Tour around the Campus

Let me take you on a tour around the beautiful campus of Philippine Nazarene College better known as PNC, formerly Luzon Nazarene Bible College (LNBC).

In the above photo Nancy and I are standing in front of the sign board with the administration building in the background

This is the front of the administration building.  Everything is either up or down.  Not really handicap accessible and it is challenging for Nancy.  But we have daily exercise.

This building houses the classrooms for the college and the high school rooms as well as the computer lab, library, and some offices including mine.

There is the outside of the chaplains office.  Actually now my office has moved to the door on the right.  The other office is for the guidance counselor.











The is the covered walkway path going down to where we live.  The building through the trees is the college girls' dorm (three level), the bottom floor houses the elementary school. Our apartment is on the second floor and on the right side of the building.

Here is Nancy walking up the path.  Notice the play ground equipment on the left side of the photo.  This is for the preschool children. The sidewalk going to the left goes to the Kindergarten and Preparatory classes.

Daily when it is fine weather the school day begins with calisthenics, flag salute, and national anthem.

The blue roofed building in the background is the boys' dorm.  The girls' dorm is on the right side. Our apartment door is near the basketball court, about 5 meters behind the goal post.

We have a ring-side seat for many activities on campus.

This is the other direction from our house and you see the awning from the covered walkway behind the students.

The building through the trees on the left is the dining hall on top and the Kindy and Prep classes below.

Here everything is up and down and so you have many buildings that are two or more levels with doors from each level at ground level.

This is just a beautiful photo.
The day I took these photos the third grade class was leading, so the student raised on the cement as well as those in front are from the third grade and their teacher is dressed in navy blue, near the front, supporting and encouraging them.

They do their exercises and national anthem to the  CD music.

The elementary students are in pink and the High School students on the left are wearing white shirts/blouses.

This photo is of the high school students with the third grade boy directing.

Here is a photo of the high school students receiving recognition for their achievements at a recent contest held at our school campus.

The two following photos are of the same.

Nancy is resting at a gazebo in from of the administration building.

The following photo is from a different direction and shows the administration building in the background

This is the inside of the campus chapel (College Church).  The mark in the floor was made by a huge earthquake that hit Baguio some years ago. But we have annual earthquake drills preparing in the event of another big one.

This photo and the following shows the back of the administration building after a typhoon and strong wind passed through.  We lost a few trees.

See the guard rail damage on top the building.

This is a view of the valley below our campus.

These three photos are a different view of the valley below and is the farming area.  We farm vegetables and if you look closely you can see the large coverings or green houses.

Prayer Update 24 November 2014

Prayer Update 24 November 2014,

We are excitingly serving the Lord. We are enjoying connecting with the students. Many students are now beginning to share their prayer concerns with us.  They were always friendly and respectful toward us.  The Filipinos as well as other Asian cultures have a way of showing respect.  But it has been wonderful to move beyond the formal relationship to where students can come to my office and feel comfortable sharing their hurts, and very personal needs with me.  I wanted to build that type of trust. In the Solomon Islands we had the trust of the church members and leaders but we served there a long time and on coming to this new field where we realized our term was limited (only three short semesters), we knew we needed to establish relationships very quickly.  

The Lord has helped us and we want to thank you for your prayers.  It would further help if I learned the language. Pray for me to learn more and more of the language.  I started trying but I don't know the approximately 500 names of the students and staff.  I am trying to learn these too.  I have never been good with names. Pray for us as we make the connection with the students and staff. 

Updates:

Jessica:

Jessica is home resting this semester and trying to get her thyroid regulated.  She stays in fairly regular contact with me, thanks to modern technology, and she hopes to return next semester.

Solomon Islands District Assembly:

Thank you for your prayers for this assembly.  A large piece of our hearts are still with the Solomon Islands.  The reports we received were encouraging. General Superintendent Dr. David Busic ordained three pastors, all graduates from our SPNTC, where Nancy, I, and other visiting lecturers had a part in their spiritual formation.  Pray for these Pastors, Rev. Osborn Fagea, Pastor of the White River Church, Honiara, Guadalcanal Island; Rev. Barnabas Siru, Pastor of the Kwalaitutu Church, Malaita Island; and Rev. Gibson Pina, Pastor of the Sovereign Grace Church, Munda, New Georgia Island. We had a part in the mentoring of these pastors and it is so thrilling to hear of their ordination.  I know you rejoice with us.

