Listing of Miller's Deputation Schedule,

Here is our Deputation Schedule for our next Home Assignment. If we are near where you live we would love to see you. If we have a district tour on your district and you want us to speak in our church please contact you district’s deputation coordinator for scheduling.

· December 7^th – Depart to the USA

December 12th - AM Service, Pittsburg, TX

· December 19^th – AM Service, Silver Creek Church, Owasso, OK

· December 26^th – AM Service, Camp Creek Church, near Taloga, OK

· December 26^th – PM Service, Clinton, OK

· January 9^th – Both Services, Carnegie, OK

· January 12^th-23^rd – Dallas District Tour

· January 26^th-February 9^th – South Carolina District Tour

· February 19^th-27^th – Arizona District Tour

· March 2^nd-13^th – Northwest District Tour

· March 22^nd – Return to the Solomon Islands

As you see we have a few gaps but not many. Most of the gaps we would like to fill up with services near the grand children, which will basically be Oklahoma or Dallas area. Join us in prayer for transportation, as we make a decision about flying or driving.

George Miller, District Superintendent

Solomon Islands District - Church of the Nazarene

PO Box 712, Honiara, Solomon Islands

Office/Home: 677 25-109 Mobile: 677 74 68920

email: george_nancy@reachone.com

Blog: http://georgeandnancymiller.blogspot.com - http://oceanianazarene.org

Responsibility - Developer - Positivity - Woo - Empathy

Prayer Update 13 July 2010

Dear Prayer Partner,

I want to thank you so much for partnering with us through your prayers. Also I want to thank you for your faithfulness in your church’s Faith Promise offering and other gifts to the World Evangelism Fund.

Extension Bible College Class in Munda:

We held a very successful Bible College Class recently in Munda at our newest church Sovereign Grace Church of the Nazarene. We had eight (8) students in attendance. It was very encouraging because we started on time each morning and the students were faithful in their attendance. That was quite an accomplishment considering we were competing with the World Cup. There were a couple of places in Munda with TV set ups so people could go and watch the soccer match [pay for viewing]. Soccer is big in the Solomon Islands and these matches drew large crowds and attention.

Trip to Iriiri Pasapasa:

From Munda we took a trip to Iriiri Pasapasa. It was encouraging to see the new people coming to the church here. Chris is a nurse who recently attended school in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. While in PNG he was involved in the Church of the Nazarene. He is now back in Solomon Islands as the Director of Nurses at the Helena Goldie Hospital, outside of Munda. He has been on holiday [vacation for USA partners] near the Iriiri church. He attended all the services and will be quite a resource person for the church in the Western Province.

The name Iriiri Pasapasa means “a well of bitter water”. The name came from the shallow well dug that is mixed with sea water and has a bitter taste. Their new church is near completion and they decided to change the name of the church to Petra Church of the Nazarene, because it is literally built on a rock, but more than that they want the church to be built on “The Rock”, Christ Jesus. Thank you to those who gave money for new church buildings that has made this possible.

The pastor, Jimmy Kwaisui, and two young men (Raymond & Apollos) have been teaching early childhood classes in the pastor’s house. They have 20 students enrolled in these classes. Apollos is now in Honiara attending a class to learn how to teach phonics and he plans to stay on for at least one term to observe at our Zion School.

Trip to Vella la vella:

Vella la Vella is an island in the Western Province, accessible only by outboard motor boat from the provincial center, Gizo. I went the Vella la vella to check on a couple of churches there. We have mission churches in two locations Barakoma and Malesova with requests to start more. Pray for strong spiritual leaders for this work and for many other areas throughout the country where doors are opening. Pray that the Lord will give wisdom, strength, and patience as Christ-like disciples are being developed to pastor these churches. Pray for God to call men and women who will be servant leaders and will rise to the challenge to pastor these new works.

The Barakoma Village completed their church building and so we went to dedicate and take some photos. They decided to rename their church in honor of the church in the USA that donated the funds to erect this building. They have a school with a current enrollment of 20 students.

