Felicity Update and More

29 March 2009

 

Dear Prayer Partner,

I am in Nadi, Fiji Islands waiting for my flight back to Honiara on Tuesday 31^st.  I have been without Internet connection for a few days, but am hoping to connect soon.  The power was out here and so Internet was not working.  I thought I was back in Honiara.  The interesting thing was last Tuesday when we got into the airport in Nadi to transfer to our flight to Apia, Western Samoa, the power went down and the computers went out.  We were the first in the long line of waiting passengers.  Then early this morning when I returned to Nadi, I was waiting for the hotel bus, when I heard the announcement on the intercom that due to power outage and system failure there would be would be a long undetermined delay in checking in passengers.  Living in Honiara power disruptions are regular occurrences for us and they seem quite normal.  I cannot figure out what all the fuss is about. 

I’ve learned to be patient and enjoy the added opportunity to socialize.  Last Tuesday, after the long wait, and I think the airline waited as long as they dared before checking people in using the manual method.  The lady asked me, “Would you like a window seat, or an aisle seat?”  I replied, “It really doesn’t matter to me, you just choose one for me.”  She chose me the very best seat (in economy class) on the plane.  It was seat 35A, a window seat, in the exit row.  Row 34, the row in front of me, was a short row with only two seats to make more room for the emergency exit so in front of my seat there was no seat, so I had lots of leg room.  Perfect!

 

Felicity;

Felicity and Churie came home to Honiara on Thursday.  Thank you for your prayers.  The Pseudomonas infection was cleared up, but she was still taking some oral and topical medicine.  Thanks also to those in Australia that helped them at the Bible College and with transport to and from airport and hospital.  Continue your prayers for Geoff and Churie and their family.  I will write you another update soon after I get to Honiara.

 

New Blog:

I have got a new blog set up but I have not yet made a post to it.  I was helped once again by my wonderful missionary niece Danielle Schmelzenbach and will be posting things soon to this blog.  The current web site and blog will be set to redirect you to this new site.  Our new missionary web site of the South Pacific Family and new look should be ready to be launched well before General Assembly.  I want to thank all of you who have taken advantage of the web as the South Pacific Family site has had over 45,000 hits since it’s launching.  New Blog: http://georgeandnancymiller.blogspot.com  Check it out in a week or two and it should have something for you to see.  Once it is really ready I’ll change the blog in our address with this new one.

 

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Your partners in HIS Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

PO Box 712

Honiara, Solomon Islands

george_nancy@reachone.com

Phone: (677)25-109

Mobile: (677)68-920

Blog: http://southpacificfamily.org

 

 

Prayer Update for February 22, 2009 (Mar14/09)

Dear Prayer Partner,

 

Bible College Class,

I've been so busy getting ready for Bible College Class which will begin Wednesday 25 February.  I will teach two block courses this time, "Spiritual Leadership", and "Christian Moral and Ethics".  Prayer is requested for these two classes.  We have some new students attending this time.  Pray for those planning to attend from Western Province, and Malaita Province.   The bulk of the people from Malaita should arrive on Tuesday and then from the Western Province on Wednesday morning.  I've put the student notes together for the class.  I still need to write some of the ethic scenarios for the ethics class.

 

Pray for us during the Bible College Block classes February 25 – March 13.

 

Geoffrey and his trip to Western Province,

Geoffrey and Jimmy Kwaisui, took the Jesus Film to Western Province.  They went to a new church opening in Munda.  Pray for the Sovereign Grace, Church of the Nazarene at Munda, which is under the pastoral leadership of Alick Hagi.  Alick is a District Licensed Pastor, who is also a meteorologist and was recently transferred from Honiara to Munda.  They had 14 people in church on the first Sunday, 8^th February.  If you would like to see some pictures from their trip please visit Geoff and Churie's blog: http://geoffandchurie.wordpress.com  Geoffrey has posted a lot about his trip to the Western Province.

 

Trip back to Kwailatutu,

February 10 – 12, I made a quick trip back to Kwailatutu to install Jimmy and Mirriam Olofisau as pastor.  The trip was good. 

There was a lot of rain and flood conditions.  When we arrived at the Bina River, a normally low water crossing, the water was running waist deep.  So we had to wade the river and then wait for a truck from the other side.  I went over by ship but then flew back on Saturday.  I had too much to do getting ready for Bible College to wait for the Saturday Ship to return.

 

Geoff and Churie:

Thank you for your prayers for Geoffrey and Churie.  They have been a God send at this time.  Nancy is the school principal and is working from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. or later.  It keeps her out of trouble.  Geoff and Churie have been doing a lot.  Churie is teaching 5^th grade at our ZCA and Geoffrey has been doing some maintenance work.  He has one or two young men helping him.  He is doing some planning in vocational training.  He will probably start by offering a vocational training for the HS student as an elective subject.  Remember Geoff and Churie in your prayers.

 

Your Partner in His Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

PO Box 712

Honiara, Solomon Islands

george_nancy@reachone.com

Phone: (677)25-109

Update for February 2, 2009. (Feb3/09)

 Dear Prayer Partner,

 

Thank you for your prayers,

 

Visit to Kwailatutu:

We had a good trip to Kwailatutu village in Malaita Province.  This church began a few years ago from the Jesus Film showing.  It is so exciting to see them so hungry for the gospel.  They have had some discouragements and the enemy is throwing a lot of things their way but they are remaining faithful.  Betea [Ezra], a form 3 (9^th grade) student, is the pastor of the church.  I took Jimmy Olifisau, a Bible College Graduate, with me and he was full of compassion and felt God would like for him to go to this place and help.  Jimmy is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene and his wife has a district license.  Both Jimmy and Mirriam are Bible College graduates from our Melanesian Nazarene Bible College in Papua New Guinea.