Also at this district assembly they put in place a District Leadership Team. The team divides the function of the District Superintendent and also provides mutual support so the weight of running the district is spread over 4 competent individuals instead of just one.  Please be in prayer for these for men: Bro. Dickson Manongi, Rev. Alick Hagi, Bro. Jeremiah Akoeasi, and Rev. Dolasi Baesi. They also elected their district officers.  The Solomon Islands district accepted the challenge to rise to a PHASE 2 district and I feel they are positioned to really grow and multiply the church in the Solomons.  

Events Coming up that need your Prayer:

District Thanksgiving Service:

I have been asked to bring a missionary message to the Metro Luzon District Thanksgiving service this coming Saturday November 29.  Please be in prayer for this.

Home for the Holidays:

Nancy and I will be traveling to the USA for the Christmas Holidays.  It will be a fast trip departing Manila on 21st of December and then for the return we will depart USA on 2nd January and arrive back to teach by Jan. 5.

Spiritual Deepening Week:

Our Spiritual Deepening Week will be held January 7-9, 2015.  Pray for our speaker Dr. Dick Eugenio as he brings the messages each evening and conducts a class on Thursday and Friday mornings.

Prayer Requested for Nancy:

She has had a chronic cough for a long time.  It is evidently allergies but to things that are difficult to avoid totally. Pray for her health.

 

Thank you for your prayers.

Your Partners in HIS Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

Prayer/News letter.

Here is some updated news from the Philippines.

Typhoons:

This is old news now but the recovery and disaster assistance is still ongoing.  Typhoon Glenda destroyed three churches and damaged others.  There were some loss of life and an extended power outage in Manilla.  We are thankful that there were not more fatalities.  Since Glenda we have had another Typhoon, with only minimal damage.   We are about to pass through typhoon season.  There are a number of typhoons every year that hit the Philippines.  Currently we are in the monsoon rainy season.  We are having heavy rains almost daily. The Philippines is situated in an area where we experience a lot of natural disasters, in addition to typhoons, we have earthquakes, volcanic activity, etc.  We are located on what is called the "Pacific Ring of Fire" just as we were in the Solomon Islands.

Daily Activities:

We are beginning to learn our way around a big city. Baguio/LaTrinidad area has as many people as Oklahoma City (nearly as many people as the entire country of Solomon Islands). The traffic can be very slow especially during the rush hours. The terrain is very mountainous. The houses are literally stacked one on top of the other up the mountain sides with each level being able to walk out at ground level. Many of these houses are five or six levels. Saturday we went to the large mall (SM which stand for Super Mall) in Baguio. It has everything!! There are computer stores, phone stores, toy stores, ACE Hardware, drug stores, shoe stores, jewelry stores, book stores, department stores, health food stores, food court, restaurants, and a grocery store. The grocery store is as big as or bigger than most WalMart Supercenter grocery stores I have been in. The flat we live in is one bedroom and is part of the ladies dorm here at the college. We are not responsible for the ladies we just occupy the flat at the end of the dorm. We have an automatic clothes washer and the same type of solar clothes dryer that we had in both the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. It just doesn't work too well in the rainy season. We are enjoying our new home and the people here. 

Our apartment is next to the Basketball court.  This court is used for the beginning flag ceremony and calisthenics for the LTNLC.  The HS students gather after school for some basketball before going home. So we are located at the center of the school activities.  Students begin arriving at around 7:00 am and they begin at 7:40 am and are in their classroom by 8 am.

Our campus is very beautiful to us. The beauty of it has attracted people to rent the facilities for weddings.  The Saturday after we moved into our apartment there was a wedding reception on the basketball court just a few meters (yards) from our front door.  So we had a ringside seat and I was outside taking photos.  The attendants serving the food were dressed in cowboy attire and for a minute I thought we were back in Texas or Oklahoma.  As I was taking pictures the campus housing manager came by and asked if I was going to go through the reception line.  She then told me that in the Philippines everyone is invited and so I went and stood in the line.  Nancy on-the-other-hand is shy and so she stayed at our house.  I was standing in line when the MC of the program called for me to come and sit at the front.  so here I was sitting right in front of the bridal party as an honored guest.  They told me to go get my wife.  I looked at her and she shook her head "No".  He said, "It doesn't matter if she comes or not, the food is coming to her, this is the Philippines."  The mother of the groom went to Nancy and escorted her to sit beside me.  I learned something about the Philippine culture of hospitality.  Speaking of hospitality every Sunday after church there is a lunch for all who attend, so we enjoy Filipino food and the hospitality.

