Yap Ministry Team #1 – Josh Ladd

Josh Ladd is a 2nd year student at PIU from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, though he was born in Palau. Josh served the team as the student leader and was responsible, along with Stella Fatag the staff leader, to plan, organize and administrate the team’s schedule, training, fund raising and program preparation. Josh was also the team’s main public representative and one of the preacher/teachers. Josh is now heading back to North Carolina for the rest of summer to have a vacation and rest up for his 3rd year at PIU in which he plans to be a full time student, resident assistant in the dorm and student recruiter for the advancement department. In the picture Josh is holding a carving made by the people of the Yap Evangelical Church to commemorate the partnership of PIU and the YEC.

Josh said that the challenges of this ministry trip were “tough enough to bring me to tears many times.” The “hardest part was being away from family in North Carolina when my grandfather died, but the people were really blessed” when he preached about “how my grandfather lives on in eternity and in me.” This year’s trip was harder for Josh than last year because “being the leader means overseeing the team instead of just hanging out with the people and doing ministry.” It was also tough to “discern when to speak and when to be patient and quiet when the team had issues.”

Josh was thankful that he was well prepared at PIU in the classroom and through his work this past year as a resident assistant in the dorm. In the classroom Josh learned to “exegete scripture to get to what the Bible is really saying, even in the Greek and Hebrew.” His experience leading men in the dorm “taught me how to do cross-cultural ministry.”

Josh’s favorite memory of the trip was “preaching that last night of the youth retreat.” He preached on Luke 9 about the requirements to be a real follower of Jesus and “challenged the youth to follow Jesus and be willing to give up whatever it takes to be more like Him.” After the message he saw how greatly it effected the Yapese youth.

Josh explains his motivation to go on this trip to Yap, “Yap is a place that God has put on my heart and I will continue to go there because I have seen God work in  mighty ways through the team there and there is a such a huge need for young people to go there to disciple other young people.” “We need to continue to encourage the church leaders of Yap. It is a blessing all around.”