Accreditation Renewed

In order to provide the best education and training for those who come to PIU, we take seriously the necessity of meeting accreditation standards. This is an ongoing process, but this last year was our accreditation review. Lots of hard work, by the whole team was rewarded with the letter being held by Dave Owen, our President. He came to the front office to share the good news with the office staff. Delight (pictured here with Dave) and the rest of us cheered the good new... PIU has been granted 10 years of accreditation. This does not mean we coast for the next 10 years. It means we keep trusting the Lord as to how we can provide what is needed to best prepare Micronesians, Asians, and others the Lord brings us for the harvest field of the kingdom of God.

Meet Voices of Micronesa #15 Jaynee Sam and this weeks schedule

This last week they did a presentation at Pasadena at the School of World Missions, Grace Evangelical Free Church and several other churches. They also put in lots and lots of practice time to refine each of their presentations. Now the traveling begins. Here is the schedule for this week:

May 23: Morning Service at Ocean Hills Covenant Church in Santa Barbara
May 24: 7.00 PM Community Center in San Luis Obispo (I can give you directions if you email me at dowen@piu.edu)
May 25: Staying in Castro Valley
May 26: Driving up to Susanville California
May 27: Activities and Practice
May 28-29: Palauan Conference, Susanville, all day
May 30: Morning and Evening Service - 1st Baptist Church Susanville

If someone you or someone you know is near any of these locations, we encourage you to find your way to one of these presentations. You won't be disappointed. Please be praying as they head out on the first of many long road trips for the summer. If you want to follow the team day by day check out the link to Dave & Joyce Owen's blog and that of Meluat Meluat in our links list to the right.

This is also the last in our series introducing our VoM Team Members. So last and youngest, but definitely a very important team member let me introduce you to ...

Jaynee Sam
Home: Kuttu island Chuuk FSM
Age: 18 years old, 3rd year student in Biblical Studies, minor in Teaching English as a Second Language
Jaynee's brother Charles is a member of the team. Jaynee is one of our ukulele players.

Jayne was born in Weno, the capital of Chuuk, but was raised on Kuttu. She was raised mostly by her aunt because her parents moved around a lot. Her dad was a teacher. Her dad was also the pastor of the church and is an alumni of MIBS. She has 3 brothers and 2 sisters. All of them have been PIBC/PIU students except the youngest who is still in high school. Her favorite thing to do on Kuttu was swim, especially when it was raining, and walk from
island to island at low tide. She also likes to take peaceful canoe rides around the island.

She was taught about Jesus and knew about him from childhood. She thought she was a Christian because she was a pastor’s daughter and pretended to be a Christian to please her father. This continued until she attended Berea Christian High School. At Berea she learned that relationship with Christ was by faith, not by works or birth. On February 27, 2007, at a retreat, when MIBS grad Steioshy Manuel preached a sermon about “pretending to be a Christian,” Jaynee realized she was lying to herself and needed to trust in Christ to forgive her sin and give her eternal life.


From preparing for this trip, “I have learned to trust God more and be patient in waiting for him to answer prayer. I didn’t think I could afford to come but now, here I am!” "I get worried about getting my needs met and it is hard to wait for God’s perfect timing." PIU is the place where I have grown in my spiritual life. I try to practice in my life what I learn in class and my PIU family encourages me to be more like Christ and participate in ministry."

Jaynee would like to continue her education after PIU to study in the medical field and hopes to be a medical missionary to wherever God calls her.

Meet the Voices of Micronesia #14 - Erten William

Meet the Voices of Micronesia #14 - Erten William

The team is already in LA California and have already completed two performances.

Their upcoming schedule this week is as follows....
Monday: All day practice at Grace EV Free (We are working on our one hour program)
Tuesday AM: Trip to the Getty Museum and Lunch at the Park
Tuesday PM: Performance at the School of World Missions in Pasadena
Wednesday: All day practice at Grace EV Free, 1/2 of the team will make a presentation about Micronesia for a high school geography class
Thursday: All day practice at Grace EV Free, Part of the team will participate in an inner city ministry in the afternoon
Friday: All day practice at Grace EV Free
Saturday: Leave for Santa Barbara for Sunday performance at Ocean Hills Covenant Church.

Now here is Erten...

Erten William
Home: Kuttu island in Chuuk FSM, Erten is the cousin of VOM team members Charles and Jaynee Sam
Age: 27 years old. He is a 5th year student with a major in Biblical Studies and minor in Elementary Education.

