Relief. It's been pure joy working with Dave and Ronna.

Thai mission team

2009-03-27T19:57:00.002-07:00

The mission team preparing to serve in Thailand this summer is busy washing cars on campus today, raising money for their trip. They have also started a blog to keep people updated on the mission -- PIBCThaiTeam.blogspot.com. This will be the third summer that PIBC has sent teams to northern Thailand to work with university students.

Hafa Adai #18

2009-03-21T21:58:00.000-07:00

Hafa adai from Guam, where we're over halfway through the spring semester at Pacific Islands Bible College -- and everyone is ready for a break! Two more weeks until that happens!

UPDATES
• Assuming that everything goes according to plan we will leave Guam the last week of May and begin the transition back to Stateside ministry. We are planning to situate ourselves in the Queen Creek area outside Phoenix to start laying the groundwork for a new Covenant church plant. The Queen Creek area has been especially hard hit by the foreclosure crisis.

• We have a contract to sell our Guam condo -- a contract which we got within a few hours of putting the house on the market FSBO. Praise the Lord for the encouragement. Pray for the buyer's funding to finish processing.

• We want to say a huge THANK YOU to all our supporters! It was almost exactly 3 years ago that we first sent word of our potential mission project in Guam ~ so many of you responded so quickly that we were able to begin our ministry here just a few months later, at the start of Fall Semester 2006. And many have been extremely faithful in encouraging us with regular support, both financially, through emails, and (we’re sure) by prayers as well! Now, as we transition out of this phase of ministry, we want you to be aware that we need your continuing support through the summer months. In fact, we're going to need some extra help to finish up with our work in Micronesia and return to the States. We have expenses related to relocating (airfare and shipping our household goods in a cargo container), and, as part of completing our project with the Department of World Mission, we plan to attend the Covenant Annual Meeting and Covenant Mission Week in the summer months. So we continue to depend on the generosity of God, as demonstrated through each of you. THANK YOU!

• Brad finished compiling the PIBC self-study on Wednesday and it was sent out to the accreditation visitors who will be doing the site visit in May. The reaffirmation of accreditation will be good for 10 years.

• He is also teaching a Tuesday night class in evangelism and discipleship at our new graduate-level seminary -- which we're now calling Pacific Islands Evangelical Seminary.

• He will be speaking at two of the Lenten services at the Lutheran Church of Guam.

• Cheryl has been quite busy keeping up with the PIBC bookkeeping and preparing to hand tasks off to others. Likewise with her job as the part-time secretary at the Methodist church.

• Pray for PIBC as they figure out the best staff configuration to cover our responsibilities.

• PIBC will become PIU starting this July. See the post on the school website about the name change.

• In May nine more students will be graduating with their degrees from PIBC. We're excited about these accomplishments and look forward to seeing how God will use the graduates in the years to come.

• Please pray for PIBC as they work on determining how students will be best served through our remote teaching sites. The school is having to make some hard decisions.

• We had a fantastic time in Thailand at the Covenant World Mission Asia Region Retreat. The great thing about the Covenant is that we get to work with so many quality people on every level. Pictures

• February was a busy month. Brad also led a retreat for pastors of English-speaking international churches in Asia.

• Kirk is situated in his new digs in Southern California. He bought a car.

• Kent is situated in his new digs in South Korea -- teaching English in a couple of rural schools for six months.

• Betsy reports that she has a job lined up for the school year 2009-2010 as an activities director in the dorms at UC Berkeley. This will take care of her housing. She's doing very well in school.

Thank you for your partnership and may God continue to provide for your needs as you have helped provide for ours.

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 -- http://bradboydston.com/pdf/responseform.pdf . The form can also be
downloaded from our website -- - http://Guam.Boydston.us .

COMMUNICATION

• Check the current time on Guam before calling -- worldtimeserver.com/current_time_in_GU.aspx

• Call us on our cell phones! Brad -- 671-988-4252. Cheryl -- 671-988-4243.

• Our Stateside phone number 602-903-5085 feeds to our voicemail box.

• Skype us -- BradBoydston or seespleez

• Guam address & phone:
Pacific Islands Bible College
PO Box 22619
GMF, GU 96921-2619
Office phone -- 671-734-1812

• Email us -- brad@boydston.us or cheryl@boydston.us

Gecko

2009-03-21T16:18:00.003-07:00

This little guy has been looking for a way to get
into the house. I think he wants to sell us
some insurance.

Condo under contract

2009-03-06T03:57:00.003-07:00

As we prepare to return to the US we have decided that this is the best time for us to sell our Guam condo. I put together a blog posting to show it last week. Then on Wednesday night at about 11 p.m. I put the FSBO sign out. At about 9:30 a.m., Thursday I had a phone call from someone that wanted to see it. I showed the condo 45 minutes later and the woman said she wanted to buy it.

We made an appointment with the title company for today, just to make sure that we had the contract filled out correctly and to open the account for the transaction. And then this afternoon we signed a sales contract.

The buyer is pre-approved for a USDA RD loan. Now we need President Obama to release the money to the USDA rural development people so they can release it to the bank. Apparently this is not "stimulus" money but a regular program. The funds were supposed to be released in October but now the expected date is the end of March.

Of course, you never consider a deal like this done until the money is in our bank. There are so many hic-ups that can occur in the process. But we're optimistic and we like the buyer (she seems very easy to work with). We can see that this would be a great place for her family.

That's our little Toyota Corolla sitting in front of our ground floor unit.

PIBC to PIU

2009-03-02T19:38:00.004-07:00

PIBC received word today that the
school's application to change its
name to Pacific Islands University
on July 1st has been approved.
In the picture Dave Owen is
displaying the approval
letter. ~ link

February slideshow

2009-02-22T05:28:00.006-07:00

Featuring some of our pictures taken at PIBC and home. However, most are from our trip to Thailand.

Put cursor over the slides to bring up control panel to pause pictures or click here to see the whole album at once.

Jim Peterson has uploaded his outstanding photos of our conference in Thailand here.

We're back on Guam...

2009-02-21T17:04:00.001-07:00

and more-or-less functioning
within normal parameters --
pretty good for 4 hours sleep.
We'll be joining our LCG friends
in a few minutes. The only other
big expectation today is the
PIBC staff potlock tonight.
And then there is a week's
worth of laundry.

More pictures later. For now,
here is Cheryl with a Thai friend.

Hafa Adai #17

2009-01-27T05:12:00.002-07:00

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ <><

HAFA ADAI

from Brad and Cheryl Boydston --
developing Christian leaders
and serving the churches
in the Western Pacific

"In His teaching the islands
will put their hope." Isaiah 42:4

><> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hafa adai from Guam, where we're well into the second week of the spring semester at Pacific Islands Bible College.

TRANSITION

We appreciate all of your prayer and encouragement as we've been processing the decision about our future. Covenant project missionaries are usually deployed for 3-5 years. And at the end of the spring 2009 semester we will have completed 3 years. It has become clear to us during the discernment process that the end of this semester at PIBC will also signal the end of our term of service here on Guam. We greatly value (and will greatly miss!) the friendship and mission teamwork we've experienced with our colleagues at PIBC, but we're moving forward in faith, transitioning back to the States this summer. Specifically we are planning to move to Phoenix, Arizona to begin laying the groundwork for a Covenant church plant. This will be our third new church project together and we're excited not only about being close to family in Arizona but also about coalescing a mission-focused congregation to reach out in an area of the world where the growth of the church lags significantly behind the growth of the population. We'll pass along more information as it becomes available.

Our mission finances are such that we're going to need some extra help to make the transition back to the States. We'll have moving expenses and we also plan, as part of completing our project with the Department of World Mission, to attend the Covenant Annual Meeting and Covenant Mission Week after we return. So, we will continue to depend on the generosity of our supporters through the summer months.You all have been very faithful and we do not take your partnership for granted -- especially knowing that many of you are working through your own financial challenges at this time. Thank you.

ADDITIONAL UPDATES

• Several students finished their degree programs mid-year, but we picked up 10 new students for the spring semester -- a net gain of five on the Guam campus.

• In addition to working on the accreditation self-study, and juggling academic administrative responsibilities, Brad is teaching the Evangelism and Discipleship class in PIBC's new graduate-level seminary program. This is the first year of the program so the small class size provides a unique opportunity for teaching seminar-style. He has three students in this class -- one from Chuuk, one from Palau, and one from mainland China. So far it is going quite well.

• Cheryl continues to work in the PIBC office keeping the student financial records and managing accounts payable and accounts receivable. PIBC just installed new student management software which required a week of training and then a lot of extra data input. But it appears that the whole system is running more smoothly than expected.

• Kent, who was with us last semester as a PIBC volunteer, teaching two ESL classes and helping out in the library, left Guam for California last Wednesday. This coming Sunday he'll be flying to South Korea to begin a six month teaching gig in a program sponsored by their government -- teaching English to children in rural areas.

• All three of our children were here for Christmas and that was an outstanding time. Betsy is now back in class at UC Berkeley and Kirk has begun his new job with YellowPages.com in Glendale, California.

• We expect February to be a bit chaotic. Brad will be leading a retreat for international pastors next week. Then we have the PIBC board meeting the following week. The week after that we will be in Thailand at the retreat for Covenant workers from throughout Asia (thanks to some special gifts that were given to the Department of World Mission!).

PRAYER

• Please pray for us as we continue to serve at PIBC this semester. Pray for our students, student-staff community group, and the mission of PIBC.

• Pray, too, for the sale of our condo. We plan to put it on the market in March in preparation for the transition.

• Pray for the retreat Brad leads next week and the Covenant mission retreat that we're attending February 14-21 in Thailand.

• Pray for us as we begin to make specific decisions about relocating to Phoenix and start to develop connections there.

Thank you for your partnership!

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.

Energetically seeking to receive grace

2009-01-24T00:04:00.001-07:00

Quotable:

We must stop using the fact that we cannot earn grace (whether for justification or for sanctification) as an excuse for not energetically seeking to receive grace. Having been found by God, we then become seekers of ever-fuller life in him. Grace is opposed to earning, but not to effort. The realities of Christian spiritual formation are that we will not be transformed "into his likeness" by more information, or by infusions, inspirations, or ministrations alone. Though all of these have an important place, they never suffice, and reliance upon them alone explains the now-common failure of committed Christians to rise much above a certain level of decency.
~ Dallas Willard, The Great Omission, p. 76

The quote will be a discussion launcher for my Evangelism and Discipleship class in a week. It would be interesting to bring some outside opinions to the table. Any or all feedback -- brief or long would be beneficial (you can leave feedback in the comments section). The students are Chinese, Chuukese, and Palauan. So their experience may be different than yours or that of Willard, who is writing from an American perspective. If you leave a comment and I don't personally know you please say where you live.

Do you agree with Willard?
In your world do you think that Christians are saying they don't want to appear to be earning grace so they are more relaxed in their approach to spiritual growth than they ought to be?
Or are there other issues involved in your context?
What might those issues be?
What are your personal observations regarding the reasons why Christians fail to grow into fully mature disciples?

Boydston December slideshow

2009-01-01T02:53:00.003-07:00

Most recent email update sent today

2008-12-20T21:31:00.003-07:00

We know that everyone is extra busy right now so this is just a quick note to say Merry Christmas from blustery Guam!

* Our fall semester is over -- whew.

* It's worked out that all three of our children are joining us for Christmas on Guam. We're grateful!

* We'll make a decision about whether we can extend our work here beyond June once we take a look at the finances after the first of the year.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. You're in our prayers. God has always provided, which of course is why we celebrate Christmas!

