It is April and that always seems to be the busiest time of the year for us at PIU. There are so many things going as we get ready for graduation on May 5th. Joyce and I value your prayers very much. We know that all these things we do only have meaning as they are done in the power of Christ. So below I share I one area of news of our upcoming plans, and some praises and prayer requests.
NEWS: Joyce and I are planning a short furlough on the US Mainland for about a month from mid-July to mid-August. We would very much like to see as many of you as we can while we are there. We would be available to speak for Sunday services (of course) but are also very interested to share in Bible studies, mission meetings, get-togethers etc. However you would like us to serve you as your missionaries while we are there, we would like to do it. We will be in the process of scheduling meetings for our visit over the next few months so please let us know when you would like us to come. We are very much looking forward to seeing you.
PRAISES:
1. Thank you for your prayers for Joyce while she was in the hospital over Christmas time. She is doing well and going like the “energizer bunny” again. Insurance covered most of the costs so we are very thankful for God’s provision in this.
2. I had a wonderful opportunity to do ministry this past weekend at the Soul Check Festival For Jesus on the main public beach of Guam. You can see pictures of the event here: http://guamdaveo.blogspot.com/2014/04/soul-check-2piu.html. I had the opportunity to pray with several people and had the privilege of hearing their prayers of commitment of their lives to Christ for the first time. It really was a great day.
3. God is opening up many new opportunities for PIU to serve the Guam and Micronesian communities. It seems like doors that we have been “knocking on” for years are opening up to us. I know many of you have been praying for us for these many years and it is exciting to see these prayers answered. We have been able to make new and update agreements with the public colleges in our region and have renewed our relationship with the church and communities in Chuuk. Please pray that we move forward wisely.
Prayer Requests:
1. Finances: As we near the end of our fiscal year in a couple months PIU is in need of at least another $50,000 in donations to our Rising Tide fund to meet our budget needs. We must finish the year on June 30th “in the black” to avoid being put on warning status by our accreditor. Please pray that God will supply this. In addition many of our students still struggle to pay school bills despite all of our efforts to make the school affordable. These students need help to close the gap between school costs and their ability to pay. They have often been able to see God provide for them in miraculous ways in the past through God’s people and we pray that will continue to happen.
2. Our project with the Chuuk Department of Education continues to move forward. The plan is to train 20-30 Chuuk public elementary school teachers here at PIU this summer and then continue their degree upgrades though the next few semesters to meet the US Dept. Of Education mandates. Please pray as we interview and select the students to participate in this program, the logistics of getting them settled into our campus this summer, the teachers and staff at PIU who will run the program and that this would not only be a benefit to the teachers’ professionally, but it would be a spiritual benefit to them as well.
3. Student Recruiting: This is our high season for student recruiting. We hope to increase our student population on the Guam campus to over 100 students for next Fall. We would also like to increase enrollment in Palau and Yap, along with the re-start of our Teaching Facility in Chuuk. We are also recruiting in the high schools and churches of Guam and in Korea. Please pray that God will fill our classrooms with the right students and that He will be preparing them for encountering Jesus here at PIU.
4. People: We need to hire a new librarian and liberal studies teacher. Please pray that God will provide the right person and the finances to bring them on board.
5. Students: Please pray for our current students to finish the semester well. For most it is academic issues. Some struggle with deeper issues. Pray for our faculty and student life team to minister effectively and pray for God to work in the lives of our PIU students.
We do appreciate your prayers. We look forward to seeing you this summer.
Blessings
Dave and Joyce
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