Malsesova Church currently meets in the home of one of the members. They also have a weekday school to teach early childhood, phonics so they can read well. They minister to 10 students through their school.

Education:

Pray for Rev. Dolasi Baesi, our Nazarene National Education Secretary. Dolasi went with me on this trip to the Western province. For much of the travel two people can travel as cheaply as one. Dolasi went to check out the schools operating or planned in each of these villages. Teaching reading is one of the big needs in the Solomon’s. For some reason children here, as a general rule, tend to read very late (3^rd – 6^th grade) if at all. Our Nazarene education system (ACE curriculum) using phonics teaches them how to read, so by the time the child is ready for the 1^st grade they can read. So many of our new schools teach Kindy (equivalent to USA pre-school) and ABC or Prep (equivalent to USA Kindergarten). In addition to that they many times will offer after-school remedial reading for students of any grade from the public school system. We have seen remarkable results.

National Election:

Pray for our national election coming up. It took a while to settle on a date but it is set for August 4^th. Following election then the parliament will vote on the new Prime Minister. Last election time sparked a riot that burned China Town. Pray that this election will proceed peacefully. Pray that the election of Prime Minister and transfer of power will go smoothly. The police are making preparations and have been holding “riot drills”.

ZCA (Zion Christian Academy):

This is the final week of school break for ZCA. Of course the teachers are not on break. Pray for Nancy as principal and the teachers, esp. Martha, head teacher for the primary, and Salome, head teacher for the High School. They need wisdom, as this is a huge ministry opportunity for our church. Many of our high school students have failed out of the Solomon Island system. We take these “drop outs” {Those whose test scores are not high enough to get a place in a high school.} and we give them a second chance. Unfortunately some of the students have been cheating by stealing test score keys. Pray for the challenge Nancy and the teachers face.

Schmelzenbach’s visit:

We were privileged recently to have a visit by Harmon Schmelzenbach, our FSC (Field Strategy Coordinator) and his wife, Cindy, and son, Quinton. We are privileged to have such caring, servant leaders, over the Melanesia/South Pacific fields. The main purpose of their visit was to visit with and disciple the two Nazarene missionaries in the Solomon Islands and especially to look at our “Clifton StrengthsFinder” results. For those who are not familiar with this, it is from Gallup and involves an on-line assessment which we completed. We received the evaluation now we know our top 5 strengths.

For those interested here they are in order 1^st-5^th:

Nancy:

Learner – Loves to learn; Input – Inquisitive, likes to collect things; Intellection – Likes to think, mental activity; Belief – Has certain core values that are enduring; Responsibility – Takes psychological ownership for anything committed to.

George:

Responsibility– Takes psychological ownership for anything committed to; Developer – See potential in others, try to help others experience success; Positivity – Generous with praise, quick to smile, and on lookout for the positive in any given situation; Woo (Winning Others Over) – Enjoys meeting new people, strangers are rarely intimidating; Empathy – Sense emotions of those around, ability to feel what they feel.

That explains a lot. Those who know us well can comment if you agree with that assessment. It would be interesting to see what our next 5 strengths are, because as I read through the book I saw others that describe me pretty well. When we return from home assignment I plan to bring some of these books back and have our district team and English literate pastors take the assessment. As we train our key people to utilize their strengths.

CBHC:

We have an upcoming visit by Dr. Becky Morsch. We are planning CBHC visit into two communities, Munda and Iriiri Pasapasa. Pray for this outreach. We will have some local volunteers accompany Dr. Becky on her visit. This visit is scheduled for August 21^st – September 4^th. Begin now to bathe this in your prayers. We will keep you updated on this in future news letters.

Your Partners in His Ministry,

George and Nancy

George Miller, District Superintendent

Solomon Islands District - Church of the Nazarene

PO Box 712, Honiara, Solomon Islands

Office/Home: 677 25-109 Mobile: 677 74 68920

8 June 2010 prayer update

Dear Prayer Partner,

 

Thank you for your prayers.  We have been so busy that I have not taken time to write.  During these times of silence on our part, please continue with your intercession.  I really appreciate those of you who have inquired about our silence.  Your prayers have sustained us. 