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." ~ John 1:14

Blessings!
Brad & Cheryl Boydston

--
BRAD & CHERYL BOYDSTON
Project Missionaries with the Evangelical Covenant Church
working in partnership with Pacific Islands Bible College
developing church leaders throughout Micronesia
~ email: brad@boydston.us
~ email: cheryl@boydston.us
~ P.O. Box 22619, GMF, Guam 96921-2619 USA
~ Guam phone: 671-734-1812 (time zone GMT +10)
~ Guam mobile: 671-988-4252
~ US phone: 602-903-5085
~ Skype: BradBoydston OR seespleez
~ blog & support info: www.guam.boydston.us

Pacific Islands Bible College

2008-12-18T18:48:00.004-07:00

A few days ago I posted what Steve Stinnette wrote about the Micronesian context. Here is some more of what he has put together to describe the mission of the college. This is still a rough draft but Steve has done an exceptional job in getting this down in writing.

In a tumultuous 2009 world, one in which the biggest changes in world economies has been seen, and in unprecedented, surprising world politics, Pacific Islands Bible College remains one of the most unique colleges in our society. It remains a solid core of Christian strength on a geographical front line being tested daily, and tested with huge international implications.

The college is an accredited American school situated very much off shore from the US mainland, educating students in Micronesia, the Pacific Rim and a larger global community, with locations on Guam, Chuuk, Palau and Yap. In an era where Christianity itself is being challenged, probably as never before in modern history, Pacific Islands Bible College sits at the doorway of the largest non-Christian countries of the world. The largest Muslim country in the world – Indonesia – is literally next door. What PIBC has proposed to do, and has indeed has done since 1976, is spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to help fulfill the Great Commission. What is needed now is to bolster the college’s resources, provide space for increased enrollment for students yearning to come to the college, and for the college to be able to hire more faculty for the new students who will appear at the doors of the campuses. The college literally does not have enough room for students who desire an education, which is Christ-centered, in their communities. The different nations of the globe need the students, and they will welcome them; the only thing left to do is to educate the hundreds who will come, growing into the cumulative thousands who will come, and let them help change societies for the good…and for Christ.

The college was founded in 1976 by Liebenzell Mission with the evangelical churches it planted in Micronesia, designed to prepare Micronesian citizens for leadership in the church. Today the college, which needs to provide more classroom space for a population of over 200 students, could grow to 400 immediately, reaching men and women who will come from educationally challenged populations. Over 95% of the students have Pell Grants, the kind of financial aid reserved for the neediest of students. Many of the staff themselves are missionaries from the United States and Germany.

The system works; students, who graduate with a BA or AA degree, certificate, or diploma in Bible, return to their islands to serve as pastors, school teachers, government workers or business people. Some will go on to pursue graduate education on the US mainland, at the PIBC seminary, or elsewhere in Asia. The government of Chuuk State has offered guaranteed employment to any PIBC graduate in its education system owing to so few citizens of the region having college degrees. PIBC graduates take on not only Christian leadership in churches, but in schools, government offices and business, following graduation. This could not be done if the college itself were not exceptional in quality with outstanding teachers, and a dedicated administration led by President Dr Dave Owen.

So, the immediate opportunity is to address the applicants who want to come to the college at all the sites. With more teachers and expanded facilities, PIBC could easily increase the number of students, again increasing both its local and global influence.

What are the needs; moreover, what are the great opportunities? They are:

1. Increase student scholarships and living expenses. For Micronesian students, the US Pell Grants cover 80% of their tuition, room and board. Many still lack funds to cover the remaining 20%, flights from home to school and general living expenses. Non-Micronesian students generally have no scholarship help. Many are in need of a full tuition scholarship.

2. New Buildings. The Guam campus was originally built for 35 boarding students. Now there are more than 60 boarding students and over 100 total students. The need is for a new 2 story classroom building and library building. This would mean current classrooms and the library could be converted into more dormitory space. All conversions would allow space to house 80 additional students, a critical issue in a total PIBC educational process.

3. The Library Project. PIBC maintains theological libraries on all five of its sites. Each of these libraries functions as the only theological library in their areas and provides important resources for pastors and teachers as well as students. Except for the Guam library, these are new libraries with a great need for books and electronic resources. PIBC’s goal is to provide them with all resources for basic theological work.

4. The Chuuk Campus Dormitory and Classroom Renovation Project. The 60 plus students on the Tol, Chuuk campus are crammed into a facility that was built over 20 years ago for about 40 students. All the buildings are in a state of disrepair from the 20 plus years of hard use. New renovations would have an immediate and positive impact.

5. Funding for Hiring New Bridge Program and Seminary Faculty and Staff. This will enable us to initiate a program called the Bridge Program, which will allow under-qualified Micronesian students to compete at the college level; many now graduate from the public high schools with an English comprehension level on a 3rd to 7th grade level, PIBC needs to hire an additional 6 TESL faculty and 2 administrative staff. As well, the seminary needs to hire 2 faculty and 2 administrative staff to meet growing needs for the new seminary. Clearly more leaders could be developed if these areas were addressed and funded.

6. Support for Indigenous Staff and Faculty. It is critical that PIBC continue to develop local, especially Micronesian, staff and faculty. However, with the high poverty rate in Micronesia, it is almost impossible for faculty and staff to raise their own funds for missionary support as western missionaries are able to do. It is very important to have faculty and staff who are Micronesian, and there are qualified Micronesians for these positions; PIBC lacks enough funds to pay them.

7. Housing for Faculty and Staff. Currently, each faculty and staff are responsible for finding their own housing. New faculty and staff, especially those visiting for a shorter period of time, would need places to live while they work for PIBC.

8. Operating funds. PIBC serves an area that has some of the lowest incomes in the world. The college keeps tuition, room and board coast as low as possible for all students. At only $8,500 per year, we have one of the lowest costs that is possible for any American accredited college. Even with the 60% of staff and faculty who serve as missionaries with their own support, PIBC struggles to meet its own financial obligations. Though God has been gracious to supply needs, often maintenance and other problems go unmet because of a lack of finances.

The good and encouraging news is that PIBC receives over $500,000 each year in gifts in kind and in cash contributions. By far, the gifts in kind drive the school through gifts of materials, equipment and then the time of labor from volunteers to make things happen in construction and in the classroom. What is needed is an infusion, and then a continuing stream of financial support to the college to achieve even greater things for God’s kingdom in Micronesia and the world. We have proved we can do it, through God’s strength; what we now propose to do is more with His blessings and through faith in Him.

We propose to seek the advice and direction of friends through a Study and Assessment to see if we can realize $5,000,000 or more over the next 5-7 years, from 2009 through 2014- 2016 in cash gifts, pledges and contributions from an ever expanding base. We will conduct this assessment and then report back to all of those involved our findings, the recommendations made as a result of the Study, and then the Board’s plans.

Take my class next semester!

2008-12-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

I gave a final to the Spiritual Formation class this afternoon and turned in the course grades to the Registrar. Everyone passed the class.

Tomorrow the Christian Doctrine-3 students will do their final -- 46 multiple choice questions.

As this semester wraps up I can start to think some more about the spring semester, which starts on January 19th. I'll be teaching Evangelism & Discipleship -- MN 501 (Tuesday, 6:30-9 p.m.). As this class is a part of our new graduate level seminary program it is the first time we've offered it. So, I'm having to figure out what direction we're headed with it all.

It should be fun but as of today there is only one student enrolled. Anyone want to jump in? I think I need to recruit a few students to add to the critical mass. The more the merrier.

Here are the texts:
Ancient Future Evangelism by Robert Webber
The Celtic Way of Evangelism by George Hunter
The Great Omission by Dallas Willard
Outflow by Steve Sjogren and Dave Ping
True Story by James Choung
The Mission of God by Christopher Wright (just a few chapters)

These authors all bring something slightly unique to the table for discussion. So, it should be very interesting looking at Evangelism and Discipleship from several different angles. No canned outcomes here!

I'm planning some "field trips" and video. I'm light on lecture and heavier on discussion and interaction. Send me email if you'll be on Guam, already have a bachelor's degree, desire to figure out how the church engages the culture to make disciples, and you'd like more info.

Micronesia: the Context for PIBC

2008-12-16T19:43:00.003-07:00

Steve Stinnette the VP of Development for PIBC wrote this as a part of publicity piece. I suspect it will get trimmed down to a few bullet points but I thought it was good enough to grab in the raw form for our supporters.

Change and continuity are characteristic of every living civilization. Civilizations survive because of their adaptability and flexibility. The small isolated island societies in the Western Pacific known for years as Micronesia are no different.

Micronesia is the name given to the group of islands in the Western Pacific north of the equator, between Hawaii and the Philippines. Geographically isolated and culturally insulated from the rest of the world, these 2,203 tiny islands were first populated centuries ago. Discovered and then colonized by four different world powers over the last half millennium, they were thrust into the world’s forefront by the events of World War II. In the past 60 years, the 400,000 people who inhabit 117 of these islands have been the subject of research. Historians, anthropologists, linguists, and archaeologists alike have invaded their shores and curiously observed and studied their cultures, both in the rural outer-lying islands which still mirror pre-western contact, and in the town-like island centers, where western influence and development has become predominant.

A postwar United Nations mandate gave authority to the United States to develop them politically and economically. Since that mandate, Micronesian culture has collided with the West and has been permanently affected by this collision. Cash economies have replaced subsistence economies, simple tribal-like lifestyles have been seduced by western materialism, and its relationship with the West has created a welfare-dependent mentality. Western ideals and values have slowly wormed their way into the social fabric of these simple, laid-back, island communities. The present generation of young people is caught between the pull of old values and the curious draw of the new ones. Micronesia as a society seems to be without a clear sense of identity, both on a personal and a national level. The forces of globalization have assaulted both its national consciousness and its social structures without consideration as to whether Micronesian society itself is adequately prepared to accept or embrace such change.

Micronesia’s struggle today is to survive the challenge of both change and continuity in the 21st century. At first glance, the way forward appears unclear and definitely unmarked.

More later...

Pre-holiday scramble

2008-12-16T04:50:00.002-07:00

Kirk arrived from San Francisco this evening. He's be here for a couple of weeks.

Betsy arrives on the 23rd, also flying in from the Bay Area.

I had my last class session in Christian Doctrine 3 today. Tomorrow we have final in Spiritual Formation and there is a final in Christian Doctrine on Thursday. Nothing on Friday.

Kent and some of his ESL students...

2008-12-16T03:01:00.006-07:00

...along with Joyce Owen,
with whom he team
taught one of his classes.
Right now he is at
the Korean church
where his is
teaching his last
evening class. The
PIBC semester ends
this Thursday.

UPDATE: The class will
also meet Thursday night.

What's happening on Guam?

2008-12-12T19:06:00.003-07:00

• KVOG AM 1530 (Guam's 4th AM station) -- which appears to still be broadcasting on a construction license is playing ALL CHRISTMAS MUSIC!

• The Japanese government is going to try to kick in another $1 billion dollars to pay for the relocation of US Marines from Okinawa to Guam. They seem anxious to make sure that the process stays on track while many in the US are speculating that the Obama administration may try to slow down the relocation. ~ link

• Thursday night's storm on Guam is now Tropical Storm Dolphin and is still picking up some steam in the Philippine Sea headed toward the Philippines. However, the forecast is that it will probably fizzle out before getting there. ~ link

• Guam's infrastructure is weak -- power can and does fail on normal days -- on a pretty regular basis. But during the storms last week they keep it all on -- progress worth mentioning.