The town of La Trinidad is located on the site of a dormant volcano and our campus is on the rim of that volcano.  Looking into the depression or crater you can see the gardens, massive green houses, and farm land.  It is a gorgeous site.  La Trinidad is the breadbasket of the Philippines and grows many of the fruit and vegetables of the Philippines.  We can eat all the fresh vegetables we want and the price is inexpensive.  It is cool where we live and they say in the winter months it gets really cold.  We might need to purchase a warmer jacket or coat.  We came from the tropics, where we did did need clothes to keep warm.

We just concluded our Spiritual Deepening Week.  God used our speaker Dr. Makabuhay in a special way.  Many students are testifying to the impact of these messages and lessons.  Our theme was "Faith in Action".  Many of the students shared as to how God blessed during these sessions. 

Recently, we had a group of students and sponsors from KNU (Korea Nazarene University) visit our campus.  They painted and decorated our Special Education classroom as well as interacted with our college students in a cultural exchange.

Last Friday morning LTNLC celebrated National Nutrition Month.  During the days leading up to this the students decorated and prepared for this Friday celebration.  I was a judge of two events for the elementary school, the poster drawing contest, and the fruit carving contest.  These were timed competition when students with the help of one adult family member drew their poster or carved and arranged their fruit.  My! I witnessed before my eyes the creation of some beautiful fruit platters and presentations.  The posters were nice too, but the fruit literally was breathtaking.   I was invited to the HS for their competition. They decorated rooms as from another continent.  Each room had decoration and traditional food from the place they represented.  They did a lot of research.  I went there a little early and they thought I was a judge, but I was just a guest.  Anyway I sampled the food before it was judged.  I was so sad that my camera battery went flat.  

Not far from our campus is a Party Balloon store, so I purchased some pencil balloons and did some balloon art sculptures for the 2 pre-school classes.  I am trying to do whatever to meet the students.  We have 300+ students and it has been exciting meeting them.

Earthquake drill - It just doesn't seem right to be warned of an earthquake with an alarm, without the ground shaking.  We had a fire drill last week and an earthquake drill today.  These drills are a part of the emergency response system for the area.  A lot of lives are saved just from people knowing what to do.

Activities we have going on that need prayers:

PNC (Philippine Nazarene College) Chapel Services:   

Every Tuesday and Thursday Morning from 9-10:30 am is our PNC  Chapel time.  So far I've felt led to preach every message.  The Chaplain is responsible for the Chapels but doesn't necessarily need to preach but just to make arrangements.  My "Okie" accent was a little hard for the students to understand at first.  They have an expression when they don't understand.  They say they have a "nosebleed" which is an expression meaning they didn't understand.  I'm trying to learn to speak slower and more distinct, so they will comprehend.  I usually have someone sitting beside me in church to translate the Tagalog and more than once my translator says something like "I don't understand what he is saying", or "I didn't catch what was said", or "those words were from the local language that I don't know."  I may be in trouble when the native speaker doesn't always understand.  That's when I have a "nosebleed". I've starting to learn a little bit of Tagalog.  

LTNLC (La Trinidad Nazarene Learning Center) Chapel Services:  [LTNLC is our Elementary/HS entity and PNC the college] 

Interestingly our High School students here can speak English better than many of the College Students.  Our High School students are from this area [English is often their 2nd language and the Tagalog (or Filipino) is their 3rd language], have attended our school most or all of their life, have teachers that are good English speakers, and many are from wealthier families, those factors may account for the difference in their language aptitude.  My chapel theme for both the College and High School is, "Following Christ's Example".  The HS students have told me that they have no trouble with my English and those I have spoken too are excellent English speakers.

Elementary Class we have chapel the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month.  We divide the elementary students into three age groups (Preschool, Primary 1st - 3rd grade, and Intermediate 4th - 6th Grade) for their chapel time.  The High School has their chapel on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the Month.  The elementary school holds their chapel on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month.  I have another lady assigned to organize their program but I attend and take part as requested.  For the high school chapels I have been bringing their messages and the HS department leads their own worship [The music teacher helps them prepare the worship music and the Religious Education teacher organizes the program.

In addition to this there is the staff devotionals.  Every Friday after school is the Staff devotional for LTNLC and the first Monday of Month is the HS teachers meeting where I bring a devotional.

Bible College Teaching:

Nancy teaches English Plus, which is a course geared to assist students that have a difficulty with English.  Her class meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 - 9:30.  She has 10 students and one of her student's father passed away Sunday.  So this student, Jeremiah, has gone home for this time.  Be in prayer for him.

George teaches Old Testament Survey which meets on Tuesday and Thursday evening from 4 - 5:30 pm. He now has 14 students.

Other Items:

I have an assistant, Donna.  She is on work study program and helps me for 10 hours per week.

