The Dr. Dave Owen Memorial Fund (DDOMF)

I start with the picture on the left, not only because it is a "Praise the Lord" moment, but also because it is a visual reminder of the time we find ourselves in. One of the nick-names of Guam is the End-of-the Spear. Our island is called that because Guam is the western-most reach of the United States--closer to Asia than the the rest of the USA--and it contains a large military presence. This group is from the Guam Naval Base, Big Navy, as the locals call it.


Like most military facilities Big Navy has a chapel for the spiritual benefit of the women and men who serve there. On the far right is Navy Chaplain Lee. The Chapel takes an offering that is given to various ministries. They try to focus on ministries that have outreach and impact in the local community. In the picture the base Executive Officer is presenting PIU the gift--a donation from the Chapel for $8,000.

There is even more to the story. A.J. and Carolyn, on the left, are civilians who work with the Navy. A.J. manages the base stores. Their son is a student at PIU. He works with the base chapel. He was in my preaching class this past spring. He preached one of the messages he prepared for class at the Good Friday Service. The chapel was mostly empty, because Corona had already arrived, but the message was broadcast on social media.

Our masks show that several months later we are still dealing with the pandemic. For millennia, though, we have been dealing with a far more insidious problem, one that can only be dealt with by the power of the Gospel. The Gospel that is at the heart of PIU's goal of offering transformational education. The Gospel that was proclaimed in our student's Good Friday message, and the Gospel that recognizes this world is a messed up place that requires that some bear the sword yet offers hope that burns bright in the darkness.

I look at this picture and I see the reasons why a school like PIU needs to be in a place like Guam/Micronesia.

• The world is dark. It needs the light.
• PIU is training servants who can make a difference.
• We can serve as the point of the Gospel penetrating into places where others can't or won't go.

This gift from the Guam Naval Chapel was not for DDOMF. It is being used to help us get through this difficult COVID-19 time. This picture shows, though, why it is important that we go on to complete this campaign. The DDOMF will help stabilize our finances, enable repairs and improvements to essential infrastructure, and honor a faithful servant who spent his life pushing back against the darkness. Would you prayerfully consider helping us to continue the work to which God has called us?
More information is found in the links on the right.