• KB Toys is going under Stateside (perhaps because they were locked into a mall model of retailing during a time when younger buyers were avoiding malls). It's unclear what's going to happen to the Guam KB Toys, which is reported to be one of the chains most profitable stores (retailing on Guam is still mall-centered -- and there isn't much competition here). ~ link

• Last night we did our part to contribute to the local economy. We took our PIBC community group to the GPO mall for the snow show and then over to the Micronesia Mall for the big Christmas tree show (pictured above). Afterward we all invaded Coldstone Creamery for ice cream.

Come, Messiah, Come

2008-12-11T04:39:00.005-07:00

I spoke in the PIBC chapel on Tuesday -- using Cheryl's song Come, Messiah, Come as a launching point for a discussion of Advent. So we had to teach it. I brought my uke, Mary Lou, Cheryl, and Melody (not visible) stood in front and Ned played piano.

Since I had the uke with me the music team asked me to play with them for the songs that preceded my chapel talk. The three leaders are Meluat, Hedrick, and Leeman (all Palauans).

Melissa Heck took the pictures.

Storm rolling through

2008-12-11T00:57:00.000-07:00

We've got a bit of a tropical depression rolling over Guam right now. It's been windy and rainy most of the afternoon and it's going to peak in an hour or so.

The weather is more fun than anything at this point -- winds are supposed to get to tropical storm levels (35-45 mph) but not typhoon speeds.

Kent is canceling his English class tonight. I did close the storm shutters because we're right under a fully-loaded coconut tree. It's a chance to test the storm protection apparatus.

We have not had many storms this season (they all skirted the island) and we're technically past typhoon season (although they can show up at anytime during the year).

Dave snapped a picture of our little Corolla getting rained on at PIBC this afternoon.

Thanksgiving Day

2008-11-27T02:43:00.000-07:00

We had a great feast at PIBC with 70 or 80 people participating early this afternoon. Everything I tried off the extended buffet table was outstanding. Thanks to Melissa for her coordination of the whole thing. Cheryl made one of the turkeys and it was soooo good.

This evening we took Kent to the airport and he's off to Manila with seven of the PIBC seminary students who are in a missions class. They're on a "missions observation" trip. Kent isn't actually in that class but he was invited to tag along -- and since he's not been to the Philippines -- and since he's full of adventure -- he joined in. He'll be back to Guam in a week.

Community Group

2008-11-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

Our PIBC community group was invited over to Esther Tarkong's home (she's one of the students in my spiritual formation class). She and her family put together a major pre-Thanksgiving spread for us. Then we all had to take turns "singing for our supper."

Alpha wrap-up

2008-11-11T21:29:00.004-07:00

We're having the last session of Alpha tonight. In some ways I am glad that the evening will be free for awhile. We'll be able to do Wednesday nights at Chamorro Village again! But I will miss the buzz.

Alpha is a 10-week course that introduces the gospel in a non-threatening and pressure-free way. I know that when I first looked at Alpha I couldn't believe that it would work. But then I eventually went through the Alpha leaders training in California, hoping to get it started at Cornerstone in Turlock. We never got it off the ground there but were able to plug in on Guam pretty quickly. Cheryl and I are discussion group leaders.

The format is simple -- a meal, a video talk, and a discussion group. It sounds sort'a hokey but it works. And there are people who actually become Christians through it all. Last week a Japanese man visited for the first time (missing all of the basic upfront information) and on Thursday he met with a friend to discuss what he'd seen in the one session of the course he had been to. As a result of it all he has decided to become a follower of Jesus. There are many such stories.

This is the third time that the Lutheran Church of Guam has done the course. Faith Church in Mangilao was a co-sponsor. We've had about 80 people enrolled this time through, about 15 of which are PIBC students in the college's evangelism class. Stacy Larsen has again been the director and Dee Bahret has been coordinating the food. Both of these military wives have done a great job. Pastor Jeff Johnson from LCG has been teaching the evangelism class for the college. There are a lot of diverse people working together on this.

Visitors

2008-11-09T03:08:00.006-07:00

It's not everyday that we see familiar faces from the States. Robert and Novella Larson arrived on Guam yesterday and will be here as tourists for about a week before they move on to see Palau. Bob is the retired Executive Secretary of Church Growth and Evangelism for the Covenant. He was also one of my professors at North Park Seminary (a long time ago). In addition to being a pastor he has a PhD in urban planning and taught a course on church planning -- that is, choosing sites for church buildings.

PTL

2008-11-07T20:41:00.002-07:00

We're all excited because May Vigil sent us good news a few minutes ago. May is our Guam campus library coordinator. She went to Hawaii a couple of weeks ago and had surgery to remove a grapefruit size growth. Well, she got word today that the growth is benign. No additional treatment needed. She and Tony will be headed back to Guam on Tuesday. Praise the Lord!

Chapel today

2008-11-07T01:31:00.005-07:00

Many, if not most of our students don't really "get" the idea of a college. They ended up at PIBC because their families thought it would be good for them -- or they didn't have any other ideas -- or they're looking for a way off their island for awhile -- or... They don't really understand the purpose of higher education or the doors it can open.

In chapel today Melody Plaxton and I attempted to do a College 101 session. And it worked well. I talked about the fact that an important part of discipleship is the development of the mind (not the only part -- but an important part). Then I explained that college is a tool that can be used toward that end. It is not the only way that we develop our minds but it is one way that we can subject ourselves to rigorous training.

I then explained what a college degree is -- how many years it takes to get a bachelors degree, a masters, a doctorate -- and what you can do with those degrees -- why you might concentrate studies in this area or that.

Melody followed it all up with a fun presentation on how having a minor concentration in the BA might be beneficial -- and about the classes involved in the seven minors we have at PIBC. She did a great job -- especially since I think I squeezed her on time.

Academic structure is not the most inspiring topic but by watching the faces I could see that there were students having an ah-ha experience. And afterward Melody and I each ended up having good conversations with students.

I talked with three students who said they wanted to get a master's degree and were trying to determine the best course to getting there. One of the students was trying to figure out which master's degree would be appropriate for doctoral preparation. That was the first time in my association with PIBC that I've had a Micronesian student talk about the possibility of earning a PhD. If we're eventually going to turn this operation over to them we need more like him -- more who are willing to step up for advanced mind training.

It was a fruitful chapel.

Chicken soup skit

2008-10-31T02:45:00.002-07:00

Melissa posted a skit that some of our PIBC students did last spring. They enjoy acting (hamming) and this particular skit seems to show up on stage quite often.

Mary Lou Carruthers

2008-10-26T18:24:00.004-07:00

I've already had a productive week!

Over the past two years a lot of the PIBC IT technical issues have landed on my desk. But this morning I was able to hand a whole list of projects off to Mary Lou Carruthers.

Mary Lou is a code banger who spent three weeks at PIBC last spring helping with various computer related projects. She returned to California, wrapped up her business there, and last week moved to Guam to become the PIBC IT guru.

She will be living with Tim & Melody Plaxton until she gets situated on Guam.

Ethel on the way

2008-10-22T00:00:00.005-07:00

Ethel Laco, a PIBC Guam pillar who has served in both the office and as a dean of women, is on the way back to the Philippines. Her mother died last week and so she decided that she needed to go home for the funeral. Unfortunately, her visa status is up in the air and it appears that she will probably not be able to re-enter Guam anytime soon. So, the farewell party was bigger than usual. We'll miss her. Ethel is an unusually competent and gifted person who has contributed to the lives of countless students.

Bruce and Katy on the way

2008-10-21T19:41:00.005-07:00

Our friends Bruce and Katy Docktor have wrapped things up in Turlock (including putting our car in the shop on their last day in town) and are on their way to Oaxaca, Mexico, where they will be "short-termers" working with the church there.

New Covenant missionary appointments

2008-10-21T06:12:00.002-07:00

Two couples have been approved for recommendation as long-term Covenant missionaries, to be presented for approval during the 2009 annual meeting.

Dr Robert and Grace Shim have been working as project missionaries in Kurdistan – he as a medical doctor and Grace does counseling. They are transitioning into ministry in Thailand.

Lisandro and Patricia Restrepo have been working as project missionaries with the Family Foundation in Monterrey, Mexico and will continue in that role.

More good news -- Dr Jim Gustafson is back as a Covenant long-time missionary. Jim has got all kinds of projects going in Thailand.

Details

If we stay on Guam...

2008-10-19T03:24:00.005-07:00

Those who read our latest newsletter probably realize that we're in the process of discerning the next steps. In order to continue serving on Guam we'll need to raise a lot more financial support.

We have been blown away -- but not surprised -- by the generosity of God's people. When we left California 2+ years ago we received a lot of upfront major "one-time" gifts. Those special gifts, along with the monthly support from churches, family, and friends have carried us this far. But that pool of money from those special gifts is soon depleted. That means we need to increase monthly support or receive more special gifts -- or a combination thereof.

We can see a lot of good reasons to stay on Guam.

1. We feel that what we're doing at PIBC is having some significant impact not only on the institution but also in the lives of students -- and will soon be having some major impact on the island churches. If we stay on Guam we'd continue partnering with PIBC.

2. Guam is the one of the unique cultural crossroads of the world -- bringing together numerous Asian populations and islanders of many stripes. Mix in a bunch of Americans and you've got a great fusion of cultures -- and an unusual platform for influence in a number of worlds.

3. I could see some doors opening for a significant church plant on Guam. There are just a handful of healthy congregations here. That is, this place is already under-churched. But when you consider the ongoing military build-up and the 40,000 new people it will draw over the next 10 years (military and civilian Americans -- along with Asian support workers) there is a major vacuum -- and a major opportunity to plant cross-cultural churches which would have tentacles reaching into many places around the world. I'd love to use some of the contacts we've already made to start churches which could also serve as training centers for our PIBC and seminary students.

4. While Guam is probably the most quirky place we've ever lived it is also a great place to live -- in spite of the fact that it is an environmental and educational disaster zone, a case study in public misfeasance, full of potholes, and a downright expensive place to live. We like it here and enjoy the people.

It would be great to stay -- but only if that is God's leading. We're open to redirection and know that there is plenty of ministry to do in other places, too. But we could see this as a longer-term place. We want to be where God wants us to be -- but we have no trouble lobbying for Guam.

Whether we stay or move on, I'm excited to see exactly how it is that the Lord is going to work this out. It's in his hands.

In the pictures: Cheryl, Kent, and I tried to get into the Micronesian Fair at Ypao Beach this afternoon but there was no parking. So, we drove down the street and took a walking tour of the Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort in Tamuning.

The structure is of one of their wedding chapels, surrounded by a swimming pool, and overlooking the Philippine Sea.

Behind Cheryl and Kent is Alupat Island -- a small island inside the reef.

There are over a million Japanese tourists who visit Guam each year -- many to get married. Most will spend their whole time within the tourist strip along the Philippine Sea.

In contrast to the tourist section of Guam is the very basic Guam campus of PIBC in Mangilao. But you can see that we have a different kind of beauty.

Hafa Adai #16

2008-10-14T23:44:00.007-07:00

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ <><

HAFA ADAI
from Brad and Cheryl Boydston --
developing Christian leaders and
serving the churches in the Western Pacific

"In His teaching the islands
will put their hope." Isaiah 42:4

><> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hafa adai from Guam -- where it is currently 86° and 91% humidity. The sun shines for a while then the rains come for a while. Then the sun shines for a while then the rains come... It is the rainy season in this part of the world.

It's also mid-semester at Pacific Islands Bible College and things are going quite well -- especially considering all of the transitions in the school.

UPDATES

• Brad is teaching Christian Doctrine 3 and Spiritual Formation. In the doctrine class students are using the knowledge they've gained in the other PIBC classes to do evaluations of various religious movements -- everything from mainline to cults. It's very satisfying to see them present their papers to the class and realize just how far they've come in their ability to apply what they've learned.

