Abel and Sarah Miller connecting you to tribal missions Something I was reading today…
A good reminder I was just reading:
“The Gospel is not man accepting Jesus as his Savior, but that God accepted the Lord Jesus as the perfect and only Savior two thousand years ago. The Gospel is not man giving his heart or his life to Jesus, but that Christ gave His life, His whole being, in the place of sinners. The Gospel is not man receiving Christ into his heart, but that God received the Lord Jesus into Heaven as the mediator of sinners. The Gospel is not Christ enthroned in the human heart, but that God enthroned the Lord Jesus at His right hand in Heaven.
Do we see the great distinction between these two messages? One is subjective and puts the emphasis on what man must do. The other is objective and puts the emphasis on what Christ has already done. The sinner is only to trust in what has already been done on his behalf. The Lord Jesus cried, “It is finished.” He did it all. He took upon Himself the load of sin, the full responsibility for the sin of mankind. Because Christ paid the complete debt, God raised Him from the dead and accepted Him into Heaven. The resurrection was God’s sign to all that He accepted the Lord Jesus Christ forever as the perfect Savior. God is satisfied. Is the convicted sinner? Will he rest the whole weight of his soul’s salvation on Christ’s acceptance by God as the perfect Savior? Will the sinner cease, once and for all, trying to do anything to save himself? Will he trust only in God’s Son for salvation?
Some would call this type of Gospel presentation “Easy Believism.” When they present the Gospel, they consider it is necessary to place before sinners the need to take up the cross and follow Jesus and the necessity of crowning Jesus Lord of their lives. Some preachers believe that, by insisting on this, they prevent people from
making false professions. The answer to false professions, however, is not found in adding to the Gospel by requiring the sinner to promise to follow, obey, and suffer for Christ. There aren’t any strings attached to the Gospel. The answer to true conversion lies in the correct preparation of the sinner’s mind and heart for the Gospel. The Holy Spirit accomplishes this as the sinner hears and understands from the Scriptures that he is lost, helpless and hopeless, and stands condemned before God, who is his righteous, holy Creator and Judge.”
“Each Christian is responsible to make certain that his preaching and evangelistic methods focus on Christ and His death, burial and resurrection as the only firm foundation for his hearers’ assurance of salvation. Just as the physical eye does not behold itself but sees only the object on which it is focused, so true faith looks only to Christ. We should never accept any outward act of a professed convert as the basis for acceptance as a born-again person. The only scriptural basis for receiving a person’s claim to salvation is his understanding and faith in the foundational truths of the Gospel.”
Just wanted to share what I am thinking about. Doing things the right way take time, but laying firm foundations in teaching is critical. -abel
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One thing I need to say for sure is thank you for your wonderful support. Your prayers are felt all the time. The Lord uses you to encourage us through the good times but especially through the hard times. The Lord has truly blessed us. Last month I started another language and culture program so that by the end of the year I will be “fluent” in Swahili and have a good grasp on the culture. Last week I finished the first phase out of six! Yea. This phase was great because I was able to go through it with five of my coworkers and a native swahili speaker. We learned a lot and had fun doing it. I plan to start my second phase on monday. I will be learning one on one with a Tanzanian. In our program they are called a “nurturer”. So now I’m trying to find just the right person. So if you could pray that the Lord will give me wisdom in choosing the right person.  Sarah on her way to learn hundreds of nouns in Swahili One of our main reasons for being here in the capital is so that I can get the language and culture. I am very happy to be learning these things but at the same time I am very overwhelmed. I know that further down the road I’ll look back and be so grateful that I was able to do it, but now I am looking down that long road of intensity and hard work, and I want to settle for good, fine, or ok (and not just with classes but with my Christian walk too.) We all know that best, excellent, or great is what we should shoot for, but when it comes down to the work, it’s so tempting to settle for mediocre, isn’t it? Throughout this time Abel has been fantastic. He’s been helping me out so much so that I can be doing these classes and studying. I am SO thankful for him. He’s been my number one encourager. For the most part this is Abel’s ministry right now. However he does have other things that he needs to get done that are very hard to do right now because of our roles changing for this time in our life. He too is feeling overwhelmed at the thought of “how in the world are these things going to get done in time…” We know we need to just trust the Lord and give it to Him and He’ll work it out, and HE will for sure, but daily living that out is so hard. So I guess I’m asking for prayer that we will trust him each and everyday and know what that looks like when each day comes. And please pray for wisdom for us to use our time wisely and to see opportunities and to TAKE those opportunities to do what’s necessary but also weed out those things that can wait or don’t have to be done.