Home Assignment Date Change:

Please note our home assignment dates have been changed.  We have moved the date forward one year.  Now we will leave for the USA on 7 December 2010 (this year).  We will only take a 3 month furlough, instead of the 1-year previously planned (2012), and will be available for deputation services through 6 March 2011.  We are trusting the Lord and praying that even with this change we will have a full slate of services.  Be in prayer supporting us.  God has always blessed us with a full schedule and we know as we are faithful He will make up the difference.  We will be residing with or near our grandchildren, which is in the Dallas & Oklahoma City areas, but we do not mind the travel and would love to get to our LINKS district(s).  We realize that district tours have probably already been set, but we are available if you can work us in.

The dates of our upcoming  Home Assignment - Dec 7, 2010 – March 6, 2011

For those of you who have booked your missionary speakers and unable to have us early 2011, here are the dates for our next home assignment (Mar. 16, 2013 - June 15, 2013).  Looking forward to seeing you.  Please contact us if you would like a deputation service.

Bible College Class & Trip to Western Province:

Bible College Class ended Friday.  This is the main thing that kept me busy.  During the block classes we hold two classes per day for 2 and half weeks.  Sometimes we use visiting teachers, but this time I did the teaching, and it certainly keeps me busy.  The classes are over now except grading of the final homework assignments and turning in the grades.  We had 10 students this time.  We were down some but last time we had eight or so students come in from Western Province but I felt for that many students I should travel there and teach a satellite course.  It should be less expensive for one teacher to travel to Munda than for 8 to 10 students to travel to Honiara.  Pray for me as I prepare to depart for this class on June 19^th.   Pray for Pastor Alick Hagi and the Munda congregation as they prepare to host the Bible College Class.

During this trip (June 19 – July 3) I plan to also travel around, following the 1-week course in Munda.  I plan on visiting two churches in the Western Province (Iriiri Pasapasa and Barakoma).  They have both built a new church building and I need to go check on them and get some photos to send to the donors.  Pray for Jimmy Kwaisui as he leads the church in Iriiri Pasapasa.  Pray for Kendrick Lonisasa in Barakoma.

Pray for this trip as I will also check in Munda on the progress of the land application.  While in Iriiri I will see about the possibility of CBHC (Community Based Health Care) working there.  Then I will check on the newly started “kindy” school that these two communities are operating.

During this time away I will not be on-line, but Nancy will be at home and will be able to reply.

Pastors and leaders:

Pray for pastors called into the ministry.  Pray for local leadership as we move forward.  We need to identify some diploma graduates to send for further schooling to obtain their bachelor’s degree.  We have a need of Bible College teachers.  Any gifts toward a scholarship fund to assist qualified students with their tuition and transportation costs, would be appreciated. 

Honiara Church: 

The Honiara church under the leadership of pastor Jeremiah Akoeasi has really caught a vision to help others.  They are a missional church and are looking at ministry opportunities these days.  It is exciting seeing the paradigm shift in this way.  Their church tithes and offering is up and their giving for others, which is a reflection of their emphases.  Continue to pray for our Honiara church as they have had some struggles in recent weeks.  Continue to pray for our youth (last prayer letter I sent you their names).

On a related note, Sunday I was informed that they are beginning a preaching point in the White River area.  Pray for this new work.  We have a number of members that travel from the White River area to our Zion Church and it will be great having a church near their residence.

ZCA School Break and ACE Training:

ZCA (Zion Christian Academy) will have their semester break beginning June 18.  Our teachers will be involved in an ACE training course.  There is a couple from New Zealand visiting the Solomon Islands who will be conducting training for ACE teachers in the Solomon’s. 

