The Tide’s Currents Pacific Islands University December 2018

In this issue . . .

President Merrell’s message

“Extraordinary”

“Our God is Able!” (insert)

The Professor’s Corner (insert)

Remembering Ed Hutapea

Student In The Spotlight

Update on Dave Owen

What can you do??

President’s Message

Back when I was a child in Sunday School, one of the

songs we sang goes:

He owns the cattle on a thousand hills,

The wealth in every mine. . . .

Wonderful riches, more than tongue can tell -

He is my Father so they're mine as well. . . .

I know that He will care for me.

The little ditty is based on Psalm 50:10 and the truth of Ephesians 1:3. God is

too loving and wise to treat His children the way a rich, foolish father treats his

spoiled off-spring, giving them all they want, even if it harms them. Yet there

is an undeniable truth in that song. Was it A.W. Tozer who said, “Nothing is

harder for God than anything else.”?

My experience in no way establishes the truth about God, but the truth about

God and God’s faithfulness have been marvelously manifested in my life and

the life of PIU.

For reasons that are rather complicated, the Department of Education

required that PIU provide them an $86,000 Letter of Credit. Since we don’t

own our campus that means we have to have $86,000 in the bank, out of

touch as far as regular operations are concerned, to provide security for that

L.o.C. In September when I began to make this need known we didn’t have

$0.86 for this fund. I’m not particularly “visionary,” but the Holy Spirit began to

give assurance. “This is my work. It is no harder for Me to provide $100,000

than it is for me send you $0.01.”

As you read this edition of the Tide’s Currents, there is more than $100,000 in the “Reserve Fund.” Praise the Lord! Pray for us as we go on from here.

“...The teachers that have taught me so much...You have something so special here...Thank you, thank you so much.” -First semester, Biblical Studies student during time of thankfulness

The Tide’s

Currents is a regular publication of Pacific Islands University

with the purpose of keeping friends of PIU abreast of current events and ways

they can be involved with the University.

Mission Statement

PIU exists to provide accessible, excellent,

transformational Christian higher education and

ministry training to the people of Micronesia, the Pacific Islands, and to the

ends of the earth. As such, our mission is to prepare men and women with a biblical worldview for

leadership and service in life, work, and ministry in the global community and

the church. Editors: J. Combs

S. Refilong

“Extraordinary”

It sounds like the name of an inspirational movie, and, to no surprise, there was a Christian film with that title that came out in 2017. “Extraordinary” is al-most always used in a positive way, and I assure you that that is how it will be used here. But before moving into the extra-ordinary, it is seems appropriate to make clear to the reader that we do not intend to minimize the ordinary. Some of the most phenomenal graces found in life in general and at PIU in particular are ordinary (they’re regular), but they are at the same time extraor-dinary.

Extraordinary is the regular course of events at PIU. For forty-two years, we have seen lives transformed and leaders sent out to make a difference in their world for the glory of God. Were the University to send out only a single indi-vidual committed to Christ and His gospel, that would be worth rejoicing over. As of this writing, there have been “hundreds” of committed followers of Jesus launched thanks to the commitment of employees, volunteers, and supporters like you. As you can see from the President's message on page 1 of this newsletter, there are other things extraordinary going on.

This academic year, we are facing some over the top challenges, yet we are seeing God provide in remarkable ways. The 2018-19 academic year is the heart of a demanding process that will lead to PIU's accreditation reaffirmation with our accrediting agency TRACS. Every ten years, schools must submit to this rigorous process. Our accreditation not only holds us to standards of ex-cellence, but it enables our students to receive federal student aid.

Here are some significant mile markers in this critical year. Not all of them have to do with accreditation—and some are outside this year—but all are sig-nificant events. Please join us in prayer and praise.

March 12-14, the PIU Board of Trustees very deliberately affirms that PIU is in this for the long-journey.

August 14-17, Dr. Tanmay Pramanik from TRACS visited PIU to sur-vey our readiness for our accreditation visit. We had already begun work on our Self-Study report. Dr. Pramanik's input is very helpful.

We praise God for His hand of protection, from Typhoons Mangkhut and Yutu.

October 31 - November 2, President Merrell attended the annual TRACS conference in Dallas. He learned from the seminars and net-worked with those who are involved in the accreditation process.

November 9, we celebrated God's provision allowing us to provide the Department of Education with the required $86,000 Letter of Credit. This is a must-do step in the accreditation process. (see insert)

November 26th - December 4th, Alex Tavarez was in Chuuk & Pohnpei recruiting new students.

