Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Spiritual Emphasis Days

uEach year in the Fall PIU holds Spiritual Emphasis Days. It is a time for us all to set aside the academics and concentrate solely on our relationships with the Lord. Often we rent a "ranch" on a beach and ferry every one there. Sometimes we have guest speakers and sometimes different faculty or staff share the main messages. This year Matt Augee of Phoenix, Az. was our main speaker. Matt was part of our CCC staff team in 1985 as we prepared for Explo '85, the worldwide teleconference. His time on Guam changed his life, he tells groups. We were reconnected with Matt not to long ago when he met a mutual friend in Hong Kong. After meeting with Matt several times Steve invited him to come to Guam and be the speaker for this years Spiritual Emphasis Days. Matt used many props to explain Biblical principles that the students have often studied. But his illustration brought these truths to life in fresh new ways. Many students shared that for the first time they really understood how these truths related to their every day lives. In the picture below Matt is about to pull many odd types of tennis balls out of his bag to teach the lesson that there is no partiality with God - a much needed reminder in a school filled with many nationalities (many of which have a history of mistrust apart from Christ).
This year our venue was to be camping in the fields of Bayview Church which has a fantastic view of the Philippine Sea (the ocean area to the west of Guam). And were using the sanctuary for the large group meetings. But as often happens here, Plan B went into affect when the outer winds of a typhoon which was by-passing the island drenched the island in heavy rains. Fortunately the church's leaders gave us permission to move the girls into their Servicemen's Center for the 2 nights and allowed the guys to sleep in the sanctuary.
The days were filled with large group activities, small group discussions, worship, messages, and plenty of time to get alone with the Lord. Laughter and tears were also very much apart of our times together. Below Anne's small group is working on a cooperation exercise. Each person had specific instructions which none of the others in the group knew. We had to work together to build a Lego building of at least 6 layers with out speaking or making any sounds. It was much, much harder than it seemed it would be, especially since some of us were told to take pieces off that others had put on. This exercise had many applications, one of which is we are being fitted together into a holy temple (Eph. 2) and we are to build one another up.
When Matt came, he brought his friend Dan Fields, a brother in Christ, and a professional photographer with him. In the days before the Spiritual Emphasis Days, it was my privilege to take these men around the island so that Dan could capture the essence of the island. He also took many incredible pictures of our students and staff. You can view the more than 800 pictures he has posted (from more than 10,000 he took) at http://danfields.smugmug.com/
It was exciting to see the Lord work in the lives of the students during this time. Even more it has been exciting to see the lasting fruit and growth in their lives.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I am trying my best to remember who the male singer was om stage at Explo 85 on Guam. As an attendee, I bought the Album from Pam mark Hall which I still have and a cassette from the male singer, however I no longer have it and can not recall what his name was. Can you recall?

Unknown said...

I am trying my best to remember who the male singer was om stage at Explo 85 on Guam. As an attendee, I bought the Album from Pam mark Hall which I still have and a cassette from the male singer, however I no longer have it and can not recall what his name was. Can you recall?