In the formation class we've developed a creative approach so that students not only deal with the content of the class but are also coached in writing skills at the same time. Suzanne Bratcher, retired English professor from Northern Arizona University, is the writing coach. Instead of giving quizzes to keep students on task in the reading we're giving short writing assignments based on the chapters in Scot McKnight's Jesus Creed and John Ortburg's The Life You've Always Wanted. I'm told that this level of integration is unusual in academia. We're not trying to be innovative -- just responding to the reality of an insular student population which has generally had very substandard elementary and secondary educations.

• Cheryl continues to work in the PIBC office keeping the student financial records and managing accounts payable and accounts receivable. Finances can be extra complicated because PIBC has two teaching sites in Chuuk and another in Palau -- each with their own unique financial requirements. Recently she has also been helping with the books at the Lutheran Church of Guam, filling in until ELCA missionary Cristel Churchill returns from the States, where she and Ben Boedecker were married in Wisconsin last Saturday. Cheryl also continues as the paid secretary at the Guam United Methodist Church -- as part of our self-support.

• Kent, who is with us this semester as a PIBC volunteer, is teaching two ESL classes -- one at a local Korean church and one on campus. He has also been helping out in the library. In addition he's been taking a seminary class. It is a delight to have him with us!

• We are also leading an Alpha group on Wednesday nights. Alpha is an evangelistic course which involves creating community through shared meals, gospel presentations, and small group discussions. There are 80 people involved in Alpha this time around. Our group has about a dozen people in it.

• We have also been a part of a PIBC community group which brings together students and staff on a regular basis. The first group meeting involved packing everyone into our condo for pizza and story-telling. Last Saturday we all went to Dave and Joyce Owen's for BBQ -- and to watch a video which showed how just ten years ago a German mission team transformed a set of typhoon-battered and dilapidated migrant worker dorms into the PIBC campus. Amazing!

• People often ask us how long we plan to stay on Guam. Covenant project missionaries are usually deployed for 3-5 years. At the end of the spring 2009 semester we will have completed 3 years. It would definitely benefit the students, the school, and the churches in the Western Pacific if we continued on. However, our finances are such that we may have to complete the term at the end of the spring semester. We will be making that decision in the next few months. If churches and individuals can help with continued or even additional support we can stay longer. If not, we will consider that the Lord is moving us on to do something else. We don't take your financial support for granted and we appreciate all of the ways that our families, friends, and the churches have been supportive. You all have blessed us and we are grateful.

If you can continue to support us in the work we're doing with young Christian leaders on the islands it would be helpful to hear from you so that we have enough information to make a decision. Send us an email! Even if you can't help out financially it's always a joy and encouragement to hear from you.

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.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Please:

• pray for the students in our community group. There are a couple of students who are really struggling academically.

• pray for the new PIBC graduate-level seminary program which is exceeding our expectations on so many levels.

• pray for us as we figure out the next steps.

• pray for Pacific Islands Bible College as we re-envision the school's mission and academic programs.

OPPORTUNITIES

• Thinking long term, PIBC is going to need additional teachers, with appropriate masters degrees, who can teach education, Bible, theology, and practical ministry classes. It often takes people 12-24 months to raise support and prepare for a transition.

• We are in need of volunteers who can pay their way out to serve for a semester as remedial teachers -- especially in English. Bachelor's degree required. Teaching experience is helpful.

• The Guam campus needs short-term and long term maintenance volunteers to assist Tim Plaxton, the Guam maintenance supervisor.

Thank you for your partnership!

COMMUNICATION

• Check the current time on Guam before calling --

• Call us on our cell phones! Brad -- 671-988-4252. Cheryl -- 671-988-4243.

• Our Stateside phone number 602-903-5085 feeds to our voicemail box.

• Skype us -- BradBoydston or seespleez

• Guam address & phone:

Pacific Islands Bible College
PO Box 22619
GMF, GU 96921-2619 USA
Office phone -- 671-734-1812

• Email us -- Brad@Boydston.us or Cheryl@Boydston.us

• Covenant World Mission --

• Pacific Islands Bible College

• Liebenzell USA

• Liebenzell International

• Cheryl's music

• Brad's website/blog -- updated almost daily

• Guam Visitor's Bureau

ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
Hafa Adai is Chamorro for hello. If you would like to receive Hafa Adai in your email box, email Brad at brad@boydston.us.

Community Groups

2008-10-11T04:04:00.006-07:00

Students and staff on the Guam campus have been divided into community groups that get together a few times a month to connect and have some fun. A few weeks ago our group squeezed into our condo for a pizza night. (top picture)

This evening we all met at Dave and Joyce Owen's place in Yigo for BBQ. We also watched a great little video made by the German work team which built the Guam campus.

In the bottom right picture Joyce is giving a tour of her garden.

Also, there's a picture of the two Dave's in our group. Dave Owen in the president of PIBC. Dave Souleng from Chuuk is scheduled to graduate in the spring.

The mission of Pacific Islands University

2008-10-10T04:59:00.005-07:00

We've come to realize that it is no longer enough to simply teach people the Bible. If they are going to be effective disciples of Christ Jesus they also need to become experts in the cultures and contexts in which they will be applying the Bible.

PIBC is morphing into a Christian liberal arts school -- soon to be Pacific Islands University. President Dave is waxing on his blog about what all of this change means and what it means to be an accessible, excellent, and transformational school.

So, I thought I'd jump in and provide some back-up.

Here is the working version of the new mission and purpose statement -- still in process:

PIBC (PIU) exists to provide accessible, excellent, transformational Christian education and ministry training to the people of Micronesia, the Pacific Islands, and to the ends of the earth. As such, our mission is to prepare men and women with a biblical worldview for leadership and service in life, work, and ministry in the global community and the church.

Accessible -- Most of our students are islanders from Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap, Palau, Hawaii, Guam, and the Marshalls. But there is representation from the Philippines, Bangladesh, Japan, Korea, China, and the mainland US. For these people in the Western Pacific Guam is the most central location -- thus the location of the main campus. We also have sites in Palau, Yap, and Chuuk. We're also beginning to offer online distance education.

We're accessible cost-wise, too. Almost all of our students come from places which most of the world would consider impoverished so we work hard to make education affordable. We keep education accessible by relying on missionary staffing. We are perhaps the least expensive college with American accreditation.

Since most of our students also come from educationally challenged environments we have to do a lot of remedial work.

Excellent -- While the islands themselves are beautiful no one has ever established a pattern of "excellence" here. These are backwater places which much of the world has blown off as insignificant. So, expectations have always been pretty low -- whether it comes to education, health care, environmental stewardship, or economic development.

And we admit that PIBC has at times gone with that flow. But we are now determined that our students will get an education on par with what they would get in the mainland US or at any other college around the world. The days of missionary bush school standards are history.

Transformational -- We're not just about life change -- making disciples who walk closely with Christ -- who carry the gospel to the far corners. That IS an important part of what we do but we want to be transforming the island cultures, too. We see ourselves as an intentionally disruptive presence -- such is the nature of the kingdom of God.

The islands are rife with dysfunction -- nepotism, corruption, locally-generated pollution, addiction, incest, sexual violence -- a dark cloud of hopelessness -- a fog of fatalism. We want to raise up a generation of Christians who will lead their cultures through the difficult transformational changes that will be necessary if the people of the Pacific are going to live healthy lives in the globalized 21st century.

If the island cultures do not change people will continue to suffer and die because there is very limited health care. They will continue to live as victims of leaders who regularly rip-off their own people because there are not enough checks in the system -- or spine to stand up to them. The islands will become subservient to the rich and educated nations who will trick them out of their birth-rights.

PIU wants to have a part in shaping a generation of leaders who will as prophets and disciples rise up to challenge these injustices. We can't do this for them but perhaps God will use us to give them the tools that will set them along the path of transformation.

Insular

2008-10-03T17:42:00.002-07:00

I'm occasionally asked whether living on a small island doesn't drive me crazy. Whether I am crazy of not I'll leave to others to decide but I can comment on the underlying nature of the question.

It's not the size of the island itself that is the challenge but the size of the thinking that characterizes a lot of the islands. People don't come right out and say that they think the rest of the world should revolve around their island and their island's issues. But they are genuinely baffled when they aren't treated as though they are the center of the universe.

Key Limes on Guam

2008-09-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

One of my personal missions for our time on Guam is to introduce Key Limes to the local citrus mix.

The three-foot seedling in the picture is one that I planted at PIBC.

Read about it on my crazy4citrus.com site.

Quick update

2008-09-13T19:55:00.004-07:00

Kent has been helping out in the library and with teaching an ESL class. He is also supposed to be teaching another ESL class that we have arranged with a local Korean church. However, the church is on "island time" in getting themselves organized and the class hasn't started, yet.

In the picture Kent is helping himself to a local Sunday morning breakfast of rice, eggs, and Spam at McDonald's.

Below that picture is a photo of Suzanne Bratcher, retired Northern Arizona University professor, in action. She is team teaching the Spiritual Formation class with me. I am responsible for the content and Suzanne is coaching the students on their writing skills. There are seven students in the class and two teachers. It's not everywhere that a student can get this level of attention.

Where are the students?

2008-09-03T00:20:00.004-07:00

Many of our Guam campus students are missing. They just didn't show up for the beginning of the semester. Likewise on our Tol campus in Chuuk they've been running short, too. We've all been scratching our heads trying to figure out what happened.

However, one of our in-the-know staff members pointed out that the government boat which usually goes around to pick up students from the islands before the beginning of school didn't run the same route this year -- bypassing most of the islands. Apparently, the FSM government couldn't afford the cost of the gas (over $7/gallon). So, many of our students are stranded on their islands.

What does this mean?

If people are unable to move around in Micronesia in the manner to which they've grown accustom I'm guessing that once they do catch a ride out they may decide to not return to their islands. The current estimated population of the Federated States of Micronesia is about 108,000 people. But there are about 30,000 FSM citizens living elsewhere in the US. And while the birthrate in the FSM remains high the net population growth is about -1% annually.

The largest concentration of Micronesians living abroad is in Hawaii. Guam, California, Oregon, and Texas all have major gathering points, too. It will be interesting to see if emigration picks up. I'm suspecting it will. Hawaii and Guam can expect a new wave of Micronesian immigration.

For PIBC Guam this means that we're predicting a ~~$3,000~~ $30,000 per month short-fall. And as with many missionary operations there is not really any kind of reserve to speak of. I don't know what this means for the Tol campus. We haven't finished crunching those numbers, yet. Will it even be possible to keep the campus open? Tol is itself a fairly isolated island and we have to boat in the supplies to run the school there.

Keep PIBC -- and all of Micronesia in your prayers.

First seminary class

2008-08-29T19:37:00.006-07:00

It has been an historic morning at PIBC as the first graduate-level seminary class met for the first time today.

Dave Owen is teaching Basic Bible Exegesis and Interpretation to six students -- including our son Kent -- the only Anglo student. So, there was one Filipina, one Chinese, one Anglo, one Chuukese, one Korean, and one Palauan. We had been thinking that we'd name the new school Guam Theological Seminary but perhaps it should be something like Island Fusion Theological Seminary.

Kent is living with us and working as a volunteer at PIBC this semester.

We received permission from the accreditors last spring to begin offering a two-year master of arts in religion (MAR) degree. The plan is to follow that with a three-year master of divinity (MDiv). We are offering four different classes this first semester. All of the classes are in the evenings or on Saturdays.

In the pictures: Cheryl insisted that there needed to be a first day of school picture with Kent. The class is meeting in the staff lounge.