January 31, Our Self-Study report needs to be complete.

March 26, the visiting team of peer professionals will be at PIU to ex-amine every aspect of our educational process.

Spring semester, Recruitment visit to Palau.

October 2019, we plan to appear before the TRACS commission to receive their verdict on the reaffirmation of our accreditation.

While we are involved in the reaccreditation process, we also have to keep on doing all the things we normally do to run a successful school. We still have a couple of personnel positions to fill. These are necessary for our ac-creditation to be reaffirmed. It is a busy year, but it already has been, and shows signs of continuing to be, a great year of blessing.

Looking ahead . . .

Jan. 7

Jan. 8-9

Jan. 10

Feb. 7-9

Mar. 15-

17

Mar. 18-

22

Mar. 26-

29

April 19

May 3

May 4

Orientation

Registration

Classes Begin!

Ministry Equipping Conference

PIU Days

Spring Break

Accreditation team from TRACS

Good Friday (no classes)

Baccalaureate Service

Spring Semester Ends / Graduation

PACIFIC ISLANDS UNIVERSITY

Accessible, Excellent, and Transformational ~Est. 1976

Students, faculty, staff, board members,

and other friends all gathered with us on the Pacific

Islands University campus or digitally via Facebook

Live for a special chapel.

After a time of worship courtesy of students and a visiting member of the singing group UpDream, President Howard Merrell began his message with the story that led to the extraordinary moment of celebration: the goal that had been only a dream six weeks prior was now a reality. Howard shared how by the end of Summer, PIU was in a critical situation: It’s complicated, but basically we received a letter from the Department of Education letting us know that if we didn’t get $86,000 in the bank they could take action, which could mean a loss of our biggest source of revenue, Pell Grants. The situa-

tion became even more complex: “As we got more involved in working on the reaffirma-

tion of our accreditation, it became clear that until we got this taken care of with the

DoED, our accreditation would not be reaffirmed...I began clearly making the need

known to everyone who might be interested in helping us. I asked all the PIU Family,

and all our friends to pray. ”

Approximately 2 months “after we began aggressively making this need known, some-

thing amazing began to happen...people began using words like, ‘remarkable, un-

precedented, and incredible. When we neared the goal,

of $86,000, some, like our Board Chair, Bill Schuit, even

used the word ‘miraculous.’ On the day of our special

chapel, the total in what we designated the Reserve Fund

was at $94K. As of this writing it is just

over $100,000. I found myself in a situ-

ation like Moses when he had to re-

strain the people from bringing more

gifts for the Tabernacle construction

(Ex. 35:5-7). I didn’t tell people to stop

giving, but I did ask them to send their

gift to our General Fund, rather than

the Reserve Fund.

Those were fun letters to write.”

We at PIU do well to give thanks for what has

happened (Psa. 50:15). We recognize though

that it is the regular faithfulness of friends like

you that the LORD uses and will continue to

use if we are going to have significant impact

in the lives of generations to come. This in

itself is nothing short of extraordinary.

“Our God is Able!”

From 11/9/18 Chapel “Rem

arkable..

Unprecedented..

Miraculous..”

President Howard Merrell

making a point

Pastor John Oh of Castle Zion

(right) with UpDream singer

A critical need to

continue the work of

PIU has been met.

You can partner with

us and help give that

work momentum by

going to

http://piu.edu/

welcome-to-the-

piu-donation-

page

The Professor’s Corner

“Observation of Preaching Emphasis in Chuuk” Gleanings from the mind of Biblical Studies Chair Iotaka Choram

Rev. Choram, thank you for sharing, in a recent chapel, your observations on the history of preaching in Chuuk. I think this will help our readers understand the need in Micronesia, and the task of PIU..

In the 60s – 70s, the focus was “fearing God.” Preachers emphasized living righteously to appease God. They spoke about works instead of grace. Preachers urged repentance because of fearing the God's judg-ment—the lake of fire. Sermons were fear-oriented and encouraged pleasing God or He would be angry and punish the per-son/people.

Were there any cultural factors that contributed to this emphasis?

Yes, fear was a result of deep animistic beliefs. The recent abusive rule of a foreign power, the Japanese in Chuuk, added fuel to the people's fear. The fear of being punished or killed by this foreign power was very real and impacted the people of Chuuk deeply. Some thought the cruel treatment by the Japanese was a punishment by the island god-spirits. During this era, fear reached its climax--both fearing the spirits and the memory of the fear of the Japanese power. Two foreign (outside) powers threatened the inner life and resulted in practices designed to appease both powers/lords over the island people.

