Prayer Update 28 October 2009

Dear Prayer partner,

DS Conference: 

Pray for our DS conference coming up in a few days.  Because of the flights in and out of the Solomon’s I need to depart on Thursday 29^th October and will return to Honiara on 10^th November.   The conference is in Malaysia from the 2-6 November.  A few days before and after the conference I’ll be staying in Australia at the Nazarene Theological College.  I plan to use this time to prepare for the upcoming district assembly.

District Assembly:

Be in prayer for our District Assembly and meetings coming up Dec 8-13.  The actual business will be conducted in one morning.  We are planning this for Saturday morning 12^th.  Our first Bible College graduation (3  students) will be held in the afternoon of the 12^th.  We have the 5 days so we can get in a lot of teaching/training.  This year our emphasis  is going to be on prayer.

Women/Youth camp:

Over the Christmas time Dec 20-27 or such the Women and youth are going to Nukukaisi village, Makira Island for a combined camp.  Nancy and I will go for this too.  Pray for us as we prepare to share at this camp.

Other Items of thanks:

Thank you for your prayers and for those who have given money for the water project.  I should have enough now to start drilling the bore hole.  Please remember us in your prayers.  I hope to have the hole drilled by Christmas.  Also I want to get some security doors installed before Christmas too.  This is a result of our recent break-in.  Trying to secure our house so we have more piece of mind.  Christmas time is a time of heightened alert and we want to be vigilant.

I want to thank those who have given money for other approved specials.  We have built some churches or are in the process of building them, replaced timber in another church, built a parsonage, helped with some Bible College student scholarships, purchased some bicycles for pastors, purchased some Coleman lanterns, and guitars to help the village churches, provided a canoe for one pastor.   Thank you for your prayers and your generosity.   I am so sorry that I have not yet visited these places to get the photos that you as donors would like to see. 

Your Partner’s in His Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

Here are some Photo from the Fund Raiser to support the disaster efforts

This photo is Osborn Fagea the District NMI President

The Photo of Enoch, the NMI president

The guest band Echoes of Innocense.

Some of the 300 or so the attended this fund raising event. There was lightning visible in the sky but we did not get rain until after the program was over.

People droping their offering into the collection box.

A fund raiser is not complete without some food and coffee/tea

The Zion youth entertained the guest at their arrival.

Other Local Talent competition and entertainment.

The winner of the competition

Those watching thoroughly enjoyed the evening and the offering was $1461.80. Once converted to US dollars is isn't a lot but it is about a fortnight (2 week) salary for a Bachelor degreed person.

Prayer Update

Dear Prayer partner,

Tsunami

Some of you received letter about the Tsunami warning.  Before I got all the letters sent they cancelled the warning notice.  So some prayer partners didn’t get this one.

Anyway it was exciting for a time.  Today, we were in line at the bank and were the next in line to see the teller when the bank manager came out and said we are closing down the bank for Tsunami warning.  It was not long until all the businesses in town were closed.  Then the highway was full of traffic and so travel home was slow.  Praise the Lord it was a false alarm.

There have been a lot of natural disasters in the Asia Pacific region. Tsunami in Samoa, Flooding and Cyclone in Philippines, Earthquake in Indonesia, etc, etc.  I trust you are in prayer for these needs.  Also October is the month with prayer emphases to pray for those working in the 1040 window.  There are many serving under adverse conditions and many Christians are facing persecution for their faith in God.  Please stand with these brothers and sisters working to aid and bring relief to those hurting and those serving in difficult situations.

Saturday Night:

Saturday night the Solomon Island Zion Church is hosting a benefit band concert, receiving donations for Nazarene Compassionate Ministry, to go toward the relief efforts in Samoa, Philippines, and Indonesia.  Pray for those serving on the teams going into these disaster stricken areas.  Pray for Osborn Fagea, our district NMI President, as he leads this and for the success of this night.  We are not a large church and do not have many members but we want to do our part.  I’ll post the photos on my blog sometime next week.