Busy day

2008-08-23T05:49:00.001-07:00

We had to divide up in order to conquer this morning. Cheryl went to the Alpha leaders training on our behalf. I, on the other hand spent the morning doing yard work at PIBC -- getting things ready for the fall semester -- which begins in a week. The pictures are from the workday.

This will be the second time that we've led an Alpha Course group.

One of the interesting things we're doing this time around is integrating the PIBC evangelism class into Alpha so that the students will have some training in a strongly relational approach to evangelism. Pastor Jeff Johnson from LCG is the PIBC class teacher.

Since today is Cheryl's birthday the three of us (Cheryl, Kent, me) followed it all up with a great lunch at Jan Z's by the Sea, down at the Agat Marina.

Then this evening we went to the mall and procured some gelato.

We'll get Cheryl's traditional birthday pie some time in the future -- when the grocery store gets some more frozen Marie Callender berry pies in stock. We're always waiting for a ship to come in with something. But it always seems to arrive -- eventually. :-)

ARA Libertad

2008-08-21T04:29:00.001-07:00

The tall ship Armada de la República Argentina Libertad is on Guam for a few days. Eight of the PIBC staff went on board this afternoon to tour the "school ship." (It's not ALL work -- NO play at PIBC.)

I'd love to see the Libertad under sail.

PIBC People!

2008-08-18T04:38:00.006-07:00

Dave Owen (PIBC president), Rob Watt (PIBC site coordinator in Palau), and Erin Plaxton (daughter of PIBC Guam staffers Tim and Melody Plaxton). We were at the airport welcoming Erin and her parents back from the States last Monday afternoon. Erin left yesterday and is back in Palau, where she teaches at Bethania High School. Rob left for Palau on Friday.

Dave and Joyce (in the background) Owen welcoming Larry and Sharon Bock, from Texas. Larry will be teaching Bible this semester at PIBC Guam. Can you tell that it's 2:30 a.m., Wednesday morning at the airport?

Suzanne Bratcher, returning Guam teacher gets into the car at the airport on Friday.

At the airport on Sunday afternoon, just after Tim and Melody Plaxton put Erin on a plane to Palau, they stayed around to help us welcome Peggy Duncan from North Carolina. Peggy will be teaching English and psychology at PIBC Tol this year. Also in the picture Cristel Churchill, who helps at PIBC and the Lutheran Church of Guam, and her fiancee, Ben Boedecker, who is stationed on Guam with the US Air Force.

No one wrote a memo but the women of the office all independently decided to show up this morning wearing green PIBC t-shirts for the first day of registration. Ethel Laco (from the Phillipines), Karin Schulz (from Germany), Cheryl, and Laura Peters (another American).

Classes start today

2008-08-17T07:01:00.003-07:00

The first class of the fall semester -- or the last class of the summer session (depending on how you look at it) -- starts today. We have about 10 mostly new students who will be in our two week long intensive study skills class on the Guam campus. Melody Plaxton is the teacher.

We're excited to have a student presence on campus again.

Teacher education

2008-08-16T21:00:00.006-07:00

In Palau "105 teachers only have high school diplomas and teaching experience in Head Start, 98 have associate degrees or finished a two-year course in college; 49 have bachelors degrees or finished a four-year course in college, and 11 have masters degree." (link)

These figures, released this past week, surprise no one in Micronesia -- and Palau is probably the most progressive of the island states.

The overall state of education in the Marshall Islands continues to deteriorate, according to a new study.

PIBC, which has a teaching site in Palau and students from Palau studying on the Guam campus, is developing programs to address the needs of teachers in the islands. (We have only two students from the Marshalls.) We currently offer a minor in teaching for our students enrolled in the BA in biblical studies program. We are also in the process of developing a BA in education which we hope to have in place by the fall of 2009.

Banana leaves

2008-08-15T21:51:00.002-07:00

There is nothing quite as delightful as the sound of rain falling onto banana leaves. These are the two back bedroom windows of our condo unit and the banana trees just a few feet away. You can imagine how delightful it is to sleep on a rainy evening.

Hafa Adai #15

2008-08-12T16:08:00.002-07:00

Wow! Exactly 2 years ago today Brad arrived on Guam (Cheryl followed
10 days later). As we reflect on these past 2 years we are amazed at
God's goodness and guidance -- providing us with everything we need,
including the Lord's daily power, friends in the journey, and
satisfying kingdom work.

There is a slight lull in the storm right now. We've been back
on-island for about three weeks after six great weeks in the States.
And we've got a few weeks to go before the fall semester starts.

HERE IS A BIT OF NEWS:

• Brad celebrated the anniversary of his arrival with a 2 a.m. run to
the airport this morning to help welcome PIBC's newest visiting staff
members -- Larry and Sharon Brock. Larry went to seminary after he
retired from a career in chemical engineering, graduated in June, and
will be teaching Bible at PIBC this semester. We have several areas
where Sharon will be able to plug-in and help. The school depends on
missionaries and volunteers from around the world.

• Last semester a student who needed a little extra help lived with
us. This semester Kent, our #2 son, and now a university graduate,
will be living with us. He is coming as a volunteer to teach in our
English as a Second Language program and will work with students who
need academic tutoring in other areas. We're quite excited to have him
here. :-)

• Cheryl continues to work in the PIBC office; her current special
projects are preparing the student financial records for the upcoming
semester, and long-range system-wide financial planning.

• She is often working on new worship songs in her head and then at
the keyboard and computer. Some have been added to the Camino Merced
Music website -- CaminoMercedMusic.com

• In addition, Cheryl is still working for pay 15 hours a week as the
secretary at the Guam United Methodist Church (this boosts our mission
budget). And as a volunteer she also helps oversee the finances at the
Lutheran Church of Guam, the congregation which has been our on-island
church family.

• This fall Brad will be teaching a class which aims at helping
students do theological and missional assessments of the various
religious movements which are active in the islands -- including
groups which are often labeled as cults. He will also be teaching
Spiritual Formation and has invited English professor Suzanne Bratcher
to collaborate with him. The goal is to develop additional language
skills through the journaling that has already been a part of that
class. In other words, through collaboration we're hoping to "kill two
birds with one stone."

• Brad spends a good portion of his time with administrative
assignments for the school and handling the various crises that come
with being the school's vice president of academic affairs. We are not
only in the process of renewing the school's accreditation but we are
also consolidating the operation in Chuuk State (FSM) onto one site,
developing a plan to bring Hawai'i Theological Seminary into the PIBC
family, and are restructuring PIBC so that it is more like a small
university than a traditional Bible college.

• PIBC is starting a graduate-level Master of Arts in Religion program
this fall, the first step in the launch of a seminary that will give
local church leaders an opportunity to develop advanced ministry
skills and critical thinking without having to leave the islands. Eric
Sorenson, one of the other Covenant Project Missionaries at PIBC, is
the dean of that program.

PARTNERSHIP

It was a joy to see so many of our supporters this summer and to share
even briefly about the ways that your investment in God's work in this
part of the world is bearing fruit. Thank you for your encouragement,
your prayers, and your financial support. We know that we are here
because of the sacrifices and the gifts of others. At times we feel
overwhelmed by your generosity and are humbled by your trust.

We have lost some supporters as personal financial situations change.
So we continue to seek new support. 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.

PRAYER REQUESTS

We have the names of all of our ministry partners on 3x5 cards and we
regularly and systematically pray for all of you. Let us know if there
are specific ways that we should pray. Please:

• pray for the situation in Chuuk (aka Truk). The consolidation of the
operation there is not understood very well locally and has been a
source of tension. Chuuk is very poor economically and people feel
that the consolidation is a major set-back in their development. Pray
that the Chuukese would catch a vision for how this plan will actually
strengthen the education students will receive.

• pray for the students who are preparing to be a part of PIBC this
school year. There are students still deciding if they can attend
school. Many of their decisions are financial in nature.

• pray for our dear friend and colleague Melissa Heck. Melissa is a
Liebenzell USA missionary, serving on the Guam campus as dean of
women. She returned to the States this summer to raise additional
support. But her time and energy were diverted to family issues, as
her father became ill, and died a few weeks ago. She is planning to
return to Guam in mid-September but still needs to raise support. Pray
for God's provision and peace in this stressful time.

• pray for our missionary staff and those enroute to Micronesia. We'll
be making multiple runs to the airport this week and next to welcome
new and returning PIBC team members.

OPPORTUNITIES

• We need someone with institutional cooking experience who could come
to Guam for a year or two as a short-term missionary to cook during
the week for our 60-70 residential students.

• We need a mission team willing to raise funds for, and then to come
construct, a new fence around the campus. Depending on the size of the
team it could take from 2 to 3 weeks to complete the project.

• Thinking long term, PIBC is going to need additional teachers, with
appropriate masters degrees, who can teach education, Bible, theology,
and practical ministry classes. It often takes people 12-24 months to
raise support and prepare for a transition.

Thank you for your partnership!

COMMUNICATION

• Check the current time on Guam before calling --
worldtimeserver.com/current_time_in_GU.aspx

• Call us on our cell phones! Brad -- 671-988-4252. Cheryl -- 671-988-4243.

• Our Stateside phone number 602-903-5085 feeds to our voicemail box.

• Skype us -- BradBoydston or seespleez

• Guam address & phone:
Pacific Islands Bible College
PO Box 22619
GMF, GU 96921-2619 USA
Office phone -- 671-734-1812

• Email us -- Brad@Boydston.us or Cheryl@Boydston.us

ABOUT THIS HAFA ADAI
Hafa Adai is Chamorro for hello. If you would like to receive
Hafa Adai by email contactl Brad at brad@boydston.us.

Great news about our good friends

2008-07-31T15:27:00.006-07:00

• Our good friends Bruce and Katy Dockter (pictured), preparing to return to Oaxaca, Mexico as short-term missionaries, are now at the 60% point in their quest to raise support.

• Our good friend Joyce Owen is feeling better after a night in the hospital -- and concern that she might have had a stroke.

• Dale Vallejo-Sanderson (pastor of Wellspring Covenant Church in Honolulu) and his son Anthony, who are now good friends, dropped in for a visit on their way to Bali.

Tol campus crisis

2008-07-21T00:02:00.003-07:00

It appears that we may have to close the Tol campus of PIBC. Dave Owen, our president, has a new post on his blog explaining the nature of the crisis.

We're back on Guam!

2008-07-18T20:17:00.002-07:00

Cheryl arrived on Wednesday and I, after a two-day stop-over in Honolulu to meet with the people from Hawaii Theological Seminary, arrived yesterday. The jet-lag isn't too bad but I am having trouble switching into my Guam driving mode. I'm still slowing down for yellow and red lights -- ~~sometimes~~ often a dangerous thing if there is someone behind you who is intent on pushing the light.

This morning we went snorkeling at Ypao Beach -- still beautiful -- I'm sure the fish missed us -- then we've been running errands and plowing through the piles of mail. It's probably time to take a short afternoon nap to help with the recalibration of the sleep pattern.

Mini Update

2008-07-17T01:11:00.002-07:00

• Cheryl made it home safely yesterday. I fly to Guam tomorrow. Pity the poor person who sits next to me on the plane -- I had garlic chicken for dinner tonight and it's already oozing from my pores.

• A few days ago we made flight arrangements for Kent (#2 son) who will be arriving on Guam on August 22nd. He will be a volunteer teacher in our English and remedial program for the fall semester -- and will be living with us. We're quite excited about that.

• Carolyn and Armin Reese came to Guam from California to teach a PIBC computer applications class. Carolyn has blogged about the experience and she put together a slideshow that gives a terrific tour of Guam and the campus. ~ Link

Mission thinking

2008-07-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

• Andrew Jones chimes in on the short-term missions debate ~ Link

• I've been reading Bob Roberts book Glocalization, which is calling the church to rethink what constitutes missions and who missionaries are -- in light of the flattening of the world. It's a terrific starting point for a needed discussion. This is one of those books which could be great fodder for church leadership groups. Of course, you probably won't want to swallow everything he says hook, line, and sinker. But you'll want to take a good size bite.

