The main events of the conference took place on Saturday the 4th and began with a prayer time at 7 AM. The group from Houston and Killeen Texas had been driving since Thursday morning and arrived just in time for prayer and immediately joined right in. Breakfast (and all the meals) were prepared by the Susanville FSBC locals. It was a little weird to eat so much American food at a Palauan conference, but it was excellent. That was a great time for me to see several old friends and students from when we lived in Palau (see below) and to meet many new friends.
The morning meeting began at 9 AM (that was the scheduled time. It actually began at 10.30). After Jake opened with prayer the music started. Several groups came up and shared musically. We were in an American setting but the culture and music were definitely Palauan. I was then able to share with the group a little bit about the changes and growth at PIBC-PIU and invite the young people to take school materials. I gave out all my brochures and applications - they also copied several more applications and handed those out. I am not really sure how many took them. I spoke on making God's mission our mission as we reach out to represent God to the world in our daily lives and minister his blessing (Gen. 12.1-3).
I also introduced the Palauans to Jeff Brashears from
Shasta Bible College. I invited him up to talk with the Palauans about training opportunities there. Of course, I want most of them to come to PIBC-PIU but I recognize that many of them have jobs and family on the US mainland and cannot come to Guam or Micronesia in the near future. As I mentioned in the previous post, there is a huge need for biblically trained leaders to disciple the many Palauans in the US who are trustiing Christ. There was a lot of interest in both schools.
One of the best things about the day was seeing many of my old students. Besides Jake who is pastoring I met several other Emmaus grads and heard about many more from their relatives. In the picture here, I am with Clifton and Fred. It was really encouraging to hear about how many of them are continuing to walk with God and have raised godly families. Many of them have had a hard time but God has not taken his hand off of them. Even some of the students that were expelled from school for various infractions back in the 80's said that it was the Bible verses and principles they learned at Emmaus that God had used in their lives to bring them to Him. One student even mentioned to me how God used what he learned at our high school basketball practice. It was good encouragement to keep spreading the Word because you never know what will stick.
The evening service went from about 7 PM to 12.15 AM. Again, there were many songs and testimonies, but the highlight of the evening was to watch Jake baptize 11 Palauans and hear their stories about how God brought them to commitment to Him. I got an opportunity to share with them about being disciples that follow and imitate Jesus. The service ended with long, but powerful testimony from a young man from Vancouver who shared about God's power over addiction and pride. It was about 15 degrees outside when the service ended but we went back to our rooms with a warm feeling. There were a lot of possibilities to think about as I headed back to El Dorado to my parents' place on Sunday afternoon.
The main events of the conference took place on Saturday the 4th and began with a prayer time at 7 AM. The group from Houston and Killeen Texas had been driving since Thursday morning and arrived just in time for prayer and immediately joined right in. Breakfast (and all the meals) were prepared by the Susanville FSBC locals. It was a little weird to eat so much American food at a Palauan conference, but it was excellent. That was a great time for me to see several old friends and students from when we lived in Palau (see below) and to meet many new friends.
The morning meeting began at 9 AM (that was the scheduled time. It actually began at 10.30). After Jake opened with prayer the music started. Several groups came up and shared musically. We were in an American setting but the culture and music were definitely Palauan. I was then able to share with the group a little bit about the changes and growth at PIBC-PIU and invite the young people to take school materials. I gave out all my brochures and applications - they also copied several more applications and handed those out. I am not really sure how many took them. I spoke on making God's mission our mission as we reach out to represent God to the world in our daily lives and minister his blessing (Gen. 12.1-3).
I also introduced the Palauans to Jeff Brashears from Shasta Bible College. I invited him up to talk with the Palauans about training opportunities there. Of course, I want most of them to come to PIBC-PIU but I recognize that many of them have jobs and family on the US mainland and cannot come to Guam or Micronesia in the near future. As I mentioned in the previous post, there is a huge need for biblically trained leaders to disciple the many Palauans in the US who are trustiing Christ. There was a lot of interest in both schools.
One of the best things about the day was seeing many of my old students. Besides Jake who is pastoring I met several other Emmaus grads and heard about many more from their relatives. In the picture here, I am with Clifton and Fred. It was really encouraging to hear about how many of them are continuing to walk with God and have raised godly families. Many of them have had a hard time but God has not taken his hand off of them. Even some of the students that were expelled from school for various infractions back in the 80's said that it was the Bible verses and principles they learned at Emmaus that God had used in their lives to bring them to Him. One student even mentioned to me how God used what he learned at our high school basketball practice. It was good encouragement to keep spreading the Word because you never know what will stick.
The evening service went from about 7 PM to 12.15 AM. Again, there were many songs and testimonies, but the highlight of the evening was to watch Jake baptize 11 Palauans and hear their stories about how God brought them to commitment to Him. I got an opportunity to share with them about being disciples that follow and imitate Jesus. The service ended with long, but powerful testimony from a young man from Vancouver who shared about God's power over addiction and pride. It was about 15 degrees outside when the service ended but we went back to our rooms with a warm feeling. There were a lot of possibilities to think about as I headed back to El Dorado to my parents' place on Sunday afternoon.
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