Guam.Boydston.us

We're back on Guam!

2008-07-19T13:17:00.002+10:00

Cheryl arrived on Wednesday and I, after a two-day stop-over in Honolulu to meet with the people from Hawaii Theological Seminary, arrived yesterday. The jet-lag isn't too bad but I am having trouble switching into my Guam driving mode. I'm still slowing down for yellow and red lights -- ~~sometimes~~ often a dangerous thing if there is someone behind you who is intent on pushing the light.

This morning we went snorkeling at Ypao Beach -- still beautiful -- I'm sure the fish missed us -- then we've been running errands and plowing through the piles of mail. It's probably time to take a short afternoon nap to help with the recalibration of the sleep pattern.

Mini Update

2008-07-17T18:11:00.002+10:00

• Cheryl made it home safely yesterday. I fly to Guam tomorrow. Pity the poor person who sits next to me on the plane -- I had garlic chicken for dinner tonight and it's already oozing from my pores.

• A few days ago we made flight arrangements for Kent (#2 son) who will be arriving on Guam on August 22nd. He will be a volunteer teacher in our English and remedial program for the fall semester -- and will be living with us. We're quite excited about that.

• Carolyn and Armin Reese came to Guam from California to teach a PIBC computer applications class. Carolyn has blogged about the experience and she put together a slideshow that gives a terrific tour of Guam and the campus. ~ Link

Mission thinking

2008-07-14T14:50:00.000+10:00

• Andrew Jones chimes in on the short-term missions debate ~ Link

• I've been reading Bob Roberts book Glocalization, which is calling the church to rethink what constitutes missions and who missionaries are -- in light of the flattening of the world. It's a terrific starting point for a needed discussion. This is one of those books which could be great fodder for church leadership groups. Of course, you probably won't want to swallow everything he says hook, line, and sinker. But you'll want to take a good size bite.

• Scott McKnight is blogging through another important work on missional thinking, Christopher Wright’s book The Mission of God. A lot more technical than Roberts -- more foundational. I didn't find it a quick read but it is quickly becoming a classic. ~ Link

Greetings from Arizona

2008-07-09T01:16:00.004+10:00

We've been on the road in the States for five weeks and haven't had a chance to keep this blog up. (It's been difficult to keep the personal site updated!) Here are a few mission-related tidbits -- a digest from my other blog.

• Regular on Guam is now $4.92 ~ Link

• The debate continues -- should we be sending short-term or long-term missionaries? I guess it all depends on what we want to accomplish. If we want our people to get a broader and fuller perspective on what it means to be a part of what Christ is doing in the world short-term is worth every penny. But if we're trying to give our people a sense that they're doing all it takes to live out the great commission we're mistaken.

I don't have anything definitive to say regarding the over-all contribution of short-termers -- but I know that in our situation the short-termers from both Europe and North America have made a valuable contribution to the work of PIBC. Perhaps it's all about context. ~ Link

• Jens Schulz, our friend and PIBC colleague, finished his last assignment to complete his MBA studies. Congratulations!

• John Morehead has an important review of Rodney Stark's work on the sociological considerations in The Rise of Mormonism. ~ Link

• Gary Walter was elected and installed as president of the Evangelical Covenant Church at the annual meeting of the Covenant. Bruce and Katy Dockter, from our church in Turlock, were also commissioned as short-term missionaries to work in Mexico. In the picture a group is praying around Katy. Can you see Cheryl in there? ~ Link

• The new mission reversal in Germany -- thriving immigrant churches reaching out to Germans. God is so unconventional when it comes to his mission. ~ Link

• South African Theological Seminary, my favorite online seminary, has just introduced a structured Master of Theology (MTh) degree in biblical studies. Programs in pastoral ministry and pastoral counseling are in the pipe. Up to this point their masters programs have been research based (the established British model for master's work). This new additional approach will be more familiar to those who have studied in an American-style school. ~ Link

• Three of our PIBC graduates were ordained in Palau a few weeks ago. ~ Link

• Brigada, the weekly email newsletter for those involved in international ministries, has switched formats and can now be read as a blog. I've already added Brigada to my Google Reader. ~ Link

• Everyone wants to talk about the church boom in China ~ Link

In California

2008-06-09T15:09:00.002+10:00

• This morning I spoke at Cornerstone Covenant Church in Turlock -- so good to connect with the people where we were for 11 years. It's a wonderful church that continues to support what we do in so many ways. Then this evening Cheryl and I were at the Patterson Covenant Church with a delightful group of people there.

