6/15/2020

Hey PIU Students, this is the latest edition of the . . . President to Students  News. Students Alumni, & Anyone else out there who is reading, As if the usual stuff in this world weren't enough, we have Covid-19, all the disruptions it has brought, and now the turmoil, both emotional and in some cases physical, resulting from the unjust killing of George Floyd and the inequities in our cultures the event has forced us to examine. The thousands of miles between us and major population centers hasn't kept it from reaching us. The fact is, it was always here. Romans 8 points out that this whole world groans. A topic in the Theology class that eight of us are working on this summer is, "Evil and God’s World: A Special Problem." Right now it is an extra special problem. None of us in the class, certainly not the teacher, or even Theologian Millard Erickson (whose book we are reading) has this figured out, but in a couple of assignments, the students shared some good insights. Maybe they will help you, as they already have me.  Suffering while doing good for others is exactly what Christ did when he was fulfilling his mission  here on earth. Hebrews 4:15  The justice of God means that he is fair in the administration of his law. He does not show favoritism or partiality.  Love . . .  is not a passing emotion but a way of life. God’s love never fails and never gives up on you.  “His love matches his righteousness”. The things that God expects from us define who he is. He deals with us on the basis of his greatness and generosity. God doesn't promise us that everything will always be good. He promises to always be with us. God is good. God is in control. This is kind of my personal definition of Theology: A all-encompassing philosophy of life that puts God in His rightful place. In times like this, we need to hold tightly to God's truth. While we live in this messed up world we should do all we can to make it more the way it ought to be. Things like: Jella Seilo not only doing such a nice job when she cleans our offices but doing it with a smile. A friend from Bayview Baptist fixing our gate. Kathy painting it. Victor Billy going the extra mile. Christel Wood taking us to the top of the world. Or Bekah being kind to God's creatures. Community Service is a part of who PIU is. Right now, we can use some folk who will serve the campus community. Check with Celia or Victor Billy. You can get some hours done ahead for this fall. In times like this, staying close to the Lord is important. I've been really encouraged to hear reports from some of you about devotional times you are having. Some churches are beginning to meet again. Tomorrow, alumnus, Mike Sabin will be preaching at Faith Presbyterian Christian Reformed Church. You can catch the service live on Faith's Facebook page. Alumnus, Shelter Alokoa is doing the camera work. 10:00 AM Some of you have tuned in to my son's services. You won't be able to catch tomorrow's service until Sunday night or Monday. But previous weeks are here. Several other local churches are online. Get a ride or tune in. Please Pray: Thank the Lord that Jen and Mav's little one is here safely. Thank the Lord that our PIU family has not been infected with Covid-19. Pray for a group of students in Texas who will be taking PIU classes online. It is a way that we invest to make a difference. We have students who can't get home. That is hard. H&K thank the Lord that their son, Chris, was basically unhurt after a bad motorcycle wreck. Pray for our government and church leader. Pray for some in our PIU family who are sick with colds, headaches, etc. Here at PIU, we are working to make decisions for the fall. With so many unknowns it is hard. We are trying to do what is best for you students. Pray for us. We hope to have something to share, soon. By His Grace,     The Prez.

4/4/2020

Hey PIU Students, this is the latest edition of the . . . President to Students  News.   Students Alumni, & Anyone else out there who is reading As the senior resident of the PIU the PIU campus, I'm going to make an "old guy" pronouncement: "I ain't never seen anything like this before." Some news:   We read in the news that the restrictions on Guam are going to tighten up on Tuesday. There is nothing those of us on campus need to worry about, and those of you who don't live here don't need to worry about us. We do need to pray for one another. We will not be having a Graduation ceremony on May 2. Those who complete the requirements will graduate. Congratulations ahead of time. You'll be able to tell your grandchildren about the year you graduated. We are doing summer school. Get registered for classes. Whether classes will be online or face-to-face is beyond our control. There will be classes. I'd say, likely online. I've been using a new, to me, program. Zoom will allow up to 100 people to meet together, online at once. I'll send you an announcement in the next couple of days about a chapel service we'll do online. We'll keep the first one brief to see how it goes. If you want to volunteer to do music, let me know. Selah called this a "party." I agree. Monday is Clean and Green. Lunch will be provided for all workers at 12:30. A New Testament term for Sunday is the "Lord's Day." We can't "go" to church, but we can participate in the "new normal" way. You have a lot of options. Several local churches are streaming services. Some of you have been "attending" my son's church. Worship tomorrow. Listen to God's Word being preached. Bedside Baptist or the Church of the Sanctified Slumberers is not where you should be. See you. Let's do this! The Prez.     By His Grace,     The Prez.