Water update:

Thank you for your prayers and support for this project.  It is much improvement, but for some reason I still haven’t achieved my aim which is when you turn on a tap water comes out.  I’m trying to figure out if the supply is inadequate, or we are leaving the taps open and wasting water or a combination.  We are using solar power to save money on electricity. 

Speaking of utilities, the power has been really dependable lately.  There have been only a few blackouts over the past few weeks and usually they have only lasted for minutes.  Thank you for your prayers.

Chickens:

Pray for Ezra and his chicken project.  The chickens are ready to dress and sell now.  Pray that he will have a good market for his birds.  He is doing this to raise money for his school fees.  He is a hard working young man.  I’m trying to help him with entrepreneurial skills.  He feels God has called him into ministry, and desires to serve the Lord when he finishes school.

Your Partners in His Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

PO Box 712

Honiara, Solomon Islands

george_nancy@reachone.com

http://oceanianazarene.org

 

 

 

Prayer Update 28 April 2010

I want to thank you for your prayers. 

 

Easter Program: 

The Easter program at church was a huge success.  I posted a story and pictures on our blog:georgeandnancymiller.blogspot.com   

 

Trip to Malaita:

Thank you for your prayers.  I went and installed a pastor at a very small church.  Pray for the work on Malaita, Satan is hard at work there.  Please pray for unity and cooperation [team work] among our members, pray for the pastors’ families and especially their marriages and training of their children.  It seems there is much attack on the family, which is not surprising since this is the Biblical picture of Christ and the Church.

 

During one message, an illustration came to my mind, and after the message a lady came to me to explain to me her side of the story and how it all happened.  I was dumbfounded and replied, “What are you talking about?”  She asked, “Didn’t . . . [her husband/pastor] tell you anything?”  I had heard nothing but the illustration I used was exactly what was going on in her life.  It’s amazing how the Lord preaches messages through ordinary people.

 

Zion Christian Academy:

Remember Nancy and the ZCA school board in your prayers.  The school has really been making progress but they have some challenging issues concerning discipline of students and staff that needs to be bathed in prayer.  Today the Queen’s baton (Equivalent to the Olympic torch) is making its rounds through Honiara and will be visiting the school around 2 p.m. en-route to the commonwealth games to be held in New Delhi this fall.

 

Water:

We praise the Lord for our water well and supply.  This past Saturday I spent the day repairing the pastor’s rain collection system so we will have more water available.  It was a hot job on the roof.  Thank you for your prayers.  Also a special thank you to those who contributed toward this project. 

 

Land in Munda:

Pray for pastor Alick Hagi as he has put in a request to the government for land in Munda.  We now have a building we are using for worship but it belongs to someone else and we need a more permanent arrangement.  We need the Lord’s direction.

 

Elections:

Elections are coming up, sometime in June (a definite date is still to be announced).  This is always a tense/uncertain time in the Solomons.  Many people seem to forget about God and chase after politics, or their politician.  Our Parliament was dissolved this past weekend so the members and other intending candidates can campaign for election.

 

Rose Muaki:

Pray for Rose, a charter member of our Nukukaisi church (and Solomon Islands District).  She has been ill for two months now and she is now bed fast.  Dickson, her son, and family are planning a trip to Makira island to be with their mom.  Pray for her husband Dick, who has been visiting family in Australia, and will soon be returning to the Solomon Islands.

 

Youth:

Pray for our youth in the Solomon Islands.  They are facing lots of pressures and temptations as they have new freedom and electronic gizmos.  They are connected now with the rest of the world as never before, but with that connection comes a lot of garbage.  Let me give you some names to pray for.  Shema, Sophia, Simeon, Hannah, Jesse, Lisa, Barbara, Mona, Hephzibah, Alira, Ezra, Elishama, Franklyn, Melissa, Karen, Jimmy, William, Jonathan, Mary Esther, Enoch, Liev, John, Sandra, Noelyn, Jean, Crystal, Moffat, Margaret, Florence, Sally, Nicholson, Raymond, and Hudson.