• On the way back into Turlock we drove by our old home -- which had obviously been abandoned for awhile -- but which is now being remodeled. It looks a lot better than when I last saw it in November.

Random island observations

2008-05-31T20:46:00.000+10:00

• One of my favorite trees on the islands is breadfruit. As the name implies the fruit is a staple in local diets -- especially for the Micronesians. To my palate it's pretty tasteless and starchy. I think people like it so much because it can be flavored in different ways as it is cooked. Personally, I mostly enjoy seeing the trees -- they're quite sightly.

• Mental Floss has a rundown on the political status of Puerto Rico -- which includes a fine concise summary of how the US territories fit into the system. Guam functions through an organic act and is thus an "organized" territory -- although it is extremely ironic that the word "organized" should be used as a descriptor of Guam. ~ Link

• The power went out again this morning -- perhaps the fourth time this week. According to Guam rules if you approach an intersection where the traffic light is out during one of the routine power outages you're supposed to speed up. And most people follow the rules.

• It's interesting that it's the Australian media which is making the most of the recent political yammering about merging Guam and CNMI to form a 51st US state. A merger could realistically happen, however, US statehood seems really really unlikely -- given the small population base (even after a merger). But perhaps we could apply to become the 7th Australian state. At least we'd be in the same time zone as much of Oz. Spelling might be an issue -- but no worries mate, we don't trouble much about that, anyway. ~ Link

• It's our 27th anniversary today. Cheryl and I had breakfast with Jeff and Mary Johnson, shopped for stuff to take to the States, went snorkeling, and then did dinner at Lone Star. That's a lot of doin's for one day -- for a couple of 50-somethings. Of course, 27 years ago it was all a different story -- young, unending energy... BTW, the fish were beauteous today -- even the little toothless guys who kept nibbling on my fingers.

Guam transportation

2008-05-25T19:40:00.000+10:00

Shell jacked their gas up on Guam to $4.42/gallon -- which means that Mobil and 76 will probably follow in a few hours.

And really, other than stay home, there is not much people can do about it. It's not safe to ride a bike here and things are so spread out that for most people walking isn't an option. And the bus doesn't seem to go where we need to go.

I'm thinking of buying a carabao and cart (I've been looking for an excuse to get one since we first visited Guam in 2005). But I'd have to find someone to feed him while we're in the States for six weeks and he really needs some mud to sit in when he's not working -- and there is the smell -- none of which would make the condo-owners association happy. So, I'm fairly certain that Cheryl won't let me do it.

Another complication to this whole runaway fuel phenomena is that all of our electricity on Guam is produced in diesel burning plants. At the time of installation diesel was the cheapest way to generate the power. The island leaders couldn't imagine that the price of diesel would ever go up -- let alone jump into the outrageous zone. Island thinking.

Guam Public Works has already started removing the bulbs from the street lights.

Then there is that little matter of skyrocketing jet fuel prices. And, of course, everyone has to fly if they want to leave the island. Although this may be a great entrepreneurial opportunity for the people who build the traditional proa outriggers.

That which isn't flown onto Guam comes in cargo containers by ship -- everything from produce to washers and gaskets. Retailers are going to increase prices to compensate.

So it's at least a quadruple whammy for Guam.

PIBC Tol Graduation Pictures

2008-05-21T17:01:00.002+10:00

From my excursion to the PIBC Tol graduation last weekend. Tol is an island in the Faichuuk region of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia.

There aren't any roads on Tol (although there were roads during the Japanese occupation of WWII) and everyone travels by boat. We fly for 90 minutes from Guam into "Chuuk International Airport" on the island of Weno. Then we travel an hour (more or less -- depending on the conditions) by boat to Tol.

There were 24 "graduates" on Saturday -- although only three actually completed all of the work for a PIBC Diploma. However, in keeping with their communal tradition everyone "graduates" together at the completion of their three years on the campus. Most of the students will then go on to work on finishing up the requirements for an AA or BA degree -- either at the PIBC teaching facility on Weno or on the Guam campus. A few will work on completing the Diploma.

There is a bit of unrest in the ranks because we (the college administrators on Guam) are cutting the Tol program starting next year from three years to two years. The transition has to do with infrastructure and operational issues on the campus (it's hard to do a full college program and meet all of the accreditation requirements in such a remote spot -- not impossible -- but nearly so) and a shortage of qualified teachers willing to serve there. But it also has to do with how we perceive the developing needs of Chuuk. The Diploma, with little general education in the curriculum, is inadequate training for service in the schools and other future positions in Chuuk. We have developed a new curriculum sequence which will allow students to complete an AA through two-years of study on the Tol campus.

