Saturday, March 28, 2009

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 (9th 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 8th 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


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