 

Upcoming Trip:

Pastor Dolasi and I are planning a trip to Fiji departing May 4 returning May 8.  This is to attend the SPNTC (South Pacific Nazarene Theological College) Board of Trustees meeting.  Bathe this meeting with your prayers.

 

Bible College Class coming up:

Be in prayer for our next Bible College block classes coming up.  (May 19 – June 4)  This time I’ll teach Hermeneutics (Biblical Interpretation) and Church History 2 (post Reformation).

 

Home Assignment:

This is a ways off but I need you to begin praying for the work and replacement etc. to cover for us during the one year home assignment December 2011 through November 2012.  Also we would love to schedule a service in your church.  There is a new electronic way to schedule services now and I have no clue how to do it.  I suppose I need to find out.  If you are like me and have trouble with the on-line scheduling, but would like to have us in your church just contact us and we’ll put you in contact with someone to help you.

 

Final Remarks:

It has been very challenging getting our work done, I mean, with the power outages, Internet server down, photocopier on the blink, etc.  Pray for grace and patience.  As someone prayed, “Lord, I need patience and I need it now.”

 

Your partners in His Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

PO Box 712

Honiara, Solomon Islands

george_nancy@reachone.com

 

 

Easter Time at Zion Church

Easter Time at Zion Church, Honiara

Children Palm Sunday Drama and program.

The Zion Church of the Nazarene, Honiara, held an Easter Camp over the Easter weekend.
Easter is a time of memorial, to remember and reflect upon the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Hannah Konainao, a lead singer on the worship team, reports, “Easter weekend at church was a blessed time for me which has really helped me understand the real meaning of Easter and how our Savior, Jesus Christ, really sacrificed his heart to die as a physical being for us. I was really challenged.” [The picture is of the youth group, Hannah is the one in the center of this photo holding the mic.]

The Easter camp began on Thursday evening, with our men’s fellowship group leading the worship service. The men presented the first of a number of dramas during the camp. The men’s drama portrayed the Last Supper of Jesus. The men did a good job portraying Jesus as the servant leader, who ministered to the disciples even washing their feet.

On Good Friday the NYI (Nazarene Youth International) led the worship. The worship time began with a family communion service.

[Each family took communion as a family unit and a pastor prayed God's blessing over each one, as they came to the altar as a family.]

The youth presented their drama of the crucifixion of Jesus. This was such a powerful act that those present could all feel the presence of Jesus. The message came through with such power that everyone present was in tears. It was hard to hold back the tears. It was totally awesome.

Saturday we had group discussion classes. The youth and men class was taught by Brother Dickson Manongi, and the women group was led by Nancy Miller.

There was also a children’s program and the girls learned how to do flower arrangements, which beautified the church for Easter Sunday morning. The boys painted Easter sign boards, which were displayed in church on Easter Sunday also. The young children colored pictured. There was something for all ages at the camp. Saturday night the Sunday School led the worship service.

Easter Sunday service began early with a sunrise service. It was a beautiful time with the Lord. They put on the drama of the ladies going to the empty tomb. Then during the morning worship time led by the women’s ministry we had the drama of the resurrection of Jesus. Then we once again celebrated the Lord’s Supper. The Sunday evening service was the final service at Zion.

Monday, following Easter is a Public Holiday too in the Solomon Islands, so we took the entire church to the beach. We spent the day relaxing, picnicking, and swimming. It was a fun time to be together and fellowship with the church family.

Prayer Update 30 March 2010

Dear Prayer Partner,

Thank you for your prayers.  It has been too long since the previous prayer letter.  Our internet in our house was out of order for nearly 4 weeks.  So we didn’t do much on-line except emergencies. 

 

The Cyclone missed Honiara, at least the brunt of the cyclone missed us.  We had some high winds and lots of rain but nothing serious.  The Bible College students I asked you to pray for in their travels home, did not get far as they held up for a week at Russell Island before proceeding on to the West.  They did arrive home safely, even though it was a week late.  We tried to convince them to stay in Honiara for a week but the ship was sailing and they were anxious to get home.