But change is hard -- especially if you live in a region where education and health services have dramatically declined over the past 25 years. So there is great suspicion of change and "reform" of any sort. To them it looks as though we're cutting services. To us it looks like we're refocusing the institutional energy in a direction that will ultimately bring great benefit. We trust that they'll understand once they see the new system in operation. But it's hard and not everyone is a happy camper.

Broadcasting to MON (the Middle of Nowhere)

2008-05-19T13:39:00.000+10:00

There is now a functioning radio station on Weno in Chuuk. Some Baptist group is broadcasting at 88.1 FM. I'm told that there is also government radio station there, too, but it doesn't broadcast very often. And I've not heard it during any of my trips to Chuuk.

I'm not particularly fond of the music on the Baptist station. It's deja vu of what many American Protestants listened to in the 1950's. I suppose that's okay -- unless people somehow get the idea that such music is supposed to define Christian music (which could be a danger with any music style).

While I was on Tol I was trying to find news on my shortwave radio. (The Weno FM station is too far away for reception on Tol.) Most everything that you get out there in that part of MON is in Chinese. Sometimes I can get an ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) English signal but this time the best signal was from the VOA (Voice of America).

The VOA is an interesting broadcast. It is definitely the voice of America but there is a level of objectivity that you might not expect from a propaganda station. For example, they do straight forward reporting when someone criticizes President Bush. The Americanism comes through most strongly in the editorials which give the opinion of the American government.

I would think that there are received as a credible voice.

The English broadcasts are geared toward people who want to learn the language or who have a low level of competency. (They also broadcast in 45 different languages.)

There are times when the American government does it right!

I'm back...

2008-05-19T11:41:00.000+10:00

The plane landed on Guam at about 3:30 a.m. this morning. It was a good trip to Chuuk for the PIBC graduation on Tol. All the planes arrived and departed as scheduled and the boat trips across the lagoon were uneventful.

I'll eventually sort through the pictures and post a bunch. Internet has been down on Tol since last Tuesday so I have a backlog of email. (I'm impressed that you can ever get any kind of Internet in such a remote spot.)

The evolution of PIBC

2008-05-14T09:00:00.007+10:00

Pacific Islands Bible College started in 1976 as a missionary-staffed Bible institute -- a bush school -- on a remote Chuukese island called Tol. The goal was to train leaders for Micronesian churches.

In the 1990's PIBC added a campus on Guam and became a tiny degree-granting college.

Today PIBC is a small accredited college with about 200 students -- still functioning with campuses on Guam and Tol. (Although we've had to cutback operations on Tol because of infrastructure issues -- and because it is nearly impossible to meet all of the required operational and academic requirements in such an isolated setting -- at least for a full program.) We also have teaching facilities on Weno in Chuuk, as well as in Yap and Palau.

We're in the process of trying to add a teaching site in Hawaii. This site would host undergraduate classes and classes in our new graduate level seminary program.

Obviously the school has grown over the years but has it stayed true to the original vision? As a relative newcomer to PIBC I've been studying the history and operation of the college and my assessment is that PIBC has changed. But it's not so much a total change of direction as it is an expansion of vision based on a greater understanding of the context.

Here are some of the changes in process:

1. PIBC started out as a school to train Micronesians. PIBC is becoming a school with a broader focus. Yes, Micronesians will always be an important part of PIBC but we now see the need for a college that is pan-Pacific and pan-Island -- even pan-Asian.

Some may fear that as the vision expands Micronesians will be forgotten and that they'll get the short-end of the stick. But the situation is quite the opposite.

As the vision has expanded we are now educating more Micronesians than ever before. It's just that we're also taking the broader context of the Pacific and Pacific Rim into account. And in a globalized world this will actually do more for Micronesia than a college focused exclusively on Micronesians.

Developing Micronesian leaders who understand the rest of the world will help these islands deal with the tsunami of globalization that is already breaking on their shores. Hopefully we are not too late in making this shift.

2. PIBC started out as a school to train church leaders. And church leader was defined very narrowly because church ministry in Micronesia hasn't been understood very holistically. Church leaders are pastors, pastor's wives, and people who work with the youth group.

PIBC will certainly continue to focus on developing such leaders. The addition of a graduate-level seminary program will actually take their training up a notch.

