PIU Student Feature – Davy Welle

Davy is a 22 year old PIU 5th year student majoring in Biblical Studies. He is from Dublon, Tolewas in Chuuk. This year Davy is serving as the President of the PIU Student Council. He also served as a Resident Assistant in the main men’s dorm last year. Some other activities he is involved in include Big Brothers, Voices of Micronesia and The PIU Tide basketball team. The last couple years he has led and participated in missions/ministry teams in Yap, Mexico (where he almost did not get out because the border patrol agents had never seen a passport from Federated States of Micronesia), Saipan and Susanville California. He enjoys preaching and teaching occasionally at the Ranch Christian Fellowship which would explain why one his favorite PIU activities is our annual Preaching Conference. (This year’s conference will be October 18-20)

This last summer Davy participated in the ministry trip to Yap. Unlike the rest of the team who returned to Guam after 6 weeks, Davy spent the entire summer in Yap working with PIU alumni, Pastor Asael Ruda and Jonathan Sam as they ministered to several congregations on the island. Davy led Bible studies 5 days per week with each day’s study in a different village – Monday and Tuesday in Rumuuch, Wednesday to the adults in Colonia, Thursday in Tomil, and Friday back in Colonia with the youth. Saturday was spent cleaning the church and resting, and then on Sunday he often preached 3 or 4 times. Since Davy was there, Pastor Asael was able to take some needed time off.

One of his interesting experiences in Yap was leading a men’s retreat. It is very unusual for an outsider to come to Yap , especially a young guy, and immediately be asked to teach the older Yapese men. He said, “It was very uncomfortable for me to be asked for advice by old men. I am much more comfortable leading in a youth group or church service.” He also had the experience of preaching a Yapese traditional funeral. “The open coffin was right in front of me.. and with all the grieving people… It was a really weird experience for me.” I even did some marriage counseling,” for which he felt he didn’t have any experience, but “they came to me because I was from PIU.” He was even drafted to help Jonathan with transportation to church events. “Because of that I have a Yapese driver’s license and I got it one day!”

Davy found that “when I keep myself busy in the Word and doing ministry during the week, I have more confidence sharing the Word on Sunday.” After the rest of the PIU team left Yap, Davy was concerned that he would have to face the spiritual warfare the team had encountered by himself. “I was concerned that the evil spirit would scare me, but studying the Word gave me confidence. The evil spirit never bothered me.”

Maybe his favorite experience was a trip to the outer islands in which he got to fly a plane. He feels “burdened to go back and share with the hundreds of kids” he met there.

This semester Davy wants to focus the PIU students on activities to “grow together” and be closer to each other.  He wants to have more activities this semester but realizes that unity is the most important and so his main focus will be “growing relationships” among the students. Davy asks for prayer for direction after he graduates this coming May. Five different churches and ministries have asked him to come and help and he wants to go where God directs him. Wherever he goes he has a “burning desire to help youths.”