First PIU (Prayer) Chapel of the Semester

Last Tuesday was the first chapel of the new semester for PIU. Mike Owen is again our chapel leader this year, and he led our faculty, staff and students as we focused on praise music, worship and prayer for the new semester. The worship band (left) did a great job but the real focus of the day was the prayer time and it was a real encouragement to me.

We had a good time in congregational prayer but a large part of the meeting was a time to break up into groups and to pray for one another. I know that many of you pray for us and I would invite you to join us in praying for the following prayer requests for our Spring 2014 semester.

1. We have pretty close to the same number of students we had last semester, 85. Our ongoing prayer request for all of our students is that they will encounter and develop in relationship with Christ through the exposure to scripture, relationship with faculty and staff and the many opportunities they have at PIU to connect to and serve Jesus.
2. Joyce got good news at her follow-up appointment for her pneumonia - lungs clear. She needs to keep a close eye on things but she is back to full activity. She did get a shingles shot this week. We are very thankful that she is doing well,  but are always needful of prayer for her continued health.
3. We are getting ready to attend a meeting in February with education and church leaders in Chuuk. We are very thankful for our renewed relationship with the church in Chuuk and with Faithwalk Christian College, but there are still a lot of details to work out . Please pray that we will have a clear picture of how to provide for the students at FCC and that we will be able to work with other schools in the region to train the public and private school teachers in Chuuk.
4. We had another opportunity this week to talk to returning National Guard members about PIU. They had just returned from Iraq/Afghanistan the day before and are looking for education options. We have been praying for a way to serve the local communities on Guam and perhaps this could be the way God does it. Several young men signed that they were interested in getting more information.
5. We are excited about our first on-campus student from Papua, Indonesia (Irian Jaya). Harnolx is enrolled in our Master of Arts in Religion program. After a couple weeks of class I have already been blessed as he related principles we discuss in Bible class to his situation in the Papuan church. Please pray for him for cultural adjustment, financial needs and growth in Christ.
6. Our Dean of Student Life, Rob Watt (pictured right)  and his wife, Leyla, are expecting a baby. This is already a miracle, but there are several medical issues with this pregnancy. They left Guam yesterday to go to Houston TX for special care for Leyla and the baby. As they are asking, “Pray for life!” Please pray that this baby and mom will be ok. Also this will leave some big holes in our staff that we will have to stretch to fill.

We do appreciate your concern and prayers for us and for PIU. May God Bless!