However, we now see that we've been defining church ministry way too narrowly. We have not done a good job of training people to be Christian leaders in the culture as a whole. And the irony of this is that in traditional Micronesian culture (which is rapidly fading) young people couldn't assume any kind of real leadership anyway. So, we've been training young people to be pastors and church leaders but when they graduate and return to their islands as trained young adults in their mid-20's or early 30's, they aren't allowed to take on any significant church responsibility.

Generally speaking, you have to be in your 40's before that happens. Thus our graduates often become local school teachers, government workers, business people, or if they are at all ambitious they join the Micronesian disapora in Hawaii or the mainland US.

So, we've been providing Micronesians with church leadership training so that they can go work outside the church.

There is further irony in this, though. The fact is that for the sake of God's kingdom and fully penetrating the culture with gospel values, these graduates working in schools, government, and business are actually very strategically placed.

Our problem as a college is that we haven't been training them to think holistically about how to minister in the broader culture. They need to understand that "ministry" isn't primarily something that happens when you have a youth rally or preach in a church -- as important as those things are. Ministry happens when you take Christ to work with you. Addressing the issues of health care and education are just as much ministry as doing an evangelistic skit or preaching a sermon.

What this epiphany means for PIBC is that we're now rethinking our existing programs and adding new academic emphases to help our students address the broader needs of the islands. We will continue with our AA and BA degrees in biblical studies. And some of our graduates with these degrees will become pastors, local church workers, evangelists, and missionaries. Many will hopefully go on for graduate studies in theology before they assume positions of responsibility.

However, we realize that one of the greatest needs in the islands is in the area of teacher education. Governors throughout the islands are literally begging for trained teachers. Thus we are working on adding a BA degree in elementary education. We hope to have that in place by the fall of 2009.

We are also thinking through the best way to develop an additional BA with a broader liberal arts focus that will specifically equip islanders to be community leaders in business and government. We hope to have that in place by the fall of 2010.

It would be a real stretch for PIBC but in my mind the next great challenge after that is to address the health care crisis. Is God calling us to care for the sick? How do we do that in a context where the existing health care has deteriorated from what it was 25 years ago and is now absolutely dismal? Does PIBC need to get into nursing? Social work?

If we are going to be faithful to God's calling and the vision to develop servant leaders we will continue to evolve. We are no longer just a Bible college but are in the process of becoming a Christian liberal arts college -- aiming to develop leaders not only for local churches but for the broader island context.

Yesterday's graduation on the Guam campus was so good on so many levels. I would highlight just two indicators of the shifts that are taking place in the Western Pacific that surfaced during yesterday's ceremony.

The first is that we had two women (!) sharing the valedictorian honors. They stood together to give their speech. And when they started speaking Joy Hosei, who is from Palau, greeted the audience in Chuukese. Twinsanne Sam, who is from Chuuk, then greeted the audience in Palauan. They were symbolically acknowledging the significance of the other's culture. In a place where the islands have seen each other primarily as competitors this is a big deal. Our Micronesian graduates are beginning to see beyond their own islands and their own local cultures.

The second indicator involved the student group which sang during the ceremony. All of the women in the group had gone shopping and had purchased nice complementing outfits. But what they chose, when left to choose for themselves, was not traditional Micronesian. They chose to dress as any nicely attired Westerner or Asian.

It's not that they don't see themselves as Micronesians -- but I believe that by what they chose to wear they were saying to their parents and the others from their islands -- we're no longer JUST Micronesians.

That's the story of PIBC. This school will always have a strong Micronesian flavor (and that's good!) but we're no longer JUST Micronesians. And we're no longer JUST a Bible college. We're evolving into a Christian college which is getting serious about engaging the people and cultures of the Pacific and Asia.

Guam campus graduation

2008-05-13T21:13:00.004+10:00

We held the PIBC Guam campus graduation this afternoon. Twenty-two students were recognized for earning the BA in biblical studies degree. One student earned the AA degree. It was the Guam campus' largest graduating class and our largest ceremony. There were easily over 500 people in attendance. I am told that on one flight from Chuuk a few days ago there were 110 passengers on the way to the Guam campus graduation.

I think it should be noted that all of these students graduated debt-free.

I travel to Chuuk on Friday to participate in the Tol campus graduation on Saturday.

Back from Palau

2008-05-09T19:57:00.001+10:00

I took a red-eye from Palau to Guam (with a short stop in Yap) arriving at 5 a.m. this morning. I was able to grab a few hours of sleep before a noon meeting.