Thank you for your prayers:

It all happened so fast and I was so shaken that I didn’t write anyone except family about our recent break-in/robbery.  It was in the wee hours of Saturday morning September 26 (4 a.m.) that a gang of masked youth (age 13-20 or so) broke our front door down.  They kicked it in with 3 good strong kicks which broke the locks.  Thank you for your prayers during that time.  I am an early riser and was laying there debating on getting up when I heard the bang that shook the whole house.  We had 12 BC students sleeping downstairs and as I was trying to imagine what on earth they dropped that made that racket, I heard two other crashes.  I got out of bed after the 3^rd bang and went out of my room in time to see them kick the hall door trying to gain entrance.  I shouted and they stopped.  Then from my locked bedroom I rang the police.  We will be purchasing some outside security doors, but armed with the pinch bars, bush knives, pipes, etc, and not caring how much noise they made, they could have torn off the siding and made a hole through the wall if they really wanted to gain entrance. 

The important thing is we are all safe, not much was stolen.  I lost one cheap CD stereo, my BP cuff, and some food from the frig.  If the Lord ever brings us to your mind, whisper a prayer for us.  This incident really shook me up, more than any of our other robberies.  The reason this shook me up was the fact that we had a house full of people and the robbers had to know that, because the Bible College students were here for two weeks up to the point of the robbery.  If we would have had female students they would have been sleeping in the front room with the hallway door unlocked.  It could have been bad and I am so thankful for his protection.

Most of these have been arrested after they broke into the Police Commissioner’s residence.  That brought out the full force of the law.

Your partners in His Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer Update

Dear Prayer Partner,

Bible College Classes:

The Bible College Classes are in progress. Please remember Dr. David McEwan and Nancy Miller in your prayers as they teach these classes. At the conclusion of the last Bible College block we have taught all the classes needed for graduation in the Bible College program. Now we are beginning year one of the block courses. We had three students complete the entire 24 course program and ready for graduation.

After this 2-week course we will have our 4^th student complete the Bible College program. We plan for graduation in conjunction with the District Assembly time. We teach our courses in 4-year cycle (6 courses per year) and we allow students to enroll whenever they can and then once they complete the 24 courses they can graduate.

We teach on a diploma level but for those whose English skills are weak and have trouble with the written assignments we offer a certificate.

David has 20 students in his Doctrine of Holiness class and 20 in his Old Testament Survey. Nancy has three students in the Christian Education class.

Sovereign Grace Church:

This time Pastor Alick Hagi, who is pastor of our newest church, Sovereign Grace Church of the Nazarene, Munda, Western Province, brought four students with him to the Bible College. This church began in February this year. They were given an abandoned building, in Munda, that was built and previously used by another denomination. The timber in the church was badly damaged by termites. The church members with the assistance of some from the Honiara Zion Church, the district chain saw, and approved special money given to build new churches, were able to replace all the timber from the floor to the roof. The floor and bearers were made out of varsa (A timber that is not eaten by termites and wood rot doesn’t affect). They replaced the rest of the timber from flooring to roofing iron, which was termite infested, with the varsa timber. A special thanks to those prayer partners who gave to the approved special for new church buildings.

Rodney, a new Christian from the Sovereign Grace church, gave his testimony how he came to Christ. He is the grandson of one of the first local missionaries who took the gospel into their area in Western Province. Rodney walked away from the Lord and no longer served the Lord but had worked as a policeman. He said as a policeman even though he wasn’t a Christian and did a lot of things that wasn’t right, he stayed on the right side of the law and out of prison. He said, “Now I am a life-timer for Jesus.” He has a glowing smile and is rejoicing in his new life in Christ. Pray for him as God uses him to reach his family.

The Munda church has identified five communities around Munda where God has given them an interested person and contact. There is a church working in these communities that orthodox Christians would refer to as a Christian cult, in fact this is the predominant church surrounding Munda. In this area there is a huge spiritual need. Please join in praying for spiritual breakthrough in these communities. These five communities are referred to as “Platoon 1”, “Platoon 2”, “Platoon 3”, “Platoon 4”, and “Platoon 5”. Outreach into these areas are tough. One recent convert from platoon 5 wanted to move out but Alick has encouraged him to stay in the community as they pray and hold on for God to bring the spiritual victory and breakthrough.

