Oh The Times, They Are A'Changin'!

As we all look over the postings here at Miller Missions/Here in America, it is obvious that our goal and way of life so that change is a constant in our family's life. This could potentially be a bad thing, but for the most part, we have trained our children from little on up to accept change as best they can and "roll with the punches." Life does not (or should not) remain stagnant and unchanging! So we will continue our daily lives with that in mind, embrace change, and move forward with the Lord's leading by His Holy Spirit, and day-by-day we grow.

Rebecca was the first to receive the answer to her heart's cry: she has longed for the opportunity to write and publish her writing. She had always thought she would do it in the form of books or articles in magazines - particularly children's 'zines. She had the chance to work with our Tanzanian missionary friends, to write scripts for their proposed stories on film. Who knows what that may or may not develop into, but it was a great joy to her while she was doing it. But at present, she has been hired to work for a small, local newspaper!!! She has had her name in print on a weekly basis, and has even developed a clientele of sorts - her name has gotten around through her articles, and her wonderful writing skills has had others ask her to cover their newsworthy events as well. She has also been photographing the events she covers, and has learned a lot in a short time of how to best meet the desires of both her employer and those whom she is covering. It has been a real blessing, both emotionally and financially, to help me bring in what we need as a family in order to get by.

God has been answering the cry of our hearts in these present days. For all of my life, I have had a love of books and organization in that form. Instead of being allowed to focus on attaining goals such as that, I have accepted what has been provided as temporary occupations. I have worked in factories (way too often), accepted whatever jobs were available to me, and did the best I could with the talents I have, and did it as if God Himself were my boss, and I am there to serve Him, and His people. So now, I have finally taken a new job - one that blesses me personally and allows me to use my positive, Christian attitude to bless others. I have been hired at the Williams County Public Library, in Bryan, Ohio!!!! My new job is a real blessing, and I am being challenged to learn new things constantly...and am doing well at them all.

In the future, it appears that yet another change is in the offing! For those of you who know us, you know that Rebecca has a deep love for children, and the personal gift of teaching little ones in a non-threatening, easy-to-receive manner. And she has now been offered a position at a local Christian school, putting her skills to work, teaching Kindergarten!!!!!!! She will probably give the school her "Okay" this coming week, and begin classes in the fall. She has prayed about it a Lot, and written out the pro's and con's, and we are satisfied that the former outweigh the latter...by a long shot. Not only that, but the boys will get to attend the Christian school tuition-free!!! There are some definite areas to hone their skills on this summer, to prepare the boys to get up-to-speed with other kids their age, but it'll come, given the amount of notice we have.

I knew you all would want to know about these wonderful tidings for the Miller clan, and we look forward with anticipation to ALL the Lord has in store for us in the future...as much as in the Now! < DL Miller

So, What IS the Will of the LORD for Us?

This may sound like various other postings along the way, but today is today, and the question is today's as well. I have been asked, "How does one know for sure that you've heard from God?" To me, the question is a valid one, and the answer is relatively simple: "Get to Know Him - through His Word and through prayer/talking with Him on a regular basis." But how does one "walk out" what one has learned/heard? Ah, perhaps there's another question entirely...or is it? Maybe it's just an extention of the first one. Perhaps the key ingredient is TIME. Doubtless, answers don't just come instantly every time, although they often Do. But in the same way, the answers to our questions don't just pop into existance either, very often.

Our family has struggled mightily to seek and find and obey the Lord's will for us, no matter what the personal cost or the giving up of the things we tend to hold most dear (like nearness to family, prized possessions, etc). We have considered various modes of ministry, particularly Missions and that of the local church, but in both cases, the Lord seems to be closing doors. In my frustration and confusion, both of which are matters of the soul (mind, will and emotions), the Lord directed me to study diligently The Psalms. King David was a master of ongoing struggles between his spirit, soul, and body, and Psalms reflects this in a most excellent way!
With such instructions at my fingertips and in my mind, as I meditate on His Word, I am finding relief, even if not the direct answers I seek.