A two-day Palau trip is way too short (which I knew would be the case) -- but it was enough to visit the teaching facilities, talk with the staff and students, attend three of our classes, give a PIBC report at the Palau Evangelical Church deacon's conference, and do a brief tour.

Palau is beautiful and quite vibrant (in a laid-back island way). So many of the islands in the Western Pacific are trashed and functioning on a subsistence or poverty level. But it is good to see how this group of islands has defined itself and then made improvements that benefit the people. It is a very impressive place.

It will take me a few days to catch up on email, blog posts, and sleep.

In the pictures: one of the local Palau Evangelical Church buildings and the Palau Capitol Building.

Guam in the news

2008-05-03T10:25:00.002+10:00

• Some locals are upset over the CNN story about today's Democratic caucus on Guam. Apparently, the network showed footage of a dilapidated grass hut and some guy dress in traditional native attire.

I didn't see the story -- nor did I find it in the CNN archives -- but I can assure you that the local attire on Guam isn't too unlike the West Coast US and you'd be hard pressed to find a grass hut -- except at a few tourist attractions. There are, however, dilapidated concrete buildings all over the place.

• The relocation of all those Marines to Guam may be delayed. Apparently the US government is finally realizing the extent of the infrastructure problems on the island and the fiscal instability of the territory. ~ Link

• When I mention the state of the island I do think that it is only fair to mention, as well, that there has been some improvement in even the two short years we've been here. But there are years and years of neglect, mismanagement, and corruption that have taken their toll.

There are zoning and permit abuses -- land ownership disputes which have come about because of the way that the indigenous people were forced from family lands during and after WWII -- many many complex problems.

Overall, though, I'm optimistic about Guam -- even if the Marines don't land in the near future. It's just going to be a slow and at times frustrating process.

NIrV

2008-05-02T10:30:00.000+10:00

Ever since I started working with our PIBC students, almost all of whom use English as an additional language, I've become very interested in Bible translations which are designed for such readers. So, I ordered a copy of the New International Reader's Version (NIrV) Bible from the International Bible Society.

And yes, the NIrV seems very workable for our students -- especially since many of the students will eventually move on to the more developed NIV (or TNIV if they're listening to me). And the NIrV is a real complete translation -- even though the reading level is third grade. (You can compare online with the TNIV and NIV.) So it seems to be a good fit.

But what amazed me about the particular edition I bought was the quality and design.

I had purchased (sight unseen) the The NIrV Bible, Narrative and Illustrated. The water color illustrations make this a piece of art. As soon as you see it you know that this isn't a "children's Bible" -- even though the English is simple enough for a young English reader. And the layout is clean and readable. The paper is slightly waxy and feels good to the touch.

This edition, printed in Japan, also does something I've never seen before. The narrative sections ("the main story") are presented as single column text. The rest of the text (poetry, psalms, letters...) is laid out in double columns. And there is plenty of white space, which makes for easy reading -- or even personal note taking. Click here for a .pdf sample.

And did I mention that this piece of art is on sale for $4.99 each through IBSDirect.com? You could keep this Bible on your coffee table as a discussion starter -- and it's less than $5.

AND if you order a case of 10 -- then the price drops to $4.88. (Commercial resale at these prices is prohibited.)

Order a case so you have Bibles to give out to your children, grandchildren, International students, immigrant neighbors, ESL class, Micronesians students...

That's my plan -- such a deal!

Travel deals

2008-04-29T13:41:00.003+10:00

Yesterday I mentioned some bargain airfares to Guam from the mainland US. Today Karyn forwarded to me an email with Northwest Airlines' current round-trip bargains from Guam to the US.
Honolulu ~ $616
Los Angeles ~ $704
Seattle and San Francisco ~ $759
Portland (OR) ~ $799
Las Vegas ~ $839

Island life and travel

2008-04-28T10:13:00.003+10:00

NPR's All Things Considered carried a fun little interview with Joe Chargualaf down in the village of Inarajan. The story was about the Democratic caucus (The way things are working out Guam is actually on the radar at this point in the election process -- to the surprise of everyone on the island!) but Joe did more than talk politics -- he did a good job painting a picture of life in the more rural part of Guam. I think the story probably made the Guam Visitor's Bureau quite happy. ~ Link

BTW, if you're interested in traveling this way, I was checking airfares for someone this morning and you can do a round-trip from LAX to Guam for just under $1,000 -- if you're buying a ticket today. Last week one of our PIBC staff found a round trip from Guam to the States in the $800 range.

