Don't get me wrong

Finally back on the internet-- anyways to clear some misunderstandings. I can never be the person I am today if it was not for the time I had on Guam. I am sorry if I had sounded ungrateful in the previous post, that was not my intention. I am very grateful and humbled by the fellowships/relationships developed while I was there. They mean a whole lot to me. But as you might have read, there are students who felt the way I am. If there are spiritual development on Guam, perhaps they are yearning for more. And its not that they are not adults and could not get some started on their own, they have. I was in charge of Sunday night fellowships among the Chuukese.
But.....
there's more than meets the eye. Vice President Brad spoke the truth. What he was saying is true.....on the surface. I wonder if he knew any of the students spiritually and intimately? I wonder how involved is he in their lives? To take the initiative as a pastor (because he is one), as a missionary (he is one too) and helped the students understand koinonia (the thing he loves to preach). I am sure, judging by the content of his post, that he now realized that the students (his students) are not fully developed spiritually as he thought they are. Now I wonder what he would do....as a pastor, a missionary, as someone who cares travelling several thousand miles to be here among us.

It is not that I am painting a bad picture of PIBC Guam. No....potential students....COME!!!
I am merely giving them (staff on Guam) a hard time (hint: senior banquet where I gave a speech)....Now I wonder what they would do.....

To Dave: you miss my speech that night..............have someone fill you in. thanks for the email.

To Beloved Marjorie Raess: is that enough help (wink wink). you know writing a paper about it.

To the mother of my white sister, my white mother, Melody: meet the students halfway in the middle, but they must see you take the first couple of steps....

And to that anonymous student who posted a comment, we were among the minority among the students and staff who seemed to get what was going on. We tried our best on the inside. Let us continue trying on the outside. And let us continue praying for our school.

As for Tol, what can they ever do wrong?

Vice President Brad has something to say........

Friends -- I understand what you're saying -- but your assessment seems unbalanced. And some potential Guam students might get the wrong idea.There is chapel four days a week -- usually with some student leadership. On Fridays it's almost always completely student led. Unfortunately we've had to start taking chapel attendance (even on Fridays!) because so many students were taking advantage of our adult approach and were skipping out. Sigh.For those living in the dorms there are nightly group devotions. The faculty was all looking forward to participating in the discipleship groups with the students this past year but the decision was made that it would be more meaningful and significant if the students voluntarily chose to a part of a group instead of being assigned. So we left it to the students to sign-up. There were not enough sign-ups to do even one discipleship group. I don't think that any of the faculty took the slap personally.There was a spiritual emphasis weekend and retreat -- but that must have been insignificant from the way that you're talking. And there was a spiritual formation component to PIBC days. The students themselves put most of that together. I guess that didn't count for much either.Then there were the Sunday night fellowships and the quarterly world mission fellowships on Saturday nights. They must not have been very meaningful -- at least from what you're saying.There were two mission trips over the Christmas break -- in addition to the one that a group of students themselves put together (!). There are two summer mission trips again but getting people to commit to the planning and group building activities has been difficult. I'm sure they all have their reasons.There were some problems trying to get students to connect with local churches this past year, too. Someone said that a lot of students were sleeping in on Sunday mornings. I didn't have time to check on this myself because I've got some other things I do on Sunday mornings. But I guess the staff failed to do their job. I know that our students are all technically adults who can wake up on your own but still why should they have to have any self-discipline when some missionary staff person can do it for them!Likewise with the discipleship groups. Most of our students are actually trained in small group leadership -- many with high grades. And it's a class that gets great reviews -- but no one has figured out that they could actually start a discipleship group on there own -- not even the seniors. Maybe there are some secret underground cell groups that we don't know about. We wouldn't complain.Indeed, we can definitely make some improvements in our whole approach to spiritual development. But it's not the desert that some people are making it out to be. And even where we are lacking the students themselves must take some responsibility -- that's what leaders in training do. I don't want to give readers the impression that I am criticizing our students but it's really true to just say what is.Now, if you were whining about the food I'd be slightly more sympathetic.

A fellow student speaks out.

