Easter Egg Coloring With the Kids

This is the first year we have had grandchildren living close by so we are enjoying all the fun seasonal activities we get to do with them. Last night they came over to color their Easter eggs. Between the stuff their grandma and mom bought, the kids had plenty of artistic supplies to create Easter masterpieces. Of course the eggs would be hunted for the next day.

Titus carefully measured the proper amount of coloring to put in each glass.

Titus and Courage worked together with complete cooperation at all times. 

Serenity was quite entertained by the balloon.

And then she entertained all of us by modeling the glasses.

Diving Class School Picnic

Saturday, the PIU scuba diving classes sponsored an all-school picnic at Family Beach on Guam. Just recently the three members of our scuba diving instructor class passed the test and are now officially qualified as PADI dive instructors. Diving professor Fred Schmidt and the members of the class organized the picnic to celebrate a successful first year of offering our dive classes and to give the PIU students, staff, faculty and friends some introductory instruction in scuba to promote the upcoming Fall diving classes. Our certificate in dive instruction is now ready to go for the Fall and we are looking forward to seeing several new students in the diving program. We enjoyed a great afternoon of beach, barbecue and other water activities. Here are a few pictures of the event....

 Fred (in the white T-shirt) and Eric Sorenson, our "Dean of Dive" get a group of students ready to go out.

Meluat uses his diving training to teach the next group of students

I give Justin some "counsel" before he goes out into the water

Joyce enjoys some grandma time with the kids, while Sam and Serenity enjoy the shade on the beach.

"Last Supper Night" for the Bible Study Methods Class

One of the traditions I have established for my seminary classes is a "last supper" where the class comes over to my house, we have dinner together and discuss what the students have learned in the class. Actually, except for the change in venue and addition of dinner, that is not a whole lot different than what we do week to week in our regular classes. The goal of the Bible Study Methods class is that the students learn the basic principles of how to read, interpret and apply the Bible by using them in class. We work through the exegesis and interpretation of various genres of scripture so the students get experience and guidance in doing the work of biblical interpretation. We have sat down together and worked our way through passages such as 1 Timothy 2, Deuteronomy 6, Haggai, Mark 11.15-19, Genesis 13, some Proverbs, etc as we help the students discover what the text says, means and how it applies to our daily lives. Tuesday night, around the dinner table, we discussed the textbooks we used in the class and talked about the final stage of the Bible study process, which is incorporating the text into our personal theology and worldview. I have taught this class a couple times now (this time Mike and I taught it together) and I have to say that it might be my favorite material to teach.

Project Day in the Teaching Youth and Children Class

This semester Joyce has been team teaching the Youth and Children Ministry class with our Student Life VP Rob Watt. Rob, as the teacher of record, has handled the section on youth ministry while Joyce, as the student teaching assistant, brought her vast experience and training in children's ministry to the sixteen students in the class. This past week the students were required to craft a Bible lesson for children and then present it to a group of select campus children (my 3 grandchildren and faculty member Iotaka Choram's three girls). In the video 3rd year student Kita Mokut teaches a memory verse to the children and my granddaughter Courage recites it with her. The students did a great job again this year and mentioned that they appreciate the "hands-on" approach to education at PIU. We often hear feedback about our graduates and students that, "your students really know how to teach kids effectively."

 Sophie teaches a very attentive group of kids

Mike created his own art work to teach a lesson about the sacrifice of Jesus

The whole class gets the benefit of learning from each lesson

I am certain that Joyce is a very tough grader

Shema Cafe at PIU

Last Saturday the Shema cafe was open at Pacific Islands University. The Shema cafe is an annual evening of artistic expression by PIU students, staff and friends to celebrate the publication of the PIU Anthology. The students reconfigure the classroom into a coffee house. I attended and enjoyed the music, poetry, coffee and donuts. The stage was open to anyone who had something to perform and a several of our PIU family members were there to showcase their talents. We are really blessed here with some amazing artists and musicians, and cookie bakers too! Here are a few pictures taken from J.C. Yoon's phone. I forgot to bring my camera.

 Leeman (left) our student body president elect for 2011 and staff member Stephanie (right) perform. 

Mike and Samantha sang while Serenity danced

I remained a spectator and enjoyed the show. Jen Rydzik was the MC for the event and coordinated the publication of the Anthology

The Yapese ladies did a great job with their spontaneous, unrehearsed song.

We had trios and solos...

...and more solos and everyone was good.

and a couple of duets

The crowd was loving it.

including Serenity.

Hebrews Exegesis Class at PIU

With just 2 1/2 weeks to go in the semester, it is class project time for my nine students in BNEW 403 - Exegesis in Hebrews. Every Wednesday afternoon the class comes together for an in depth discussion of the exegetical , theological and applicational issues in a chosen section of the Book of Hebrews, covering the entire book in the semester.The goal of the class is not only to teach the student the content of the book of Hebrews but to help them begin to understand the process of exegesis and interpretation so that they can study the Bible for themselves and, from it, formulate a personal theology. I want to create a classroom environment where the student can encounter God in the text and grow to be more like Him. The added bonus is that the techniques for reading, interpreting and analysis of the Bible will help the students handle other information that comes their way so that they can become effective thinkers and communicators in all areas of life.

The projects are an important part of this. Each student is required to teach the class one time and lead the discussion on one of the passages from Hebrews 11-13. For their passage they must answer questions like.. What is the big idea, main point, basic message of your passage? How does your passage fit in with the argument of the book? What is the argument of your passage? What are the main or difficult exegetical issues in the passage and what is your solution to the problems? How should your audience apply the passage? They then have to field questions and comments from the class by explaining and defending their viewpoint. This is the 2nd time I have taught this class and it is exciting to see the students have "the light go on" and hear some very profound insights that come out of the hard work they put into their presentations. I think I get blessed just as much as they do.

PIU Faculty at the George Washington High School Career Day

Last Tuesday morning five Pacific Islands University faculty members, Mike Owen, Lisa Collins, J.C. Yoon, Fred Schmidt and I, participated in the GW high school career day. We were invited to participate by Mr. Dan Tomada (right), math teacher at GW and part-time student in our Pacific Islands Evangelical Seminary. The purpose of the day was to expose GW students to possible careers they could pursue after high school and explain how they needed to prepare to become qualified for them. Lisa mentioned the great need for librarians in the islands and showed the students how much fun working in a library can be. Mike talked about teaching while I tried to get the students interested in spiritual things and talked about a career in the ministry. Fred brought out the diving gear for a presentation about military and civilian opportunities for a career as a diver. J.C. networked very profitably with the teachers and administrators at GW while we made the class presentations.

The GW students enthusiastically participated in Lisa's very creative presentation. She started her presentation with a role-play about what a librarian was not - a "shoosher." She then turned the class into a living dictionaryas the students who were "words" had to find their matching student "definitions." She finished with teams of students using "story cubes" (pictured) to create original stories. I had not realized that reading was such a physical activity.

When Fred brought out the scuba diving equipment the student excitement level went up another notch. The students enjoyed trying out the equipment and were very attentive as Fred told some amazing stories about his time as a Navy Seal.

It was a great time for all of us to get to know the GW students and their teachers, and expose them to the opportunities we provide for Christian higher education on island, at PIU. We hope to do it again next year.