(I'm flying to Palau next week and the round trip ticket cost over $630. I'm flying to Chuuk the week after and that round-trip ticket cost over $525. If you calculate the cost per mile of flying it's definitely cheaper to fly to the States -- even if you get a $1,500 LAX to Guam round-trip.)

Most of the students at PIBC come from other islands in the Western Pacific. Guam is just a central hub for activity out here. And most of the islanders are culturally different (sometimes VERY different) than the Chamorro people who are indigenous to Guam and the Northern Marianas.

Part of the problem is that the islands, even though they're all facing similar economic, social, and cultural challenges, are all very distant from each other in miles. And this distance fosters an extreme form of parochialism. Happiness Lodge can fill you in on a few of the challenges of getting islanders to cooperate with each other.

A great Sunday

2008-04-27T18:34:00.005+10:00

Three weeks ago Pastor Jeff Johnson's mother died in Michigan and he had to quickly return to the States. I've been filling in for him at the Lutheran Church of Guam -- leading worship and preaching -- which I'm more than happy to do. But I'm certainly glad that he and Mary are returning to Guam tomorrow.

The most difficult part of these three weeks was leading the early worship service which is more "traditional" Lutheran in style -- tightly structured liturgy, sung responses, and some chanting on the part of the celebrant (moi). (Cheryl and I usually help lead music at the second service -- where I play guitar and uke.)

Early this afternoon, after worship, we drove to Merizo on the south end of the island. Our friend Ferrell had invited us again to his family's fiesta.

Each Guamanian village becomes fiesta central on the day when the church honors the patron saint of the village. (For Merizo it is San Dimas.)

If you were so inclined you could walk from party to party throughout the village -- and be welcomed at each home -- even if you didn't know the family.

The villages in the south are particularly adept at throwing these parties -- thousands and thousands of people down there today. You just can't beat Chamorro hospitality and food.

We added the American touch bringing some of Cheryl's triple-fudge brownies.

It was picture perfect tropical life sitting under the canopies with the tradewinds keeping us cool and driving away the flies.

The south end of Guam is the more rural, cleaner than the central and north -- and spectacularly beautiful.

Benefit Concert

2008-04-27T17:55:00.012+10:00

Last evening one of the local Korean Presbyterian churches hosted a PIBC benefit concert to help the student mission teams preparing to go to Palau and Thailand this summer. In addition to the students there were performers from Pacific Presbyterian, Faith Presbyterian, Bayview Baptist, and the Palauan Evangelical Church. Together they raised $1,070 in donations. Thank you.

In the pictures: Ned, Cheryl, Alvin, and Melissa display the collection. Delight Suda made the collection baskets from palm fronds.

Melody singing

The mission team headed to Palau singing

Hafa Adai #14

2008-04-25T22:16:00.001+10:00

Hafa adai from Guam where we're in the dry season (read "less rainy"). The mangoes are firming up and the tradewinds (and air conditioning!) make the humidity more or less bearable.

SPRING SEMESTER
Just two more weeks and the spring semester will be history! We have 24 students from the Guam campus graduating on May 13th -- the largest graduating class yet.

Cheryl continues to work in the campus office; her current special project is preparing a list of potential scholarship recipients -- what a joy to help well-deserving students continue their education!

Brad is wrapping up his Introduction to Bible Study Methods class on the Guam campus. His other distance education class in Chuuk and Palau was canceled. That cancellation has turned out to be a blessing because there is so much expansion going on at PIBC right now that the administrative responsibilities are taking up a lot of time and energy.

• We're working out details with the Chuuk State Department of Education to raise the education level of their current public school teachers by enrolling them in our AA programs.

• At the same time we're trying to rethink the program that we have on Tol, a remote Chuuk island, to better suit the needs of contemporary Micronesia.

• We're developing a BA in education which will be offered primarily on the Guam campus, in addition to the BA and AA degrees in Bible.

• If that were not enough to keep our heads spinning, we are also working on the acquisition of Hawai'i Theological Seminary in Honolulu. This small seminary has been having some tough times and we were approached about absorbing them, their programs, and their students into PIBC. This week we received approval to start the MA program in the fall, and Eric Sorenson, another Covenant pastor and project missionary on staff at PIBC, is now the dean of the seminary. Brad, as VP of Academic Affairs (big title in a small school), is responsible for the planning and oversight of all the academic programs and faculty.