Alabaster Offering:

Our Zion church took up their alabaster offering on Sunday. For those non-Nazarene prayer partners, alabaster offering is an offering collected in February and September and it goes specifically for buildings, construction, and property improvement needs.

Osborn, our district missionary president, decorated a wheel barrow, putting into it some building materials into which people would march by and put the water bottle of money, which they have been collecting over the past 6 months. Go to my blog for photo’s. Early Wednesday morning the nephew of the Osborn passed away and I just returned from the funeral and burial. Osborn has been praying for his family, and would like to request prayer for his family that they will turn to God.

Water Well Update:

I want to thank those who have given money for the water well drilling. Continue to prayer as this will be a major project and we also want to use the water as an evangelistic tool to reach our community for Christ. As soon as Bible College classes are over we will organize the drilling and hopefully have the bore hole finished by Christmas.

Your Partners in His Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

Prayer Update

Dear Prayer Partners,

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:

I 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.

Nancy and Joash have eight children. The eldest three are out of high school, but one is in a vocational school. Three are in high school and one is in the 1^st grade [this child is actually a 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.”

Pray for Nancy as she takes care of the eight children without a father.

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 25^th 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 24^th 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 1^st September. At around 4 p.m. on Tuesday 25^th we received a call from the travel agent that they are putting on a special flight for Wednesday morning 26^th 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

Prayer and Praise Report

Dear Prayer Partner,

Thank you for your prayers.

Scott and Gloria’s Visit:

It was great having Scott and Gloria and their family visit. We had a full house with their three boys along with Geoff and Churie and their two daughters. It was pretty noisy and active around here for a while. It was great. The house is much quieter now. We enjoyed showing them around and Zach, our first born grandchild, was born while Gloria and Scott were volunteering as MK teachers in Papua New Guinea. Zach wanted to return to see his birthplace. He made the comment several times that he would like to return. They enjoyed their time in PNG and Zach made friends with Josiah Radcliffe.

The week before their return to the states I took Zach and Scott with me on a 5 day trip to visit some churches. They read my stories and wanted to see what village life is like. They for sure got a taste of missionary life in the Solomon Islands. It was a long hot ride in the truck to Alisisiu. I’ll just say that Scott likes the air con, and we had none. We slept under mosquito nets which makes it hotter. After the first night, Scott was ready to return to Honiara. He would have left if one of the two trucks passing through would have had space. This is an area of limited transportation possibilities. It is time to practice patience. We had some good services and time with the very small congregation in Alisisiu. Pray for this place as they are really struggling.

From Alisisiu we traveled to Bethel by outboard motor boat. As you know when traveling I try to catch fish. It was not long into the voyage when I hooked something very large. I was too aggressive trying to pull it in and whatever kind of fish I had broke my steal leader. I couldn’t believe the steel broke before the line, I definitely need a heavier steel leader. After that I only caught one small fish. It would have been a pretty good size fish if I was fishing in an Oklahoman lake, but in the sea it was small. We were fishing along and Scott and Zach got a touch of sea sickness. We were going slow and trolling when Scott announced, “let’s go on in, I’m ready to get there.” The boat driver wasn’t interested in going faster until we caught something. Before I caught that small fish, I thought this was going to be the very first trip through that area without success.

We arrived at Kofiloko and walked across the rivers and up, and I mean up the mountain to Bethel. A few years back they built me my own lodge to stay in when I visit there. The small one-room house was full with us three, Scott, Zach, and myself. Scott brought with him some battery operated thing-a-ma-gigs that you clip to your belt. This small machine has a small battery operated fan and blows an odorless mosquito repellent out. With the heat we decided to forego the nets and hang these around the room. We saw no mosquitoes, so it worked.

We left Bethel on Friday, a day ahead of schedule, because there are no trucks that normally travel to Auki on Saturday. For enough money you can get someone to take you, but that was too expensive for just a few hours more ministry. Scott announced that he would pay for an “air conditioned” motel room, and so I called Geoffrey in Honiara (Praise the Lord for Satellite phones). There is a new motel in Auki that we booked. It is a “Super 8” quality at “Hyatt Regency” prices but hey it was air conditioned.