We were denied the role of long-term missionaries, based on spiritual And physical reasons. And I am now, after MUCH prayer and consideration, laying aside my desire to pastor the local Body with whom we fellowship. "What else IS there, Lord?" We WILL NOT sit it out "on the bench" (in sports terms). We'll do everything and anything we feel we can and should to further the Kingdom. It's up to Him to draw the lines of where we ought not go - perhaps the Reasons are His alone to know. I submit myself to You, O Lord. Lead me/us as You think best! DLM

What's God's Way...and What's Our Way???

First of all, are the two compatable? It is SO difficult trying to do things as we feel the LORD would have us do them, and not going on our feelings or instincts alone. Case in point: What are the "correct" things I ought to do if I sincerely want the pastor's position at our church? That may sound petty to some of you, but to us it's a big deal! There are some pastors out there who have to have their fingers in every pie; that's definitely not my style. Yes, I feel the pastor ought to have an overall handle of what's going on in the church, but he doesn't need to be at every single event if someone else is fully able and "assigned" the given task. If the pastor is able to attend, great, but I just don't think it's absolutely required of him.

In the meantime, however, with all that in mind, as a Candidate to pastor our little church, how will it "Look" if I don't show up at meetings that people might "think" I ought to be at?!? Is that just posturing, or is it sincere involvement? I mean, if I really want the job, ought I go for it in every possible way - or just "allow God to decide"? Will the people see it that way, or will they see things horizontally (from a human point of view)? It seems to me I ought to be me: plain and simple. If they want someone who'll do all those things, and be at every meeting, or lead out in every event, then maybe I'm not their man. I truly believe they need to be more self reliant, not needing to be spoon-fed everything. They're "big enough" as Christians to do that for themselves! If this were a Body of new Believers, that would be another matter entirely, but this isn't the case. Besides, if I "show up" for everything now, but don't completely intend to be as much involved in the future, if I were pastor, that would be deceptive on my part. I am who I am. If they ask me or require me to do things differently, we'll just have to see when we get to that place.

I DO have a vision for what I think our church could be Being and Doing, but I'm not presently in any capacity to formalize those plans unless I am given the responsibility to do so - that of a pastor over his congregation. So, in the meantime, we'll keep on praying, keep on teaching, keep on teaching, keep on singing, keep on doing all the things the Lord lays upon our hearts to do, and if I have the opportunity to do more, I'll be glad to do so...in His time. DLM

February 2007

Good Grief!! We haven't posted here since November!!!

Well, lots of fun things happened over the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. We had a quiet Christmas with lots of love and blessings from our Lord. Tammy and Josh and our precious grand-daughter, Eowyn, got to come for a visit over New Years and that was wonderful!!

David is working full time now at a factory in Montpelier, Ohio which is a 20 minute drive. We praise the Lord as his last job was almost an hour one way and with the winter weather we were concerned about that! He is on first shift and the Lord gave him an immediate ministry there. Already 4 of his coworkers and their families have visited our church and two of them are telling him that they plan to come regularly. PTL! He is happy there, despite the wages that are not really enough for a family of four to live on, and the fact that he would rather be pastoring or teaching or both.

Stephen and Ezra are having a very good school year here at home and love having me home all the time. That may end soon as I need to get a part time position to help out with the bills. I have a couple interviews tomorrow and who knows what I may post next time we come here!
Stephen has been enjoying a spot on the Junior Varsity Basketball team at Living Word Christian School. Since they are a small school they welcome homeschoolers and over half of his team are homeschooled. We all love the farm that the Lord has allowed us to live in, but Ezra often says he would rather live in town where they could go outside and find someone else to play with! Hopefully within the next few weeks both boys will be starting music lessons, Ezra on drums and Stephen with Guitar. They are very involved in 4-H and a Wed. night Bible study for Jr. Hi boys.

