Getting Into the Groove

One of our traditions as PIBC staff has been an every other week prayer meeting with the staff including potlocks some of the time. Although not everyone is back yet, there is plenty going on right now that needs prayer, especially with all the transitions going on at the school. So those of us that were here last Sunday night got together for prayer, fellowship, and food. I have to admit these are some of my favorite times. However as all things happen - there will probably be some changes to this tradition, this semesters. With the addition of new faculty and staff, it will probably be impossible to fit in individual houses for such occassions.

And then there were 2....

I was very excited to get back from the States and see PeeVee, and he seemed quite excited to have me back. I was also somewhat surprised to see that he has a friend. One of the other dogs on Campus had a puppy and PeeVee and he are constant companions. He is very sweet and cute (as most puppies are). Some of the staff have named him J.D. for Joyce's dog, because they hope Joyce and Dave will adopt him. I was reminded by some of the Thai team students that it is also the name for one of our students - although he more commonly goes by a nickname. Unfortunately the place that they are staying has to be changed because they are making a mess and ruining termite traps that the school has installed. There seems to be no other places on campus where we have room for another dog - so they may both have to go to the local animal shelter. This makes me very sad because I love dogs - especially these two. :o(

Thai Mission Teams

This summer we had two different missions teams go to Thailand. One group went to an area where they taught English as a second language. The team has 5 people including Mac, Twinsanne, Elilai, Stella, and Ethel.

The second team went to a university where they were able to share with students the message of Christianity. This team also had 5 people including Hiob, Joel, Smileen, Jayleen, and Kalvin.

Both teams have been gone one month and will return tomorrow morning at 6am. Ned and I will be picking them up. Some of them will be staying on campus to help get the campus ready for school by cleaning dorms and cutting grass. I am looking forward to their lively presence.

Prayer Requests

As I slowly get back into the swing of life on the Island and at PIBC, I realize that there is a lot to do before the semester starts.

One reason for that is my boss, our campus director, Steve Stinnette, has been having eye problems and it has been determined that he needs to go back to the States for a Cornea transplant. (He actually will be coming to Philadelphia to Will's Eye Hospital).... He will be gone at least 2 years for surgery and follow up care. At this point there is no one to take his place. This means that it is likely that many of us will split his responsibilities at least temporarily. This will take place over the next 3 weeks as everyone else returns.

Please pray for wisdom in this process and for wisdom in finding someone to fill the position during Steve's absence.

Another problem we have currently is housing. We have limited housing available and with not that many students graduating - this means very little room for new students. There are very many details but please pray for wisdom in who and how many students to accept and where to put them.

We also have a bunch of new people starting including Tim and Melody Plaxton. Tim will be our maintenacne supervisor taking over many of Peter's responsibilities and Melody will be an English teacher. Eric Sorenson will be a new teacher.....He has a wife Karyn and 3 children. Karyn is a counselor and may be doing some counseling besides home schooling her two youngest children. A new Crystal will also be among us. She will be teaching some type of math. Delight (husband of Eveylyn) will now be working with Jens in the financial aid area. Please pray as we grow as a family that we would still be able to work together with a spirit of love and unity that we have grown to appreciate here at PIBC.

Right now we have two missions teams in Thailand at two different sights. They return to Guam next Wednesday August 15th. Pray that God would strengthen them and give them unity in their teams to do whatever God is calling them to do as they finish up 4 weeks of service. Pray for their safe arrival back in Guam.

As I met with Steve and Ned yesterday, it became clear that there needs to be some changes in the area of student transportation. In the past we have tried to take students where they need to go. However with this many students, and the current gas prices, and limited drivers - it can no longer be done. Pray we would be wise in developing the new policy.

Pray also for wisdom in the area of providing meals for the students. We had hoped to have our new "Dinex" cafeteria up and running this semester but we found that it is not feasible. Some of our assumptions were incorrect, and so it looks like another semester where we will have to cater the food. Now before school starts we have to find a caterer. We also need pray for the best way to run our kitchen during the coming semester.

What would YOU like to drink?

A couple months ago, my friend Brad posted about drinks now made in Singapore. They are called "Whatever" and "Anything".... This comes out of the idea that often when you ask a guest what they would like to drink, these are common answers. Both these drinks come in about 5 different flavors, however Whatever is always an iced tea drink.....and I believe Anything is a fruit flavored drink. The catch is that you don't know exactly which flavor you are getting until you open the can and drink. I was so enthralled with the cleverness of this idea - I asked Brad to bring me some when he went to Singapore for a conference..... and lo and behold - there it was when I opened my refrigorator when I returned home.

Flying with the Farnsworths

For the most part our trip was uneventful but it was nice to fly with the some of my favorite people. Here we are waiting in Philly for the checkin counter to open. We were there 2 hours before our 5:30AM flight but the Continental employees did not show up and open the counter until 4AM.

The second picture is while we were waiting in Houston for our connecting flight which is sitting right outside the window.