We arrived in Auki Friday night so I was able to put my family on the Ship Saturday morning for Honiara, while I went to visit Mage village. I needed to visit with them and be there for church on Sunday Morning, 9 August. We had an important meeting of all the Malaita Island churches the weekend of 15 and 16^th, and I had to talk with them about this and make sure all the preparations were in place.

Malaita Circuit Meeting:

I returned then to Honiara on Sunday afternoon 9^th, farewelled Scott, Gloria, and family on 11^th, and then on Thursday 13^th August, Geoffrey and I along with Osborn Fagea, our District NMI President, and Jimmy Kwaisui, our District Jesus Film Director, returned to Malaita to hold a Malaita Circuit meeting. August 14^th was the Malaita Day, a Provincial Holiday, and we rode on the plane with the

Governor General and his entourage. When we landed at the small grass airstrip in Auki we were greeted be a thousand people or more, complete with the Police band and Color Guard as they welcomed the GG. Friday we were schedule to start our meeting, but there was too much attraction, because not only was the GG there but the US Navy had two ships anchored in the Auki harbor, and there was a good contingency of US Naval and Marine personnel in Auki for the parade and festivities on Friday.

So we joined in and began our meeting with the Friday night worship service.

A few years ago I organized the Malaitan churches into their own island circuit, but I had to rethink that because there was serious disunity and jealousy among the members. They invited me to come and meet with them to reorganize them into a circuit. I knew though that the main thing they needed was a move of the Holy Spirit, not another tier of leadership. I prayed about it and invited my team to go. Osborn was going to share in the preaching. Jimmy took the Jesus Film Equipment to provide lighting and a generator so I could use the computer to do a power point presentation and project teaching notes using the JF data projector, and also we took some movies to show on forgiveness.

We did not accomplish what they initially wanted to do as far as elect circuit officers and organize the circuit, but the Holy Spirit did move mightily. Sunday morning services, Osborn preached a short but powerful message and there was a good time of prayer around the altar as people were weeping and crying out to God. Throughout the weekend we emphasized that we don’t primarily need another program but need a movement of the Holy Spirit. Once we follow HIS will, HE will direct us and help with a program to glorify HIM. I challenged them to prayer, obedience, and commitment.

Pray for the work at Mage and Malaita. Saturday, Jimmy received word that Lydia, his niece and mother in her mid-twenties with 3 children, became paralyzed just after she arrived to her home port from Honiara. Jimmy tried to go to his home on the other side of Malaita Island on Sunday 16^th but was unable to get there. Then Monday word was received that she passed away. Pray for Jimmy and his family during this time. Florence, the sister, works as a teacher at Zion Christian Academy. Florence and some other family members departed Honiara, yesterday (Tuesday) to catch up with Jimmy in Auki and then proceed to Beri village, their home to mourn with the family there and for the funeral service of their loved one. Pray for this our Nazarene family as this is their second young person to die within a week.

Water Well:

This is an update for those of you who wrote interested in the water project. Today I found the location where the one lives who drills the bore holes for the water well. The boss was away but the boys told me the cost is SB$450 (approx US $60) per meter to drill for water. I don’t know how deep they would have to go to find water, but they mentioned 30-40 meters. That does not include the pump and all the necessary plumping work etc. to finish it out. Soon I should be sending out a mailing just for those who expressed interest in helping with this project. If you are interested in updates on the water project, and have not yet written me about it, please write and I’ll make sure you receive these update. I want to thank those of you who have already expressed interest in this and one already sent in money. Thanks for your contribution in the Kingdom.

Bible College Class:

Bible College block course will be coming up next month September 15 - 29. Please pray for Rev. David McEwan as he travels from Brisbane to teach two course. Nancy will also teach one course.

