Packing the Plaxtons

Saturday we went to the Plaxton's "packing party." Their 20 foot container arrived on Friday so we, along with many people from Gold Country Baptist Church and other friends of Tim and Melody, went to their house to pack the container with their stuff for Guam, pack another truck with stuff being given to charity and a trailer with stuff for the dump. It was a great time of fellowship around an important task and the BBQ'd hamburgers and hot dogs were pretty good too. Even though we have done it before, it is always an amazing thing to see someone give up their "treasures on earth" to "store up treasures in heaven," in order to "seek first his kingdom" without a "worry about tomorrow" knowing that their "heavenly Father feeds them." (Matthew 6:19-34) It is also wonderful to see the church family come around them as a team (hmm a "body") to make it happen. Please keep Tim and Melody in your prayers as they have a lot to do before they arrive on Guam on August 15th.

Thailand Missions Update

I received the following email from the Pacific Islands Bible College office...

Just to let you know, Hiob called the PIBC office this morning to say that everyone on the Thai team is fine. In fact, the team is working together quite well, and feels blessed to be doing ministry in Thailand.

It was great to hear the enthusiasm in Hiob's voice ~ he was excited to say that there are "really open doors" and "every day, people are coming to know the Lord."

The evangelism team plans to connect with the ESL team on Aug 12th, when they hope to do some sightseeing in Bangkok together before they all return to Guam on the 15th.

We can continue to uplift both teams in prayer...

The video below was taken at last May's graduation (a couple of these students are on the mission trip) and expresses their thanks for the people who pray for and support the school.

New and Old Stuff

Today we began the process to get ready to go back to Guam. First we went over to the Plaxton's house to see how they were doing. Tim and Melody will be coming to PIBC Guam as maintenance director and English teacher. Their daughter Erin will be heading to Palau to teach at Bethania girls' high school. Their house in California sold miraculously quickly and their container will arrive tomorrow. They will arrive on Guam August 15. In the picture the 5 of us are standing behind a pile of their stuff to be packed.

We also began cleaning out some of our stuff that we have had stored at Joyce's parents' place. We were wondering where some of that stuff had gone! Of course we found a lot of old pictures. Sorry about the bad scans but here are a few old pictures of Joyce and I from about 28+ years ago. I also added a picture of our son Matt from when he was about 2 years old in honor of his 27th birthday today. Happy Birthday Matt

Weekend at Hessel Church

We had a great weekend visiting relatives and friends at Hessel Church in Sebastopol, California. Joyce's cousin Rich is the pastor there. We showed our ministry overview video (see below) in the AM service (this is the same one we showed in all our church presentations)and then had a great time at the church picnic giving a more detailed overview of the work at PIBC. We were encouraged at the high level of interest in the school and in the possibility of groups coming out for short term missions. We have only a couple more weeks before we head back to Guam!

Oregon

I am just back from our weekend in Oregon. Joyce stayed up in Redding CA to celebrate her sister Judy's birthday and will be back down here on Friday. We drove up to Medford Oregon on Saturday. I always enjoy the drive because of the great view of Mount Shasta for much of it. We stayed with Garland and Roberta Shinn, old friends of Joyce's family. It was interesting to hear stories about Joyce's childhood from when her parents and the Shinn's operated a Christian camp. It seems like she was a champion on stilts. We had a great time talking about PIBC and the work in Micronesia with the people of Ashland Bible Church, pastored by Nate Shinn (see the group in the picture above). We were able to speak at the morning service, Sunday school, afternoon picnic and Monday night Bible study.

We also got to meet with Dave Booye, pastor of Rogue Valley Fellowship in Medford, and his wife Joy for lunch. Dave has been a friend since our junior high years. RVF has been faithfully supporting our ministry since 1992. We talked for about 4 hours getting caught up on each others' lives and ministries. I am hoping to get back up there in November to speak in their service. Then the next day we got have breakfast with our old friend Jim Cunningham. The Cunninghams began supporting us when we first went out to Palau in 1984. We enjoyed the good fellowship and the giant cinnamon rolls (pictured with Jim).

We then spent Monday night in Redding with Joyce's sister Judy and her family. We will be heading over to Hessel church for this weekend. If you are in that area (just north of San Francisco) Sunday we'd love to see you there.

Some Interesting PIBC Stuff

Joyce and I will be headed to Oregon this weekend. We'll talk about that next week but in the meantime here are some interesting PIBC items...

From the PIBC Web Site:

PIBC is the newest FAN of Abunga.com! is a US-based family-friendly content-safe online discount book retailer with a gazillion titles in their four regional warehouses.