I have been loving being a grandmother as David is also enjoying being a grandfather! We are thrilled with our two little grandchildren! Kiah is 8 months old and Eowyn is only three weeks behind him. She has 6 teeth and his big thing is scooching around the house already!

Spiritually, David and I are growing and enjoying our relationship with the Lord in a wonderful way! Every day is exciting and we rejoice in His love and fellowship!!!! We have both had opportunities to share His Word; David at our church and me at the Christian school in chapel, so we PTL for that. David has started attending the local FGBMF one saturday a month and I attend a lovely Ladies Bible Study every Tuesday.

Needless to say, we are all happy, busy and movin' on!

blessings to anyone who checks here and reads this!

Rebecca

Use Us TODAY, O Lord

Our family continues to seek after the Lord's will for us - on a daily basis. Rebecca leads out at her local ladies' Bible study, and teaches the Youth SS class, along with our son, Stephen. I lead the Adult SS class at our church, and have been preaching on a rotational basis until a new pastor is called to lead our church. On the home front, we try to lead out to build bridges which will keep our extended family together, although with everyone's schedules so busy, it's a tough thing to accomplish. We especially hope to gather as many together as possible during the holiday seasons, but nearly all the families have their own plans in place already.

Personally, I have a meeting this week before our Denomination's Pastoral Board, where I have presented myself as a Candidate to serve as the next pastor of our local church. How this meeting will go, or whether I will even meet their criteria is anyone's guess, at this point. I'm doing all I can to leave it in the Lord's hands. He is more than capable of placing me where He wants me. Of course, this will affect our whole family, as well. They have known our life as active, busy "Christ-followers" for all of their lives now, but the life of a Pastor is even more involved. Even before our pastor retired, I volunteered to produce the church Bulletin - a task I greatly enjoy, and "plan" so as to be ministry as well as an information sheet. The SS class I teach recently began a book about personal and congregational spiritual growth. How this will spread to the rest of the Body is a matter of the Lord's will and guidance. It is my heart's desire to see our small Body grow - in spiritual maturity, foundationally, but also numerically, as an extension of that foundation. Without both kinds of growth, our church will die. Individuals will certainly continue on in the Lord, but without more people coming to the church, the older members will physically die off (and they are the majority of our membership). If a church's ministry is finished, so be it; may the Lord SHOW us that such is the case, if indeed it is. But if not, may He lead and guide us to greater outreach into the community to bring new Believers to faith in Him, and new membership to the Body, to see it grow and thrive. An additional prayer of ours is that the Lord will grant us the long-view to be able to purchase more land around us, so we can have more parking area, and to upgrade our meeting place's facilities, to meet the increased needs of greater numbers of people in attendance. There have been obstacles toward land-growth in the past; may He miraculously allow us to "extend our tent stakes"! In all these things, may He be our guide, and may it ALL be to His honour and glory!!! DL

Changes In The Wind

For those of you who have been following the "adventures" of the Miller family, there has been yet another recent occurrance in and for our family. I don't just mean our "at home" family, but our church family as well. Our pastor, who has served this church for 17 years, announced his retirement two weeks ago, and his final Sunday with us will be October 8th! Some of the congregation knew about it, but for most of us it came as a major shock. How severely this will affect our church still remains to be seen, but at the very least, the board has some serious business ahead of them. By the Lord's grace, there are at least 4 people available to our congregation who are able to preach (myself included), without even having to bring in "outside assistance" unless we choose to do so. So whether we go onto a rotating basis for a time, call an interrim pastor, or find a full-time pastor, the church has the promise of changes in the wind, as I indicated by the title of this letter.