New Church at Munda:

Pray for our newest church, Sovereign Grace Church of the Nazarene, in Munda. They were given an uncompleted building that formerly housed a church that vacated the premises. The landowner then gave it to The Church of the Nazarene. Termites were in the studs and trusses really bad and I sent the chain saw to mill timber for them and they rebuilt this building, replacing all the timber from the floor to the roofing iron. Someone who attends this new church in Munda has a studio and he made a video, free of charge, for our Solomon Island, Work & Witness team, who went down to help with this construction. This is exciting because the Munda church largely funded this project, with some assistance from the Honiara Church, and some funds were used from the Approved Specials to build new churches. I want to thank those who have contributed for this approved special. Pray for pastor Alick Hagi as he leads this congregation. He is planning on bringing a couple of students to Bible College.

New Church and School at Barakoma:

Pray for our church at Barakoma on the Island of Vella la vella. Pray for Kendrick, the Pastor, and Grace and Rollingson, the couple leading the school. Pray for unity and team work between the school and church. Communication is a challenge but they should have completed their new school/church building. Thanks for the Approved Special money to assist in this new church construction. Also pray for Hudson as he has taken the Jesus Film Equipment to the island of Vella la vella as he had two interested communities.

Bicycles for Pastors:

Thanks to a memorial gift, designated for approved specials we are able to purchase 7 bicycles to give to pastors. I have already purchased 4 bikes placed 2 bicycles in the hands of two pastors [Jimmy Olofisau, Kwailatutu Church and Barnabas Siru, Mage Church]. I’ll be placing some more in the following weeks.

Jimmy Olofisau and the Kwailatutu Church:

Pray for Jimmy and Mirriam and their work in Kwailatutu. Jimmy and his church have built a house for his family and they are preparing to build a new church. They have outgrown the small church that they initially built. This church has a good heart and a humble spirit. Many people attending this church have little prior Christian experience and are so hungry for the things of God. Nearly everyone in the SI have a “mother church” but in this church most were saved in our church and so their mother church is Nazarene. Before conversion, they were so into the witchcraft and worship of the evil spirits. [These people who worship the Devil are referred to as heathens in this country.] They had faith in the Devil’s magical powers, but when they turned to God they put all that faith in God. I have witnessed so many miracles of healing and deliverance in this place. When they pray, they pray with an expectancy and with tremendous result.

Geoff and Churie:

We really have enjoyed having Geoff and Churie here for this year. They have really been a great blessing and there is a lot of improvement around the mission as a result of their work. Churie has been doing the mission books and helping since Nancy is busy as principal of the Zion Christian Academy, our church’s K-12 school in Honiara. Geoff and Churie hosted the YIM team this past June/July, built a dorm room for the Bible College including bunk beds. Geoff is a work-a-holic and has a lot of energy. He has helped me in mowing the grass, driving to the wharf and town for supplies, keeping our workers going, and he has helped in a lot of other areas too. The project he has going now is building a retaining wall to prevent our drive way from eroding away. The driveway was so narrow that we could not get large trucks back to our house, including the fire truck. He hopes to get this finished this week. Our boys are back filling the hill one wheel barrow at a time and so it is taking time to fill the wall and build up the road bed.

This year has been difficult with Felicity’s frequent ear infections. They took Felicity to visited US Navy doctors that are here doing humanitarian assistance in the Solomon’s. The doctor reported that there was no infection but there was a lot of scarring and the tube put in recently in Australia had fallen out. We’re praising the Lord the infection was cleared up. Also they stocked Churie up on children’s meds that we were having trouble obtaining in the Solomon’s. Anyway, Geoff and Churie changed their tickets to depart Solomon Islands on August 25. Pray for them as they resettle in the USA. They have a couple of job offers in the USA. I’ll let you know what they decide on. Geoffrey stored his painting equipment so he can resume his private business too. We know that our God will supply all of their needs as they return to the USA next week.

Final comments:

There is so much I’d like to share. I apologize for the length of this letter and commend anyone who has stay through to the end. It requires a long time to send out my prayer letters. My server was returning my message then I finally heard that they have a limit of 20 addressees/letter and a certain number per hour allowed. This requires me to break up my address list into about 40 letters of 15-20 addressees each. I am so thankful for each one of you prayer partners and don’t want the SPAM filters to stop them. I want to thank each one of you that replies to my letter. Nancy and I are also on facebook, but we are not too active with it. You can check our Blog for photos. The Blog will be updated when I get to it, usually within a day to a week after the email goes out.