• Scott McKnight is blogging through another important work on missional thinking, Christopher Wright’s book The Mission of God. A lot more technical than Roberts -- more foundational. I didn't find it a quick read but it is quickly becoming a classic. ~ Link

Greetings from Arizona

2008-07-08T08:16:00.004-07:00

We've been on the road in the States for five weeks and haven't had a chance to keep this blog up. (It's been difficult to keep the personal site updated!) Here are a few mission-related tidbits -- a digest from my other blog.

• Regular on Guam is now $4.92 ~ Link

• The debate continues -- should we be sending short-term or long-term missionaries? I guess it all depends on what we want to accomplish. If we want our people to get a broader and fuller perspective on what it means to be a part of what Christ is doing in the world short-term is worth every penny. But if we're trying to give our people a sense that they're doing all it takes to live out the great commission we're mistaken.

I don't have anything definitive to say regarding the over-all contribution of short-termers -- but I know that in our situation the short-termers from both Europe and North America have made a valuable contribution to the work of PIBC. Perhaps it's all about context. ~ Link

• Jens Schulz, our friend and PIBC colleague, finished his last assignment to complete his MBA studies. Congratulations!

• John Morehead has an important review of Rodney Stark's work on the sociological considerations in The Rise of Mormonism. ~ Link

• Gary Walter was elected and installed as president of the Evangelical Covenant Church at the annual meeting of the Covenant. Bruce and Katy Dockter, from our church in Turlock, were also commissioned as short-term missionaries to work in Mexico. In the picture a group is praying around Katy. Can you see Cheryl in there? ~ Link

• The new mission reversal in Germany -- thriving immigrant churches reaching out to Germans. God is so unconventional when it comes to his mission. ~ Link

• South African Theological Seminary, my favorite online seminary, has just introduced a structured Master of Theology (MTh) degree in biblical studies. Programs in pastoral ministry and pastoral counseling are in the pipe. Up to this point their masters programs have been research based (the established British model for master's work). This new additional approach will be more familiar to those who have studied in an American-style school. ~ Link

• Three of our PIBC graduates were ordained in Palau a few weeks ago. ~ Link

• Brigada, the weekly email newsletter for those involved in international ministries, has switched formats and can now be read as a blog. I've already added Brigada to my Google Reader. ~ Link

• Everyone wants to talk about the church boom in China ~ Link

In California

2008-06-08T22:09:00.002-07:00

• This morning I spoke at Cornerstone Covenant Church in Turlock -- so good to connect with the people where we were for 11 years. It's a wonderful church that continues to support what we do in so many ways. Then this evening Cheryl and I were at the Patterson Covenant Church with a delightful group of people there.

• On the way back into Turlock we drove by our old home -- which had obviously been abandoned for awhile -- but which is now being remodeled. It looks a lot better than when I last saw it in November.

Random island observations

2008-05-31T03:46:00.000-07:00

• One of my favorite trees on the islands is breadfruit. As the name implies the fruit is a staple in local diets -- especially for the Micronesians. To my palate it's pretty tasteless and starchy. I think people like it so much because it can be flavored in different ways as it is cooked. Personally, I mostly enjoy seeing the trees -- they're quite sightly.

• Mental Floss has a rundown on the political status of Puerto Rico -- which includes a fine concise summary of how the US territories fit into the system. Guam functions through an organic act and is thus an "organized" territory -- although it is extremely ironic that the word "organized" should be used as a descriptor of Guam. ~ Link

• The power went out again this morning -- perhaps the fourth time this week. According to Guam rules if you approach an intersection where the traffic light is out during one of the routine power outages you're supposed to speed up. And most people follow the rules.

• It's interesting that it's the Australian media which is making the most of the recent political yammering about merging Guam and CNMI to form a 51st US state. A merger could realistically happen, however, US statehood seems really really unlikely -- given the small population base (even after a merger). But perhaps we could apply to become the 7th Australian state. At least we'd be in the same time zone as much of Oz. Spelling might be an issue -- but no worries mate, we don't trouble much about that, anyway. ~ Link

• It's our 27th anniversary today. Cheryl and I had breakfast with Jeff and Mary Johnson, shopped for stuff to take to the States, went snorkeling, and then did dinner at Lone Star. That's a lot of doin's for one day -- for a couple of 50-somethings. Of course, 27 years ago it was all a different story -- young, unending energy... BTW, the fish were beauteous today -- even the little toothless guys who kept nibbling on my fingers.

Guam transportation

2008-05-25T02:40:00.000-07:00

Shell jacked their gas up on Guam to $4.42/gallon -- which means that Mobil and 76 will probably follow in a few hours.

And really, other than stay home, there is not much people can do about it. It's not safe to ride a bike here and things are so spread out that for most people walking isn't an option. And the bus doesn't seem to go where we need to go.

I'm thinking of buying a carabao and cart (I've been looking for an excuse to get one since we first visited Guam in 2005). But I'd have to find someone to feed him while we're in the States for six weeks and he really needs some mud to sit in when he's not working -- and there is the smell -- none of which would make the condo-owners association happy. So, I'm fairly certain that Cheryl won't let me do it.

Another complication to this whole runaway fuel phenomena is that all of our electricity on Guam is produced in diesel burning plants. At the time of installation diesel was the cheapest way to generate the power. The island leaders couldn't imagine that the price of diesel would ever go up -- let alone jump into the outrageous zone. Island thinking.

Guam Public Works has already started removing the bulbs from the street lights.

Then there is that little matter of skyrocketing jet fuel prices. And, of course, everyone has to fly if they want to leave the island. Although this may be a great entrepreneurial opportunity for the people who build the traditional proa outriggers.

That which isn't flown onto Guam comes in cargo containers by ship -- everything from produce to washers and gaskets. Retailers are going to increase prices to compensate.

So it's at least a quadruple whammy for Guam.

PIBC Tol Graduation Pictures

2008-05-21T00:01:00.002-07:00

From my excursion to the PIBC Tol graduation last weekend. Tol is an island in the Faichuuk region of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia.

There aren't any roads on Tol (although there were roads during the Japanese occupation of WWII) and everyone travels by boat. We fly for 90 minutes from Guam into "Chuuk International Airport" on the island of Weno. Then we travel an hour (more or less -- depending on the conditions) by boat to Tol.

There were 24 "graduates" on Saturday -- although only three actually completed all of the work for a PIBC Diploma. However, in keeping with their communal tradition everyone "graduates" together at the completion of their three years on the campus. Most of the students will then go on to work on finishing up the requirements for an AA or BA degree -- either at the PIBC teaching facility on Weno or on the Guam campus. A few will work on completing the Diploma.

There is a bit of unrest in the ranks because we (the college administrators on Guam) are cutting the Tol program starting next year from three years to two years. The transition has to do with infrastructure and operational issues on the campus (it's hard to do a full college program and meet all of the accreditation requirements in such a remote spot -- not impossible -- but nearly so) and a shortage of qualified teachers willing to serve there. But it also has to do with how we perceive the developing needs of Chuuk. The Diploma, with little general education in the curriculum, is inadequate training for service in the schools and other future positions in Chuuk. We have developed a new curriculum sequence which will allow students to complete an AA through two-years of study on the Tol campus.

But change is hard -- especially if you live in a region where education and health services have dramatically declined over the past 25 years. So there is great suspicion of change and "reform" of any sort. To them it looks as though we're cutting services. To us it looks like we're refocusing the institutional energy in a direction that will ultimately bring great benefit. We trust that they'll understand once they see the new system in operation. But it's hard and not everyone is a happy camper.

Broadcasting to MON (the Middle of Nowhere)

2008-05-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

There is now a functioning radio station on Weno in Chuuk. Some Baptist group is broadcasting at 88.1 FM. I'm told that there is also government radio station there, too, but it doesn't broadcast very often. And I've not heard it during any of my trips to Chuuk.

I'm not particularly fond of the music on the Baptist station. It's deja vu of what many American Protestants listened to in the 1950's. I suppose that's okay -- unless people somehow get the idea that such music is supposed to define Christian music (which could be a danger with any music style).

While I was on Tol I was trying to find news on my shortwave radio. (The Weno FM station is too far away for reception on Tol.) Most everything that you get out there in that part of MON is in Chinese. Sometimes I can get an ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) English signal but this time the best signal was from the VOA (Voice of America).

The VOA is an interesting broadcast. It is definitely the voice of America but there is a level of objectivity that you might not expect from a propaganda station. For example, they do straight forward reporting when someone criticizes President Bush. The Americanism comes through most strongly in the editorials which give the opinion of the American government.

I would think that there are received as a credible voice.

The English broadcasts are geared toward people who want to learn the language or who have a low level of competency. (They also broadcast in 45 different languages.)

There are times when the American government does it right!

I'm back...

2008-05-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

The plane landed on Guam at about 3:30 a.m. this morning. It was a good trip to Chuuk for the PIBC graduation on Tol. All the planes arrived and departed as scheduled and the boat trips across the lagoon were uneventful.

I'll eventually sort through the pictures and post a bunch. Internet has been down on Tol since last Tuesday so I have a backlog of email. (I'm impressed that you can ever get any kind of Internet in such a remote spot.)

The evolution of PIBC

2008-05-13T16:00:00.007-07:00

Pacific Islands Bible College started in 1976 as a missionary-staffed Bible institute -- a bush school -- on a remote Chuukese island called Tol. The goal was to train leaders for Micronesian churches.

In the 1990's PIBC added a campus on Guam and became a tiny degree-granting college.

Today PIBC is a small accredited college with about 200 students -- still functioning with campuses on Guam and Tol. (Although we've had to cutback operations on Tol because of infrastructure issues -- and because it is nearly impossible to meet all of the required operational and academic requirements in such an isolated setting -- at least for a full program.) We also have teaching facilities on Weno in Chuuk, as well as in Yap and Palau.

We're in the process of trying to add a teaching site in Hawaii. This site would host undergraduate classes and classes in our new graduate level seminary program.

Obviously the school has grown over the years but has it stayed true to the original vision? As a relative newcomer to PIBC I've been studying the history and operation of the college and my assessment is that PIBC has changed. But it's not so much a total change of direction as it is an expansion of vision based on a greater understanding of the context.

Here are some of the changes in process:

1. PIBC started out as a school to train Micronesians. PIBC is becoming a school with a broader focus. Yes, Micronesians will always be an important part of PIBC but we now see the need for a college that is pan-Pacific and pan-Island -- even pan-Asian.

Some may fear that as the vision expands Micronesians will be forgotten and that they'll get the short-end of the stick. But the situation is quite the opposite.

As the vision has expanded we are now educating more Micronesians than ever before. It's just that we're also taking the broader context of the Pacific and Pacific Rim into account. And in a globalized world this will actually do more for Micronesia than a college focused exclusively on Micronesians.

Developing Micronesian leaders who understand the rest of the world will help these islands deal with the tsunami of globalization that is already breaking on their shores. Hopefully we are not too late in making this shift.

2. PIBC started out as a school to train church leaders. And church leader was defined very narrowly because church ministry in Micronesia hasn't been understood very holistically. Church leaders are pastors, pastor's wives, and people who work with the youth group.

PIBC will certainly continue to focus on developing such leaders. The addition of a graduate-level seminary program will actually take their training up a notch.