As many of you may know, Rebecca and I went to Tanzania with the intention of seeking the Lord's will as to whether our family should go into long-term missions work over there. He lovingly answered our prayer during those three weeks, but His reply was a firm "No". We still maintain a missionary heart, but we also deeply desire to see people grow in the Lord, stretching their spiritual muscles and gaining greater and deeper maturity in Him. Perhaps this is the very reason He said no to our desire to serve in east Africa. Maybe we can better serve Him and His people in this area, instead of overseas. We shall see.... As it is, I will continue to teach the adult SS class, even as Rebecca does such a wonderful job teaching the children's class.

In a real surprise to me, God gave me a sermon for some unforseen time in the future, which He had me entitle, "Leaving A Legacy". My original idea was to possibly preach it while our children are all here this coming weekend, with family heritage in mind, as well as Biblical (positivie and negative) legacies which were left by people throughout the ages. Now, right after rough drafting that message, Pastor Bob announces his retirement - and he too leaves a legacy of service behind him. God is so cool! He provides for our needs even before we know we have them, and I look forward to sharing this sermon with our little church soon after pastor moves on.

On to a lighter note: our Ohio family has had two new additions! No, not the "people" kind, but that in the form of two new kittens into our household and hearts. They are named Merry and Pippin, so if we refer to them at some point in the future, you'll know of whom we speak. We love them a lot already, and they will be welcome helpers here on the farm, catching mice for us (we expect).

Bwana Asafiwe! (which is "Praise God!" in Swahili)

DL Miller

September 2006

Wow, this is a Big month here for us at the Miller's.

a very sad part of this month is that our precious Susan was killed a year ago on the 29th. we all miss her so much and are praying daily for her mom, dad, brother and sister as they go through this hard time.

A very happy part of this month is that my mom, Dorothy Hutchins, is visiting with us here on our farm for two or three weeks! She will be 90 on Oct. 12 and I am sooooooooooo blessed to still have her so healthy and able to travel and visit! She is staying in our guest room which I specifically decorated for her. It is like stepping into a little taste of Maine as I decorated it with Maine maps, lighthouses and special trinkets. She loves it and says that she may just stay for the winter, hehe. Actually she will be flying out to NM during the first week of October, to be with her sister so they can celebrate their birthdays together.

Another very happy part of this month is that we are having a Family Reunion on the 30th because Jim, Sarah and new grandson, Kiah and Tammy, Josh and new granddaughter, Eowyn are able to all come for a visit!!!! Yipee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have not even gotten to meet and hold Kiah yet, so we are all excited about that. And we all can't wait to hold Eowyn again! We already have 22 people coming for the Potluck dinner part and some drop ins. We are hoping that Tammy and Jim will get to introduce lots of friends and family to their precious firstborns.

Still not sure if anyone is reading this so i may send out an email invitation to everyone in my address book. lol.

Rebecca/Mama/Grammie

So Much is Happening!

We are enjoying a wonderful end of summer here on the farm that the Lord has allowed us to rent. We have begun the 06-07 school year for Stephen and Ezra and are having fun plowing thru each day together. We study, ride bikes, bake, clean, play basketball and football, watch educational movies (some we have really learned a lot from are Selma, Lord, Selma; Rudy; and The Earnest Green Story), enjoy board games (Stephen beat me at Stratego the other day!), play computer and write on our blogs! :>) They are 13 and 11 this year and I am finding math to be scary and challenging for me, so please pray that the Lord will help me find a tutor for them. We are also checking into a drum teacher for Ezra and a guitar teacher for Stephen! They both LOVE music and it is a huge part of who they are.

We are very excited because we have lots of special company coming! On Sept. 11th my mom, who will be 90 this Oct. 12th, is traveling here for a three week visit. I have such a wonderful time everytime she comes to visit and we just wish she would stay longer! Then on Sept. 29th, Tammy, Josh and Eowyn will arrive from NY and On the 30th, Jim, Sarah and Kiah will arrive from Colorado!!! Needless to say, we are planning a big family/friends get together on the evening of the 30th while they are all here with us! We are so blessed to be in a house with plenty of room and that they are all going to be here with us!