I'm trying to figure out what to do for students who have birthdays.  We have 90+ College Students but last Saturday I fixed cinnamon rolls for the 10 or so with birthdays in July.  I also gave them a birthday letter with a coupon attached for a free meal at the dining hall.   

Today as Nancy and I walked into the dining hall some 4th grade girls said, "Hi Pastor, will you eat with us?"  How can someone turn down such an invitation.

When I first arrived and went around to meet the teachers and classes, I was in for a real culture shock when the students all stood up when I entered the room and said in unison, "Good Morning, Pastor George." 

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray for the ongoing relief effort from the Typhoon Glenda.
2. Pray for us that as we minister to others and the school that we will keep our personal spiritual life nourished.
3. Pray for the chapel messages, and that the gospel gets communicated.
4. Pray for the students as we hear their stories many are separated from one of both parents who are working overseas.
5. Pray for us as we teach and mentor these students.
6. Pray for more and more opportunities to pray with and mentor students.

Your Partners in HIS ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

Serving the Lord as Chaplain at
Philippine Nazarene College

Pico Road, La Trinidad

From the Miller's - 20 May 2014

Dear Prayer Partner,

Sorry, we have needed to send a prayer letter out for some time.

Our internet is so slow, it takes forever to get the letters out.  In one week we will be moving to the Philippines and I have faith that internet will be much better there.  I'm not sure of that as I don't receive many emails from there either.  Our internet here is also expensive.  For some reason my computer is uploading a lot of megs of information, which we pay 50 cents/meg (US $ .07).  I believe the problem might be that I saved a lot of things on the computer to go with us the the Philippines and with the iCloud, which I do not understand, but I believe everything I save has to be uploaded to the iCloud.  This upload may require minutes in the USA but it takes hours (no days) here.  I try to stay on the internet only briefly, and the speed to send email messages is 0-10 kilobytes/sec, as my computer is busy sending things to wherever it is going.  I hope to be able to upload photos rapidly once in Philippines.  If so I will then post more photos on our blog and send out more frequent prayer letters.

Update on Disaster:

Thank you for your prayers.  Our district team has done well.    We want to thank you for your involvement in Nazarene Compassionate Ministry.  Due to supporters like you we placed a water tank at each of our affected churches and were able to provide relief food and clothing.  We are thankful that most of our Nazarene families were minimally affected and among our Nazarenes there were no loss of life.  

Saturday night there was a riot half way between us and the air port (At the King George area for those familiar with Honiara.)  This was from the displaced people, unhappy with the government's handling of their needs, and fueled by the suspicion that the government is misusing the disaster relief money.  It is easier to receive donations than to distribute them.  Yesterday (Monday) the rumor went out that there was to be a march on Parliament and all the shops went into lock down.  I think most stores closed at 2 p.m. or a little after.  Then Parliament too cancelled their planned meeting.  The march didn't take place for whatever reason.  I understand over 50 people were arrested for the Saturday nights ordeal.  Continue to pray for peace and the reconstruction.

The new bailey (one lane) bridge to replace the washed out one, is to arrive today from New Zealand.  It is to arrive on the same ship that our crate leaves on.

Passing of a long time Nazarene:

Brother Alan Efo went to be the Lord on Saturday afternoon.  He suffered a stroke in 2013, during our home assignment.  He lost some of his mobility and his speech has been slurred ever since.  Please remember his wife Grace and their 8 children and 10 grandchildren.  Since Alan and family joining the church in 2001, Alan has been a staunch supporter and pillar of the Zion Church, serving on the church board and for many years as church treasurer.  His funeral was yesterday (Monday) in the Zion church, with Rev. Alick Hagi officiating.  

Pastor's Wife is recovering:

Lydia Kaisi, a pastor's wife from Nukukaisi church, was recently sent to Honiara, National Referral Hospital.  Continue to pray for her as she has now been discharged but is under medical care.  She needed blood transfusions and we are thankful that she is out of the hospital now.

Pastor attacked by a pig:

Prayer is requested for Pastor John Zedrach, Pastor of our Macedonia Church, who was recently attacked by their family pig.  He is in Honiara, undergoing daily dressing of his leg.  I understand he reached down to pick up a stone and the pig attacked him, maybe as a defensive move since the pig is normally quite docile.