Erten was born in Kuttu, a little island "where everybody knows about Christ but not all are Christians." His mom was an active Christian but his father was not. As a child Erten "pretended" to know Christ to please his mom. He knew all the stories about Jesus but when he went away from home to Chuuk High School he got involved in some of the activities his mother warned him against. Then he got a letter from his mom telling him to read the Book of Proverbs where he read, "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." Still when he graduated from Chuuk HS and went to College of Micronesia in 2003 he felt that his life was getting worse. Then he attended a youth rally at the Nadaku Church, listened to God's Word and it "changed my life." When he heard the message about "how can you have eternal life," he knew that "God had spoken to me" and he trusted Christ as his Lord and Savior.

After that Erten applied to the PIU Teaching Facility in Weno Chuuk and then later transferred to the Guam campus. At PIU he learned the importance of putting into practice what he learns in Bible class. He has seen God provide as he puts his trust in Him. His family is able to provide only very little for his education and for this trip yet his needs have been met.

His goal for the VoM trip is to let God prepare Him to minister in different cultures. He has never been to the US Mainland before. After graduation he wants to return to Kuttu and teach in a public school there. He also wants people to know that his island is very small but has a beautiful sandy beach that is very nice for swimming. When the tide is low one can walk to the neighboring islands. He invites all of you to come visit him on Kuttu after he returns.

PIU Days

Each year on the weekend before Easter Break PIU (PIBC formerly) the entire student body and all the faculty and staff are divided into 3 teams. A theme verse is chosen and the teams are given Greek names. This year the theme was Hebrews 12: 1-3.

This year the teams were (in English) Discipline, Perseverance, and Witness. PIU Days are 3 days of fun and spiritual emphasis that consist of basketball and volleyball tournaments, a field day, worship and the highlights are the nightly programs presented by each team. These presentations include music (many times composed by the students), skits, games, and a message based on the team's name. This year, one students from each team was chosen to give his team's messages and they all did and excellent job!! What a great privilege to watch the Lord transfom and grow these students right before our eyes.

The Stinnettes were part of Team Perseverence or Hupomone! This slide show condenses these 3 days into 5 minutes. Wish you could all be here to experience these days with us.

The Amazing Sea Life of Guam

God's amazing creation is all around us every day and most of us never even see it. One of our favorite past times is to snorkle. As we do, we can't help but sing praises to our God. A couple of our co-workers have underwater cameras and have graciously allowed us to use their pictures to create this slide show so that you too can enjoy this incredible beauty.

Voices of Micronesia - Schedule

This morning PIU's traveling team boarded the plane and headed for the US mainland.  For most, this will be their first time to travel outside of Micronesia.  Since this schedule was published, quite a few more stops have been added.  They will be traveling in vans once they arrive in the States.   Please pray for safety on the roads and that these vehicles will not break down along the way.  Pray also for team unity and lasting fruit in the form of growth in their own lives and in the lives of the people they touch.  Pray too that as they represent PIU  across the West that God will provide divine appointments that will lead to long term partnerships that will benefit both PIU and those God has called to partner with us.  As we get the schedule updates we will add them here. 
There are also 2 more personal profiles to come - you have yet to met Erten and Jaynee.  The six staff traveling with the team are Dave (PIU President) & Joyce Owen, Eric (Dean of Pacific Islands Evangelical Seminary) & Karyn Sorenson, and Delight & Evelyn Suda.

Schedule for the Voices of Micronesia Summer Trip 2010 (So Far)

May 12           Arrive LA (they arrive 1 ½ hours before they leave due to crossing the dateline)

May 14           First Baptist West Los Angeles AWANA Club “Passport to Missions”

May 16           Grace Evangelical Church, La Mirada, CA.   AM Services

May 23           Ocean Hills Covenant Church, Santa Barbara, CA  AM Services

                       Private Community Center, San Luis Obispo  Evening

May 28 - 30    Susanville Southern Baptist Church, Micronesian Group  Susanville CA

June 1           Shasta Community Church, Redding, CA

June 2           Glenburn Community Church, Glenburn, CA

June 4           Baymonte Christian School, Scotts Valley CA  8.45AM-1.00PM

June 5           Barbeque. Romaniello's, Boulder Creek CA

June 6           Gateway Church, Santa Cruz, CA  AM Service        

June 6th         Taping in the TV studio Santa Cruz, CA  4-6pm

June 8           Neighborhood Church Ladies luncheon, Castro Valley CA

June 13          Central Peninsula Church, Foster City, CA  9 AM to 2 PM

June 15          East Bay Fellowship VBS, Danville, CA

June 16-18     Gold Country Baptist and Camino Community Church, El Dorado County, CA

