I'm Home!

Tuesday, August 7th, 2009

I'm sorry for the lack up of an update for the last couple of weeks. I am home now and will try to give an update of what has happened since I last gave an update. My 6th week on the island, was mainly getting ready for the Arthurs to leave for the Philipines. There were many last minute details to take care of since I was to be in charge of the station for a while. On Thursday of that week the Arthurs flew out leaving me in charge of the station. That same day Mr. and Mrs. Boylston from North Carolina arrived on a survey trip. They were staying with another missionary - Rickson Kihleng. It was great to get to know this couple, and it appears that both of us are planning on returning to the island of Pohnpei. Throughout the rest of my time there Mr. Kihling, Mr. Boylston and myself were able to do several fun activities. The end of that week we climed up to the top of Sokehs mountain. It was a hot hike, but the breeze and the view at the top made it well worth it. The next week Mr. Kihling took us snorkeling. It is amazing to see the underwater world that God has created.

The last two weeks I was also able to teach the Wednesday night Bible study. The school also had several more computers for me to fix before I left.

During the last week several different families offered to take me out to eat. It was a good time of fellowship and learning to know these people better. The last night I was on the island, I visted Ambassador Baptist Church in the village of U. Yes that is the name of the town! It was a wonderful service. One of their young men preached a message that clearly came from his heart. Afterwards we had a great time of fellowship including many local foods. We also enjoyed some singing. Even though they sang in Pohnpeian, and I couldn't sing along with them, I was able to grab a guitar and play along.

That night the Boylstons and I flew out of Pohnpei around 1:00 in the morning. After a short land in Chuuk, we went on to Guam. There we had some time to get breakfast and talk about our plans for the future. Next was an extrememly long flight to Honolulu. Here we parted ways. I cleared customs and went on to my next flight while the Boylstons stayed in Honolulu for a few days. Another flight through the night brought me to Los Angeles. One more flight Monday morning took me all the way to Newark, New Jersey. Some of you may have heard about the interesting flight this was because of the International Date Line. I left Pohnpei around 1 a.m. Monday morning. After our stops in Chuuk and Guam and about a 7 hour flight to Honolulu, we arrived in Honolulu around 5:00 p.m. Sunday night. All in all my trip actually lasted over 30 hours. Besides the jet lag, my body also had to deal with nearly 54 hours without any sleep, other than the restless naps on the planes. All this took its toll on my body and I came down with some sort of cold or flu the day after I arrived home. Between sickness and jet lag, there were quite a few interesting nights of sleep. Praise the Lord I am feeling much better.

I am sure many of you are wondering what my plans are now that I am back. I do believe that God used this trip to lead me to go back to the island to take over the radio station. I am currently in the process of trying to find a good mission board. I am also looking for a good car that will serve me well on deputation. Once I get a car I will try to find a job to provide an income while I get things ready for deputation. Hopefully I will be able to continue this job while I start deputation and until I have raised enough support to leave the job and go full time into deputation. Please continue to pray for me as I have many decisions to make. Also continue to check this site occasionally for updates. Don't forget you can sign up for automatic RSS updates at the top of this page.

Week 5

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

It is hard to believe that I have already been here five weeks. That means I only have two weeks left. Please pray that God would use these last two weeks to make His will very clear to me.
This past week, on Tuesday night we had the opportunity to record the teenagers of the church singing some songs in Pohnpeian to use on the radio station. Even though they really weren't prepared as well as they should have been, it was a wonderful opportunity to get to know some of the church people. Then on Wednesday, I was able to teach a Bible study. The church here only has a Pohnpeian service on Wednesday nights and no English service so we hold a Bible study at the station for several families who do not speak Pohnpeian. I will also be teaching the next two weeks. I have started studying the book of Matthew.
On Thursday we went to Palikir, the capitol city of the Federated States of Micronesia, to attend an appeal court session in the Supreme Court. Afterwards Mr. Arthurs introduced me to quite a few people in the government complex. I even got to shake hands with the President.

Week 4

Monday, July 6th, 2009

This past week was relatively uneventful as I spent a fair amount of time in the studio operating the radio station. The highlight of my week was when we had a visit from four men that work for the department of education. The state of Pohnpei is made up of the main island of Pohnpei and 5 main outer islands (not counting the numerous small islands scattered throughout the area). These islands are as far away as 200 or more miles and have as few as 300 people on them. Three of the men that visited us from the department of education were from these outer islands. They told us that they could easily hear our AM Radio station and enjoyed listening to it. This thrilled me since these islands probably have very little source of Bible teaching. By listening to the radio, they have a source of godly music and Bible teaching every day.

A Few Pictures

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Please check out the picture section of my website for a few pictures of the last few weeks. Also check back throughout the next week. I hope to soon add a video section to my website.

