Thank you for your prayers. I did not have time to write this past week, since the kids left because I have been really busy, but want to thank you for remembering us in your prayers.
Wedding last Saturday:
Saturday I conducted a wedding or as they say here I prayed over their marriage. This is one of Nancy’s school teachers. They had a custom marriage and wanted a Christian marriage. Usually these weddings where they are already married according to custom are small and not a great lot of pomp and ceremony. When I talked with the couple this was what was planned but as it progressed it became a big shindig. The bride was adorned with full bridal dress with a long train and the brides maid and groomsmen all 
beautifully and handsomely adorned. The wedding “uniform” as it was called was donated by a single young man.
His father bought the outfits for the marriage of his first born and it has been passed down for all his siblings to use and he is the last to wed. It was interesting because they recruited the bridal party to fit the clothing. The suit for the groom was too large but he still looked nice. Pray for Steven, the teacher, and his new wife Elizabeth. It was really sad for them because neither one of their family’s attended the wedding.
Steven did not have a single relative attend. Elizabeth had a great uncle, who is a member of our church attend. I don’t know for sure why they didn’t attend but I feel maybe because they had no money or food to contribute and they recently put on a big custom wedding. Anyway the church family made it a special time for them.
Death of Bible College Student and House Church Pastor:
received a phone call Sunday morning that Joash Tisa, one of our Bible College Students and house church pastor, passed away. He died around 4 a.m. on Sunday morning. On Facebook I wrote his wife’s name was Joyce, but her name is Nancy. [I’m not sure how I confused that one, but I had a senior moment and couldn’t remember her name and so asked someone and they told me “Joyce”] During our Sunday morning worship time, I felt that I should try to attend, and so I prayed that if there is easy travel available for Sunday I’d go. Checking with the airline, the 
plane to Auki was nearly empty so I left at 4:30 p.m. to travel to Auki and then our church people there were waiting for me with a truck for the trip to Bina 1 hour or so South of Auki. Bina is a 30 min walk from the Kwailatutu Church. Nancy and the family were overjoyed to think that I would come to see them and they were really glad to see me. 
grandson but they are raising him as their own] and the baby is 3 years old with probably severe cerebral palsy. He cannot even turn over by himself. I asked Nancy, “Has he been sick since birth?” And she replied, “He’s not sick he is just weak.” Joash woke up early on Sunday morning and told his wife to gather the children and get ready for their house church fellowship. He wanted to have an early breakfast and have their service and then he was going to go up on the mountain to spend 3 days in prayer and fasting. Around 4:00 a.m. he had a heart attack and told his wife to rub his chest because it really hurt. Then he told her, “It’s time for me to go now, and said good bye to her and went to meet Jesus.” 
Joash served as a senior pastor in his denomination, until his unwed daughter became pregnant and he was expelled from the church and ministry, because he did not control his daughter. Then after the church rejected him, he began having home fellowship with his family and other youth. After six years, out of the church and ministry, he came to the Nazarene church and began taking classes at our Bible College. At his funeral was the first time, since the disciplinary action forced him out of the ministry, that he or his family have attended the church where he use to pastor. I trust that through his death maybe healing can take place within this community. His elder children were really spiritually affected by all this and I talked to them and am praying that they will repent. While there I witnessed them indicate that they were going to make some changes. Pray for the eldest three children [their names are Frank, John, and Joy].
On Monday, I preached at his funeral, to a packed church house. I spent two night with the family in mourning. Sunday night I went to bed at 4:30 a.m. and got up at 6:30. Then Monday night I went to bed at 1:00 a.m. but didn’t sleep well due to the mourners coming and the loud crying outside the bedroom where I was sleeping. It was a good time as I was able to share in their grief and also was able to talk with the children and encourage Nancy and the family.
Joash was 52 years old and Nancy is 12 years or so his junior. They have been married since Nancy was 15 years old. Please remember her in your prayers.
Geoffrey, Churie, Raina, and Felicity:
Geoff and family had some interesting stories in getting to the USA. Their flight on August 25th was cancelled. What happened was the civil employees including the airport, immigration, and customs went on strike which shut down all international travel. The strike was resolved at noon on Monday 24th but Air Pacific cancelled the Tuesday flight, and did not resume it on Tuesday even though the airport was open. Now we prepared for them to stay to catch the once a week flight on Tuesday 1st September. At around 4 p.m. on Tuesday 25th we received a call from the travel agent that they are putting on a special flight for Wednesday morning 26th and it would depart around 8:30 a.m. So they got into high gear and rushed to the travel agent to pick up the tickets to Nadi, Fiji, but once in Fiji they had no onward tickets, and would have to sort it all out there. The Wednesday flight, arriving from Fiji, was carrying a coffin of a Telekom employee or wife of an employee who died will on study leave in Fiji. Whether that is the reason for the special flight, we do not know. An influential friend of ours traveling to Fiji told us that she called the Prime Minister and requested he call the PM of Fiji and try to resolve this at the diplomatic level. Anyway they got out on Wednesday, only one day late.
On arriving in Fiji the airline finally agreed to put them up in a hotel to await their flight out on Thursday night. During the night Felicity awoke crying with an ear infection, and the ear was draining pus again. On the flight home it got worse, and we were glad that the Lord provided this plane. We felt her ear was cleared up and I even wondered if their early departure was necessary. She went to an ENT in Dallas the morning after arrival. I just talked with Geoffrey and her ears are still draining. Pray that they will find out the source of this infection and get medical intervention to clear it up.
Pray for them as they resettle in the USA and as Geoffrey begins work. They have found a house to rent. God is providing for them. Geoffrey had three job offers before he left the Solomon’s. Geoffrey is very industrious and it has never been hard for him to find or keep a job.
George & Nancy Miller
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