Your Partners in His Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

PO Box 712

Honiara, Solomon Islands

Phone: (677)25-109

Mobile: (677)68-920

http://oceanianazarene.org/

Excerpts from Scott and Glorias Trip to PNG

Enjoy this.  This is some interesting things that happened during our kids recent visit to Papua New Guinea.   Sorry I'm just now getting it posted on the Blog.

 

This report written on July 31, 2009

By Scott Nelson

 

Okay, so I am on vacation so my brain must be too. 

We are having a blast though.  Yesterday we did something that is quite a bit of fun for the younger ones on the station.  We took inner tubes and floated down the river near the station.  Okay, on a normal day this would be alright and relatively safe.  However, the river was really swollen from the rain all night the night before.  That should have been the first clue right?  The temperatures have been really cool too.  It is their "winter" time here in the southern hemisphere.  The water you ask?  It was way colder.  I mean turn your feet numb…cold.  That was the second clue right?  Oh yeah, we talked our wives into joining us.  Third clue to not do this right?  After a safety briefing to Zach (one which was intently listened to by the wives) we get started down the river.  Jump right in and your breath is gone for a few seconds!  I can't feel the whole bottom half of my body at this point.   I look down stream and see Churie and Gloria both flip over at the same spot in the river.  Okay, I am not exaggerating this very much, but if you were to classify this river for rafting, it would be near a 2-3 (out of 5) on this particular day after an all night rain event.  Another clue not to do this, right?  Okay, back to the story.  Both of the girls are out of their tubes.  Churie is clinging to the rock she is by like a drowned rat.  My wife is being helped by the nationals.  I am starting out on the tube by sitting in it…oh shoot!  My big belly this time around is making it much more difficult to balance myself on the tube.  All my energy is spent balancing the tube and I can not navigate it in any direction.  Remember this thing is moving us pretty fast down the river?  We get the girls back on the tubes and Geoff and I decide to lay down belly first on the tube.  Okay much better, at least I can navigate the thing some.  However, the girls are not out of trouble yet.  Zach you ask?  He and the other missionary kid are downstream having a ball!  He has no clue the challenge he faces in this type of water.  The girls make it past the next couple of sets of rapids then comes the area of the river where we need to get out and walk around a man-made disaster (lots of rusty wires and concrete from a hydro electric project that was destroyed by a flood).  You guessed it the girls both get dumped out of their tubes.  Churie goes to the complete opposite side of the river and grabs onto reeds.  Gloria is tumbling downstream.  I stop to help Churie because Geoff has already made it down to get Gloria.  By the time we pull them out, they are telling us that they almost died and that their lives flashed before their eyes 2-3 different times coming down the river.  Oh and we are hearing about it too by this point!  "Why did we let you talk us into this…?"   We get to a relatively safe spot to tube (shallow) and the girls would have nothing to do with it.  We are walking the rest of the way back at this point.  I mean a long way back.  Oh, did I also tell you that they brought only flip flops to do this in?  Those shoes were gone the first dump (later to be found downstream).  We get to another part of the river that is very swift moving but the best and safest way to cross is to get on the tubes again.  The girls come unglued!  What do you mean?!  There has got to be another way of crossing?!  Nope, on they go, only this time we go first and get in a line to catch them as they come by.  Then we still have a long walk back.  Both girls are beat up.  Scratches on their legs, Churie has broken a toe at this point.  A slow, long walk back to the station it was.  BTW, Zach and Josiah jumped out of the river and said, "That was fun!  Let's do it again!"  Momma shut that one down real quick!