Weeks 2 and 3

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Yesterday marks 3 weeks since I arrived on the island. One thing I have learned here is that you cannot depend on the internet connection. It is difficult to update my website since the radio station only has a very slow dial-up connection. Only occasionsly do I have access to a high speed connection.
Let me tell you a little bit about my last two weeks. Week two on the island started out with 4 days in my appartment. Some kind of virus sent me to bed for several days. I ended up the week working in the station, working on the local Peace Corps' short wave radio antenna, and making another trip to the Island of Mwand, the island where the camp is! On the way back from Mwand the Lord protected us when our boat driver fell over board. After we arrived back to shore, I was able to take the afternoon and visit the ruins of an ancient, unknown civilization, called Nan Madol.
Week three started off with a phone call from the government informing us that a high ranking state senator had died, and asking us if we would do a live broadcast of his funeral. Tuesday I went with Mr. Arthurs to broadcast the funeral. It was unlike any funeral I have ever been to. The were probably 2,000 people there. It was obvious that the people respected this senator. The tradition is to bring gifts to the family. These people brought in over 50 pigs as gifts to the family. It was sad to see, however, that many of these people had no hope in death.
The end of the week was less eventful with several days working the studio, helping out the Christian School with their computers, and some time exploring the island.
Please contintue to pray for me as I continue to minister here on the island of Pohnpei. Also pray that God would make His will for my future very clear.

Week 1

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Wow it is hard to believe that I already have been here on the Island of Pohnpei for over a week. I have learned so much in the short time I have been here. It took several days to get used to the new surroundings, but I am beginning to get used to the culture and customs of this country.
I would just like to list some highlights of this past week.

1. I had the chance to visit several of the churches on the Island as well as meet several of the national pastors.
2. I had the chance to take a boat trip to a small island off the coast of Pohnpei to help with a work project at a camp. This gave me a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the culture of these people.
3. I had the chance to talk to a young man that just graduated from a Bible institute. He was saved through listening to the radio ministry.
4. I had the strange experience of driving a car with the steering wheel on the right hand side of the car.
5. I am continuing to learn the opperation of the radio station and have enjoyed working in the studio.

Please contintue to pray for me as I serve here on the Island of Pohnpei!

Finally Here!

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

I am finally in Pohnpei!!! Right now it is time to get acclimated, but I will certainly post more updates later.

Thank You Tri-City Baptist Church!

Monday, May 4th, 2009

I wanted to take this time to thank Tri-City Baptist Church. They have been my church for the last four years while I have been at Ambassador Baptist College. Yesterday was my last Sunday before I graduate. They had a graduation party and at the end Pastor Cummins handed me a check to help out with my trip. I greatly appreciate this church taking me under their wings for the last four years and really taking an interest in my life. Thank you Tri-City!

Update on David Arthurs

Monday, May 4th, 2009

In my last update I asked you to pray for David Arthurs, the missionary that I will be with this summer. I would like to give you some portions of recent emails from him, so you can know better how to pray.

"Just a little note to say that Dave was diagnosed with pneumonia on March 19 and treated with antibiotics for ten days. Today he had another chest x-ray which showed increased pneumonia in his left lung. He was admitted to the hospital tonight and will probably be there for a week we were told. Please pray for him. Pneumonia is dangerous with his leukemia and probable suppressed immune system."

"I was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago with pneumonia. I have come out of remission with my cancer and my immunity is low so I am more susceptible to pick up things going around. The doctors at the hospital want to send me back to Manila again to see if they can get me back into remission. I'm not sure when I would be going."

"There is a man from the church who will be staying here while we are gone and he will pick you up at the airport and give you instruction on the operation of the station. You could probably be a help to him. I don't know yet what dates I'll be gone to Manila but I expect to leave on May 12th and be gone four weeks. Ruth Ann will be going with me as she also has some issues that needs to be taken care of."

Please continue to pray for their healing.

Please Pray!

Monday, April 13th, 2009

Please pray for for the missionaries that I will be with this summer, Dave and Ruth Anne Arthurs. Brother Dave is facing renewed and increased health problems. This leaves Mrs. Arthurs with increased reponsibility at the radio station. Please pray for strength for both of them as well as a speedy recovery.

Thank You Faith Bible Church!

Monday, March 9th, 2009

I wanted to take this time to thank my home church for all they are doing to support me. I recently found out that they are giving a fairly large sum of money toward my trip. While I am very thankful for the gift, I also know that it is only a representation of their support in other ways. I know that many people are lifting me up in prayer as well as making sacrifices to make this trip possible. Thank You!

Garfield Comics!

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

A friend of mine pointed out this comic stip to me the other day. My understanding is that it represents what I will face in Pohnpei very well.

Prayer Cards and Plane Tickets!

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

Since I have been back to college some things are starting to fall in place for my trip. Several weeks ago my prayer cards arrived. I have been thrilled at the number of people who have taken one and promised to pray for me this summer.

Last night I was able to purchase my plane ticket. Praise the Lord that when I was ready to order them the prices were cheaper than I have seen them before. I will be leaving the States on June the 3rd and returning on July the 27th. Praise the Lord for the work that He is continuing to do.

Christmas Break

Monday, January 05th, 2009

For the last several weeks I have been home from college. This has given me a wonderful opportunity to get some things done for my trip this summer. I was able to finish designing my prayer card, apply for my passport and work on my website among other things. Praise the Lord!

First Support!

Saturday, January 3rd, 2009

I want to give a big thank you to my Brother-in-law and Sister who gave the first donation toward my trip.

Going to Pohnpei!

Tuesday, Novemeber 25th, 2008

Several months ago the Lord began to open the door for me to go to the Island of Pohnpei in the Micronesian Islands. As of now I am planning on going to the Island durring the summer of 2009. I will probably spend about 2 months there working with Missionary David Arthurs in his FM and AM radio station. These stations have the opportunity to reach thousands of people on several different islands with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you would like more information on how God has opened this door, please see the "About Me" section.