 

When Jimmy returned and told his wife Mirriam about this opportunity, she agreed and so we are making plans to move them to Kwailatutu.  I planned to meet with them this week to brief them about the work and make sure they have the resources they need carry out this assignment.  Pray for Jimmy as he is suffering from what is called here a "boil", but it must be a cellulitis or something as his thigh is really severely swollen.  Kwailatutu is a place where there is a lot of illiteracy and even the patriarch of the village cannot read.  They would like to have a school there.  Also we need a Bible College extension training program to be carried out there, to train young people like Ezra who can be deployed into the surrounding areas.  Ezra has started a satellite (daughter church) at a place called Ote [Oh-tay].  Ote is a place where they are totally illiterate and a heathen area.  Ezra walks the 5 hours one way every weekend to minister there at Ote.  We have placed a Proclaimer there.  So daily they meet together and listen to the word of God through this Proclaimer.  Someone has to translate the Pijin so those who don't understand Pijin can understand what is being said.  We are praying that some day we will have at least portions of the Kwaio language Bible [Currently only the gospels of Mark and Luke translations are complete] put onto a format where these people can hear Jesus' words in their own native language.  I wanted to take Jimmy and Mirriam in next week to install them as pastors, but now I need to wait for Jimmy to recover.  Pray for this family as they go here where there will be very little pay [SB $50/week (US $7) if that much comes in the offering] or other worldly benefits, but we are praying for an abundant Spiritual harvest.  In the village setting there are not a lot of recurrent expenses as most people live off the land, their gardens, and what they can gather and raise.  They are prepared to take up their cross and follow Jesus.  When they came to Solomon Islands from Papua New Guinea I made a decision to only bring over the amount of cargo that could be carried on the plane without overweight charges.  I knew we could replace a lot for the added freight charge.  So there are a few things we need to replace and provide for them.  Please partner with me in praying for this family and their work.

 

Also pray for an elderly woman (She's about my age so she is still young really.), Nefri [Neph-free], who holds the Sunday service while Ezra is away visiting Ote.  She is literate but her eye sight is failing her and so when there is low light it is hard for her to read the scripture.  Pray for these people as they are so hungry for the word.  In the village setting they do not just hold 2 services on Sunday and 1 on Wednesday evening. 

Here is the sample weekly church worship schedule for Kwailatutu church.

Monday morning at the first crack of dawn – Morning prayer and devotion (an hour service give or take)

Monday evening – Worship service

Tuesday Morning – Prayer service

Tuesday Evening – Worship Service

Wednesday Morning – Prayer Service

Wednesday Evening – Worship

Thursday Morning – No morning service as this is market day

Thursday Evening – House to House fellowship

Friday Morning – Prayer Service

Friday Evening – Women's Fellowship

Saturday Morning – Prayer

Saturday Evening – Youth meeting

Sunday Morning – Sunday School and Worship (You have to understand in the Solomon Islands this is not just a 1 hour for Sunday School and 1 hour for Worship, but it may go on for a long time.)

Sunday Evening – No service

 

Jesus Film to Munda and Western Province:

Please pray for our Son Geoffrey, who left yesterday along with the Jimmy Kwaisui, our Jesus Film Team Director and the Jesus Film Equipment.  They left for the Western Province.  They booked passage on the Pelican Express ship which is a fast ship, but when they arrived at the wharf at 6:00 a.m. yesterday, they found out that the Pelican canceled due to rough sea.  Then we made the decision to send them on the Tomoko, which is a large ship and more stable and better suited for

rough weather.  Instead of an expected 10

hour voyage now they will experience a 26 hour ship ride.  They should arrive to the port in Noro on the island of New Georgia in a few more hours.  The plans are that from there they will travel by outboard motor boat to Iriiri Pasapasa Village on the island of Kohingo.  They will spend one night and a day or so there and then travel to Vilorae village on the island of Parare.  They will check on the church work at these two places.  Pastoral oversight of both

churches is by one Lay pastor, Fred Wane.  Fred is a relatively new Christian, and we request prayer for him and these two churches located in the Vonavona Lagoon in the Western Province.   Then from there they will arrive back in Munda on Friday, and will show the Jesus Film there and will be there Sunday 8^th February for the first service of the Sovereign Grace Church of the Nazarene in Munda.  Brother Alick Hagi, a Bible College Student and District Licensed Pastor, was recently transferred there with his job

[meteorologist].  Alick has been doing some leg work and is ready to begin the work there.  This is an answer to our prayers to get work started in one of the provincial centers in the Western Province.  Munda is across the New Georgia island from Noro but there is a road link between the two towns.  Munda has the air strip and Noro has an international port.

 

Memorial Gift:

We praise the Lord for one family gave a memorial gift to purchase bicycles for pastors in the Solomon's.  We have purchased the first bicycle.  Thanks a lot.

 

Thanks for some other recent Gifts received:

We want to thank one district that through their Children Mission project provided money for lanterns, guitar, and small radio for pastors in remote places.  Note: The method we communicate is through the public radio.  Service messages are sent by the National Radio Station, SIBC, but our pastors need a radio to be able to hear the announcements.  Also the same district through their youth mission project provided money to build new bush churches.  We want to thank you for these gifts for ministry.

 

Note: I omitted the name of the donors because I was unsure if they wanted to be identified.

 

 

Rain:

We have had a lot of rain recently.  

 

Your Partners in His Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

PO Box 712

Honiara, Solomon Islands

george_nancy@reachone.com

Phone: (677)25-109

Mobile: (677)68-920

Pray updates January 2009 (Feb2/08)

20 January 2009

 

Dear Prayer Partner,

 

Thanks so much for praying.  I could feel your prayers.

 

Report of the Teacher's Retreat,

 

The Teacher's retreat was a huge success.  Most of our teaching staff were able to attend.  

Two had trouble returning from their holidays because of the shipping schedule and rough sea and were unable to attend.  The other teacher had no excuse.  We had 22 of our staff at the missionary conference center operated by S.W.I.M.   This began on Friday evening and concluded after the Sunday morning worship service back at the church.

 

We did a lot of team building games and activities.  Most of them had never experienced anything like this before. 

 

This game "mind sweeper" each person had a partner. One partner was blind folder and the other partner directed them by talking to them from the sidelines.  They had to get the partner through the mine field without stepping on or over a mine.

 

 

 

We had an fun activity that Cindy Schmelzenbach used at a missionary workshop.  They really got into this. 

 

 

Basically each team is divided into 3 committees [Design Committee, Building Committee, and Communication Committee].

Each design and building committee is given a pack of identical objects that they can use to design whatever they want. 

The Design committee makes the recognizable object and then one of the communication

committee members passes the info verbally to a second Communication person who then passes the info to the building committee who then try to reproduce the item. 

The catch is the communication committee cannot tell the actual name of the object or its color. 

The first picture in each set is the design committee and

the second photo the building committee.

 

Nancy was busy all week with the teacher orientation and she was really exhausted.  So I (George) prepared for the teacher's retreat.  We prayed together and worshipped together.  I'd like to tell you about a couple of things we did that made a real impression on them.  

