Latest Update on Typhoon Dolphin

We are now in Typhoon Condition Of Readiness One here on Guam. This means that damaging winds are expected within 12 hours. Everything on island is shut down and nobody is supposed to venture outside until the typhoon has passed by and we get the all clear. The graphic above shows that the expected track has moved north and the eye will pass just north of Rota. This would lessen the winds on Guam but puts Rota, Tinian and Saipan in danger. Also these storms can become somewhat erratic when they get close to us, so there is no guarantee it won’t turn further south or north. Please keep praying for us and for the people in the Marianas Islands north of us.

Prep For Typhoon Dolphin

As typhoon Dolphin was approaching Guam today, we cancelled most of our meeting type activities, although a few classes went on this morning in order to get the campus ready for the heavy winds and rain. This meant cutting trees, securing loose outdoor articles, covering books and electronics with plastic bags, putting up typhoon shutters and making sure everyone had a safe place to go. We had to secure the PIU buildings first (right) and then our house later in the afternoon (left). Please pray that the buildings below make it ok through the typhoon and everyone stays safe.

This is the building I am most concerned about. It houses the admin, classrooms and women’s dorm. It has a metal roof and has been through a couple typhoons already.

Here is an interior shot. We already have problems with a leaky roof. Yes that is a bucket mounted in the ceiling in the picture on the right

On the left is the computer lab and the men’s dorm annex on the right. Both with metal roofs

Delight and Billy put up the storm shutters on the office windows

My office and the front office had to be secured

Dangerous tree limbs behind the computer lab needed to be removed. The kids were very helpful

Loose articles were removed and the campus grounds were cleaned

Joyce and I headed home and shuttered and cleaned the front (right) and back yards

and the side of the house and the driveway

Pray For Guam (and for the roofs at PIU)

Here is the expected track for Typhoon Dolphin. Right now it being forecast to pass right through Guam late Friday afternoon with winds over 115 mph. This is a category 3 typhoon but all typhoons are very dangerous. I am especially concerned about the metal roofs on our administration, classroom building and women’s dorm, and the computer lab and “cannex” men’s dorm. These roofs have already been through typhoons and could easily blow away. The library and Main men’s dorm has a concrete roof so they should be ok (all summer students on campus are under a concrete roof), but, as Mike mentioned, the metal roofs already leak pretty bad. Our house (the bunker) has a concrete roof so we should be fine there. Please pray for PIU and for the many people on Guam who will be heading to shelters or trying to wait out the storm in less than safe houses. I will keep you updated as we know more.

Graduation Pictures #2–Celebration

Here are a few pictures of our after ceremony graduation celebration. Here Joyce celebrates with our adopted nephew Josh Ladd. We have known Josh since he was born. His parents were our missionary colleagues in Palau back in the 1980’s. It was a real blessing to watch him graduate!

Josh, Morin Moses, Lydia Lee. All Bachelor’s Degree graduates. Lydia was our salutatorian

With Lian Stae and Frankie Lake. Frankie gave an epic valedictorian speech! (in the classic sense of the word)

Vivanne Choram is following Joyce as a faculty wife who earns her degree. She is pictured here twice with Joyce and PIU registrar and Bible teacher, Urte Scherer

Graduates with candy and money leis posing with us.

With PIU Board Chair Howard and Kathy Merrell. We also had to get a picture with the beautiful ocean view behind us.

Graduation Pictures

PIU held its graduation On May 2nd at the Top of the Mar. We graduated eight students from our AA, BA and MABTS programs. Here are a few pictures of the event. I’ll put them in two or three posts. I really liked this picture of the faculty as the ceremony began with prayer

The stage was set up and ready to go

One of our valedictorians, Josh Ladd, contemplated his speech as the cake was delivered

A pre-graduation picture was taken and then we marched in

The faculty and graduates took their seats

The valedictorians (left with me) gave their speeches and our keynote speaker Governor Felix Camacho (right with Nino Pate) challenged the graduates

Graduates received their diplomas and Dr. Bill Wood pronounced the benediction

Sunday Reading–A Fellowship of Differents

This is the fourth installment of blogging through Scot McKnight’s newest book, A Fellowship of Differents: Showing the World God's Design for Life Together. Today I am looking at chapters 8 and 9 which are focused on the theme of diversity within the unity of the church.  In this section McKnight points out that “unity” is seen in the church as people from very different backgrounds, cultures, viewpoints etc. are able to come together and do the hard work, in cooperation with the Spirit, to become that one people of God. Communion is the symbol and action that witnesses to this unity. I am going through the book one section at a time every Sunday, posting some quotes on my Facebook page and a summary here on my blog. I welcome comments on my Facebook page. Quotes from the book are in blue.

