Another Update From the PIU Ministry Team in Yap

From Grace Neth (picture on the right is of the team with the Ruda family who are missionaries in Yap – on the left is Grace with her cousin Charity Sam who is our PIU Yap Teaching Facility office manager )

Week Two Update:

Last Sunday the Yap Team had a 4 Back to Back Services that We Led.
Thank God for the Great Fellowships that We've Been having with The Youth and the Sport Ministries that We've Been Having. Messages about Honoring Christ for He is Our Ultimate King by Josh Ladd, and A Message About "Loving God as Well As Our Neighbors" By Davy Welle. We Are Now In Week Three, Still Preparing Our Programs for the Youth Retreat this Coming Week, Prayers Would Be Awesome:) PIU Team Will Be Leading Two Nights Along with Morning Devotions to Start the Day. Such a Blessing to Know That OUr Works Are Not In Vain, When Done In the Name of The Lord.:)

From Josh Ladd

Yap Day 15

Hey everyone sorry once again for a lack of an update the past couple of days. It has been another crazy couple of days for me. I will plan on giving a more in depth update when I can, but most of our time this week has been spent planning and preparing for the upcoming youth retreat next week. Please continue to pray for protection and the love of Jesus to be shown through everything that our team does as we prepare and practice. Thank you!

Family Atmosphere at PIU

One of the things I enjoy about PIU is the family atmosphere on campus. Just as we enjoyed raising our little kids on the Emmaus campus in Palau back in the 80's, it is great to see young families enjoying the PIU campus on Guam. Of course, we really like having our  grandchildren on campus where we can see them regularly. Last week Mike and Sam came to campus for a meeting and, at the start of the meeting, Serenity latched on to me and fell asleep. I did the whole staff meeting with her sleeping on my chest for about an hour and a half. I didn't mind! :)

PIU Yap Team Day 12

Yap Day 12

This is the latest update written by Josh Ladd of the PIU Yap Summer Ministry Team

Our team finished up a busy stretch of 3 days and we are ready for our Monday day of rest tomorrow. Friday our team had the blessing of hanging out with three different youth groups here on Yap. We spent time with the outer island youth, the Colonia Youth, as well as the Palauan youth. All three of these youth groups will be a part of the youth retreat next week that will have over a 100 local youth from around the island. Our team has also been asked to lead the outer island youth this Friday.

While attending the Palauan youth I was asked to share an encouragement to them. This gave me an opportunity to share about the life of my Grandpa who passed away last week. I shared about how although I miss him, I know that his work was not in vain because he spent his life serving Jesus. Through the resurrection, Jesus has made it possible for us to spend our life doing work that is not useless, but will count for all of eternity. My Grandpa used his life for Jesus and His kingdom, and his work was certainly not in vain. After sharing this, Mac Alfonzo (the Palauan youth leader and a graduate of PIU) asked me to come back Tuesday night and share the same thing with their young adults. I’m so thankful that the Lord is giving me opportunities to share about my Grandpa in a way that will continue to build the kingdom.

On Saturday our team enjoyed doing another sports ministry, but this time with the village of Tomil. Our guys scrimmaged against the Tomil basketball team that will be competing in the upcoming Yap games. During half time we were able to present a song and skit that tells about Jesus as the answer to one’s purpose in life. All 5 of our guys had a part in the skit while the ladies helped us to sing our team song. Unfortunately there was no volleyball for the girls this time, but hopefully there will be an opportunity this upcoming week. After the game was over we were able to pass out some gospel of John booklets, PIU materials, and some cold sodas. It is really cool that Pastor Asael already has a bible study every week in the village of Tomil that provides a place for these guys to hear the word of God if interested.

After finishing Saturday by giving a lot of free time for working on sermons and other activities, our team finally reached our busiest day of the trip so far. Today (Sunday) our team performed in 4 different church services. Davie Welle spoke in 3 out of 4 services on the topic of loving God and loving your neighbor. I spoke in one service concerning Jesus being the perfect Chief of the world. Our team also did a skit in each program presenting an “island version” of the Good Samaritan. Leeman and Grace also did an awesome job giving testimonies. All in all it was a tiring, yet awesome day. We definitely are excited to have a nice day of rest tomorrow.