TRAVEL
In January, we cashed in some of our frequent flier miles and traveled to tropical Cairns, Australia for two weeks of vacation. It was good to get away from the chaos of the islands to some place more orderly to charge the batteries. We enjoyed learning a new language, figuring out how to drive on the opposite side of the road, and we were amazed with the assortment of plants, birds, bats, crocodiles, and kangaroos.We're ready to go back to see more of Australia next time.

Brad will be traveling to Palau May 6 to meet with students and staff there. The following week he'll be back in Chuuk for the graduation ceremonies on the Tol campus.

But our next big excursion will be back to the States for six weeks.

We leave Guam on June 3rd.

Roughly, this is our schedule:
June 4-7 Roseville, California area
June 7-12 Turlock, California area (Brad is speaking at Cornerstone Covenant June 8th)
June 12-14 Walnut Creek, California area
June 14-17 Irvine, California area (Kent graduates from UC Irvine June 15!!!)
June 17-21 Chicago/Rockford, Illinois area
June 21-28 Covenant Annual Meeting and "Feast" in Green Lake, Wisconsin
June 28-29 Walnut Creek, California area
June 29-July 5 "Missionaries in Residence" @ Mission Springs Family Camp, Scotts Valley, California
July 5-14 Phoenix, Arizona area
July 14 to LAX
July 15 return flight to Guam, arriving evening of July 16

FINANCES
We know that we can serve here only as long as the churches, individuals, and families who provide for our financial support continue to do so. We've been overwhelmed by your generosity and the follow-through with pledges and commitments that have been made. Thank you. We have lost some supporters through death and because people's financial situations change. So we continue to seek new support and to keep our financial needs on the radar. If you would like to support the ministry you can send a check or commitment response to:
PM Support for Boydstons
Department of World Mission
Evangelical Covenant Church
5101 N Francisco Ave
Chicago IL 60625-3676 USA

Checks should be made out to the "Evangelical Covenant Church" with the clear designation "for the support of Brad & Cheryl Boydston." If possible print and include this .pdf form - bradboydston.com/pdf/responseform.pdf . The form can also be downloaded from our website -- - Guam.Boydston.us .

PRAYER REQUESTS
As we pray for each of you by name we recognize the significance of the connections that we have with people from other times and places in our lives -- and we're glad that those connections are still strong. We are blessed to have so many active friends and family behind us. Keep praying for us and our students.

• Pray for our students as they (catch-up and) finish up the semester.

• Pray for the students who are preparing to be a part of the PIBC mission teams going to Thailand and Palau this summer.

• Pray for our missionary staff and those preparing to come to Micronesia as they work to raise support. There are also several potential missionaries in the discernment process.

OPPORTUNITIES

• We need some teachers with PhDs or ThDs in the areas of theology or New Testament who could come on a mission to teach for anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks (depending on how the course is configured) next spring or summer (2009) in our new seminary program.

• We need someone with institutional cooking experience who could come to Guam for a year or two as a short-term missionary to cook during the week for our 60 residential students.

• We need a mission team willing to raise funds for, and then to come construct, a new fence around the campus. Depending on the size of the team it could take from 2 to 3 weeks to complete the project.

Thank you for your partnership!

PIBC to offer master's degree

2008-04-23T18:41:00.001+10:00

Pacific Islands Bible College has received authorization from TRACS, the school's accrediting agency, to begin offering a master of arts in religion (MAR) degree. This is PIBC's first graduate-level seminary degree.

We expect to begin the program this fall on the Guam campus by offering four classes.

The MAR program is an introductory seminary degree providing an in-depth study of the scriptures and the essential truths of the Christian faith. The program is designed for Christian educators, staff pastors, and others desiring a scriptural undergirding for service in a supportive role in a local church or other ministry.

Students in the MAR program will have the option of transferring into the planned 96 credit-hour master of divinity program (MDiv), which is designed to prepare men and women for vocational Christian ministry, once the second program is approved.

We will be accepting up to 10 full-time students, in addition to part-time students who apply for the program. To be considered for the MAR program an applicant must posses a bachelor's degree from an accredited college with a minimum GPA of 2.5.

Applicants for whom English is a second language must also have a 550 TOEFL score. Applications for the 45-semester-hour program will soon be available on the PIBC website.

Additional information is available from Eric Sorenson, the dean of the seminary program.

Briefly...