Missionaries were ministering in Chuuk during this time. What impact did they have? Although Liebenzell missionaries were faithful in preaching God's goodness, their message was overshadowed by the reality of the “fear” imposed by “foreign” powers. The aftermath was a belief that “appeasing” God is the right kind of living. Preaching mostly focused on fearing the Lord so that you will not be punished. Appeasing God was living “fearfully” and obediently. God must be feared.

Was there an end to this over-emphasis on fear?

The emphasis on fear continued until the late 70s. At that time a new emphasis in preaching was introduced, a “personal rela-tionship” with God. God’s love was emphasized. The key phrase became “to invite Jesus into your heart.” Preaching focused on a loving God and a personal Savior, “Accept Jesus into your heart.” Some, however, could not grasp this “new theology.” They feared that they would receive punishment should they deviate from the “true doctrine.” Some of them even called this new movement a cult. MIBS (Micronesian Institute of Biblical Studies, the original name of PIU) played an important role in helping us (Iotaka is an MIBS grad) understand the truth about God's relationship to people. Younger, aggressive and talented preachers joined the arena proclaiming a personal Jesus in the hearts of believers. Liebenzell mission played a key role in en-couraging a shift from “fear” to “love” as a preaching emphasis.

How did this new generation of preachers build on that transition?

The 80s became the years of grace-preaching. That is not to say that old habits were completely gone. Many continued to preach “do-it-right” or else! Fear continued to roam around in the churches. Thankfully, the expansion of this “new theology” reached the island of Pohnpei.

In the late 80s and into the 90s Chuuk gained a new political identity, FSM (Federated States of Micronesia)--the “Micronesian nation.” Re-learning Chuukese culture which had been fading away, but was now of interest among the people, was empha-sized. “Who are we as a people?” Some island leaders urged going back to the “Chuukese culture,” which, in some cases, in-cluded previous practices and beliefs, related to animism and Spiritism. Many challenges, from many directions, to remaining faithful to God, confronted the Christian church. The church was caught between hills: The legitimate desire to be identified with the new political entity, and the need to fight the newly-resurrected old dragon of animism. The church had to find its way in this perilous water. Leaders were confused about which way to take. Preaching became a mixture of various emphases.

This kind of uncertainty often provides an opportunity for error. Were there any problems that came out of this con-fusing time?

Preachers moved between two or three hills--God's grace, love, and fear of God. Into this confusing time, a new emphasis, of “blessing from God” was added. This emphasis on blessings came not only from evangelical preachers but was heralded by the “affiliated-Pentecostal preachers” as well. Many Chuukese who had been to the US emphasized in their preaching a gospel that was “blessing-oriented.” This was most clearly seen by the emphasis on healing and exorcism. This emphasis influenced many, if not most, pastors from the Evangelical churches of Chuuk. Some in the Evangelical leadership were attracted to an emphasis of healing and spiritual exorcism.

So, where are we today?

The emphasis in preaching is about blessing in connection to healing, love, or grace. To be holy and to repent means to ac-cess the “blessings” from God. The need for a well-balanced theology in preaching was and is called for.

How do you see PIU helping?

For PIU students, this is a challenge or a quest to pursue and it should not be taken lightly. In this time of the awakening of po-litical, economic and cultural identity, the challenge of remaining truly evangelical, with a well-balanced preaching emphasis is an absolute necessity. Liebenzell played a key role in training spiritual leaders who endeavored by preaching the biblical truth to lead the church in the right direction. Now PIU must carry on the torch. We, here at PIU, must not change our emphasis on teaching leaders to hold, preach, teach, and live out a well-balanced theology, in particular the doctrine about God. He is holy, gracious and loving. These islands need that balanced emphasis. That is a correct blessing-oriented, biblical worldview. Preaching emphasis? That is my observation.

Thank you.