MIller's Crate Picked up and soon on the way:

We are so thankful that our kids, Scott and Gloria, and Gary, came to assist Dad and Mom build and pack our crate.  Their assistance was valuable and when they left much of our preparation for departure was complete.  Before their arrival, Honiara was like a monsoon with torrential rains.  When they arrived in Honiara the rain spout was turned off and it didn't rain at all until a couple days after our crate was picked up and delivered to the wharf.  It was like God just stopped the rain for us.  I know that sounds too simplistic but it has since been raining, but our crate is safe in the shed at the ports authority, awaiting the ship loading which will be tomorrow.  We built a 3 cu m crate (roughly 4 ft x 4 ft x 6 ft.  We had to scale down our precious belongings to fit in that space. We had to make some decisions, but praise the Lord it is on the way to the USA.  It will be stored there awaiting our home assignment in Oct. 2015.

New Church Organized:

The White River Church began 3 years ago as a mission church.  God has blessed them.  Sunday we were privileged to attend service there.  It was a long service, with lots of activity, as we held a baptism in the White River, baptizing three, had communion, and then officially organized the White River Church of the Nazarene.

PHILIPPINES, HERE WE COME!

In one week from today we will depart for our new assignment.  This will be our final assignment before retirement.  Retirement! Are you kidding?  I don't vision us retiring but merely changing venues, and no longer under contract with the Department of World Mission.  We'll retire when the Lord calls us home.  On a side note:  If anyone has an idea of what a retired, has been cross-cultural missionary, with multiple diverse experiences can do, let me know.  We are open to any suggestions or offers.  We are praying that the Lord will let us retire near our grandkids.  Oh, we don't mind going out on mission trips or even overseas short term trips.  

Hopefully our prayer letters will be a little more frequent once in the Philippines.  Pray for this adjustment.  They told me I can get by in English but I want to be able to speak some phrases in the Filipino language.  As chaplain at the Bible College it will be awesome.  Their campus is school to students from elementary through young adult.  We are excited about the change and fully believe this is God's will for us.

Pray for me as I move into a computer culture.  I will have an iPhone for the first time in my life, as the Philippines is a texting culture, but hopefully there will be a lot of students willing to assist me.

Home Assignment/Available for Deputation Services:

For most of the Calendar year of 2016 we will be available to speak in your church, school, camp, club, or wherever.  If you would like to have us visit please contact us.  There is an on-line booking if you are familiar with that.  I will try to get knowledgeable about it before our next prayer letter.

George & Nancy Miller

Update on the Solomon Islands

Dear Prayer Partner,

I know you can get the news concerning this disaster from the internet so I'm focusing this report on the Nazarene Church families that were affected.  I realize many of our prayer supporters are not Nazarenes.

The only area that I know of with significant damage where the Nazarene work is located, is on the Island of Guadalcanal.  We have three churches on the island of Guadalcanal: Zion Church in Honiara, White River Church, and Macedonia Church in West Guadalcanal.

• Zion Church: I have not heard of any members or regular attendees of the Zion church, with the exception of Hannah who stays with us, who suffered loss within their immediate family.  Some of the members extended family did have some loss.  Pray for the Zion Church as they are the staging church to facilitate the relief efforts to the other two churches.

• Macedonia:  We praise the Lord that even though they had serious flooding and even the river temporarily diverted to flow through their village, there was no loss of life and no buildings destroyed, other than a small piggery [all the pigs survived].  Some slept in the church house while their house was flooded. There are 12 families, with 63 persons living in this small village but their lives were all spared.

Their water supply was seriously contaminated and is a chocolaty color now.  For water supply they have a natural spring and they have had floods before which temporarily affected the water but this time the flood has subsided but the water is still terrible.  Also they traditionally bathe in the river but Pastor John told me that now when they go to the river they sink up to their knees in the silt that has washed down.

Their gardens, including the hardier things like bananas and cassava, have all washed away and it will be 3-months [much longer for many crops] before they can harvest their garden.  Their food and much of their income comes from their gardens.  

They also lost all of their garden tools, as these are stored near the garden and were covered up and/or washed away.

• White River Church:  We praise the Lord that there was no loss of life from members or attendees of the White River Church.  There were 16 families affected that attend the White River Church.  Pastor Osborn, their pastor, is also our district's missionary president.

The White River Church is meeting on the bottom floor of Pastor Jeremiah's home (Jeremiah is the associate pastor at White River and he was the pastor at Zion for previous 5 years).  The area where the church meets was totally flooded.  Jeremiah's children were rescued but many of their clothes were ready for the laundry and were washed away along with his kitchen by the flood waters.  They were able to rescue the pulpit and an easel but many of the things were damaged.  Pray for the clean-up.  They have been holding some holiness classes in the recent weeks leading up to a tremendous Easter service and Baptism.  I would like to organize this church prior to our departure to the Philippines.  God is moving in this place.