This is the NEW NORMAL

Solomon wisely observed, "Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”For it is not wise to ask such questions" (Ecc. 7:10). Yet, it seems human nature compels us to do just that. Except for a few adventurous souls most of us aren't all that fond of change. Especially when it is forced on us. The syndrome is so ingrained that it causes us to say and do strange things.

The Israelites started wailing and said,

“If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—

also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 

But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” 

(Numbers 11:5-6)

Do you also remember that you were slaves? Remember the deal with the straw and bricks? Oh yeah, the Egyptians also demanded that drown your newborn sons.

Clearly we at PIU, and indeed the rest of the world, have been forced to make some radical and rapid change. Perhaps you don't like it.

I can hear the voices of countless mothers echoing my head, "I don't care whether you like it or not. This is the way it is. Make the most of it."

I'm not about to argue with the moms of the world, but I actually think we can do better than that. If we believe God is in control, if we believe He loves us, if we believe He is with us, then we can do more than just make the most of this, we can grow and become better in the process. Come to think of it, that is what your mom would want you to do.

For now this is the new normal. Thrive in it.

• Be sure to read and respond to all your official email.
• Pray.
• "Go" to church tomorrow. If you don't have a place to go, Kathy and I invite you to our son's church, North Rock Hill Church. Since it won't be Sunday there, until Monday here, click on last week's sermon.
• In this new normal, having a daily time with the Lord is more important than ever. Let us know if we can help you.
• You haven't heard from me for a while, so I recorded a video about the "New Normal."

I'm not sure why I look so wound up in this picture. It is a calm video. :)

Here is a Q&A sheet with information for you and your family and friends.

Get out of bed. Comb your hair. Brush your teeth. We have to get going.

#4, Quarantine News:

Very brief today.
I told you yesterday that Tuesday is the day classwork begins.  Click here to read about that.

Somehow I got interrupted so this is as far as I got.

I'm back.
An ad hoc committee met on Thursday (I think it was Thursday. 😅) We went through a number of items. The most important information--for you--that came out of that meeting is summarized in this Q&A piece. This is probably something you will want to share with your family. I think it will help put their minds at ease.
I'll have more for you in a little while. Keep living for Jesus!

The Prez.

Day #3, Quarantine News:

A Couple of News Items:

• I believe the count of those who have tested positive for coronavirus on Guam is 8. 
• I talked with Pastor Marcellus, PEC, this morning. The virus has not been identified on Palau. The churches there are still meeting.

Important Notice for Students:

• Celia will be on campus tomorrow. Some of you have Dorm Fee due. Mama Cel. will be in the office from 10:00-12:00 tomorrow.
  If you are living off-campus, get in touch with Celia catoigue@piu.edu to make arrangements to pay. Don't just come to campus. 

Fast Cars and the Current Crisis, Some Thoughts You Need to Read:

Just take a minute and listen to the sound on this video. It is the sound of power being transferred through tires to the road, producing progress.

As most of you know, the old car & truck I have both are stick shifts, Though the shifter works the same as the one on the car in this video. My vehicles lack the muscle. Yesterday, though, I felt that pulse-pounding power that comes when a powerful engine lets loose its power and I get to shift from 1st to second, to third . . . no feeling like it.

I wasn't driving my car or truck. I didn't go anywhere all day. I was in my office. The power didn't come from under a car hood, it came from the minds and hearts of those I'm privileged to work with, but the acceleration was like when Uncle Boots let me drive his old Jaguar Coupe. Or, like the time my friend injected a cup of coffee down my throat when shifted to second and put the accelerator to the floor on his souped-up Ford Fairlane.

I'll stop using the fast car metaphor and simply say yesterday was a day when ideas about how to get PIU going again began to flow. They are still flowing. I'm not going to try to tell you very much since we are still working things out. Mostly, I'm telling you to get ready. 

• For the rest of this semester, computers are going to be very important--even more important than usual. If you don't have a computer, is there one you can borrow? Not just borrow now and again, but one somebody will let you use from now until the semester ends. If you live off-campus and don't have and can't borrow a computer let us know. We'll do our best to work with you.
• The same is true about the internet. You have to have a way to get online. Again, talk to us.
• You got to, got to, GOT TO check your PIU email. Begin a good habit by letting me know that you received and read this email. While your at it, if you didn't reply to the 3-question survey I sent, do that right after you read this.
• You may want to check your seatbelt, because we'll be picking up speed next week. Your teachers are working on assignments, exercises, activities, plans for simulcasts, and more. Our goal is to complete this semester's work in creative ways.
• Did I tell you that I got Uncle Boot's Jag up to 120 mph. It was still gaining speed when I scarred myself--not to mention Kathy--and slowed down, a little.
• You still have a few days to catch up on work you are behind on or to get ahead on reading. I already sent PHIL 200 students a list.