However, we now see that we've been defining church ministry way too narrowly. We have not done a good job of training people to be Christian leaders in the culture as a whole. And the irony of this is that in traditional Micronesian culture (which is rapidly fading) young people couldn't assume any kind of real leadership anyway. So, we've been training young people to be pastors and church leaders but when they graduate and return to their islands as trained young adults in their mid-20's or early 30's, they aren't allowed to take on any significant church responsibility.

Generally speaking, you have to be in your 40's before that happens. Thus our graduates often become local school teachers, government workers, business people, or if they are at all ambitious they join the Micronesian disapora in Hawaii or the mainland US.

So, we've been providing Micronesians with church leadership training so that they can go work outside the church.

There is further irony in this, though. The fact is that for the sake of God's kingdom and fully penetrating the culture with gospel values, these graduates working in schools, government, and business are actually very strategically placed.

Our problem as a college is that we haven't been training them to think holistically about how to minister in the broader culture. They need to understand that "ministry" isn't primarily something that happens when you have a youth rally or preach in a church -- as important as those things are. Ministry happens when you take Christ to work with you. Addressing the issues of health care and education are just as much ministry as doing an evangelistic skit or preaching a sermon.

What this epiphany means for PIBC is that we're now rethinking our existing programs and adding new academic emphases to help our students address the broader needs of the islands. We will continue with our AA and BA degrees in biblical studies. And some of our graduates with these degrees will become pastors, local church workers, evangelists, and missionaries. Many will hopefully go on for graduate studies in theology before they assume positions of responsibility.

However, we realize that one of the greatest needs in the islands is in the area of teacher education. Governors throughout the islands are literally begging for trained teachers. Thus we are working on adding a BA degree in elementary education. We hope to have that in place by the fall of 2009.

We are also thinking through the best way to develop an additional BA with a broader liberal arts focus that will specifically equip islanders to be community leaders in business and government. We hope to have that in place by the fall of 2010.

It would be a real stretch for PIBC but in my mind the next great challenge after that is to address the health care crisis. Is God calling us to care for the sick? How do we do that in a context where the existing health care has deteriorated from what it was 25 years ago and is now absolutely dismal? Does PIBC need to get into nursing? Social work?

If we are going to be faithful to God's calling and the vision to develop servant leaders we will continue to evolve. We are no longer just a Bible college but are in the process of becoming a Christian liberal arts college -- aiming to develop leaders not only for local churches but for the broader island context.

Yesterday's graduation on the Guam campus was so good on so many levels. I would highlight just two indicators of the shifts that are taking place in the Western Pacific that surfaced during yesterday's ceremony.

The first is that we had two women (!) sharing the valedictorian honors. They stood together to give their speech. And when they started speaking Joy Hosei, who is from Palau, greeted the audience in Chuukese. Twinsanne Sam, who is from Chuuk, then greeted the audience in Palauan. They were symbolically acknowledging the significance of the other's culture. In a place where the islands have seen each other primarily as competitors this is a big deal. Our Micronesian graduates are beginning to see beyond their own islands and their own local cultures.

The second indicator involved the student group which sang during the ceremony. All of the women in the group had gone shopping and had purchased nice complementing outfits. But what they chose, when left to choose for themselves, was not traditional Micronesian. They chose to dress as any nicely attired Westerner or Asian.

It's not that they don't see themselves as Micronesians -- but I believe that by what they chose to wear they were saying to their parents and the others from their islands -- we're no longer JUST Micronesians.

That's the story of PIBC. This school will always have a strong Micronesian flavor (and that's good!) but we're no longer JUST Micronesians. And we're no longer JUST a Bible college. We're evolving into a Christian college which is getting serious about engaging the people and cultures of the Pacific and Asia.

Guam campus graduation

2008-05-13T04:13:00.004-07:00

We held the PIBC Guam campus graduation this afternoon. Twenty-two students were recognized for earning the BA in biblical studies degree. One student earned the AA degree. It was the Guam campus' largest graduating class and our largest ceremony. There were easily over 500 people in attendance. I am told that on one flight from Chuuk a few days ago there were 110 passengers on the way to the Guam campus graduation.

I think it should be noted that all of these students graduated debt-free.

I travel to Chuuk on Friday to participate in the Tol campus graduation on Saturday.

Back from Palau

2008-05-09T02:57:00.001-07:00

I took a red-eye from Palau to Guam (with a short stop in Yap) arriving at 5 a.m. this morning. I was able to grab a few hours of sleep before a noon meeting.

A two-day Palau trip is way too short (which I knew would be the case) -- but it was enough to visit the teaching facilities, talk with the staff and students, attend three of our classes, give a PIBC report at the Palau Evangelical Church deacon's conference, and do a brief tour.

Palau is beautiful and quite vibrant (in a laid-back island way). So many of the islands in the Western Pacific are trashed and functioning on a subsistence or poverty level. But it is good to see how this group of islands has defined itself and then made improvements that benefit the people. It is a very impressive place.

It will take me a few days to catch up on email, blog posts, and sleep.

In the pictures: one of the local Palau Evangelical Church buildings and the Palau Capitol Building.

Guam in the news

2008-05-02T17:25:00.002-07:00

• Some locals are upset over the CNN story about today's Democratic caucus on Guam. Apparently, the network showed footage of a dilapidated grass hut and some guy dress in traditional native attire.

I didn't see the story -- nor did I find it in the CNN archives -- but I can assure you that the local attire on Guam isn't too unlike the West Coast US and you'd be hard pressed to find a grass hut -- except at a few tourist attractions. There are, however, dilapidated concrete buildings all over the place.

• The relocation of all those Marines to Guam may be delayed. Apparently the US government is finally realizing the extent of the infrastructure problems on the island and the fiscal instability of the territory. ~ Link

• When I mention the state of the island I do think that it is only fair to mention, as well, that there has been some improvement in even the two short years we've been here. But there are years and years of neglect, mismanagement, and corruption that have taken their toll.

There are zoning and permit abuses -- land ownership disputes which have come about because of the way that the indigenous people were forced from family lands during and after WWII -- many many complex problems.

Overall, though, I'm optimistic about Guam -- even if the Marines don't land in the near future. It's just going to be a slow and at times frustrating process.

NIrV

2008-05-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Ever since I started working with our PIBC students, almost all of whom use English as an additional language, I've become very interested in Bible translations which are designed for such readers. So, I ordered a copy of the New International Reader's Version (NIrV) Bible from the International Bible Society.

And yes, the NIrV seems very workable for our students -- especially since many of the students will eventually move on to the more developed NIV (or TNIV if they're listening to me). And the NIrV is a real complete translation -- even though the reading level is third grade. (You can compare online with the TNIV and NIV.) So it seems to be a good fit.

But what amazed me about the particular edition I bought was the quality and design.

I had purchased (sight unseen) the The NIrV Bible, Narrative and Illustrated. The water color illustrations make this a piece of art. As soon as you see it you know that this isn't a "children's Bible" -- even though the English is simple enough for a young English reader. And the layout is clean and readable. The paper is slightly waxy and feels good to the touch.

This edition, printed in Japan, also does something I've never seen before. The narrative sections ("the main story") are presented as single column text. The rest of the text (poetry, psalms, letters...) is laid out in double columns. And there is plenty of white space, which makes for easy reading -- or even personal note taking. Click here for a .pdf sample.

And did I mention that this piece of art is on sale for $4.99 each through IBSDirect.com? You could keep this Bible on your coffee table as a discussion starter -- and it's less than $5.

AND if you order a case of 10 -- then the price drops to $4.88. (Commercial resale at these prices is prohibited.)

Order a case so you have Bibles to give out to your children, grandchildren, International students, immigrant neighbors, ESL class, Micronesians students...

That's my plan -- such a deal!

Travel deals

2008-04-28T20:41:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I mentioned some bargain airfares to Guam from the mainland US. Today Karyn forwarded to me an email with Northwest Airlines' current round-trip bargains from Guam to the US.
Honolulu ~ $616
Los Angeles ~ $704
Seattle and San Francisco ~ $759
Portland (OR) ~ $799
Las Vegas ~ $839

Island life and travel

2008-04-27T17:13:00.003-07:00

NPR's All Things Considered carried a fun little interview with Joe Chargualaf down in the village of Inarajan. The story was about the Democratic caucus (The way things are working out Guam is actually on the radar at this point in the election process -- to the surprise of everyone on the island!) but Joe did more than talk politics -- he did a good job painting a picture of life in the more rural part of Guam. I think the story probably made the Guam Visitor's Bureau quite happy. ~ Link

BTW, if you're interested in traveling this way, I was checking airfares for someone this morning and you can do a round-trip from LAX to Guam for just under $1,000 -- if you're buying a ticket today. Last week one of our PIBC staff found a round trip from Guam to the States in the $800 range.

(I'm flying to Palau next week and the round trip ticket cost over $630. I'm flying to Chuuk the week after and that round-trip ticket cost over $525. If you calculate the cost per mile of flying it's definitely cheaper to fly to the States -- even if you get a $1,500 LAX to Guam round-trip.)

Most of the students at PIBC come from other islands in the Western Pacific. Guam is just a central hub for activity out here. And most of the islanders are culturally different (sometimes VERY different) than the Chamorro people who are indigenous to Guam and the Northern Marianas.

Part of the problem is that the islands, even though they're all facing similar economic, social, and cultural challenges, are all very distant from each other in miles. And this distance fosters an extreme form of parochialism. Happiness Lodge can fill you in on a few of the challenges of getting islanders to cooperate with each other.

A great Sunday

2008-04-27T01:34:00.005-07:00

Three weeks ago Pastor Jeff Johnson's mother died in Michigan and he had to quickly return to the States. I've been filling in for him at the Lutheran Church of Guam -- leading worship and preaching -- which I'm more than happy to do. But I'm certainly glad that he and Mary are returning to Guam tomorrow.

The most difficult part of these three weeks was leading the early worship service which is more "traditional" Lutheran in style -- tightly structured liturgy, sung responses, and some chanting on the part of the celebrant (moi). (Cheryl and I usually help lead music at the second service -- where I play guitar and uke.)

Early this afternoon, after worship, we drove to Merizo on the south end of the island. Our friend Ferrell had invited us again to his family's fiesta.

Each Guamanian village becomes fiesta central on the day when the church honors the patron saint of the village. (For Merizo it is San Dimas.)

If you were so inclined you could walk from party to party throughout the village -- and be welcomed at each home -- even if you didn't know the family.

The villages in the south are particularly adept at throwing these parties -- thousands and thousands of people down there today. You just can't beat Chamorro hospitality and food.

We added the American touch bringing some of Cheryl's triple-fudge brownies.

It was picture perfect tropical life sitting under the canopies with the tradewinds keeping us cool and driving away the flies.

The south end of Guam is the more rural, cleaner than the central and north -- and spectacularly beautiful.

Benefit Concert

2008-04-27T00:55:00.012-07:00

Last evening one of the local Korean Presbyterian churches hosted a PIBC benefit concert to help the student mission teams preparing to go to Palau and Thailand this summer. In addition to the students there were performers from Pacific Presbyterian, Faith Presbyterian, Bayview Baptist, and the Palauan Evangelical Church. Together they raised $1,070 in donations. Thank you.

In the pictures: Ned, Cheryl, Alvin, and Melissa display the collection. Delight Suda made the collection baskets from palm fronds.

Melody singing

The mission team headed to Palau singing

Hafa Adai #14

2008-04-25T05:16:00.001-07:00

Hafa adai from Guam where we're in the dry season (read "less rainy"). The mangoes are firming up and the tradewinds (and air conditioning!) make the humidity more or less bearable.

SPRING SEMESTER
Just two more weeks and the spring semester will be history! We have 24 students from the Guam campus graduating on May 13th -- the largest graduating class yet.