Two families at White River lost their homes and everything except the clothes they were wearing.  One of the homes lost belongs to Joyce, the daughter of Leonard, one of our Bible College Students and Pastor of a New Start on Malaita.

Another home lost belonged to Ramo and Roslyn, last year we held a marriage ceremony on Sunday after church and 4 couples who had been living together wanted to be united in marriage.  Ramo and Roslyn were among these couples.  They are new Christians and new Nazarenes.  

Please pray for these two families as they rebuild their lives and the church as we respond to their needs.

Other than Pastor Jeremiah, one other kitchen was destroyed.  This belonged to Babylyn.  Babylyn is a teacher at Zion Christian Academy and a relatively new Nazarene.

The water supply of the town of Honiara was damaged and the chance of a rise in intestinal diseased from contaminated water is immense. 

Of the 16 Nazarene families affected, most of these only the children attend our services.  Most of the parents do not come, but as we reach out as a loving community to give food to these church families we're praying that God will use this compassion to bring these moms and dads closer to him.  Pastor Osborn and his wife Hilda have been cooking and taking food to 32 people daily who are in desperate need.  We praise the Lord for Hilda. The fact that she was home and kept her cool head probably saved many lives.  Their home was at a higher elevation and was not affected, but they were situated at the convergence of the flood waters.

Our Nazarene Response:

We certainly want to thank the Zion Church and the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries for their quick response.

Families of our members:

Hannah, a girl who has been staying with us, had her biological family affected.  Her parent's and Uncle's homes were flooded.  The water rose to 4 or 5 feet inside their home.  Most of their belongings were ruined from the mud and water.  Their house was spared. They are involved in a massive cleanup campaign.  As I drove to their house and looked at  Mataniko River bank it was washed clean from the flood water and all the homes across Vera Creek from Hannah's family lost everything (Where Vera Creek runs into the Mataniko River) .  There was not a tree or anything left standing along the river bank.  The large electric transformer beside their home was swamped with water and blew up while some were in the water, but none was hurt.  Continue praying for those who are really suffering.  Pray that they will turn at this Easter time to the one who sacrificed it all for them.

May God Bless you,

George Miller
PO Box 712
Honiara, Solomon Islands

Phone: +677 7468920

blog: http://georgeandnancymiller.blogspot.com

Web: http://oceanianazarene.org

Solomon Islands in a crisis due to flooding

Dear Praying friends,

Most rivers in the Solomon Islands are flooding and there has been a lot of flash flooding.   

There are two access roads from where we live to the main part of town.  There is an old one lane bridge across the river that has totally washed out.  The other road, the main highway, has a 2-lane bridge but it is going to closed soon, if not already.  It will be closed for both pedestrian and vehicle travel.  That means until they assess the problem and repair the bridge we will be isolated from the bank, post office, and the wharf.  

They have suspended international air travel because they are using the international terminal as an evacuation center for that area.  Of course the sea is rough due to the weather and so no sea travel.  I have had difficulty with communication to the provinces.  Many homes near the rivers have been washed away.  They have located displaced people in some nearby schools.  Electricity was off about 10 hours yesterday.

The roads are all blocked with debris and water.  I'm sure my land cruiser could get though but I've been home packing etc.

About our church work:

I talk with Pastor Osborn and Pastor Jeremiah from White River.  White River flooded and the place where our church meets was flooded and under water.  Jeremiah's house is near the river and so his family stayed with Osborn last night.  Osborn works in his second job on our side of the river and so will not be able to work.

Pastor John Zedrach from Macedonia in the Guadalcanal plains called and told me that their river washed all their gardens away and did a lot of damage. The people there are all safe.

George Miller

Three crucial Elements for effective Ministry

Dear Friends,

We are ready to depart the Solomon Islands after 15 years.  I would like to leave this message to the SI church but also to the broader church before we leave.  

I want to share the three things that are crucial for effective ministry to take place.  These items are essential.  I was reminded of these again today as the Lord came to me in my devotional time.

First, it is essential that the Lord's blessing be upon you.  Actually through mechanics, a leader with a charismatic personality, and the right programs and ingenuity can build quite an empire without the Lord.  That said I am talking about building a strong spiritual ministry.  I'm not interested in building a man-made empire but rather in building the Kingdom of God.  For this to take place you have to have the anointing which comes from the Holy Spirit and following His will in your life.  Prayer is quintessential to this process.  Prayer alone if by prayer one means talking to God it is not enough.  Prayer also involves a listening component and as a result of this listening it involves doing the will of God.  I do not know God's specific will for each person, (e.g. what type of occupation God is calling you into, or who you should marry) but the Bible is full of God's general revelation that is for all those who trust in him.  It is our job to read the Bible and follow HIS general revelation like "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself."  Then He will from time to time reveal his specific revelations and will to us through our quiet time of listening prayer.