2008-04-08T09:23:00.005+10:00

• Marisol Farnsworth, a part of our PIBC team, has her US citizenship interview and test tomorrow (Wednesday). Marisol, who is originally from Ecuador, should do well. Her English is good and she's been very thorough in her preparation. I'm pretty confident that her performance will be stellar. Still, we pray that she will be able to function at her best.

• PIBC president Dave Owen has made the first blog post from the island of Tol in Chuuk State, FSM. The Internet connection on Tol has been active for about a week. It is already improving our communication with the PIBC campus there.

• Otherwise it's been a rough few days on the Tol campus. Dave was there to inform the students that we are cutting the academic offerings on Tol back from three years to two years because of staffing and site maintenance concerns. We expect that most of the students who would have been third year students in 2008-2009 will come to the Guam campus a year earlier than planned. This will create some housing challenges for Guam.

• We will soon be increasing options for non-resident students on the Tol campus and hope to soon be offering the full AA program. The Chuuk Department of Education is asking for our assistance in training teachers for the public school system.

• Jens Schulz, our CFO, is currently in Hawaii, talking with the Hawai'i Theological Seminary leadership about our planned merger with them. Actually, "merger" means that their students would be absorbed into our program -- assuming that we get approval to teach seminary level classes.

• We're kind of stalled out in our fall class scheduling -- in limbo -- waiting to hear if we are approved to offer a graduate level seminary program. If we get the accreditor's approval we'll have to shift some of our teachers on Guam into teaching the seminary program. We would like to start the seminary program on Guam this fall with 10 students.

• This is a time of refocusing at PIBC. We are seeing that the best way at this time in history to have an impact on the islands is to develop leaders with a broad liberal arts background, as well as a Bible background. They need both so that they can be effective as teachers, government workers, and business people -- as well as church leaders. We are also sensing that the future of pastoral preparation and formation on the islands is shifting rapidly in the direction of graduate level education. This is an extremely complex social system and leaders are going to need advanced training if they are going to be effective -- especially as the tsunami of globalization washes over the islands.

• Delight Suda is back from Boston, where we had sent him for a seminar. Delight is our PIBC financial aid trainee -- and he had never been further from Guam than Chuuk. He had never been to Hawaii -- or the mainland -- never been on a long plane trip -- never to a place with more than 170,000 people (Guam) -- never seen snow -- until last week.

Briefly...

2008-04-04T21:43:00.004+10:00

• The rumor on campus is that some of our Guam students have been chatting online with their counterparts on the Tol campus. Theoretically the computers on Tol are not completely connected to the Internet, yet, and I'm told that the Tol students aren't on the Internet, yet -- officially. However, some students somehow are apparently figuring out how to get online. This is why I'm optimistic about these guys. Just give the students a chance to connect and they suddenly become innovative and initiating. Now, if we can encourage them to venture further into it -- beyond IM and MySpace.

• Things are bone dry out here in the tropics and the National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for Guam. ~ Link

• Hawaii State Senator Kalani English sees tremendous progress in dealing with

Micronesia

area migration to Hawaii and other

states after many years of neglect. ~ Link

Islanders from the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia have visa-free entry to the

United States

. With economic conditions worsening in the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia, an estimated 2,500 are migrating annually to the US. Researchers estimate that close to 30% of the 70,000 Marshall Islanders and 25% of the 107,000 Micronesians now live in the

US.

Look at what Karen is doing!

2008-03-29T09:23:00.001+10:00

Karen Neiswender was one of the children in the Selah Covenant Church, where I was pastor for five years right after seminary. Now an RN, Karen has been a community health specialist with Food for the Hungry in Latin America. She returned to the States to get a masters degree and is now raising support to return. She's now at 82% with $650 a month left raise. ~ Read her latest newsletter (.pdf)

Exciting news from Chuuk

2008-03-28T15:29:00.005+10:00

We've been trying to get an Internet connection onto Tol, where we have our remote campus in Chuuk. Word came today that FSM Telecom has successfully tested a connection that will work on the campus.

As of now there is a wireless Internet connection in Faichuuk. We'll be installing an antenna tower on campus next week.

Praise the Lord! This will allow us to expand our distance education options, provide for better communication between campuses, and open the Internet so our students can learn to do electronic research.

This is a picture I look on the Tol campus last October. Tol is about an hour's boat trip across the lagoon from Weno (depending on weather and your boat's engine). Electricity is only on when your generator is running. But cell phone service recently came to the Faichuuk district and the local staff doesn't quite know what to do with the students who have taken to texting in a big way.

Lot's of change...