June 19          Antioch Community Church, Antioch, CA

June 20          Hillside Covenant Church, Walnut Creek, CA

June 23          Crossroads Covenant Church, Concord CA

June 27          Central Peninsula Church, Milbrae, CA  AM Service

                      Biola Congregational Church and Kerman covenant Church, Fresno, CA 

July 1-5         Youth Sports Ministry meeting San Diego, CA

July 7-9         Southern Baptist Churches,  Killeen/Salado,TX

July 11          TBA, Dallas TX

July 13-15       TBA, Phoenix  AZ

July 17          Return flight LAX to Guam

Meet the Voices of Micronesia #13 - Cecilia V. Pedro

Meet the Voices of Micronesia #13 - Cecilia V. Pedro

Cecilia "Ceci" Pedro 
  Home: Taneyboch village of Rull, just outside of Colonia the capital of Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia
  Age: 20; Ceci is a 3rd year student who will graduate with her AA degree in biblical studies but plans to continue on in the BA in Bible program

Ceci was born on Guam, but grew up in Yap. Her parents are both Palauan, but her mom grew up on Guam and her dad in Palau. Her grandfather had moved to Yap from Palau during the 1950's to be a missionary and started the first Palauan Evangelical Church there. She has one brother, but grew up with many cousins that she considered to be her brothers and sisters. Her family owns a hotel there and she has done several jobs (and played a lot there) there. She remembers, as a small child, watching the movie "Mary Poppins" with her cousin Ginny and then trying to fly off the 2nd floor balcony of the hotel with an umbrella. She "helped" Ginny fly with a little push and Ginny ended up with a broken ankle. Ginny is fine now and they are still friends as you can see from the picture (right).

Ceci grew up going to church, Sunday school and Bible study. The church was right next door to her house and the hotel. She was eleven years old when she trusted Christ and has been growing in her faith since then. She had many questions as a teen, which was why she wanted to come and study at PIU. School has provided "a lot of answers" to the questions and she has learned to "see some things differently." She says that PIU prof Eric Sorenson (one of the VoM faculty leaders) has helped her with her theological questions. She has learned to be submissive to proper authority but also to "be open and honest about what I think and feel." She has also learned the importance of prayer for dealing with life's issues.

Ceci's goals for this trip include to recruit more Palauan and Yapese students to come to Pacific Islands University and to "share the beauty of the other side of God's world." After graduation she would like either to join the US military or return to Yap and work with the church. She especially hopes to be able to use her education to disciple younger students.

Meet the Voices of Micronesia #12 - Meyou Marar

Meet the Voices of Micronesia #12 - Meyou Marar

. One thing that makes PIU unique is the mixture of island cultures we have on Guam and we are looking forward to introducing them to the friends we will be making when the tour starts next week.

Miury "Meyou" Marar
Home: Satawan and Moch in the Mortlock Islands, of Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia  
Age: 22; Meyou is a 5th year student in the BA program in Biblical Studies with a minor in education. She will be marching in the graduation ceremony this coming Monday.

Meyou grew up in Pohnpei (another FSM State) and spent much of early childhood moving back and forth between Satawan and Pohnpei. Her mom was Protestant and her father Roman Catholic. He worked as a hospital administrator. She went to public and Catholic elementary schools in Pohnpei. When she was little she liked to play basketball and hang around with the boys until her mother told her to "act like a girl." As a teen she moved to Chuuk to live with her grandparents to attend Chuuk High School from which she graduated in 2005. Since Miury grew up in Pohnpei, she had to learn Chuukese culture later in life so she could "be Chuukese instead of Pohnpeian." She especially likes to learn to cook local Chuukese food.

Meyou went to church only rarely as a child. She started going to the Catholic church as a teen when she moved to Chuuk. When she was in high school she went to a youth retreat, Easter rally on Kuttu island sponsored by the evangelical church. She went only because "I wanted to see the island." She was introduced to Christ by a pastor from Moch but she didn't "fully understand" the gospel message. Then she "saw some Pacific Islands Bible College students" and was impressed by their example. She began to think of going to PIBC/PIU and her dad encouraged her to do so. At PIU she began to grow spiritually and learn more about the Christian life.
[Maybe this picture needs a bit of explanation - Meyou is holding a small banana in her teeth and Bessy the Carabao is snatching from her with her enormous tongue!]

When Meyou was presented with the opportunity to be part of this team she doubted that she would be able to go because of finances. But she read in a story that "where God leads, He will provide" so she "put it into His hands" and He provided all her needs for the trip. She is very nervous about speaking in front of people but her goal is to overcome her fears and be able to stand and speak. She has never been to the US Mainland before and is looking forward to trying new things. Last year she went on a mission trip to Thailand and experienced the culture there and now is looking forward to seeing American culture.

After graduation Meyou plans to go to nursing school and hopes to become a missionary nurse somewhere outside of Micronesia.