One thing we did was the "Servant's meal".  This is something that I was introduced to a few years ago by a Love Works team from Point Loma Nazarene University.  Basically, each person chooses someone else that they can serve the food to and then prepares the plate and brings the food to that person.  Then we had a "Love Feast", following the hearing of a sermon "Developing a Passion for God."  Some of you

"Old Timers" know what a "Love Feast" is all about but for those who this is new to, the love feast involves each person braking off part of a loaf of bread and going to their colleagues and either reconciling with, or telling how much they appreciate each other, whichever the case may be and then praying together.  It was a powerful time of bonding during that Saturday evening service.  We did a lot of other things too.  When I get around to putting this on our blog with photos you can see some of the things we did.

 

It was so good that Geoffrey was here to take care of the house and everything.  He is great but he doesn't do diapers well, No that's not right, He doesn't do diapers (period).  Felicity is not in diapers, except at night, and she is almost potty trained, if you get my drift.  Anyway let's just say he got initiated.

 

 

Last year there was a real lack of respect at the school.  Teachers would come anytime they wanted.  Some teachers appeared to just come and go as they pleased.  There was a lack of teamwork.  We addressed all these issues.  We have a few new teachers.  One is a man, James, who is hired as the deputy principal overseeing the High School.  Pray for him and Martha, a teacher who has worked at Zion for a number of years and is deputy principal over the Elementary School.  There is an excitement this year as school began.

 

Pray for Churie, our daughter-in-law.  She is teaching grade 5 this year.  Yesterday was the first day of class.  Solomon Islands is a different culture to the USA and she is learning a lot of things.  She is being stretched.  Felicity the 2 year old has never been separated from mommy before.  We found a lady who will watch her beginning today.  Felicity is a sweet but very strong willed child and Geoff and Churie are afraid that she will be allowed to do whatever she wants, because when she wants something she is determined to get it.  Churie learned a lot of things at the retreat.  An interesting thing that happened was we took everyone to the retreat in our land cruiser in two loads.  I arrived in the first load with Churie's and Nancy's bag.  I did not want Nancy and Churie to share a room because of what I wanted to accomplish during the weekend.  I put Nancy's bag on a bed in one room and Churie's on a bed in another room, to claim their spot.  The room's were arranged for three person per room except one room was prepared for two.  After I "claimed their beds" the local ladies, bless their heart, rearranged the room's and when Nancy and Churie arrived they had moved their things into the room with two beds so they could be together.  We had three more participants than I booked so two ladies and one man didn't have a bed made up.  So I took Nancy and Churie's bag out of their room and told the other ladies to claim the two beds made up and then these two "White skin" ladies could go into separate rooms, and make up their beds later.  That worked great except Nancy did negotiate with one lady to swap beds because Nancy did not want to climb into the top bunk.  Can you imagine that?

 

Pray for Mary, another new teacher, as the ACE curriculum is different from what they have taught.  Mary is teaching grade 3 this year.

 

I want to mention some of the challenges faced this year:

·        The government is introducing "Free Education" this year.  So they are giving each school a grant of SB$320 (US $42)/year/elementary student and SB $800/year for High Students.  There is no way we can survive on that, just our ACE paces (books) costs SB $1600/student/year.  We made the decision to just reduce our students fees by the amount provided for by the government, then yesterday at a meeting James attended and they were told that any school charging fees would not receive the government grant.  Anyway there is another meeting on Friday with the education department and Nancy will probably have to have a School Board meeting to make a decision, and a response.

·        When Nancy started this year, the school had an empty bank account and a huge debt with SCEE. 

·        The first day of school, attendance was down which is normal for the Solomon Islands.  Many schools are delaying start of class until next week, and there are a couple of schools that aren't starting until the 2^nd of February.

·        At the end of school last year there was no pre-enrollment, so they have no idea of who plans to return to school and how many student we can expect.

 

Trip to Malaita:

Pray for me as I will be leaving in a few hours to go to Malaita and plan to return on Saturday.   I apologize for any emails that may be in my in-box.  I didn't do anything with email over the past weekend and now it will be a few more days before I get to all that.  At least Nancy will check my email, if there is an urgent message, I'll be in contact with her.  I'm going to go and check on a few churches and bring them the reports from the District Assemblies and try to encourage them.  I will be taking Jimmy Olofisau with me.  Pray for us as we going traveling on this trip.  Pray that I can assign Jimmy to a church that will grow.  I have lots of places that need a pastor and I need you prayers for guidance.

 

Travel by Sea:

Recently we have had more than our share of rain and high winds.  The seas were rough.  The Sunday before last, the ships did not travel.   Some ships departed for the Western Province, but they didn't even leave the shelter of Guadalcanal before returning to the safety of the Honiara wharf.  Harmon Schmelzenbach, missionary in Fiji, wrote on his blog a good description of the unpredictable seas and experience in sea travel.  His Blog can be accessed through the same southpacificfamily.org as I have listed below.  I'm sure you'd enjoy reading it and will have a better idea of how to pray for your missionaries who depend very much on the seas as a means of travel as we spread the love of God from island to island.  As soon as I get this prayer letter sent, I'll be going to the weather map and seeing what my travel conditions look like for today.  Yesterday the sea looked really calm.

 

 

14 January 2009

For ZCA and Nancy as Principal:

 

 

Special prayer for Nancy during this time, as she has assumed the duty of Principal of Zion Christian Academy, our K-12 school which is operated in conjunction with the Zion Church of the Nazarene.  Nancy just assumed the position.  The school has many challenges awaiting her.  Pray for the school finances, as Nancy has inherited quite a debt.  Pray for the enrollment as some students are transferring out, but others are coming.  Last year they did not send out a parent response form and don't know how many students are planning on returning.  Pray for the spirituality of the school, as Nancy wants to keep this as a priority this year.  This year they are emphasizing "Being Respectful".  Last year it appeared there was a loss of respect and Nancy would like to encourage that.  Pray for the teachers and staff that they will truly become a team.

 

This week is teacher orientation and preparation for school which will begin next week.  Not all the teachers have arrived yet, which is a problem in the Solomon Islands with shipping schedules.  The weather has made shipping difficult as there has been a low pressure area in the South Pacific making our seas rough and some of the voyages were cancelled.  Pray that the teacher will all arrive soon.  Friday evening we will begin our teacher's retreat at a neighboring mission center called S.W.I.M. (Seasonal Workshops In Mission).   At this retreat we will have team building activities as well as worship and prayer together.  We would like to have all teachers and staff attend.