In Chapter 8, Tomatoes vs. Maters, McKnight compares our homogenous, unicultural, churches to tasteless, boring canned tomatoes (maters), as opposed to the “fresh tomatoes” of the way church was intended to be with a rich diversity of multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-economic classes that allows a real doctrinal conversation that comes to unity in the Spirit rather than forced conformity. “This idea, that Paul’s mission was a mixed assembly of differents, lies at the core of my own beliefs about how the whole Bible works. Instead of trying to eradicate differences the church should be a place where we learn to live together with our differences. This is, in my opinion, one of the clearest ways that shows that the Spirit is present.

The story of the Bible is not simply about the salvation of individuals. The story of the Bible is about the creation of one faithful, saved people of God, Israel. That story for Christians means the expansion of that one people of God to include Gentiles, for what God is doing in this world is creating one universal people. 87

But transcending differences in Christ does not mean eradicating differences. Eradicating differences is what happens when we’re tempted toward uniformity...Getting a new mind and living in the Spirit mean we transcend our differences while remaining different as we live with one another. Our difference is not eliminated, for difference is the vitality of our fellowship. 95

Chapter 9, The Table of Connection, is about how communion, the Lord’s Supper, is the symbol and announcement of how Christ, through His gospel actions, has brought together this diverse group, his church, into one body. Having grown up in a tradition which de-emphasized communion (I always felt like it was an afterthought, that we had to get through it to get to the sermon, or it was quickly appended to the end of the service because Jesus said we had to do it.)  Eating together is one of the supreme acts of fellowship and we have lost that connection to communion. It should be a time of worship recognizing what Christ has done, but also a time of commitment to serve the unity of the body by being in fellowship and reaching out to those who are not like us. “When you sit or walk to eat and drink at the Eucharist, it is you and God. You are to do business with God as God does business with you. Prepare in advance. Examine your heart to eliminate the noise.” We need more emphasis on it!

The Eucharist — as an action, as symbols, as an event — gospels to all those who observe and to all those who participate. It announces that sins are forgiven and sinners liberated by ingesting the bread and wine of Jesus. When we eat and when we drink, we accept and receive and participate in the atoning death of Jesus, the liberating power of the resurrection, and the expectant return of the Lord to establish his kingdom. The Eucharist is intimately connected to the gospel itself. 101

A major element of Eucharist then is found in the word connected. At the Eucharist you are connected to other followers of Jesus to focus on him together and to share food together and to worship together. Together we embody the unity of the body of Christ. 103

Baccalaureate 2015

The first event of PIU graduation weekend 2015 was the Baccalaureate at Bayview Church on Friday night May 1st. The baccalaureate is traditionally planned by the graduating class. Our seven graduates did a great job this year. The speakers were good and I think everyone who was there was blessed. We also enjoyed a good time of food and fellowship afterward. What a good-looking group of graduates!!

Nino and Hartmut get set up (left) as the graduates text and play games on their phones before we begin

Salutatorian, Lydia Lee delivered her salutatorian address. Lian Stae read the class verse.

PIU Librarian (Left) Paul Drake was the MC for the evening. The keynote speaker was Pastor Arnold Marcus. Several young people from his youth group have attended PIU

Executive VP Nino Pate (right) awarded the student of the year (Lian Stae), teacher of the year (Jamie Mason), and the staff person of the year (Paul Drake) awards. Chairman of the PIU Board, Howard Merrell led the prayer of commissioning for the graduates

The graduates ended the program with their class song and we closed in prayer.