Second component to building a strong ministry is man-power.  We need people.  People are the harvest.  Jesus said we are to pray for laborers into the harvest field.  It is God who calls, but we have a part to play.  For someone totally committed to the Lord, someone who loves the Lord with his/her total being and who loves others as oneself, for someone that much in love with God and others it makes sense that they would seek with all their heart to do the will of God.  We are not lone individuals, but we are called out from the world and in community with others of like mind and passion so that together we can accomplish the impossible.  We have many talents or parts but we are one body and together with God we can "move mountains".  Where there is disunity there is trouble.  

Third element needed is resources.  Where do the resources come from?  The harvest, or the people, for as people are committed to the Lord and they realize who the giver is and where everything they have comes from, it is all available to be used by the Lord.  The tithe is just the minimum but when God says give, we obey and give.  When God says go, we obey and go.  With those focused on God and have the proper perspective on ownership and realize that we are stewards.  Of course we have things that we claim and that have our name attached to it, but it can easily be taken away.  Jesus preached in his sermon that we should store our treasures where moth, rust, and I might add mildew, can not destroy it.  We should use whatever God has entrusted us with to build the Kingdom.  We need to enlarge our vision.  When a 5 year old child says, "Mine".  We refer to that child as being stingy, but when an adult holds onto things and refuses to allow God to use these things, what do we call that person?  Is he/her a mature Christian?  Everything must come under the Lordship of Christ.

The challenge I want to make to the Solomon Islands Church is to stop looking to the outside {Field, Global Mission, etc} for the resources.  Instead obey God and give what you have and pray the Lord of the harvest to call laborers.  Pray for God's blessing and God will build His church in the Solomon Islands.  If Jesus, God's only son, can take 5 loaves and 2 small reef fish and feed 5000 people, how can God multiply what we have?  God only knows, but we have to obey.  As pertaining to resources we have to use whatever God entrusts to us responsibly and utilize all resources with the upmost integrity.  We must maintain trust, transparency, and accountability.  

May God Bless you all

Uncle George Miller

Miller Prayer letter 3 March 2014

Dear Prayer Partner,

Thanks for your prayers.  I can't believe it has been 2 months since our last prayer letter.  Time flies by and really gets away from us.

Lots of things have happened since then but there are a couple of very exciting things that have happened and have been keeping us busy.

Transferring to the Philippines:

We have accepted a call to go to the Philippines, where we will serve until our retirement.  Pray for us as we prepare to ship our crate to the USA, where we will make our retirement home, and as we say good-bye to our friends and Solomon Island family.  We have purchased our tickets and are scheduled to depart Honiara on May 27.

You may be wondering how this change came about and why it is so near to our retirement.  Let me first assure you we believe this is from the Lord.  I (George) have felt for a couple years now a restlessness in my spirit.  I even considered an early retirement at the time of our previous home assignment, but when praying I did not have peace about that.  Then the Lord worked in our life confirming to us that we were to return.  For a few years now we have been releasing some of our leadership activities into the capable hands of local leaders.  I began to question whether our very presence was interfering with the church growth, as many still depended on me as District Superintendent.  Some people would bypass the elected leader to take their problem to me.  I would refer them back to the correct person, but just the fact that this was happening got me to thinking that for the SI church to stand on their own two feet, we should go elsewhere.

It was during this time when Harmon and Cindy Schmelzenbach (Our field Strategy Coordinator and wife) came to the Solomon Islands.  They conveyed to us that the regional and field leadership felt the same way, and there was a position opened on the Philippine field that fit us and so when they proposed it to us, we felt peace and knew this was right.  That meeting took place in mid-January, but we couldn't share it until February 15.  We were excited but at the same time were getting ready for Bible College classes and a visiting lecturer here in the Solomons.  I have been busy and am just now writing this letter to all our prayer partners.

So what will we be doing?  I (George) will be chaplain at the Philippine Nazarene College [formerly Luzon Nazarene Bible College] in Baguio, Philippines.  We will also teach English (Nancy) and Bible Classes.  Prayers are requested as we settle into another culture.  This assignment will be for 3 school semesters until our final HA (October, 2015) before retirement (Oct 2016).

Our new physical address:

George Miller

Philippine Nazarene College

Pico Road, La Trinidad

Benguet, 2601 Philippines.

Note: email address will remain the same.

I don't know how long it takes for mail to reach the Philippines, but don't send anything to the Solomons after April 1st.