Cheryl continues to work in the campus office; her current special project is preparing a list of potential scholarship recipients -- what a joy to help well-deserving students continue their education!

Brad is wrapping up his Introduction to Bible Study Methods class on the Guam campus. His other distance education class in Chuuk and Palau was canceled. That cancellation has turned out to be a blessing because there is so much expansion going on at PIBC right now that the administrative responsibilities are taking up a lot of time and energy.

• We're working out details with the Chuuk State Department of Education to raise the education level of their current public school teachers by enrolling them in our AA programs.

• At the same time we're trying to rethink the program that we have on Tol, a remote Chuuk island, to better suit the needs of contemporary Micronesia.

• We're developing a BA in education which will be offered primarily on the Guam campus, in addition to the BA and AA degrees in Bible.

• If that were not enough to keep our heads spinning, we are also working on the acquisition of Hawai'i Theological Seminary in Honolulu. This small seminary has been having some tough times and we were approached about absorbing them, their programs, and their students into PIBC. This week we received approval to start the MA program in the fall, and Eric Sorenson, another Covenant pastor and project missionary on staff at PIBC, is now the dean of the seminary. Brad, as VP of Academic Affairs (big title in a small school), is responsible for the planning and oversight of all the academic programs and faculty.

TRAVEL
In January, we cashed in some of our frequent flier miles and traveled to tropical Cairns, Australia for two weeks of vacation. It was good to get away from the chaos of the islands to some place more orderly to charge the batteries. We enjoyed learning a new language, figuring out how to drive on the opposite side of the road, and we were amazed with the assortment of plants, birds, bats, crocodiles, and kangaroos.We're ready to go back to see more of Australia next time.

Brad will be traveling to Palau May 6 to meet with students and staff there. The following week he'll be back in Chuuk for the graduation ceremonies on the Tol campus.

But our next big excursion will be back to the States for six weeks.

We leave Guam on June 3rd.

Roughly, this is our schedule:
June 4-7 Roseville, California area
June 7-12 Turlock, California area (Brad is speaking at Cornerstone Covenant June 8th)
June 12-14 Walnut Creek, California area
June 14-17 Irvine, California area (Kent graduates from UC Irvine June 15!!!)
June 17-21 Chicago/Rockford, Illinois area
June 21-28 Covenant Annual Meeting and "Feast" in Green Lake, Wisconsin
June 28-29 Walnut Creek, California area
June 29-July 5 "Missionaries in Residence" @ Mission Springs Family Camp, Scotts Valley, California
July 5-14 Phoenix, Arizona area
July 14 to LAX
July 15 return flight to Guam, arriving evening of July 16

FINANCES
We know that we can serve here only as long as the churches, individuals, and families who provide for our financial support continue to do so. We've been overwhelmed by your generosity and the follow-through with pledges and commitments that have been made. Thank you. We have lost some supporters through death and because people's financial situations change. So we continue to seek new support and to keep our financial needs on the radar. 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 - bradboydston.com/pdf/responseform.pdf . The form can also be downloaded from our website -- - Guam.Boydston.us .

PRAYER REQUESTS
As we pray for each of you by name we recognize the significance of the connections that we have with people from other times and places in our lives -- and we're glad that those connections are still strong. We are blessed to have so many active friends and family behind us. Keep praying for us and our students.

• Pray for our students as they (catch-up and) finish up the semester.

• Pray for the students who are preparing to be a part of the PIBC mission teams going to Thailand and Palau this summer.

• Pray for our missionary staff and those preparing to come to Micronesia as they work to raise support. There are also several potential missionaries in the discernment process.

OPPORTUNITIES

• We need some teachers with PhDs or ThDs in the areas of theology or New Testament who could come on a mission to teach for anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks (depending on how the course is configured) next spring or summer (2009) in our new seminary program.

• We need someone with institutional cooking experience who could come to Guam for a year or two as a short-term missionary to cook during the week for our 60 residential students.

• We need a mission team willing to raise funds for, and then to come construct, a new fence around the campus. Depending on the size of the team it could take from 2 to 3 weeks to complete the project.

Thank you for your partnership!

PIBC to offer master's degree

2008-04-23T01:41:00.001-07:00

Pacific Islands Bible College has received authorization from TRACS, the school's accrediting agency, to begin offering a master of arts in religion (MAR) degree. This is PIBC's first graduate-level seminary degree.

We expect to begin the program this fall on the Guam campus by offering four classes.

The MAR program is an introductory seminary degree providing an in-depth study of the scriptures and the essential truths of the Christian faith. The program is designed for Christian educators, staff pastors, and others desiring a scriptural undergirding for service in a supportive role in a local church or other ministry.

Students in the MAR program will have the option of transferring into the planned 96 credit-hour master of divinity program (MDiv), which is designed to prepare men and women for vocational Christian ministry, once the second program is approved.

We will be accepting up to 10 full-time students, in addition to part-time students who apply for the program. To be considered for the MAR program an applicant must posses a bachelor's degree from an accredited college with a minimum GPA of 2.5.

Applicants for whom English is a second language must also have a 550 TOEFL score. Applications for the 45-semester-hour program will soon be available on the PIBC website.

Additional information is available from Eric Sorenson, the dean of the seminary program.

Briefly...

2008-04-07T16:23:00.005-07:00

• Marisol Farnsworth, a part of our PIBC team, has her US citizenship interview and test tomorrow (Wednesday). Marisol, who is originally from Ecuador, should do well. Her English is good and she's been very thorough in her preparation. I'm pretty confident that her performance will be stellar. Still, we pray that she will be able to function at her best.

• PIBC president Dave Owen has made the first blog post from the island of Tol in Chuuk State, FSM. The Internet connection on Tol has been active for about a week. It is already improving our communication with the PIBC campus there.

• Otherwise it's been a rough few days on the Tol campus. Dave was there to inform the students that we are cutting the academic offerings on Tol back from three years to two years because of staffing and site maintenance concerns. We expect that most of the students who would have been third year students in 2008-2009 will come to the Guam campus a year earlier than planned. This will create some housing challenges for Guam.

• We will soon be increasing options for non-resident students on the Tol campus and hope to soon be offering the full AA program. The Chuuk Department of Education is asking for our assistance in training teachers for the public school system.

• Jens Schulz, our CFO, is currently in Hawaii, talking with the Hawai'i Theological Seminary leadership about our planned merger with them. Actually, "merger" means that their students would be absorbed into our program -- assuming that we get approval to teach seminary level classes.

• We're kind of stalled out in our fall class scheduling -- in limbo -- waiting to hear if we are approved to offer a graduate level seminary program. If we get the accreditor's approval we'll have to shift some of our teachers on Guam into teaching the seminary program. We would like to start the seminary program on Guam this fall with 10 students.

• This is a time of refocusing at PIBC. We are seeing that the best way at this time in history to have an impact on the islands is to develop leaders with a broad liberal arts background, as well as a Bible background. They need both so that they can be effective as teachers, government workers, and business people -- as well as church leaders. We are also sensing that the future of pastoral preparation and formation on the islands is shifting rapidly in the direction of graduate level education. This is an extremely complex social system and leaders are going to need advanced training if they are going to be effective -- especially as the tsunami of globalization washes over the islands.

• Delight Suda is back from Boston, where we had sent him for a seminar. Delight is our PIBC financial aid trainee -- and he had never been further from Guam than Chuuk. He had never been to Hawaii -- or the mainland -- never been on a long plane trip -- never to a place with more than 170,000 people (Guam) -- never seen snow -- until last week.

Briefly...

2008-04-04T04:43:00.004-07:00

• The rumor on campus is that some of our Guam students have been chatting online with their counterparts on the Tol campus. Theoretically the computers on Tol are not completely connected to the Internet, yet, and I'm told that the Tol students aren't on the Internet, yet -- officially. However, some students somehow are apparently figuring out how to get online. This is why I'm optimistic about these guys. Just give the students a chance to connect and they suddenly become innovative and initiating. Now, if we can encourage them to venture further into it -- beyond IM and MySpace.

• Things are bone dry out here in the tropics and the National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for Guam. ~ Link

• Hawaii State Senator Kalani English sees tremendous progress in dealing with

Micronesia

area migration to Hawaii and other

states after many years of neglect. ~ Link

Islanders from the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia have visa-free entry to the

United States

. With economic conditions worsening in the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia, an estimated 2,500 are migrating annually to the US. Researchers estimate that close to 30% of the 70,000 Marshall Islanders and 25% of the 107,000 Micronesians now live in the

US.

Look at what Karen is doing!

2008-03-28T16:23:00.001-07:00

Karen Neiswender was one of the children in the Selah Covenant Church, where I was pastor for five years right after seminary. Now an RN, Karen has been a community health specialist with Food for the Hungry in Latin America. She returned to the States to get a masters degree and is now raising support to return. She's now at 82% with $650 a month left raise. ~ Read her latest newsletter (.pdf)

Exciting news from Chuuk

2008-03-27T22:29:00.005-07:00

We've been trying to get an Internet connection onto Tol, where we have our remote campus in Chuuk. Word came today that FSM Telecom has successfully tested a connection that will work on the campus.

As of now there is a wireless Internet connection in Faichuuk. We'll be installing an antenna tower on campus next week.

Praise the Lord! This will allow us to expand our distance education options, provide for better communication between campuses, and open the Internet so our students can learn to do electronic research.

This is a picture I look on the Tol campus last October. Tol is about an hour's boat trip across the lagoon from Weno (depending on weather and your boat's engine). Electricity is only on when your generator is running. But cell phone service recently came to the Faichuuk district and the local staff doesn't quite know what to do with the students who have taken to texting in a big way.

Lot's of change...

New Song -- Your Healing Touch

2008-03-27T05:24:00.001-07:00

We received a CCLI number for a new song that Cheryl has written (arranged by Kathy Ward) and it is now posted on her Camino Merced Music website. Look for Your Healing Touch.

Boydston Global

New PIU module

Fire

10 minutes and you know about China

CWR partnering with Habitat for Humanity in Haiti

Progress

Haiti

Spiritual formation class

PIU Promotional Video

Hafa Adai and greetings from Phoenix

Hafa adai from AZ!

Update on our plans and situation

Hafa adai from Arizona!

Transition progress

Latest on the situation in Thailand

PIBC student hospitalized in Thailand

We've landed

Hafa adai from Guam! We have some good news!

Pictures taken during the last few days

Transition update

Clearing customs

Graduation

Quick Update

Kathy Newell

Car wash

Playing in the water

Thai mission team

Hafa Adai #18

Gecko

Condo under contract

PIBC to PIU

February slideshow

We're back on Guam...

Hafa Adai #17

Energetically seeking to receive grace

Popular

Boydston December slideshow

Most recent email update sent today

Pacific Islands Bible College

Take my class next semester!

Micronesia: the Context for PIBC

Pre-holiday scramble

Kent and some of his ESL students...

What's happening on Guam?

Come, Messiah, Come

Storm rolling through

Thanksgiving Day

Community Group

Alpha wrap-up

Visitors

PTL

Chapel today

Chicken soup skit

Mary Lou Carruthers

Ethel on the way

Bruce and Katy on the way

New Covenant missionary appointments

If we stay on Guam...

Hafa Adai #16

Community Groups

The mission of Pacific Islands University

Insular

Key Limes on Guam

Quick update

Where are the students?

First seminary class

Busy day

ARA Libertad

PIBC People!

Classes start today

Teacher education

Banana leaves

Hafa Adai #15

Great news about our good friends

Tol campus crisis

We're back on Guam!

Mini Update

Mission thinking

Greetings from Arizona

In California