Last month we experienced the difficult loss of our longtime friend Edward Hutapea, husband of Pacific

Islands University Board of Trustees member Siska Hutapea. The Hutapeas have made their church

home at the Lutheran Church of Guam, a longtime supporter of the University. Kevin Graham, Adminis-

trator and Music Director of the Lutheran Church of Guam (LCG), has had the good pleasure of getting to

know the Hutapea’s by virtue of their presence at LCG for the past number of years. Kevin is a graduate

of Pacific Islands University and had this to say:

“Three things come to mind when I think of Edward Hutapea: JOY, TENDERNESS, HUMILITY. He was full of JOY. Every time I talked to him, I found myself smiling and laughing along with him. He was more eager to encourage and lift my spirit than talk about himself. He was a TENDERHEARTED and inspiring parent, always serving and enabling his children: cooking, transporting, teaching, guiding, comforting. He valued their devotion to Jesus and emphasized their Christian upbringing. He was HUMBLE. He never talked about himself or his own achievements or complained about any problems. He attributed every good thing in life as a blessing from God. He never hesitated to volunteer and lend a hand in anything going on at church. He was a true pillar in his family, and an inspiration to our church. His legacy is crystal clear; I look at those close to him, his wife, especially his children, and I see JOY, TENDER-NESS, and HUMILITY. That was his ministry. It's difficult for me to think of someone more Christlike.” —Kevin Patrick Graham

While there are no words PIU can express to improve upon these sentiments, one word worth adding is

GENEROUS. It may be that the family found it in keeping with Edward’s generosity to ask family and

friends to donate to Pacific Islands University in lieu of flowers for the memorial service. PIU staff are ap-

preciative and humbled by this selfless display of generosity. Our appreciation also to those who join with

us in praying for the Hutapea family as they continue to live their lives in the absence of this great man.

In loving memory of friend Edward Hutapea

Feb. 23, 1970 – Oct. 15, 2018

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15

Meet Annrida—a junior transfer student from Namoluk, an island in Chuuk. Annrida is

shown in the picture on the right (middle) receiving the Guam Women's Chamber of Commerce Scholarship.

Annrida is here because she believes, "This is where God wants me.” It is the "right place for me." Annrida plans to use her Liberal Studies degree to teach school, and work in the church on Namoluk. She says teachers Marjorie Reiss and Paul Drake, as well as mentor Kathy Merrell have been influential in her life, since she came to PIU.

We are glad that the GWCC recognized Annrida's potential, but we already knew about it. She is one of the future leaders in whom we are priv-ileged to invest.

Annrida (3rd from right) stands next to GWCC mem-ber & PIU Trustee, Siska Hu-tapea.

Student In The Spotlight Annrida Hesa

Send the enclosed card or

donate at: http://piu.edu/welcome-to-the-piu-

donation-page

Contact us

Pacific Islands University 172 Kinney’s Drive Mangilao, Guam 96913

671-734-1812 www.PIU.edu

Update on Dave and Joyce Owen

“This past weekend Joyce and I headed up to Ashland Oregon to

minister at Ashland Bible Church. This was a monumental weekend for us in many

ways. I have not preached in a regular church service in almost two years while I

was being treated for lymphoma. So it was a

real privilege and blessing for me to be back

“in the pulpit” again. Ashland Bible Church

has been one of our faithful supporting

churches since we went out to Guam in 1993

so it was quite appropriate to begin this new

phase of ministry there. We enjoyed staying

in the home of our long time friends Garland

and Roberta Shinn (left). Joyce led the Sun-

day School time by sharing about our history

of ministry with Liebenzell Mission USA at Pacific Islands

University. Then I preached from Psalms 31, and 116 about God’s deliverance and healing from

my cancer (11 months cancer free now) and my experiences of God’s presence and care

through all of that. When I was first diagnosed with cancer I made a “vow of praise” to God that I

would publicly recount the story of his healing presence in my life wherever I go and it was won-

derful to be able to begin that there in Ashland. It was a great weekend and I thank God for it.

The people there ministered to us and I know that they were touched and encouraged to hear

what God has done in our lives, We look forward to doing this more.”

(See more at http://guamdaveo.blogspot.com/)

There are many ways that you can partner with PIU, in helping us pursue our vision of providing transformative, accessible, excellent, Biblical, Christian, higher education in this region.

Become a regular supporter of PIU. Fill out the enclosed card or visit http://piu.edu/welcome-to-the-piu-donation-page

Like any educational institution, PIU has a great many infrastruc-ture needs, from a new roof, to paint and repair, to an upgrad-ed internet network. Contact us to discuss a project that would meet your interests.

We have had families and groups from the other side of our is-land and the other side of the world who have given the gift of dedicated, qualified labor. Again, contact us.

If you have an interest in partnering with us in raising up a new generation of leaders, who see the world through a Biblical lens, we would love to work with you.

What can you

do??

[November 14th posting]

The PIU family celebrating Thanksgiving together