 

Pray for Churie:

Pray for Churie as she works as teacher for this next year.  Pray as Geoff and Churie finds someone to watch Felicity.

 

The girls have made friends.  Felicity is shown here with one of her friends Rachel.  Isn't that just an adorable photo.

Merry Christmas (Dec26/08)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

This Christmas will be the first time that we've celebrated Christmas with our Grandchildren since Zach our first born Grandchild was 2 years old and the only one.  We do not have the entire family, but Geoffrey and Churie arrived with their two girls.  It has been fun.  Many Solomon Islanders travel to their home island for the holidays and so the capital city, Honiara, pretty much empties out until after New Years. 

 

I'm looking forward with great anticipation to this upcoming year.  We never know what is in store but in service of the King of Kings there is always a feeling of excitement and great anticipation.  At the same time 2009 will more-than-likely be a very challenging year.  I'm anxious to see what God is going to do in 2009.  Just to think he's given us the opportunity to minister here in the Solomon Islands.  I pray that we'll be faithful and obedient in the Master's service this upcoming year.  The news is not positive and not very encouraging about the worldwide economic situation.  For those of you who have lost your job, your home, see your retirement dwindle away, and are facing a crisis due to the economic downturn, our prayers are with you, as you face uncertain days.  I would like to remind you (and myself too) that despite all the outside circumstances God is still on the throne, Jesus is still the King of Kings, and the tomb is still empty.   That baby born in a manger over 2000 years ago is still wanting to change lives and the world today.  This is not the first time the world has faced financial and social challenges.  Pray for your missionaries, pastors, and Christian leaders as they face these challenges and that through it all HIS Church will continue to grow strong.

 

Geoff and Churie, Raina and Felicity:

 

Geoff and Churie arrived in Honiara, December 9^th.  I was able to take a few days vacation.  We went to the beach and was able to snorkel, swim, and enjoyed a picnic lunch together.  The girls collected some hermit crabs and we had a small aquarium around the house so know we have some hermit crabs.  Felicity is fascinated by the geckos.  We have a few resident geckos living in our home.  Every evening they come out and Felicity around 5 p.m. will start asking, "Where is the lizard?" They are fun to watch as they catch the insects.

Geoffrey and I are converting our crate into a play house for the girls.  It is turning out quite lovely and will be a nice place for them to play.  Since Geoffrey and Churie arrived we've had earthquakes, the worst thunder and lightning storm we've experienced in the Solomon's, and an extended power outage.  They have experienced in just a short time what others take years to experience.  They couldn't believe it when it took them three working days to open a bank account.  Geoffrey once back in the Solomon Islands is fluent in the Papua New Guinea "tok Pisin", but the Solomon Islands speak a different pijin.  It should not take him long to adjust.  The trouble in learning the Solomon Pijin is that most locals will not correct you when you use the wrong pijin words.   

 

Pray for Geoff and Churie as they are now getting some orientation and getting settled in.  There are a number of people that Geoffrey will need to meet and talk with whenever they all return to work after the first of the year.

 

Zion Christian Academy:

Pray for our Christian School ZCA, which is a ministry of the Zion Church of the Nazarene, Honiara.  The school faced many crises this past year.  We are making some changes this year.  One of the changes is Nancy is going to serve as Principal this year.  Pray for her as she assumes this role.  This will be a great  opportunity for her to make an impact in the loves of the students and staff.  Churie will also teach in the primary.  Pray for our teaching staff as they return from the holidays.  The teacher orientation will begin on January 12^th and then on the weekend 16-18 January we are planning a teacher's retreat.  Hopefully this year we can build an attitude of teamwork and cooperation.  Pray for Nancy in this new role. 

 

Nancy:

Continue to pray for Nancy's leg that it will continue to heal.

 

Christmas Festivities in the Solomon Islands:

For Christmas in the Solomon Islands this year we held the Christmas Eve service at the church.  Our son, Geoffrey, brought the message.  Following the message we closed the service with Christmas Communion.  Following the service we had fellowship with coffee, cake, and sandwiches.

Then Christmas Day (today) we will have our family Christmas and read the Christmas story.  We will play games, watch a Christmas video, eat, and open our presents.  We have invited Mairy, our district treasurer, over to celebrate Christmas with us.  Her children have all gone to Malaita to be with their father over Christmas.  The girls are quite fond of Mairy.

On New Year's Eve we will have a service in the church, welcoming in the New Year.  I will be preaching at this service.  Then we'll go to sleep around 2 a.m. or whenever the noise from banging trash barrels etc. dies down to a tolerable level.  Actually I can fall asleep in spite of all the noise.

New Year's day they are planning a barbeque at the church.

 

Other Prayer requests:

1.     The work in Western Province – Barakoma Village on Vella la vella Island has a new start church and they started a school in 2008.   They have 64 students enrolled.  They are currently building their church and school from money donated for that purpose.  Pray for their pastor Kendrick Lonisasa and the school administrators Rollingson and Grace Koza, as they build their Church and School and spread scriptural Holiness in the Western Province.

2.     Pray for the work as the doors are opened on New Georgia Island, Western Province.  One of our Nazarene Members, Alick Hagi, was transferred to Munda on New Georgia Island.  Pray for Alick as he works and ministers there.  Also there is a Nurse living in Munda who was a student this past year in Port Moresby.  While living in PNG he attended our Nazarene Church there and has just returned to Munda, we trust we'll have a strong nucleus there.  Pray for these open doors.

3.     Jimmy and Mirriam Olifisau as I work with them in their pastoral assignment.  We have several places that need a pastor, and pray that they will be placed in a strategic location to really help the church to grow.

4.     Continue to pray for the work among the heathen people.  Pray that we can place a pastor on site or at least nearby.  It is tough sending a pastor in for one to two weeks at a time every two months or so.  Barnabas has been traveling in mostly by foot.  He has requested a bicycle to help him with this ministry. 

5.     Pray for the selection of another pastor for the Honiara Zion Church, for the Kwailatutu church, and I have many others in need of leadership.  It seems like truly the fields are white unto harvest but the laborers are few.

6.     Pray for the Bible College classes this next year as the first block course will begin February 25.

I am sure there are a number of other prayer requests, but I started this letter 2 days ago and now it is Christmas Morning and I want to Send it.