 

Visiting Lecturer - Dr. Herb Ireland

This story is powerful because it demonstrates the providence of this Almighty God we serve.  One of my prayer partners Herb Ireland, felt called to come and help us.  It was a year or more ago when he wrote me inquiring about this possibility.  I told him that we retire in 2015 and would like for him to come prior to our departure.  I then sent him the dates of our scheduled classes and he selected this time.  I told him we could accommodate him and change the course to fit whatever he liked to teach.  He said that the two courses, "Doctrine of Holiness" and "New Testament Survey", we had scheduled would be fine.  When he arrived he talked about how his wife was raised in the Philippines.  He then told us Carolyn was raised at the Bible College in Baguio where her father was President.  The day after he arrived (5th March) is the day we found out for sure that we were going to transfer to the Philippines.  Waiting for that ten days until the 15th so we could share the news seemed like an eternity.  The first people I shared the news with was the Solomon Islands District Council that met 15th.  Then we called our family.  So by now many of you have already heard the news through Face Book, etc. and I apologize for this being old news. 

Herb's being here with his connections to the Philippines and Baguio was providential.  The Lord sent him at this time to help us and the district during this transition time.

Bible College Classes.

Thank you for your prayers for the following Bible College block classes that finished on February 28.  

1. Theology 3, which includes the Theology of the Holy Spirit, the Church, and Eschatology.

This was a 1-week intensive class that I taught from 5-11 February.  With all the excitement and things going on with our relocation and Harmon's visit, I certainly did not feel prepared for this class.  One of the highlights of this class was when we had a new student named Sammy.  He was saved during the first day of this class.  His decision to attend this class was like his intent desire to be close to God.  He has now been in 3-weeks of Bible College classes and it is exciting seeing him grow in the Lord.  He has a lot of potential and I envision him as one of our church leaders in the future.  Pray for Sammy.

2. New Testament Studies Class:

This has been an exciting class.  In the Solomon Islands it seems to be difficult for one to apologize and confess his/her sins and faults.  Rarely is there any confession to one another unless they have been found out and confronted.  Herb was the teacher and during this class they dealt with some major issues that have been hidden for years.  With more openness and honesty our church in the Solomon Islands will not only progress but will really grow in the Lord.  

3. Doctrine of Holiness Class:

Many of our students took all three courses.  This class was the largest class.  We welcomed visitors to this class because we want to develop Christ-like disciples and it is essential that we become a holy people.  Herb presented the lessons in such a simple and straightforward way that they understood the message of holiness, and for some it made sense for the first time in their life.  During this class four students responded to be entirely sanctified.  We're praising the Lord for the way our students grew spiritually during this class.  The students will return home as transformed individuals.  Pray that they will be able to impact their local church for Jesus when they return.

Graduation:

Saturday March 1st we held our Bible College graduation and had two students Graduate with a Certificate in Ministry from our Solomon Island Campus of the SPNTC (South Pacific Nazarene Theological College).  This was the 4th graduation of the SPNTC-SI and brings the total number of Solomon Islands graduates to 11.  Kendrick, one of the graduates, is the pastor of our Hickory Grove church in Barakoma on Vella la Vella Island.  Gibson, the other graduate, is the pastor of our Sovereign Grace church in Munda on New Georgia Island.  These are the first two graduates who are pastor of churches in the Western Province.

Pray for the SI Nazarenes and their development:

Harmon Schmelzenbach is visiting March 10 & 11 to discuss with the district leadership.  Pray for his visit along with Jeff Myers, the Field Church Development Coordinator, who will arrive in SI on March 9.

George Miller
PO Box 712
Honiara, Solomon Islands

In Transition.

The Miller's have accepted a call to go to the Philippines where George will serve as chaplain [Nancy will be his main assistant] to the PNC (Philippine Nazarene College) Located in Baguio [actually La Trinidad] Philippines.  We depart on May 27, 2014 from the beautiful Solomon Islands where we have served the Lord for 15 years.  The school term at PNC begins mid June.  The school has around 400 students [elementary age to young adult] and 50+ staff that we will minister to.

It is interesting that we answered the call to become children pastors in 1983 and now we will end our career as chaplains of the school that has a lot of youth and children.

We began our missionary career in the highland of PNG in 1989 where it is cool, now we will end our career in the Philippines highlands where it is cool.  We served 15 years in the Solomon Islands, the country that was the turning point of the war, and now we end our career at the location where the peace treaty was signed ending the war.

Thank you for you prayers and God Bless you.
Servants of the Lord,
George and Nancy Miller