If any family members or friends are reading this who live close enough to come, please call and i will give you the details of time and place.

well, i need to get some other things accomplished. I don't know if anyone reads this, but if not, it makes for a good diary.

blessings in Jesus!
Rebecca

Jehovah Jireh as always!

David got a full time job thru a temp agency, PTL. He started work this past Monday at a light industrial factory just east of Butler, Indiana which is about a 40 minute drive. I guess he has 90 days there to show them they should hire him,but for now he does have 40 hrs a week with opportunity for overtime when he wants it. We are rejoicing that the Lord has provided.

We are Back Home in the USA

Well, here we are again. Sorry to all of you who may have checked a lot while we were gone! We were sooooooooooo busy and getting online while we were there was a little more difficult than it is here at home. We left Pamoja Ministries in Tengeru, Tanzania on July 23rd and flew to Amsterdam, Holland along with 5 others from our wonderful team. We had good fellowship as we awaited our flights. David and I had the first flight scheduled to leave of our group so we all hugged each other goodbye and we boarded. Well, that was the beginning of an adventure that we hadn't planned on. Our big 777 had taxied out to our runway when David told me that he was feeling rather seizurish. He hadn't had enough sleep and was really dizzy. We decided that we should alert the flight attendant so that if he did have one, they would know what was going on. They didn't see it that way and proceeded to turn our big 777 around and drive it all the way back to the airport and unboard us! They just dumped us out in Amsterdam and proceeded to leave without us! Goodness sakes! As we were rushed thru the airport to the medical center/first aid place, we saw our other team members still there. Charlotte, a precious sister who is a nurse, ran along side of me and went to the med. center with us. When i told themt hat David just needed some sleep they suggested that i put him in a lounge chair in the airport and let him sleep. I explained that he needed a real bed and a place where we could hook up his Cpap machine (for better breathing) . Guess what, it cost us almost $80 for him to sleep in one of their med. center beds for 4 hours! But the Lord had provided so I said, fine, let's do that and we got him all set and sleeping well and I went out to try to get us on another airplane to detroit. Rawlin, one of the team members, helped me get started with the process before he had to leave for Canada. The other family had to go as well and soon I was alone in the airport. The ticket agent said there were not any seats available for 24 hours! but to check back every 2 hours and they would see what they could find.

I went back to check on my dear sleeping husband and sat down to have a little cry. Now, Rawlin had tried to bolster me to be strong and stay calm so I could make wise decisions. I thought about how Paul and Silas sang in their rough spot. I thought about how Pastor Bob and Betty praised God when she broke her wrist. I thought , "But how can I sing in this foreign country so far from home, not knowing how we will get there? "

Our God is so faithful! I took out my Bible to receive comfort from Him and guess where He led me? Psalm 137:4 says How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? that just blessed my heart that the Lord met me right where i was! I continued to read and when I got to Ps. 138:8 I rejoiced in the promises of God. It says, " the Lord will accomplish what concerns me." I put my Bible back in my bag, stood up, asked the Lord to watch over David as he slept and headed back out into the airport. All the way to the ticket counter I sang, "God will make a way where there seems to be no way! He works in ways we cannot see. He will make a way for me. He will be my guide, hold me closely to His side. With Love and strength for each new day, He will make a way. God will make a way!!!" I didn't care who heard me either. :>) And God did make a way. Eventually one of the higher ups got us two boarding passes for the next morning at 7 a.m. they didn't have seat numbers but she thought we would be able to get on. I took them, thanked Jesus and began to trust that He would get us on that plane in the morning.