Here are some prayer requests for our team:

1. Pray for a restful day that will be refreshing for all of our team so that we can start another busy week of ministry.
2. Pray for wisdom this week as our team spends a lot of time planning our programs for the upcoming youth retreat. Pray also for wisdom as to who will be giving the messages over the retreat. We will have at least 2 or 3 people preaching with 6 of our team members leading morning devotions.
3. While on the subject of the youth retreat, please pray also that God will be preparing the hearts of all of the youth. This retreat is quite amazing with over 100 local youth from different cultures all staying together for an entire week. What an amazing opportunity to proclaim Jesus (especially since we already know most of the youth from last year and have relationships established!)
4. Please pray also for me as I share once again on Tuesday night about the life of my Grandpa and how we should spend our lives doing work for Jesus that is not in vain.
5. Please continue to pray for unity for our team. Jonie really made an awesome comment one night this week and pointed out how our team is much closer now then when we were at school together in Guam. This is true. We have already been through a lot together and are much closer. But we still need prayers of protection against the enemy. We also need prayers that we will continue to be patient with one another and love one another. Our most intense week of ministry is coming soon and we will need the love of Jesus more than ever.
6. Finally, please pray that our team will specifically have confidence and peace in Jesus over any other power. Some of the weird stuff that has happened to our team that I shared about earlier has been new to a lot of us. Some of us are still struggling with getting good sleep at night because of some weird stuff that continues to happen. So please just pray that nothing will keep us from proclaiming our Lord Jesus. Pray that we will truly have no fear, and trust that God alone is in control.

Owen Prayer Letter June 2012

This is the prayer letter I just sent to our supporting churches…

Another school year has already gone by (I am turning back into dust faster and faster it seems) and we were blessed to graduate 27 students on May 7th, including three with a Master of Arts in Religion, 3 with an Associate of Arts in Biblical Studies and 21 with a Bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies. These graduates will going on to grad school, beginning ministries in churches as pastors (some have already been pastoring churches as students), youth pastors and children's workers, and starting jobs as school teachers in the public and private schools throughout the islands, working in government and business and many other things. We had an enjoyable, though financially tight year and are very thankful for the way God provided to get us through the school year with a short staff and faculty. We are excited about the new Bible translation emphasis in our Bible program and our new relationships with TITIP school in Papua (we have 6 students from Papua now) and with the SIL Isles of the Sea Group. We are truly blessed with the people that we work with, and Joyce and I both enjoy the ministry God has called us to in Micronesia. It is hard to believe that we have been out here since 1984 and have now been missionaries with Liebenzell USA for 28 years. Many of you have been part of our prayer and financial support team for all of that time and we are very thankful for you. We are very thankful for all of you who make it possible for us to be here in ministry full time.

Here are a few prayer requests as we head into summer ministry....