Uncle Boot's car wasn't this pretty, but I'll bet this one doesn't run any better.

It's time to shift gears and get moving again.

Check your email. Let the sender know you got it. Tell your schoolmate to check theirs, too. Seriously, please call, text, or throw a pillow at your fellow-PIU student. "Check your mail! Reply to your email!"
Thanks for your help.

Watch for more.

The Prez.

Day #2, Quarantine News

I'm a few days behind on my reading through the Bible plan. I'm in Deuteronomy right now. After the

miraculous deliverance from Egypt, and experiencing God's provision and judgment over the long years in the desert, the people are ready to enter Canaan. Everything is new. To prepare them to for a new life in a new land Moses taught them some old truth. Since the Law flows from the eternal realities of Who God is, the truth Moses taught them is infinitely old. It is also always relevant. A clear emphasis in Deuteronomy is that the word of God is to soak into every area of our lives. Think of yourself as a chicken leg. We need to soak in the marinade of God's Word. (Just don't lay down on the grill!)

   ““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4–9, ESV)  

Spend time in the Bible today.

I just read that two more cases of COVID 19 have been confirmed on Guam. As I understand, "Tuesday's cases include a relative of one of those confirmed to have the virus on Sunday, and another person who recently traveled to the Philippines." (https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/411999/coronavirus-two-more-cases-confirmed-in-guam)  This doesn't impact us, or what we are doing. We are doing the best we can to do the right thing. Thank you for working with us.

Expect clarification about the rest of this semester at the end of the week or early next week.  Some instructors are already communicating with students about work to be done to make up work we are missing this week. Keep watch on your email.
Realize, though, that we can't give you clear information about what we don't know. And there is a lot we don't know.





Just to remind you, here is a review of yesterday's Quarantine News:

• Be productive. Catch up. Get ahead. Put in community service hours. We didn't ask for this week but it could be the opportunity you need to succeed.
• Be kind. Stress irritates us. Let's not take it out on one another.
• Stay in touch. If you are reading this on your email, you are already taking a good step. If you are reading this somewhere else, check your PIU email. Your PIU email is the prime source of communication from instructors and administration to you. Check it. If your instructor sends you an email, send them a reply. Let them know you received it.
• Again, Pray. Pray for Karyn Sorenson. As I write she is trying to figure out how to get home. Karyn is on her way now.

We are going to try to have a worship service Sunday morning. We'll let you know when we know more.

   “Look carefully then how you walk,

not as unwise but as wise,
making the best use of the time,
because the days are evil.”
(Ephesians 5:15–16, ESV)  

.

Day #1, 3/17/2020

Students,

I'm out in the Pavilion, on this beautiful day, in the middle of our beautiful campus, watching the Tavarez kids play ball. From where I sit it doesn't look like a crisis. But it is.

Not only here on Guam, but around the world, students from kindergartners to doctoral scholars find themselves not in class. Teachers, including yours, I've already been in a couple of conversations today) are scrambling to figure out, "What do I do now."

Our educational concerns are probably the least of the concerns out there. Businesses are losing money. workers are being laid off. Children who depend on school lunches for nutrition are going hungry. And, all around the world people in bed desperately ill, and families are grieving the loss of loved ones.  We struggle to get a grasp on the global impact of this epidemic, pandemic, or whatever kind of "demic" this is, but let's not forget that imbedded in those numbers are real, hurting people. That brings me to my first encouragement. PRAY.

Right now would you find somebody to pray with, text somebody and request prayer, or stop and pray by yourself. I hope you will pray for those of us in leadership at PIU. We've never been in a situation like this before.

I'll say more about these in days to come but here are a few more suggestions for making the most of these difficult times.

• Be productive. Catch up. Get ahead. Put in community service hours. We didn't ask for this week but it could be the opportunity you need to succeed.
• Be kind. Stress irritates us. Let's not take it out on one another.
• Stay in touch. If you are reading this on your email, you are already taking a good step. Your PIU email is the prime source of communication from instructors and administration to you. Check it.
• Again, Pray. Pray for Karyn Sorenson. As I write she is trying to figure out how to get home.

Thanks,

The Prez.

Howard Merrell