David woke up right before the end of the four hours I was ready to pay for and he and I gathered our belongings and headed back out to find some supper. We thoughroughly enjoyed real McDonald's food, even though it cost as much for the two of us as we pay in the states for the four of us. We found a quiet darkened area outside the med center and spent the night with lots of others on a group of lounge chairs. We had tried to contact our family and friends here to let them know not to go to the airport but we were unsuccessful. needless to say, our dear friend, Karen spent a very long day waiting for us to arrive in detroit. When we did finally arrive it was now the 25th and 10 a.m detroit time. Praise the Lord, Pastor Bob was free to come and get us and take us home. Mom Miller and the boys were at our house when we got there and boy did we hug and hug and hug!!!

Even though we have told all those who cared for the boys a big thankyou, I want to say it again here. We are so blessed by the loving care that they received and we thankyou all again!!!

Since we have returned home, we are continuing to be tested and continuing to trust the Lord for His direction and guidance. Please pray for us as we have both found in the last week that we are out of work. We do have the substitute teaching positions at a local Christian school, Praise the Lord. School starts on the 23rd and we have told them we are available when needed. but David's store job is gone and i found out today that the college doesn't need me this semester! so....we are resting in Jesus, seeking His face and not just His hand, trusting that He has plans for us that we will see when he is ready.

hope this hasn't been too long!

we love and appreciate you all!
blessings in Jesus,
Rebecca

Greetings FROM Tanzania ! ! ! ! !

Rebecca & I have finally made it to Africa - at least for our 3 week first-trip. We are mid-way through the "adventure" and God has been good to us in so many ways. The people here at Pamoja Ministries are dear to our hearts, and we are to grateful that God has brought us together, whether it will turn out to be long-term or just for now. He has yet to reveal it to "us", collectively, yet. In the meantime, we are doing all that we can to observe ministry in action all around us, do as much as we can in this setting, and especially not get underfoot if at all possible! Far too many Christians go on short-term missions trips with the best of intentions to change the world, but in fact doing a lot of damage to the existing ministries they had originally gone to support. May that Not be the case with us!

Rebecca works at helping out in the offices, helps teach English to the Tanzanian workers on base, is part of the children's video team, learns all that she can of Swahili and makes good friends with the people here at Pamoja. She also prepares meals for us in our on-base apt. for the two of us. She's wonderful! I am primarily down here in the Resource Center, focusing on entering book, magazine, articles, and videos/CD's onto a database we devised, originally using Excel, and which they can later augment to a more user-friendly program at some future date. But although I am only scratching the surface of all the materials they have in house here, at least it's a start! I can see how they could use a person like me who enjoy monotonous (but not boring to me), behind-the-scenes work which helps distribute literature and learning materials (Christian-based and "secular") to the local community and beyond.

Ultimately, Pamoja's task is to reach Tanzania and the world with Christian literature and other resources (like films); to present the Truth of God to those who don't yet know Him. The pressure to observe and absorb all that is going on around us seems great, especially since we have such a short time to take in so much, but we trust the Lord to protect us and enhance our understanding as we follow His leading for our lives - both in the short-term and the long-haul.

We ask for His grace and mercy, wisdom and guidance. May Jesus' Name be praised in ALL of this!

DL

trying to post a picture

Iam hoping to show you pictures of our new grandchildren. Jim has given me some info and i was finally able to email some pictures, so now i am going to try this too!

Yipee! I did it. This picture of Kiah (Hezekiah Immanuel Miller) during his first few days is the one with the little white patch on his head. He had a rough time getting here and we rejoice that now he is a month old and is safely at home with his mommy and daddy, Sarah and James. I will try to post a newer picture from the updated ones that Sarah has been sending to us. I think I need to send them from my email acct. to My Pictures first , somehow , and then I can show them to all of you.

Obviously the one in the flowery jammys is of Eowyn Jeanne Banfield in her first week. I got to spend that first week with her and her mommy and daddy, Tammy and Josh, and I took this picture.

I got these to come here for me but i wasn't able to put them right where i wanted them. I had Kiah first because he was born on May 25th and Eowyn was born on June 13th, but when I posted it flipped where they were. hopefully i will get better at it and then you can see some more.

blessings to all of you.
proud Grammie Miller