Here is some highlights of the memorial service for my brother.
Sunday Evening April 5th:
We had a viewing and sharing service at the Camp Creek Church of the Nazarene for family and Camp Creek Church folks and friends who could make it. The Camp Creek church was full. There was probably around 100 or more in attendance. Their interim DS Rev. CJ Kinzler officiated at the service and this was a open time for people to share memories about Wes. Then at the close I was given some time to share.
Monday Morning Funeral:
The family met at the Camp Creek church and followed the Hearse into Vici, Oklahoma, to the high school auditorium. We booked the auditorium because of the large attendance expected. The weather was chilly and for this man just in from the Solomon Islands it was downright cold. We arrived at the Auditorium at right at 10 a.m. and when we entered the auditorium it was pretty full. I just couldn’t hold back the tears, as I thought of the love shown toward this brother of mine. The auditorium has seating for 750 and we estimate an attendance of 700. There was around 150 family members with all the cousins and some very close friends 
that are like family. There were a number of pastors [estimate 120 pastors and wives] in attendance. Rev. Todd Derbyshire, a personal friend and pastor from Wichita Falls, Tex was the MC and Rev. Henry Siems, personal friend and pastor from Stillwater Church brought the message. Rev. CJ Kinzler, NW Oklahoma District Superintendant, read the obituary. I gave some personal reflections on my brother’s life. I would like to share some of the personal reflection with you too. Many of you knew my brother, some did not, some of you were at the funeral while others were not able to attend.
Reflections of George Miller concerning His
1. At 6 years of age I began praying for a baby brother. Mother had 5 miscarriages after I was born and it looked like she would not be able to have another child. Wesley was a miracle baby. It was 
while I worked in laboratory medicine that I realized what mother’s problem was. It was an Rh incompatibility. I was Rh pos and mother was Rh neg and had built up Rh antibodies, from my delivery, that caused her multiple abortions. When mother became pregnant with Wes in my childlike faith I knew she would go to term and my brother would be born healthy. Mother asked me, “What if it is a sister.” I replied, “It won’t be a sister, because I prayed for a brother and God ain’t deaf.” Wesley was born the day following my 7th birthday.
2. Wesley was around 6 years old when he became sick and blood test showed leukemia. Mother and the church prayed for him and he was miraculously healed from this dreaded disease. Dr. Hollingsworth, our family physician in El Reno, Ok, later when he would see Wes referred to him as his miracle baby.
3. He was still a teenager when he got married. He referred to his marriage to Sara as the, “Second best thing he ever did.” You probably know what was the best thing.
4. I really appreciate my sister-in-law because during the years when Wesley was backslidden she had every right to divorce him. Our family took Sara in as a daughter and Sister. When Wesley was living for himself and following the worldly ways our dad told him, “Son, if you want to leave, Go ahead, but Sara and the girls are ours.”
5. When the Lord got a hold of him that Friday Afternoon around 3:30 p.m. he did an about face. Instant transformation, as he was headed in one direction and turned around 180° and went the other way.
6. He would go and confront his old drinking buddies and they would say, “Wes you are a little belligerent.” To which Wes would reply, “I was a belligerent sinner.”
7. Wesley had a passion for the lost souls. He would confront anyone with the claims of the gospel. When some family member was going astray, I’ve heard him say more than once, “I think I’ll go and lay hands on him (her), and pray for healing later.” He’d then add, “I know where this road is leading, and it ain’t good, because I’ve been there and done that.”
8. He was called to preach at 14 years old when he saw Jesus, or a vision of Jesus in the sky, and Jesus told him he wanted him to preach. Later when he came under deep conviction and I confronting him with the gospel he told me, “If I repent and come back to Christ now, I can’t preach now, because I have a wife and 2 daughters to care for.” I told him to, “Leave that up to God.”
9. Well he did surrender his life to God and was a preacher for these past 25 years and most of those in the service here today, outside of family, are those he has impacted during the past 25 years, of his life, when he was serving the Lord.
Final Thoughts: Wesley experienced Jesus. Why was he an effective preacher and evangelist? He had a relationship with Jesus. He loved Jesus. He lived Jesus, and he preached what he knew. Dr. Carl Summer, my long time friend and former DS of SW Ok district once told me, “A man with an experience is never confused by someone with an argument”, and Wesley definitely had an experience with Jesus.
One time Wesley was asked by a young pastor struggling to prepare sermons, “How much time do you spend preparing your sermon?” He replied, “You won’t like this but to write it down requires about 20 min. But my sermon ideas and thoughts come from a dynamic daily devotion, reading, and communicating with God. I then just preach my devotions, but I only spend about 20 minutes in writing my sermon notes down on paper.”
Wesley has discovered what the apostle Paul said in Romans 14:8, “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (NIV) Then in Philippians 1:21 it says, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (NIV)
Cowboy Funeral:
Wesley’s body was carried away from the funeral in a horse drawn hearse. I with other family members traveled behind in another horse drawn wagon. It was cold in the open wagon, especially with the Oklahoma wind blowing, so it was mostly Wes and my grandchildren riding in the wagon. We traveled 6 blocks from the auditorium to the funeral home, where we transferred the body to a modern Cadillac hearse for the long ride to the cemetery. I learned something about cowboy funerals. They had Wes’s horse following the hearse with Wes’s boots tied backwards in the stirrups, indicating that the cowboy had died. Wesley was a cowboy pastor too and held some cowboy revivals and they have a yearly roundup, for which Wesley was the pastor.
Family Dinner:
We had probably 150 or so attend the family dinner. The dinner was held in the Camp Creek Church fellowship hall and gym, where Wesley was pastor. This was a huge feast. I have been to a lot of family dinners but this probably was the largest spread of food I’d ever seen. Most of the servers and workers at the dinner were women from the community, not the Camp Creek Church members. Wesley has made a big impact in the community.
Burial Service:
The burial service was held at the Red Rock United Methodist Church Cemetery near Calumet Oklahoma. Walking through that
Wesley and I were raised at the Darlington State Game Farm where our father worked. At the farm they primarily raised Bob White quail for the state of Oklahoma Wildlife Dept. We lived on the farm and our nearest neighbors were the Brother’s family. They were like kin. We were very close so we asked them to join the family. They set with the family during the funeral, and we intended them to come to the dinner with the family, but there was a miscommunication and so the 13 of them went to a restaurant in Seiling, Ok to eat. When they finished their meal and went to pay for their dinner, the waitress said, “Your meals were covered by someone else.” They were shocked because they did not know anyone in Seiling, and have no idea of who paid for their dinner. They told me this story and it is a testimony to the love and support given from a wonderful community and a tribute to a truly great man.
Thank you for your prayers,
George & Nancy Miller
No comments:
Post a Comment