When you sign-up to become a "member" (a very simple and quick online process) you choose a FAN -- that is, a "Favored Affiliate Nonprofit." That's where PIBC comes in. If you choose PIBC we receive a 5% commission from products you purchase through them. It is also possible to make a credit card donation of any amount to PIBC when you are checking out. So, for example, if your books cost a total of $24.30 you can choose to add a .70 donation to round it up to $25. Or if you're really wanting to bless PIBC you could add a $975.70 donation. You get the idea!

Steve Stinnette - Guam Campus Director

Please keep Steve and Anne Stinnette in your prayers. His eye condition has worsened and will keep them form going to Thailand with the mission trip team. It may also mean that they will need to go back to the US mainland for treatment much earlier, maybe September, than we expected. He then could have a recovery time of 15 months to two years. Pray for wisdom on decisions that need to be made, the logistics of this kind of move and of course for healing. Also be praying for PIBC that we can fill the giant hole this will leave on our staff.

Admissions

We have a lot of big decisions to make over the next few weeks on who to admit to the campuses. The dorms are full and we have many more applicants. Pray that we will have God's wisdom on this one.

There is a lot going on at our PIBC sites without a lot of people there to take care of the situations. Our people "standing in the gaps" there are much appreciated and need your prayers.

Mission Trip and Weekend

We just got back to Shingle Springs after a great weekend in Scotts Valley. We spoke at Gateway Bible Church and stayed with my brother and his family. It was a lot of fun to see so many old friends (I grew up in the church and Joyce and I were originally sent out as missionaries in 1984 from there) and meet many new people. We enjoyed the time in the church and the lunch fellowship at Heavenly Cafe. We also had a great time with my brother Doug, his wife Diane and their family. Next weekend we will be heading up to Oregon to speak at Ashland Bible Church on the 15th. We also hope to get together with our friends at Rogue Valley Fellowship.

This week our PIBC students are leaving for their mission trip to Thailand. They sent me the following prayer requests...

The ESL team (Mac, Stella, Elilai, Twinsanne, and Ethel) is leaving tomorrow to Thailand. Please remember us in your prayers everyday.

1. Pray for safe trip to Nongkhai, Thailand.
2. Pray that the Thai people will know the True and Living God.
3. Pray that they will believe and receive Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Pray for wisdom, courage, and boldness to share the gospel. "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3).
4. Also pray that the staff of OpenMindProjects will hear the gospel through us.
5. Pray for protection from Hepatitis A, B & E, malaria mosquitoes, diarrhea and Typhoid fever.
6. Protection from any harm of the enemy. "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).
7. God’s wisdom in teaching English to the students of Nongkhai, Thailand.
8. Pray that we could buy NT Bibles in Thai language to be given to the students and people who are interested.
9. Pray for harmonious relationship with the teachers and students of Nongkhai.
10. Please pray for the success of this trip and that our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ will be known to the people of Nongkhai and that the people there will worship our God and serve Him only. To God be the glory!!!

As you remember us in your prayers, please pray also for the Evangelism Team. They are leaving on Sunday to Chang Rai. Thank you so much for your prayers.

4th of July Week

This has been a great post-camp 4th of July vacation week. Joyce went off for a few days with her two sisters to have some "girl time" and visit some of her relatives. The picture is of Joyce with her two sisters and two cousins. Do you see any family resemblance? I stayed with my mom and dad and enjoyed celebrating the 4th with them and my sister's family. We had everything necessary for a proper celebration - barbecue, baseball, home made ice cream, swimming, flags and fireworks (we watched the fireworks on TV - it was 105 degrees outside). It was very nice to have some alone time with my mom and dad just to laugh and talk. I also enjoyed spending time with my sister Jayne and Nate. Their boys Jesse and Jonah have grown so much in two years.

I also spent some unexpected time with Steve Stinnette our Guam campus director. Steve was in the Sacramento area to deal with an eye problem. Please keep him in your prayers as the problem may be severe enough to necessitate a corneal transplant within the next few months. Right now he is in a lot of discomfort. We are praying that the cornea will heal up enough for him to treat it with a contact lens. He is headed back to Guam this week and will return to the US mainland after Christmas to see if the cornea has healed at all.

Joyce and I will be speaking at Gateway Bible Church in Scotts Valley CA tomorrow - the church in which Dave grew up. Then we will be heading up to Oregon next week to see friends at Ashland Bible Church and Rogue Valley Fellowship.

Week at Hume Lake

We had a great week at Hume Lake. It was nice to be able to take a nap every afternoon, especially when the nap could be taken right next to a beautiful lake. It was also great to see so much of our family, some of whom we had not seen for years. I also enjoyed hearing a good speaker. Sorry I was not able to post this past week, but here are some pictures of our family time at the lake for your enjoyment...