Dear Prayer Partner,
George & Nancy Miller
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.