 

Your Partners in His Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

PO Box 712

Honiara, Solomon Islands

george_nancy@reachone.com

Phone: (677)25-109

Mobile: (677)68-920

Happy Thanksgiving (Nov28/08)

Dear prayer partner,

This letter is to wish my USA prayer partners a Happy Thanksgiving.  I trust you enjoyed the holiday time with your family, visiting, eating, watching a foot ball game, playing games with the kids & grandkids, hunting, shopping, or whatever you enjoy doing during the holiday season.  In all our festivities I pray we will not forget to give thanks to God, the one who made it all possible.  Actually the Solomon Islands does have a Thanksgiving Day on the 26^th of December.  In Australia, Papua New Guinea, and other countries December 26^th is also a national holiday but referred to as Boxing Day.

Holiday times, especially since our family was always very close, brings a little homesick feeling to me.  But God has given me a lot of family around the world and we are blessed in so many ways.  We are so looking forward to our kids Geoff and Churie with the GRANDkids [Raina and Felicity] coming in just under 2 weeks.  They'll be here for Christmas and

plan to stay for 1 year.

( Picture on Left is the Class at Rhema School)

This time of the year is our end of school graduations and activities in the Solomon Islands.  Wednesday 26^th I was asked and accepted the invitation to be the guest of honor at the graduation and school closing of Honiara Christian Academy (HCA), an ACE school operated by the Rhema Family Church.  They have a school for Kindy [USA pre-class] through grade 1.  They graduated their Kindy students, ABC students [equivalent to USA Kindergarten], and Grade 1 students.  It was neat seeing them in their little gowns.  I noticed they were walking a little funny, then I realized the trouble, they were all wearing new shoes that they bought to wear with their graduation uniforms.  I think the shoes were hurting their feet, as normally children here walk barefoot, esp. inside and if not barefoot they will be in flip flops.  It was neat seeing them all in their spiffy clothes and nice shiny black shoes.   After graduation it did not take them long to get out of their shoes.  The principle of HCA, Ruth Edwards, is a long time friend and a Nazarene girl, at least before she married this wonderful man who was a member of the Rhema church and he "stole her away." 

(Picture on Left Most of the Students in the Grade 6 Class)

Then our Zion Christian Academy (ZCA), operated by the Zion Church of the Nazarene, in Honiara held its graduation on Thursday morning.  I don't remember exactly how many we graduated but we had approximately 30 Kindy, 30 ABC, 19 grade 6, and 20 high school students graduate.  I did not have a responsibility at this graduation which made it fun for me just being there, shaking hands, and taking photos.  That's what I love to do, so it was like a holiday for me.  Three of the grade 6 girls have been in Zion since

Kindy.  It is always a joy seeing these kids grow up and mature right before our eyes. 

(Some of High School class marching in)

Then there is one young man, Henry, who graduated from High School.  Henry is a miracle.  He has been in our school since the start of ZCA (1997).  Henry has a very severe disability.  He has Cerebral Palsy real bad.  Due to his

condition he can hear but is unable to speak, and his arms and legs are deformed.  He is an exceptionally bright student.  Even with his condition he is an excellent artist and communicates by writing and those who know him can understand his signs.  When I get around to it I'll post his picture on my blog.  Henry is one of the students that would not have been able to make it through the conventional education system.  With our ACE program Henry was not only able to make it, but he was also an inspiration to everyone around him.  At the graduation, as Henry was receiving his diploma, my eyes become watery and I couldn't hold back the tears.  I had to give him a hug and tell him, "I'm so proud of you, son."

(Henry.  He is also the middle student marching in the above photo.)

(The following are some photos from the ZCA closing ceremony.  This first one is the Kindy class in a Drama dressed in traditional dress and presenting gifts to the Christ Child.)

This second Photo is the same drama at the Manger with the angels behind. The third photo is the High School drama.  This is depicting the final judgement and Satan coming to take his followers with him.

As with any drama it is hard to capture it on photos.

Nancy was not feeling well.  She's doing better now.  Anyway she did not feel she could attend the graduations.  Graduations here do not get over in a hurry.  Wednesday Graduation, I was at HCA from 3 – 7 p.m.  and Thursday at ZCA from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.  Thursday evening Nancy fixed a Thanksgiving dinner complete with chicken (Turkey is TOO expensive), dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce (It too is expensive, but I splurged), and corn.  We'll have to wait for the pie.

(Pictured on Left is Jane Ramo receiving her prize.  Her teacher Freida Donga is in the yellow shirt.  Jane, is a wonderful Christian girl and is one of the new members taken into our Zion church this year.  Freida is also a member of our church.)

Then yesterday (Friday) I was in my office around 10 a.m. when about 5 girls from the 3^rd grade class came up to my office door.  When I opened the door, Jane, one of the students who is a member of our church, said, "Uncle George, we'd like to invite you to come down to our class's closing party."  Of course, busy or not, who could refuse such an invitation.  I went down to their classroom and saw the table spread with all kinds of local delicacies.  So I was able to enjoy a wonderful meal with the 3^rd grade class.  Nancy still did not feel like she could make it down the hill.

School's are closing and it won't be long until Honiara will be emptied out as people start to leave for the Holidays.

Today 12 students and 3 teachers sponsors are departing for a week in Australia to attend an ACE student convention.  This is our first time to attend such an event.  Pray for them as they go.  The students will participate in different events.  It has been a real challenge for them to get everything together to go.

Pray for Nancy.  She tripped and fell a while back and her leg is sore.  It is doing better now, but she is keeping it elevated and staying off of it as much as possible.

Thank you for your prayers,

George & Nancy Miller PO Box 712 Honiara, Solomon Islands george_nancy@reachone.com Phone: (677)25-109 Mobile: (677)68-920

Prayer Update Nov 20, 2008 (Nov22/08)

Dear Prayer Partner,

 Thank you for your prayers.  Continue to intercede for the Solomon Islands.

 Geoffrey and Churie:  They are getting excited about coming to the Solomon's.  We went into the Labor office and their work permits are not yet signed by the Commissioner of Labor.  Pray for these to be released as we have to have this first before submitting the application for the resident permit.  They plan to arrive on December 9^th, traveling through Fiji.

  Jimmy and Mirriam Olifisau and their two young daughters, arrived on

November 16^th.   In my last letter I mentioned that it looked like they would be able to come on November 9^th.  Well Mirriam's passport had expired and they didn't have a passport for their daughters.  We have a former SI missionary, Rev. Andrew Moime, who is a PNG citizen.  He was in Port Moresby at the time and he felt he could possibly get the paperwork through.  It might have worked if the contacts he knew were available when he went into immigration.  Well, the immigration people were in a meeting and he faced another problem too in that Jimmy had overstayed his VISA.  Anyway it was really a miracle getting all this done to get them back as soon as we did.  I was able to introduce them to the assembly during the last service.  I wish they would have been in all the district assembly meetings and able to participate in the discussions.  Pray for them as they begin to start their ministry. 

