A Few More Pictures of Leila

While I was in Texas I took quite a few pictures of Leila. The ones I am posting today are from last weekend right before I left to head back to Guam. Joyce is still there for a couple weeks so you should not be surprised to see a few more pictures of Leila posted in the near future. Even though I had a great time last night spending the evening with my 3 grandkids here, I miss that baby and my grandson Milo in San Diego. That may be one of the hardest things about missionary life, but I suppose this kind of geographical dispersion is pretty common in Western culture in general too. Anyway, here are a few more cute pictures.

On Saturday Kevin and Rebecca Wilson drove down from Arkansas to see us. Kevin was our youth sponsor at Yigo Baptist in 1993 and took a couple classes from me at PIBC. We had not seen him in 18 years so it was fun to remember past events (7 year old Missy driving the church van seemed to be the prominent memory). It was a good reminder of how God has worked in the past.

Grandpa and daddy take their turns holding the baby

And Leila gets her first bath

The whole family was involved

Joyce’s sister, Judy, and her parents came over on their way back to California (update on Joyce’s dad’s condition as soon as I hear one) and brought Leila some presents

 

Missionary Conference at Redeemer Bible Church

Last weekend Joyce and I participated in the annual missionary conference at Redeemer Bible Church in Dallas Texas. Redeemer has been a ministry partner with PIU for several years now and the VOM team ministered there in July of 2010. Several people told Joyce and I this weekend how much they were blessed by that performance and the time the students spent at their homes. Friday night we met at the home of one of the mission team members for dinner and an informal discussion about PIU. It was great to get to know some of the church families better and the dinner was excellent. Sunday morning we presented the ministry of PIU to one of the Sunday school classes. A lot of good questions were asked, and I especially appreciated the interest in PIU from several of the high schoolers. I was also introduced to the congregation at the worship service and presented the morning scripture reading. After lunch and a great discussion with the Redeemer missions team we headed back to see more of Leila and I packed for my trip back to Guam. We are thankful for Redeemer’s vision for supporting Christian higher education on the mission field.

I am Back on Guam

After a full day of travel – up at 4.30 AM Monday to go to DFW to catch a flight at 6.30 (Joyce drove me to the airport although I am pretty sure she was half asleep most of the trip.) – 1 hour flight to Houston – then an 8 hour flight from Houston to Honolulu. After less than an hour in the Hawaii airport a seven hour flight to Guam and I arrived on Guam at 6 PM on Tuesday evening. I had a good night’s rest last night and am getting ready to head to the PIU office in a few minutes. I enjoyed meeting a lot of good people during the two weeks on the mainland and I feel like we made some good connections with potential donors and future staff and faculty. Also, I was able to do some student recruiting. Please pray along with me for the people that are thinking of coming to PIU as short and long term volunteers, missionaries and employees, and for students who are considering coming to PIU in the near future. I will be posting a few more pictures of the trip and, of course, a few more pictures of my new grand-daughter in the next couple of days.

Taking Leila Home

Leila got to go home on Thursday at 2 PM. Leila was probably ready to go much sooner but it took Missy a little longer to recover. It was a lot of fun for us to be able to help get our new granddaughter ready and bring her to her new home. We are also very happy that Missy and Cliff have a much more roomy place now. Here are a few pictures of the trip home from the hospital. 

Here is the little outfit she wore home. Joyce and Missy are dressing her in it

What a cute baby! And yes, Cliff and Missy are Steelers fans. I will be getting Leila a 49er outfit too

Then she got all bundled up because it was a little cold outside

Leila was ready to go in her car seat and we gathered up all the stuff in the room and headed home

Meeting Leila

After visiting with Joyce’s dad we headed over to the hospital where Leila was born so I could meet her for the first time. This is grandchild #5 for us, but every time meeting one is so precious. She looks wonderful and mother and daughter are healthy and fine. In fact, Leila hardly looks like a newborn with all the hair and the chunky body. Joyce and I are so proud of her and Missy and we thank everyone for praying. Here are a few pictures of the family members meeting Leila after she was born. I am sure more pictures will follow.

Here are our first opportunities to hold her. When I held her she was making a lot of noise. I was trying to comfort her but she can be loud.

Uncle Paul, Aunt Janet and Great Grandma Cundall take their turns at holding her.

Aunt Judy also got a turn to hold her.

The proud parents with their new daughter

Before the birth “Dr. Cliff” tries to give Missy an exam with the TV remote and then Missy heads into the elevator on the way to the birthing room.

She’s a cutie! And we have “plenty more” pictures!

Update on Joyce’s Dad

After arriving in Dallas on Wednesday, Joyce picked me up and we went over to the hospital to see her dad. I was surprised at how well he was doing. In just a few days he went from critical condition to, by the time I got there, discussing when he would be released from the hospital. He was released Wednesday evening. He will still need to take care of getting gall bladder surgery when he gets back to California and will need to take things very easy for a while, but they will drive back to California from Texas on Saturday morning. Joyce’s sister Judy will be doing the driving. This has been a tremendous answer to prayer so much thanks to all who prayed for him.

Left, they all enjoy the first meal in Cliff and Missy’s new kitchen and, right, Missy visits her grandpa a couple days before Leila is born.

In San Diego CA

After the weekend in Portland I flew down to San Diego to spend a couple days with Matt, Kristin and Milo and meet with some people interested to come out to PIU and work with us on Guam. In between meetings I had a great time playing football, basketball, soccer and wii with my grandson Milo. Matt drove me around to appointments so I had a lot of good time to talk with him. I also was able to interview 3 more possible faculty members, a possible dean of men and an administrator. I would appreciate your prayers that God would guide the people we need to PIU and provide the resources for us to pay them or for them to be able to raise support to come. We have a lot of opportunities!

On Monday Sam and Maria Keckler organized a dinner at their home for people interested in the ministry at PIU. Sam and Maria, and Rachelle Heverly came out for our Story Crafting Conference in February and continue to spread the word about PIU and what God is doing in Micronesia. It was good to see them and to meet some more of their friends. We may have another teacher for our summer program and we are praying as several people consider coming out to PIU for longer term ministry.

Weekend in Portland

Last weekend I was up in Portland to meet with some PIU Chuukese alumni and some other friends. I had not been to Portland before (I had been through there but never stayed) and enjoyed my opportunity to see Multnomah Falls and a little of the rest of the city. But mainly I enjoyed the people at the churches and homes I visited. It was a special blessing to see several alumni I had not seen in several years and hear how they are doing. It is so great to hear how they are serving God in their churches and communities. The picture above is from a Saturday night Chinese Buffet Dinner with our alumni. Some of them came all the way down from Vancouver Washington to be part of the event. I was really touched.

I preached in the Sunday afternoon service for the PIFC church. It was snowing heavily as I began, but we had a great time together. The PIU group sang a song and I had a great opportunity to share about the ministries of the school. The pastor told me that he always looks for PIU grads to lead in his church because “they know the Bible and they know how to teach and minister.”

Several of the alumni have been in my classes and we have been on mission trips together.

I stayed with Tim and Jan Dixon, parents of current PIU teacher Ken Dixon. I had never met them before and everything was arranged at the last minute, but they were very gracious and hospitable. I got to meet several people from their church who all seem to be very excited about the ministry at PIU. I also learned a lot about Ken which I will need to talk to him about. (Just kidding Ken!) Thank you for that tasty Tillamook cheese and ice cream!