My brain is on vacation too, remember?  If that adventure wasn't enough, we get to the airport this afternoon for our return trip to the capital of PNG and then on to Honiara Solomon Islands where Gloria's folks are with our boys and Geoff and Churie's  young girls.  We've been looking at these itineraries for some time now.  We knew we were flying back to the Honiara on Aug 1-2.  What didn't sink in was that Aug 1 is this Saturday.  We are all packed and trying to check in the flight on Thursday.  The guy behind the counter was saying "I don't see your names on the flight."  "What do you mean?!  We reconfirmed this flight on Monday as we came through the capital!'  He says, "your flight is on Aug 1."  The color leaves my face and Geoff asks "Well what do you think today is?"  Then the realization of what we just did sets in.  Oh man!  No way.  We are two days early.  Okay, best plan at this point is to get back to the mission station and wait until Sat.  (We have already gone through all the food we bought earlier in the week and spent out money down to bare minimum to exit country.)  We were in a Toyota Land Rover though and that is where the next adventure gets started.   The original plan was to be in a 4 cylinder van. 

Right before we get back to the mission station we learn that the road is closed.  What?  They put that culvert in now?  While all the public transportation is still running?  Anyway, we are not getting through there.  We can see the mission station but need to get us and the car there and have just learned they will not be reopening the road until 10 p.m. tonight.  A couple of the locals walk up to us and tell us that there is a way around all of this!   The missionary that has been here the longest and was driving said, "I am not aware of any way around this."  But the locals insisted that there was.  "We have had 4 cars already go through here!  You'll be okay."  It ended up being right through the middle of the field!  Remember that I mentioned earlier that we had rain the other night?  Well, it has rained every night.  The first turn they direct us to, is across two 2 x 12 type boards.  Now, in America, I would never try this.   But the wood they have here is some of the hardest in the world.  So this missionary gets out and turns the vehicle over to another driver who has more experience 4 wheeling.  That was fine until the middle of the field when we are up to the axles in mud and get the dang thing stuck.  This is not a problem in PNG.  When that happens 100 guys will run out of the bushes to help push or pull the car through.  I have been in this predicament several times when I was here 13 years ago.  So the guys all get out and leave the girls in there.  We help the nationals push this thing through the field.  Only to get to another 2 x 12 type "bridge".  We barely make it over this one and get stuck again before coming to a third "bridge".  We drive up there in time to see 4-5 guys bailing out of the back end of a truck, the back of the left side disappear in the ditch, and the nose of the truck end up in the air.  Great!  How are we going to get around this?  He even broke that side of the bridge.  Well, all the guys I mentioned earlier jumped right in.  They unloaded the coffee he was carrying.  They then all got to the back of the truck and lifted it up and pulled it with another vehicle and managed to get it out of the ditch.  The next job was to then assess the damage to the bridge and "rebuild" it to make sure we could get the next two vehicles by.  The third vehicle made it over, then ours, after much more repair to the "bridge".  I've got pictures, some things you just have to see to believe.   I can't make this up. 

God was protecting us.  By us being stuck in the middle of the field, we were away from the shooting that was happening at the closed road.  We heard the shots but learned later that the police had shot someone because the crowd of people there was getting out of control.  They don't shoot too straight. 

Anyway, that's life when you choose the mission field as your vacation destination.  It has been fun!  We appreciate your prayers!  Please continue to do so. 

 

 

Between all of these moments though we are really enjoying the ministry we get to be a part of.  The Nationals that knew us before are really glad to see us.  It is like a family reunion in many ways.  Some of these were the ones to help clean our houses and change our baby's diapers from years back.  Geoff has been able to see a couple of the people that helped to raise him along the way.  There are others who we have adopted as family and they have felt the same.  It has been an excellent time of encouragement to me and I hope to them as well. 

 

Yesterday, after the not-so-bright river adventure, we did get the opportunity to go out to the bush to pick up one of the medical students here that was teaching at a CBHC (community Based Health Care) center.  When we got out there, we were surprised by the number of nationals we recognized from our time here before.  It was God's way of showing us some of the fruits of our labors then.  The relationships we developed and that Gloria's dad developed is just blossoming!  There is a pretty neat revival going on right now in PNG.  It is good to see!  The church of the Nazarene is definitely growing here.

 

Yesterday, I was sitting and church and amused that cell phones were going off during the service.  It just boggles my mind that cell phones are available here!  Many things have changed but many have not. 

 

Anyway, I'll let you go for now.  I'll try to send some more info in 2-3 days.

 

Love you all!

Scott Nelson