1. Summer Programs At PIU: This summer PIU is teaching several summer classes on campus and on line. The first summer session has already started and another session will begin in July. I am teaching two seminary courses. One is Old Testament Theology and I am doing an individual study with a student on New Testament Theology. This coming week we will begin the PIU 8-week summer remedial sessions. We will be offering these 4 classes: speaking and listening, reading, writing and study skills tuition free to serve the community. We had hoped that a local grant would fund these classes but we found out yesterday that we would not get the grant. We still believe God would like us to offer these classes so we are moving forward on faith to do that. We are hoping to get some donations to fund the materials ($10 per student per class) and the outings ($80 per student for the summer) so that finances are not a barrier to any student who wants to come. Michael Owen and Joey Charles will be teaching the classes.
2. Owen Personal Financial Support: Since 2002 Joyce and I have been fully supported to minister at PIU through Liebenzell Mission USA. PIU does not pay us one penny for what we do here. We have been so blessed that we have had 10 years of adequate support but, because some of our support team has died or gone through hard times, our support has gone below the break-even level and we will probably go into the red in our account with Liebenzell Mission by the end of this year. It will be very difficult for us to get away from our ministry at PIU to raise support so we would ask for your prayers on this. We would also that you might prayerfully consider becoming a financial supporter of our ministry or increasing present support if God so enables and leads. For information on how to support us please email me at dowen@piu.edu or click here to get info or to donate to us on line. We appreciate it.
3. PIU Summer Ministry Trips: You can read a lot about the two PIU groups doing ministry this summer in Yap and in Susanville California in the blog posts below. We have 10 students in Yap right now helping the Yap Evangelical Church with VBS, youth ministry, evangelism and Bible studies. One student Kita Mokut is working with the Susanville Baptist Church with women's and children's ministries. Please pray for them that God will make their ministries fruitful and will overcome the spiritual warfare they are experiencing.
4. Grants for PIU: I mentioned above that we had missed out one grant already this summer. We have about 5 grant applications in right now (private and government) to seek funding for much needed items such as administrator salaries, seminary scholarships, Bible Translation scholarships and for improvements on our buildings and property (paving a road and parking lot is one urgent need). In addition we are needing donors for our Rising Tide program which helps fund PIU yearly regular operations. Our students pay less than 1/3 of what it actually costs us to educate them and so we ask you to pray that God will supply the resources necessary to make Christian education accessible to the people of Guam and Micronesia.
5. New Applicants: We have more new applications in process than we have ever had in the history of the school. Please pray for the applicants that they are able to get all their testing done, paperwork in and everything done to get accepted and on campus in August. Please pray for us that we have wisdom in accepting and placing students. Our goal is to have 120 students enrolled for the Fall semester.
6. Family: Finally please pray for our dads. Both my dad and Joyce's dad have been experiencing some health problems this summer and we would ask prayer for them. It may be necessary for us to go to California this summer to spend some time there (not that we don't want to do that but it is hard to get away from PIU) and we need wisdom and provision for that.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayer and support for the ministry God has given us in Guam and Micronesia.

From Kita’s PIU Ministry in Susanville California

Below is a recent post from PIU student Kita Mokut who is ministering this summer at the 1st Baptist Church of Susanville California. The church there in Susanville has large Palauan and Chuukese congregations within it, and Kita is working with the already extensive ministries among the Micronesians there to provide some much needed help to the leadership of those ministries.For more about her and other summer ministries see here.

“Something crazy but amazing just happened here in my white-Parents' home :D A girl whom I do not know very much showed up for Bible Study last Monday was moved & touched by a praise I shared...Today, she wrote to me saying she wanted to see me...(she had questions for me)... I called her up and she came over today at 4 something... well at 4:30 May 30, 2012, She accepted Jesus into her life! Believe it or not, she is a daughter of the KING!!!! She broke down, & prayed on her own, accepting the LORD into her life! She will be returning to AZ tomorrow afternoon, please keep her in your prayers. She prays and hope to find a home Church & Christian friends in AZ... God thank u for YOUR WORD and for preparing me for this great opportunity today. Protect Kimberly Ruda and lead her in the life you now want her to live for you. TO JESUS FOR JESUS!”

PIU Yap Ministry Team Day - 9

Guest post by PIU Yap Team Student Leader Josh Ladd

Today was a interesting day for our team, but a very good one. Last night as our team was meeting together in the church here, there were several strange noises and loud banging sounds coming from on top of the YEC church. There were also sounds of coughing coming from the back of the church, but nobody was there. As a couple of us stayed back to pray later on the sounds got more intense and it sounded like people were walking around the church quickly outside, but once again there was nobody there. Pretty much, long-story short, we believe that our team has been under a lot of spiritual attack lately from stories like last night as well as some other really weird stuff that has happened to a couple of our team members. So this morning our team met together and shared some of what we have been experiencing. We also talked to Pastor Asael and he came and shared about the seriousness of spiritual warfare here on Yap. Our team then read a bit of scripture together, such as Ephesians 1 and 2, talking about how Christ has been raised and seated above all rule and authority with believers having been raised and seated with Him. We also read Colossians 1 which affirms that Jesus is the creator, sustainer, and reason for all things created - including all powers and spiritual authorities.

After this our team went and did a prayer walk around where both our girls and guys are staying. We also prayed for Pastor Asael's house, the YEC church, and the youth center where the youth retreat and VBS will take place. It was a very special time together and I believe it opened our eyes to a lot of things that we need to be watching for.

