Back in the Saddle Again!

"Meanwhile, back on Guam, a hard-working, committed group of men and women braved the accumulated summer-dirt and clutter in the dorms to prepare a clean environment for students returning to PIBC." Yep - We came back and hit the ground running! Left to right, Joyce, Tim, Mo, Kenny, and Ethel worked non-stop for three weeks cleaning, repairing, and setting up the dorms in anticipation of the students' return to campus. What a great crew!



. . . and while they were all laboring in the dorms, I (Melody) spent two weeks with a small group of students "new-to-the-Guam-campus." We met in the computer lab 4 days a week, 4 hours a day - and those of you who teach know that there was at least the equivalent amount of time spent daily about 5 days a week on prep and grading! It was a hectic 2 weeks, but fun, and I think it was really beneficial for the "new" students to get oriented to campus before the others arrived. By the time we had registration Monday, September 1, they felt quite at home!


The weekend before the "great influx" of students began, many of us came to campus on a Saturday at 7:00 a.m. for a morning of taming the jungle! We raked, and pruned, and mowed, and weeded all morning long in the heat and the humidity! What a great crew! You will notice evidence of our hard work at the far left - we not only cleaned up the campus, but cleaned out the donut box in the process. And thanks to the local Palauan church who came by when we finished about 1:00 pm and graciously offered to take all of the piles of prunings and trimmings, load them in the truck, and put them off in the jungle on the other side of the fence. (That's the accepted way of disposing of yard trimmings here - you'd be surprised at how quickly they decompose!)


The following Monday we had a "time-out" at Tarague beach on Anderson AFB. It was enjoyable to have such a lovely place to meet and brainstorm on the upcoming year. We took time to reflect on the past year, what went well, what our "Christian community" at PIBC was like and how it should change and grow to more adequately reflect what God wants it to be. The time was well spent - we prayed together for each other and for all of the students, and we prayed that God would grow us into the community He wants us to be.



And then, before we knew it, the campus was coming alive with laughter and greetings as our students returned! What a joy it was to see old, familiar faces of students returning to school and to meet the new students God has added to our student body! We spent Saturday, August 30 having campus "orientation," which included gathering for fellowship and meeting each other.




Sunday evening we all gathered on campus for more fellowship, food, and games. Here you see a sample of our feast: bbq chicken at the top left, and going around clockwise: green papaya salad; cucumber, carrot, and lettuce salad; "potato" salad made from breadfruit, and steamed rice with finideni sauce (soy sauce mixed with vinegar, hot peppers, and green onions). Yum!




At this time, we also had a visitor from Okalahoma, via his home country of Taiwan: Michael. We enjoyed meeting him Sunday night and getting to know him a little better. Michael lives in Oklahoma working with a church there, but is praying about the possibility of missions work. He visited PIBC with this in mind. Pray that God would guide him and bless him, his wife, and young son as they seek His will.




With the campus so crowded and noisy, we were very thankful that we had representatives from the local police department there to help keep the peace! Here you see our little "Officers," Joel, Micah, and little Jireh-lynn who patrolled the grounds all evening and made sure we all stayed within the limits of the law! Thanks, kids! I hope we weren't too much trouble!




As the evening went on, the students, who had been divided into four "Olympic theme" teams, provided us with entertainment. We saw skits and heard several good songs - and a few very funny ones too. One team even provided us with a "fashion show" using members of their team to show us how very "stylish" they were. (In a humorous way!)





A panel of four "judges" evaluated the presentations (along the lines of the reality-show competitions like "American Idol") - you may recognize one of those judges! At the end of the evening the scores were so close that we had to give all four teams "two thumbs up" and give our MCs, Hollie and Ned, the title of "winning team!" They worked so hard to make the evening a hit - and I think we'd all agree that it was truly a great evening!

And yes, we were all back on campus by 8:00 a.m. Monday to register our students and get the semester started! Thanks for checking in! Keep us all in your prayers as we labor together for the glory of God and the building up of His people and His kingdom. (And drop us a note if you have any suggestions for our blog, or things you would like to see more of.) Blessings! Melody and Tim
(Serving at PIBC, Guam as Liebenzell Missionaries)