 

 

 District Assembly and Meetings:

Here are a few of the highlights of the Meetings.

 ·        The services were well attended each evening.  Many responded to the challenge presented by Dr. Middendorf to say "Yes" in response to God's call.  

    ·        Baru Dirye, a long time friend from Papua New Guinea, came and challenged our people in the area of stewardship and prayer.

·        It is always a pleasure to have Harmon Schmelzenbach visit.  With his wealth of missionary experience growing up as an MK in Africa.  For those non-Nazarenes on my mailing list, Harmon's great grandfather with the same name, began the Nazarene work in the Kingdom of Swaziland in the Southern part of Africa.  Now Harmon is the 4^th generation Nazarene Missionary.  Those who know him, know that he is an excellent story teller.  He has an ability to connect with people.

Picture on left is taken during the service.  Pictured is Baru Dirye, Harmon Schmelzenbach, & Dr. Jesse Middendorf.  This was the opening service.

 

 

 

Pictured On the Right is the Children all wearing their 100th Anniversary T-Shirt.  "Out of many ONE, out of ONE, MANY.

 ·        Opening Sunday we had 124 partake of communion and there were a number of children also.     It was exciting seeing the youth and children so involved in the program this year.

  Here are some other photos from our meetings.  I trust you enjoy these.

 

Photo on Left: Three cakes that Nancy baked and decorated for the 100th anniversary Sunday, October 5th.

 

 

 Pictured on Left are two students coloring a teaching cloth which is a visual illustration of the 16 articles of faith of the Church of the Nazarene.  We took a white sheet and hemmed it to make it an A3 size and the students colored it with crayons and then we ironed it to melt the wax into the fabric to make it durable and something they can use as a teaching aid.

 

 

 

Even the children got in on some of the coloring.  We made 17 of these.  That way each church will have one to take home and use.

 

 

 The photos below are taken at the Baptism we had in the Lungga River.

We had the service at the bridge at the water's edge.  This is an early morning baptism as we left the church area at 7 a.m. to go to the river.   

·        We have reported 32 new members received this year by Profession of Faith.  On the down side we lost members so we reported as a district a net loss of one.

·        I'm not sure what happened but half of our churches did not attend and report this year.  When the pastors went to their church on the October 5^th Sunday, they returned confident that we would have an excellent turn out.  Evidently the travel expense to come to Honiara may have prevented some from attending.

·        Our water lasted until after the assembly ended.

·        There were no blackouts during the meetings. 

 Water Problems:

We ran out of water on Monday morning when they were preparing to return.  We have not had water since.  Pray for rain or for the city water supply to work.  I've connected the water supply to our tank attempting to fill it up.  For 2 nights now the water has not run at all during the night.  I'm not sure what the problem is.  The power has been out a lot in town which may be part of the problem.  On the positive side of things we are on the same feeder line with the hospital so our power stays on more than much of town.

 Zion Christian Academy:

The new toilet block is almost completed.  We have run out of cement and there is none available in town.

 Prayer is requested for Zion Christian Academy.  We are looking for a Principal and will need to hire some teachers for next year.  Pray for guidance for the selection of the right principal to lead the school.  ZCA is facing some issues and really would appreciate your prayers.

 Nancy's Class:

After the assembly the student's who were attending Nancy's Christian Education class really dropped off.  This past week there were only 2 students one day and 3 the other day who came to the class.

 Your Partner in His Ministry,

George Miller
PO Box 712 Honiara,
Islands
phone: (677) 25 109
Mobile: (677) 68920
george_nancy@reachone.com

Prayer and Praise Update 1 November 2008(Nov1/08)

1 November 2008

Dear Prayer Partner,

 

Praises and Prayer needs:

 

Telephone service Restored:  After one month without telephone lines or Internet in the house are once again operational.  Praise the Lord!!  (Except our phone calls were diverted to our "Fixed mobile number" and they have not un-diverted our calls yet, but that should be easy to remedy.  I'm not sure what is taking them so long.  We've been receiving about 3-4 calls daily from the Telekom service, calling our number, checking to see if it's fixed.

 

Mirriam Olofisau: Her paperwork for her resident permit has arrived.  We went to town yesterday and lodged it.  Our District Assembly and meeting is from November 9 – 16.  They said I can pick it up on Tuesday.  I booked them to return to the Solomon Islands on Sunday 9^th of November so they will be able to attend our District Assembly meetings.   Jimmy and Mirriam are both Bible College Graduates from our Melanesian Nazarene Bible College in Papua New Guinea.  Jimmy has lived there for the past 9 years.  After going to PNG with his parents, he felt the call to preach, enrolled in BC, and stayed back after his parent's return to SI.  He then married a Papua New Guinea lady.  They have two children.  Jimmy graduated from BC and his return was delayed due to bride price payment and other issues that needed to be sorted out.  Anyway for the past 3-4 years they have been pastors at a church in Western Highlands, PNG.  Jimmy was ordained a year ago.  Pray for them as they return to the Solomon's.  Also pray for us as we work together to place them in the right area of ministry.

 

Geoffrey and Churie:  Their paperwork arrived Thursday too.  We lodged their work permit yesterday.  Pray for them as they plan to arrive in December.  

 

Natalie Ward:  Please pray for Natalie Ward, the wife of our Regional Director.  Natalie sufferred from blood clots in her leg and then experienced chest pain and was hospitalized for a while but is now at home.  Still pray for her healing.   They were both looking forward to being with us for the assembly.  Verne and Natalie were quite involved in the SI during the early days and they certainly have a lot of friends here.  Of course it is a disappointment that they will not be able to make it this time.  Keep them in your prayers.

 

This is the latest I received concerning Natalie. -  We praise God that the doctor has confirmed that her lungs are clear!  That is quite an answer to prayer, given her initial symptoms that seemed to indicate clots had moved to her lungs.  

 

Honiara Youth Rally:  This rally is being held this weekend.  I'm so busy that I won't be able to attend much, but our Nazarene Youth will lead the worship and service Sunday evening and then our Jesus Film Team will close the program Sunday Evening with the showing of the Jesus Film.  Pray for a spiritual breakthrough among our Solomon Island youth.