Baseball Town

Reading, Pennsylvania where my parents live has been named "Baseball Town" - It is the home of the Reading, Phillies. On my last Saturday in town, my niece and her husband and our girl Lexie went to a game. Although baseball isn't necessarily my favorite sport - the minor league teams always have plenty of other entertaining things going on.

A Week at the Beach

The week before I left for Guam, I was able to spend a week at Bethany Beach in Delaware. Although the exact beach changes, spending a week together with my family has been a tradition for the last eight years. It was just a lovely time. I was surprised by how warm the water was in the Atlantic ocean.... My memories were much colder. It was nice also to experience the waves again since many beaches in Guam are protected by coral reefs, there are no waves.

Back on Guam

Tonight after about 24 hours of flying, I arrived back on Guam with the Farnsworths. It was nice to have someone to travel with during this leg of the journey. Over all the trip went without a hitch and was uneventful.... Although the last couple hours on the plane I thought I was going to go crazy since I haven't gotten much real sleep in the last 48 hours although I occasionally dozed which was better than normal for me on a plane.

It was so wonderful to see a huge gang at the airport including the Boydstons, Laura, the Stinnettes and Hollie. Hannalore stopped by with greetings once we arrived back at campus.

Of course it was wonderful to see dear PeeVee again and he was very happy to see me.

It is 7pm here and I am going to try and stay up for another hour or so. Rumor has it that it is the best way to get back on local time.

Sight and Sound Theater

This is the Sight and Sound Theater in Strasburg, PA (Outside of Lancaster). They put together first class musical productions of stories in scripture. I have seen Ruth, Daniel, The Christmas Story in the past and this time I saw "In the Beginning" which is the story of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel.

Of course it gave me another opportunity to eat Pennsylvania Dutch Food and spend the day with my sisters.

Near and Farnsworth

One thing I did when I was staying with my parents is to invite the Farnsworths (my neighbors in Guam) and Ned's parents to dinner at my parents house in Muhlenburg township in PA. Ned's parents live about a twenty minute drive away. I was excited for my parents to get to know some of my friends from Guam.

It was a very fun evening.

Money Can't Buy Happiness

This is Happiness in the picture. He is a student from PIBC. This summer he had traveled with president, Dave Owen and his wife Joyce speaking at some of the churches. He also spent about 4 weeks working at the Liebenzell USA Retreat Center in Schooley's Mountain, NJ. Before I left for the shore - I spent one day durning the last week visiting with Happiness and picking up a few items that I forgot in my room when I was staying there for the Mission's conference. Unfortunately the weather was quite rainy but it was still nice to see him.

Only 2 weeks - 2 days.

This week is really my last week for catching up with friends and family. There are so many people that I did not get to see or spend time. One would think that 2.5 months is plenty of time but until you get over your jet lag, it really zooms by quickly.

My final week on the east coast will be spent in Delaware at Bethany Beach with my family. This is a tradition that has been going on close to 8 years. (Although it started in Avalon, NJ)... I am really looking forward to being with my whole family and enjoying the beach. Since we don't have many waves in Guam due to the coral reefs - it will still be a different experience. Plus of course I can't see my feet in DE waters. ;o)

Finally on August 7th I will fly out with the Farnsworths, arriving in Guam on the 8th due to the International Date Line. I am looking forward to beginning and getting ready for the school year and yet another mission's conference, this one for Liebenzell Micronesia.

I could still use quite a bit of support so if you would like information on how to send support or know someone who might be interested in supporting another missionary please email me at melissa@missionarygirl.net Otherwise please pray that God will provide the remaining support that I need.

Home Again.... Home Again....

This Sunday July 22nd, I took a trip to my home town of Pottsville, PA. In the morning I gave a minute for Mission during the service of the United Presbyterian Church of Pottsville. I then spent some time driving around and visiting a couple of old friends.

Here are some views of my hometown, including the church, a view of city hall, a distance view of both my high school and middle school, a close up of my high school, and a picture of the house that I grew up in. Since my parents moved from Pottsville over 4 years ago, it is a rare treat for me to go back to town.

Moving on Up!

This past Friday I had several crews of friends (one in Wayne, PA and one in Reading, PA) help me move my storage stuff to a new location. It was very quickly and smoothly. I am thankful for everyone's help and the generousity of both my friends Dan and Lisa Greenwood and my sister, Chris and her husband Jean for allowing me to take over sections of their houses.

Time Flies when you are having Fun!

One of the people that I visited during my stay in Philadelphia is Vicky. She was my little sister through Big brothers Big Sisters. We were matched about 15 years ago when she was 10 years old. Now she is 25 and a Mom. Here she is with Jonathan. He is certainly a cutie pie.

Avalanche Ranch

During the past week, the sanctuary at my home church was turned into Avalanch Ranch! Yee Haw! We learned that God is Real! YeeHaw! God is Strong! Yee Haw! God is Awesome! Yee Haw! God is With Us! Yee Haw! and God is in Control! Yee Haw!