Many Christians today are doubtful concerning spirits and demons. All I can say is that both from Scripture and from multiple experiences of missionaries here in the islands it is very clear that there is a kingdom of darkness in opposition to God's Kingdom. It is also very clear however that Jesus has been given complete authority by the Father and no spirit or demon has any power outside of His control. We are so thankful to have King Jesus protecting us and watching over us here in Yap.

Here are some prayer requests for our team today:

1. Now that our eyes have been opened to some of the spiritual attack we are under, please pray that we will be very serious about prayer and reliance upon the Lord in all of our ministry. Pray that we will guard our hearts very carefully.
2. Pray that our team will continue to be protected from division and that the love of Jesus will be shown in every thought and action. Pray that the people here in Yap will see this love in all that we do.
3. Pray for the Bible study that was started yesterday - that more people will continue to come and be involved in God's word. It was awesome to see one of the guys come to Bible study for the first time who is not involved in any youth or church activities. Some of our team has known him for over a year now.
4. Continue to pray that God will bring more local girls for the girls on our team to minister too. He has already been answering our prayers in that area by bringing two new lady friends into our lives which is awesome, but we still desire to see more come.
5. Tonight Jesse Hartt will be leading Bible Study in the village of Tomil. Pray for him as he speaks and that the people will clearly understand and will be grown.
6. Davie Welle will be preaching at 3 services this Sunday (PMF Outer Islander service, Chuukese service, and English service) and I will be preaching at the Colonia Yapese service. Please pray for us as we prepare our messages as well as for the people who will hear the Word of God. Pray for our team as well because we will be doing songs, a skit, and Grace Neth will be doing a testimony. Another thing to pray for concerning the English church service specifically is that some of our friends who we hang out with here will come to the service. Several of them came last week who would not usually come if we were not involved in the service.

I know this is a lot to read and pray for, but there is quite a lot going on right now with our team. God has placed us in several ministries here, and I believe that He is using us to make an impact that Satan is not too happy about. We continue to need your prayers every day and we are soo soo grateful for everyone who is faithfully lifting us up. God bless you all!!

PIU Yap Ministry Team

Here is a post from Josh Ladd, the student leader of the PIU Yap ministry team. The team left Guam for Yap this past week and will be there for 5 weeks working with the Yap Evangelical Church, especially focusing on youth and children’s ministry. We are praying for them and appreciate your prayers for the requests listed below.

Day 5 in Yap.

Thank you once again for all of our prayers. Jesse Hartt was able to give his message this morning at the church in the village of Maap here on Yap. He was translated into Yapese and did a very awesome job. His passage was Ezekiel 16, which is an oracle about Israel's unfaithfulness to God despite Him taking the nation from her ashes and brokenness and adorning her in beauty and splendor.

Our basketball sports ministry went well overall yesterday. We had some confusion from a lack of communication, but we were able to play both girls volleyball and guys basketball with a local team training for the upcoming Yap games. At halftime of the basketball game we performed a skit presenting the gospel message as answer to what is the purpose of life. It was a new experience to most of us, but a very good one. One of our prayer requests shared tonight in our team evaluation is for the courage to be more open in talking to people that we meet in these ministries. We will have many more opportunities as we continue to play in these sports ministries.

Tomorrow our team will be having a rest day to catch up on some much needed sleep. Here are some updated prayer requests for us:

1. Continue to pray for good health for our team and healing from all sickness
2. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to open up relational ministries for both guys and girls. (One of my favorite things about our team this year is the flexibility that we have. We are easily able to be divided into groups of 2 or 3 and make great relationships with the youth walking around where we are staying. However, this is still much more difficult for the girls to do simply because there are not youth who are girls walking around in the same way that young guys do.)
3. Continue to pray for unity for our team and openness between our team members to resolve conflict when it happens.
4. Please pray that God will provide for those here in Yap who are interested in attending PIU. (Our team brought 50 applications for PIU as well as a lot of other material. Filling out applications with the youth here also provides an excellent opportunity to share the gospel message when they get to the page that asks for their personal testimony.)
5. Finally, pray that our rest day tomorrow will be a very refreshing and restful day for us. And that we will be wise in how we use our time. We plan to have a rest day each week on the trip.