 

District Meetings 9-16 November:  Be much in prayer for these and the preparations.  Pray for those who will attend.

I'm enclosing a brief program below so you can pray specifically.  Pray for the organization committee as they get ready and Nancy and I as we make preparations to teach and preach some too.  It seems like there have been a lot of interruptions and disturbances.

 

Sunday 9 Nov.  Opening Service – Baru Dirye, Nazarene Health Secretary from PNG, to Preach (Communion Service will be held)

            Afternoon – Centennial Celebration Reports and Centennial Video

            Evening 6 p.m. – George Miller to Preach

Monday 10  Morning 8:30 — Devotions and worship – Baru

            Daytime – Sunday School training Classes and meeting with Ministerial Boards

            Evening 7 p.m. – Baru to Preach

Tuesday 11 Beginning 8:00 – Devotion by George Miller and Business meeting

            Evening 7 p.m. – Jesse Middendorf, General Superintendent to preach

Wednesday 12 Morning devotion and evening message as well as classes during the day with the GS.

Thursday 13 Morning – Devotion by GS

            Daytime – Classes Nazarene Missions International (NMI) and Church Finance Class.

            Evening Service – Harmon Schmelzenbach to preach

Friday 14 Morning – Devotion by Harmon

            Daytime – Classes in use of the proclaimer (hopefully following the class we'll have 10 proclaimers in the field.)  Proclaimer is a device shaped much like radio that has the New Testament recorded in Pijin so everyone can hear the Word.  Also there will be a class in the Articles of Faith (teaching pictures).

            Evening Service – NMI Service Osborn Fagea our district NMI president to Preach and organize.

Saturday 15 Morning – Dickson Manongi, our District SS Chairman, to have devotion and talk about Bible Foundation Classes.  (In the SI Sunday School is viewed as being for kids so we have to change the name.

            Daytime – Classes in functions of Church officers, and baptism class

            Afternoon – 4-6 p.m. Celebration feast

            Evening – Mairy Walesara, Our District Women's president will preach.

Sunday 16 Morning 7:30 a.m. – Baptism service in the Lunga River

            Morning 9:00 a.m. – Worship Service – Baru to Preach.

            Closing Service 6 p.m.  George to Preach

 

Please bathe this with prayer.  Pray for those coming from the provinces and outer islands.  Some will be arriving as early as Wednesday 5^th, so they will get here on time.  We rely heavily on ship schedules which can change without notice and are so dependent on Weather.

 

Note:  With the district meeting starting next week, also we are trying to finish a toilet block, so you may not hear from us for a couple of weeks.

 

Your partners in His Ministry,

George Miller PO Box 712 Honiara, Solomon Islands phone: (677) 25 109 Phone: (677) 43320 Mobile: (677) 68920 george_nancy@reachone.com

Prayer Update 3 October 2008 (Oct5/08)

Dear Prayer Partner,

 Telephone Lines destroyed:

Yes this past week end our telephone lines to our area of Honiara were destroyed.  This means no email, internet, phone calls, etc.  I'm writing this letter not knowing when it will go out, but I'm planning a trip to town today and will use an internet café or something to hookup.  I suspect when I return from town we'll be the proud owners of a mobile phone.  I have put off purchasing a mobile because they are so expensive.  Now may be the time! 

 

Here is what happened to our phones.  There was an accident last week (Thursday or Friday afternoon) when a drunk driver ran off the road and down an embankment, crashing into a house below.  At the top of the hill, he hit the telephone pole, bending the line closer to the road.  Then on Saturday a large truck hit the telephone pole by our property further damaging the telephone system and lowering the lines.  Another accident or something happened Saturday night or Sunday morning that took another telephone pole down.  Now the large phone cable was really close to the road and essentially our road was closed except for standard sized vehicles.  Our land cruiser just had enough clearance to pass under the cable.  Do you think this large cable running across the road deterred the gravel truck from barreling through?  Not on your life, so Monday Morning about 8:30 the gravel truck ripped out the lines, and pulled down the telephone poles.  The sad thing to me was the driver of the truck just laughed about it, with no feeling of remorse or responsibility.

 Please keep the emails coming, but if you don't get an immediate email response from us this is the explanation.  We get to town maybe twice weekly these days so don't expect an immediate turn-around.  We will try to reply immediately to emergency messages that can be answered with short answers and do not require much investigation.  

 Bible College Class:

We just completed the Bible College block classes.  This is our final block class for this year as our next block courses will be March 2009.  Dr. David McEwan came up from Australia as our guest lecturer.  He taught 2 courses Pauline Epistles and Theology 2.  Nancy and I together taught one course, Gospel and Culture.  19 students took the Pauline Epistles, 12 took Theology 2, and 9 took the Gospel and Culture class.  We hope to graduate our first class in May 2009 with a diploma in ministry.  Currently we have 4 student on target to graduate.

 Nancy is teaching the Christian Education program through our South Pacific Nazarene Theological College.  Last term she taught two courses, "Christian Worldview" and "Theology of Education".  This term she is teaching 2 classes, "Teaching Methods", and "Curriculum Planning and Evaluation".  She holds these classes after school so our teaching staff can attend.  Each class meets one afternoon per week from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.  Upon completion of the eight classes the students will be awarded a certificate in Christian Education.

 100^th Anniversary:

Our church is gearing up for the 100^th anniversary of the Church of the Nazarene denomination.  This will be held in each of our local churches on Sunday 5^th October.  In our Zion church in Honiara we have been promoting and making preparations for this event.  It looks like everything is coming together beautifully for a wonderful time of celebration.   We will begin with a Saturday night service at 7 p.m.  Then our Sunday morning service begins at 10 a.m.   We will have a number of special items, show the centennial DVD made for this occasion, celebrate the Lord's Supper, and have our centennial message.  Following the service we will have a feast.   Pray for Pastor Dickson Manongi, and the Zion congregation during this time.  Also pray for our other pastors who will be traveling and holding special services in various local churches.  Pastor Simeon at Nukukaisi; Dolasi traveling to Bethel community in NE Malaita; Lazarus to Alisisiu, E. Malaita; Geoffrey to Macedonia, on W. Guadalcanal; Caleb and Joshua to Vella la vella; Barnabas to Kwailatutu and W. Kwaio; Jeremy to Beri and E. Kwaio (Jeremy is delayed due to no ship to his place so their celebration will be delayed); Revelation and Eric to the Churches in Central Kwara'ae, Malaita Province.  Many of these are student pastors who were just in Honiara for Bible College classes and are now being sent out or in most cases back home with the centennial message for this special weekend.