I was blessed to be able to participate this summer as a crew leader. I had a group of six children and we all rotated from station to station together. It was a lot of fun but very exhausting. However I was know that VBS has the potential to influence their lives for a long time. I know it had a lot to do with me becoming a missionary.... so who knows what it will do for all of these young ones.

In the afternoon and evenings I spend very much time trying to catch up with many friends and supporters in the Philadelphia area. It is amazing how quickly time flys.

Lancaster County, PA

On July 13th I headed out to "Pennsylvania Dutch" Country to visit my good friend Jill (AKA Jilly Jill)..... For those of you from Micronesia Dutch is really a butchered form of Deutsch - basically German, which is my heritage. It was a great blessing to see one of my dear friends from college and her family and eat wonderful Pennsylvania Dutch food.....especially my favorite Hamloaf.

Happy Birthday Joel!

July 11th was Joel Farnsworth's 4th birthday. Many of you know that Joel is my neighbor in Guam but you may not know that His grandparents and my parents live only about 20 minutes from each other in PA - so I was able to stop by and celebrate with them. It is always good to see them.

July 4th

On July 4th, we had a big family and friend picnic at my parent's house in their back yard. It was good to see many people I missed when I was away for the previous 10 months. Most of the day looked like rain but fortunately, it held off until after the party was over.

My friend Judy

Judy is a pillar in our church. For quite a few years she has been activily involved with the Missions committee in our church. I have seen her first hand stateside, keeping in touch with all the missionaries. She follows along with each persons story and remembers important dates with cards. Now as a missionary, I have experienced it first hand. She even learned how to use the internet so that she can read my blog. :o) She is a Saint in my book. I am thankful for her continual encouragement.

Speaking at Home!

On Sunday July 1st, I had the opportunity to speak at my home church. I for just about 5 minutes. Overall I had some positive feedback, although you can't really say much about 10 months in 5 minutes. I am not sure whether to take the sermon topic for the day too personally. :o) I am thankful for all the enthusiasm and support from all the people here.

Meanwhile....Back in Guam....

Tropcial Storm Man-Yi is wreaking havoc back on Guam. If you check out Brad's blog you can see a picture of minor damage done to one of our buildings back on Guam. The storm is expected to hit Typhoon stage but only after it passes Guam. My friends in Yap may not be so fortunate.

Last year on Guam, everyone seemed pretty confident that it was time for a major Typhoon to hit Guam. Fortunately we were spared although several came close.

One thing I did learn is preparing for a typhoon can be a lot of work. Unfortunately there is very little staff or faculty back on Guam after July 15th when two Missions teams from the school will leave for Thailand. Please pray for Mohammed, our lone maintenance person, during mid-July until some time in August. Pray that he would be spared from any major disasters during that time. He is busy enough just getting the school reading for the Fall semester.

Read For Charity :o)

Apparently there is a new book site called Abunga.com. It is meant to be a competitor for Amazon.com. Apparently Brad set up the school as one of their Fans and the PIBC will get a donation from them if you purchase books and indicate PIBC as your non-profit. Below is more detail from Brad's site. I think I might just give it a try. How about you?

We're FANs!
PIBC is the newest FAN of Abunga.com! Abunga.com is a US-based family-friendly content-safe online discount book retailer with a gazillion titles in their four regional warehouses.When you sign-up to become a "member" (a very simple and quick online process) you choose a FAN -- that is, a "Favored Affiliate Nonprofit." That's where Pacific Islands Bible College comes in. If you choose PIBC the college receive a 5% commission from products you purchase through them. It is also possible to make a credit card donation of any amount to PIBC when you are checking out. So, for example, if your books cost a total of $24.30 you can choose to add a .70 donation to round it up to $25. Or if you're really wanting to bless PIBC you could add a $975.70 donation. You get the idea!This is another simple way to support PIBC in its mission of training servant leaders for the churches in the Western Pacific. Thank you!

Maggie and Elise

These are my "nieces" Maggie and Elise. They were very excited when I came home and I was excited to see them. They live next door to my big sister, Chris. Elise is only 2 so she doesn't really remember me since I was gone since she was one and a half. However, while I was gone she and my sister Chris would go to her computer and look for "Aunt Melissa" on my blog. When I finally came home I don't think she realized that I was a real person but she quickly caught on and always comes with her sister Maggie to visit when I am at my sister's house.

Times of Worship and Renewal

During our week at Schooley's Mountain, we had times of worship and renewal. Christian author, J.Robertson Mquilkin encouraged us to carry on faithfully in our mission work by messages of God's faithfulness.

Several of our PIBC family including Steve "Ringo" Stinnette, Happiness, and Rob Watt, along with Mike Galley, from Liebenzell USA headquarters provided great music.

Smore Fun! Smore Food!

One of the activities planned for Liebenzell Missionaries during our conference was a BonFire and Smores. Everyone seemed to have fun.... and of course Smores are one of my favorite foods being an old girl scout. Although toasting the marshmellows was quite a challenge with a fire of this size. You were not quite sure if you or the marshmellows would be the first to melt.