This was posted in the comments sections. I just want to share it with you upfront:


Bro,I certainly understand what you just said, although I have never experienced the life at Tol Campus. But from reports about Tol Campus I would lay out a comparison that Guam campus places more emphasis on what to learn in the classroom rather than what we should do to develop our spiritual lives, like you just said in your post. Remember our freshmen year back in 2004? There were student chapel on Mondays, discipleship groups, Sunday Night fellowship, etc. Now, the absence of these activities have given students more time and attention on myspace and other non-essential things. I don't want to give readers the impression that I am criticising our Guam Campus, but it's really true to just say what is. After reading your post it made me ponder on this issue that I think it needs a lot of attention. Because I don't see any senseable reason as to why they have taken away these important spiritual acitivities that really helps students build up trusts among each other and most of all constructing their spiritual lives. Isn't this the reason why our college is different from other colleges, because it emphasizes the bible more ? If I were to caste my own vote on which year was my best, I would say, my fresh years in PIBC. Currently, PIBC is more advanced technologically compared to the past 4 years that I was attending there. The campus have undergone many changes. There were many more staff and faculty added as well as some small buildings. But the one thing that changed which I dislike are the things that relates to our spiritual lives which has given students the opportunity to learn more from each other spiritually and to be there for each other in the ups and down. Brother, I prayers and hope is that our school can revive this again. Please, don't misjudge the fact that I am criticizing our Guam Campus, but my point here is that we should make changes that improves our spiritual lives. PIBC Guam staff, faculty, and students, I love you all very much.

I join history

I am now writing my first blog entry from the island of Tol. But first I had to check my myspace, facebook, bebo profiles to see if they are full operational. They are.

On the Palauan Trip:
I regret to inform everybody that I won't be joining the Palauan Mission Trip. I miss the all our fundraisers and most of practice time. Therefore, in the eyes of our leader it was best if I pulled out because of the lack of commitment that I was showing.

On my future:
As of right now, I am set to teach at the PIBC "bridge" program. I start in June. I actually feel good about this job because this gives me chance to serve my island. Although some people discouraged me from going saying that I lacked the experience and that I might not get a good feeling about teaching later, I trust the Lord in what He is doing in my life. I am helping my own brothers and sisters. Later on, I will go to Seminary.

On PIBC Tol and PIBC Guam
I love PIBC Tol. It is one of the best discipleship school in the world, as evident in their students. There is no doubt about that. I like PIBC Guam, it gave me the knowledge I needed about the Bible. But it can never be like Tol. The professor on Guam teach the course, the professor on Tol teach the students. On Tol it is all about people. On Guam it is all about the program/curriculum.
The thing about Guam is that they don't care if they arrange the curriculum around whom will it affect. So what if one whole class is eliminated. They can get their education elsewhere on the other sites. The emphasis on Tol is discipleship. The emphasis on Guam is education.

I was a student of Guam for 4 years, earning my BA degree there. I say what is.

More Musing of a Micro-Mission Plan.

One of the guys going to Thailand on the PIBC summer mission trip expressed his desire to stay in Thailand and work full time as a Missionary. His only problem was the lack of enthusiasm his own family has in providing the support (love and encouragement) he needs and the (for the lack of a better term) "office" work to get him established. As he was talking, I was thinking. If only there's something we can do to make his desire a possibility. Like for example a mission agency or something of that sort to back him up, do his paperwork, channel his funds etc making it a reality. You see, it bothers me to think of the many years of chances we (Micros) have had to be mission-active, yet we fail to seize it. But it does nobody no good to keep babbling about the past. Let's keep looking forward.

There's also two things bothering me. When my head is full thinking of stuff like this, I sometimes pause and wonder: Am I the only Micronesian feeling this way? Being here on Guam does not give me the opportunity to see the mood of the local people in regards to mission work. I have no idea if there's anybody else with me (minus my PIBC peers and the many Micros who are already doing the job). The second thing is, what if the idea never gets off the ground. That'll be a major bumper. Nagging feelings, who I'm sure is of the devil, sometimes can be discouraging. "What if... what if... what if..." It's torturing.