 Geoffrey and Churie:

Our son Geoff and Churie are planning on arriving in the Solomon's on December 9^th.  Pray for them as they make preparations to come.  Geoffrey is preparing to help us begin a vocational training school and Churie would like to help in our Zion Christian Academy and in other areas too.

 The funeral service for their daughter, Natalie, who died shortly after birth was beautiful, according to the reports we received.  We want again to thank you for your prayers and support for them during this time.  At the funeral the children (sisters and cousins) released pink and white balloons.  She was buried at Redrock cemetery which is beside the Redrock United Methodist Church, near Calumet, Oklahoma.  Walking through this cemetery is like walking through the family tree as our ancestors on my mother's side settled in the Redrock community and many of our relatives are buried there.  The cemetery also allowed the family to

open and close the grave.  I have never seen this done in the USA before.  Of course where we've served for the past 19 years that is the common practice.

 

 

 

Other Prayer Needs:

1.     District Assembly, along with the worship and evangelistic services and the workshops will be held November 9-16.  Pray for the following visitors planning to come.  Our General Superintendent, Dr. Jesse Middendorf and wife will be here from Nov 11-13; Baru Dirye, Nazarene Health Ministries, Health Secretary, in Papua New Guinea, will be visiting from Nov 7-17; Verne and Natalie Ward, Regional Director and wife, will be visiting from Nov 11-13; and Harmon Schmelzenbach, the assistant to the Field Strategy Coordinator, will be here from Nov 11-14.  We are looking forward to a great time serving the Lord.

2.     Our Jesus Film Ministry – We are at a cross-roads in this ministry and need some divine direction. Pray for ministry and use of the "Proclaimers", which I mentioned in a previous prayer letter.

3.     Pray for Zion Christian Academy, our elementary and high school. 

4.     This is a World-wide problem but our Solomon Islanders are really feeling the squeeze from the world economic situation.  Rice our staple food product has recently doubled in price.  Fuel prices have more than doubled.  Of course when fuel prices go up, everything goes up, but the wages have not kept up.  This leads to much discontent.

5.     Pray for James.  James is an elderly man, who is an excellent carpenter and builder.  He is currently working around the mission.  He is basically working as a volunteer with us just providing food and a modest stipend to keep him going.  He is helping with some building needs and stretching our budget.

6.     Pray for Jimmy and Miriam Olofisau.  Jimmy is a Solomon Islander who has graduated, three years ago, from the Melanesian Nazarene Bible College in Papua New Guinea.  While in PNG he married Miriam, also a Bible College graduate.  They have been serving as a pastors in PNG.  Pray for their paper work getting completed so Miriam can immigrate to the Solomon's.  I'd love to get them back before District Assembly in November.

 Thanks for your prayer support.

George Miller PO Box 712 Honiara, Solomon Islands phone: (677) 25 109 george_nancy@reachone.com

Geoff and Churie and Natalie (Sep12/08)

Dear prayer partner,

I want to thank you for your prayers.  We have received hundreds of letters assuring us of your prayers.  Many letters represent a prayer chain network indicating that a church or Sunday School class is praying.  You don't know how much encouragement these letters have been.  I wish I could have been there to grieve with Geoff & Churie, Raina & Felicity, their two daughters who were looking forward to the birth of this sister, and the rest of the family.

 

Here is some of the details.  I trust this information is correct as I am writing from a distance and going on my 50+ year old memory from telephone and Skype conversations. 

 

As you prayed for Churie, we had a most encouraging U/S and were rejoicing in a miracle just a few months ago.  Follow up sonograms revealed that there was an over abundance of amniotic fluid.  Then a week or two ago Churie began having some contractions and went to the doctor.  She was huge and she was kept for observation but released later on strict bed rest.  While Churie was on bed rest, Felicity, their two year old was not.  Geoffrey was at work and there are a few stories about Felicity including how she fixed her own Oreos (a brand of cookie or biscuit for our Melanesian prayer partners).  Raina, the 5 year old, was at school.  Churie's mom and dad, Dale and Kathy Blake are pastor in a church on SW Oklahoma district, an hour and half of so away.  Kathy took a leave of absence from her job so she could stay with them to help Churie until after the baby was born, and Churie was back going again. 

 

Then we received the call from Geoff telling us of Churie's hospitalization.  That she was having contractions and that there was a lot of amniotic fluid.  The U/S also showed fluid on the baby's lungs (pleural effusion) and fluid in other places in the baby's body.  It did not sound good.  After Churie was admitted, they began to give her steroids to help the baby develop, because the doctor knew the only possibility for the baby's survival was an early delivery by C-section.

 

The baby was delivered by C-section on 10 September at 5:30 p.m. or so local time.  There was seven liters of amniotic fluid removed from Churie during the delivery.   Following the delivery they began working with the baby to save her life.  They put in tubes to remove the fluid from her swollen body and to assist in her breathing.  The lungs were really in poor condition.  After 45 minutes the doctor came to Geoff, Churie, and the waiting family with the grim news that they tried but felt they would not be able to save this little one.  The birth weight of the baby was around 7 pounds but after the 45 minutes and removal of the fluid the weight went down to around 4 pounds.  They then removed all the tubes and gave this little girl to the mother, father, and family to

spend some time with.  They named her, Natalie Grace, and little Natalie passed away within about 45 minutes.  The girls were able to hold their sister and say their good byes.   There was a professional photographer there who took some photos.  The photos will be posted on the company's web site soon.  They kept their precious daughter in the room until 11 p.m. or so and then released Natalie's body to the funeral staff who were going to do an autopsy on her prior to her burial. 

 

As far as a memorial service they did not wish to have one right away, but maybe later with just the photos.  For those who would like to contact them here is their email address.  Geoffrey's oasispaint@gmail.com  Churie's bag_lady_churie@yahoo.com

 

Churie is sore from the C-section but otherwise in good health.  She plans to be dismissed from the hospital Saturday morning local time.  Kathy will be staying with her for some time and help her with the children.  Thank you again for your prayers.  As you remember Geoff and Churie are preparing to come to the Solomon Islands and help us in the ministry here.  We were so looking forward to holding this new grand baby, but that will now have to wait for heaven.  Continue to pray for Geoff and Churie during the grieving process.

 

Thanks,

George Miller

PO Box 712

Honiara, Solomon Islands

phone: (677) 25 109

george_nancy@reachone.com