 

Easter Programs:

Pray for the Easter camp and program at our Zion Church and other churches in the Solomon Islands.  Our camp in Honiara begins on Thursday night and goes through Monday.  We have services each evening and Good Friday morning and Easter Sunday morning.  Remember me as I preach the Good Friday message.  Our NYI will lead the service, and perform the crucifixion drama.  Actually each service we will have a drama re-enacting a different part of the Easter story.  The men’s ministry on Thursday will dramatize the Last Supper.  Then the women’s ministry will dramatize the resurrection on Easter Sunday Morning.  Nancy taught a course (or rather facilitated a time of discussion) at the women conference.  I just passed by as they were discussing some interesting things about marriage.   I was asked some questions and threw in my ten cents worth.  I’m not sure what exactly I told the women, but they have requested us to teach this same “good stuff” to their husbands.  So on Saturday we are to teach a class to the married couples.  I guess I need to try to remember what I shared.  I’m not sure if the men and women are separate or together.  I guess I need to find out soon, as I was thinking I’d leave the preparation to Nancy and just throw in a few nuggets here and there.  Pray for Nancy or maybe both of us as we prepare to answer their questions and lead a discussion.  We do want to equip couples so they can live together in harmony and really be “Team mates”.

 

ZCA School Break:

School one-week break begins on Thursday 1 April and classes will resume on Monday April 12.  Pray for Nancy and the school during this break time.

 

Trip to Malaita:

I have a trip planned to Malaita on April 9^th, to return to Honiara on 12^th or 13^th.   Pray for this trip.

 

Solomon Island Infrastructure:

Pray for the infrastructure in the country, as we are now go without public electricity for 4 hours every day.  They cut the power from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.  The most productive part of the day we have no power.  I do have an electric generator but it is not powerful enough to run the photocopier and many other things around the house.  Daily power outages have been going on for years, but it is progressively worse.  We now have our own water from our well.  So far we have good sunshine and so our solar pump pumps during the day but by the next morning the storage tank is empty.  I am looking into another pump to transfer the water to our storage tank.  Our public water supply is pretty poor and we have to be able to transfer enough water from our well so the storage tank will not run dry at night.  Pray for us as we conserve water.  Mobile phones have been hopeless.  They have installed a new system and we are optimistic that this will solve a lot of the problems.  I was wondering when I awoke this morning and had no bars on the phone and SIM card had failed.  We are about 500 meters as the crow flies from the nearest tower.   I don’t know if the bugs are all out of the mobile system or not.

 

Your Partners in His Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

Prayer Request from 14th March

Dear Prayer Partner,

Urgent prayer is requested for Solomon Islands as we are in the path of two cyclones. Cyclone Ului is not moving fast and should arrive in two to three days. Right behind Ului is Cyclone Thomas and is much larger. We have been through a lot but this is our first cyclone, if it hits us. We are preparing according to the directions issued from the Disaster Management and the US State Department.

Our internet has been out at our house for 2 weeks now. We will get back to you as soon as we can but the turnaround may not be as fast as you have come to expect with email.

Thank you for your prayers for the Bible College class it went well. I had 21 students in the Homiletics (preaching) class and 23 in the Church History Class. There were some spiritual victories too. Prayer for five Bible College Students who left this morning by ship to the Western Province. The sea was rough due to the approaching cyclone. They are traveling away from the cyclone but I still ask for your prayers for their safety.

Praise the Lord our water well is now pumping water. We have a Solar pump and of course that involves a solar panel on top of the roof, so as part of our preparation I will take that down and lock it away for safe keeping. I want to thank everyone who contributed. We still need to plumb to the buildings and add a few rain collection tanks.

Your Partners in His Ministry,

George & Nancy Miller

PO Box 712

Honiara, Solomon Islands

george_nancy@reachone.com

Phone: (677)25-109