On mornings that the kids are in a preschool/daycare type place Abel gets to meet with our Pastor. They use this time to talk and discuss many things. Abel has really enjoyed these meetings. Next week they will be starting to go through Firm Foundations (a curriculum of going through the Bible Chronologically) that is in Swahili already but they will be going back through it and making it culturally appropriate. The kids are doing good. Like we’ve mentioned before the older two go to “school” three days a week for 3 1/2 hours. I am so grateful for this place. They are learning so much academically but also Bible too. They are always telling us about the Bible lesson from that day and singing new songs and showing us the new sign language they’ve learned. It’s great. The place is run by a couple from England but most of the workers are Tanzanians that speak English fairly well. Of course though, they have an accent. So it’s fun to hear the kids sing the new songs they have learned like their teachers, with an accent. We are so thankful for you. Even though we are having a rough time and trying to figure out how to do life here we have so many things to be thankful for and blessings that God has given us. You are on the top of that list. Thank you! Please keep in contact with us on our Facebook page. Due to a generous gift of an iPhone from the Jr. High youth group at ABC we are able to update via phone to our Facebook page frequently. We want to keep you as informed as possible. http://www.facebook.com/Abel.Sarah.Miller.Tanzania If you would like to contribute to the ministry here in East Africa, please follow this link: http://blogs.ntm.org/abel-miller/give We always enjoy getting updates from you as well. We want to be praying for you and be involved in your ministries also. Please let us know how you are doing. Our e-mail is: abel_miller@ntm.org This is a link of a video put together showing examples of some people groups here in Tanzania: http://vimeo.com/52382505?action=share |
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| Abel and Sarah Miller Tanzania, East Africa |
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God has been so good to us. Why is it that I worry and stress and fear? Those are things that God tells us not to do. Over and over again He shows me and proves to me His Goodness even though He doesn’t have to and He calms my fears and He calms me when I am stressed. Over and over again I am humbled by our Awesome God.
January and on the move again
A thief is caught and killed every day between our house and the bus station. An interesting statistic. The statistic becomes more than just interesting when watching a young man running towards you with the fear of death in his eyes and a crowd of people rising up around you to meet him. I was less than 10 yards from him when he was knocked off his feet with a brick by a businessman about 30 years of age standing off to my left. The man had aimed well and caught the thief mid-stride.
Statistics are just statistics until you see one being made. My life is being lived out in expectation of a tomorrow that I feel like I deserve. I don’t know if I’ll be here tomorrow. I know I’m not living every day like it’s my last. I know I’m not living purpose driven to the point where every person I talk to feels like they’ve talked to love, and want to know more about it.
Before heading out here we had the privilege of sharing with many churches about being eternally minded. Not only know that there is an eternity, but live like people are going to one of two places when they enter into eternity. To have a goal of investing my/our energies in an area where we will experience the greatest “profit.” With this in mind, we are excited about the path that we’re heading down right now. We’re excited about the opportunities that are open for our family.
Looking down the road to our goal (Leaving a mature, reproducing Tanzanian Church, fed by the Word, and led by the Holy Spirit in the hands of the Tanzanian Church), we see some important steps being made already:
-We have the great opportunity this year to be studying Swahili full time in a big city, that has almost everything that we could find in the States. The conveniences make it so we can focus on just language and culture without being hit as hard with the drastic life change it has been moving here with our three kids. Please praise God with us for the great team that we have supporting the ministry here.
-We have been welcomed with open arms into our church here. Our kids are enjoying all of their Tanzanian friends, and getting used to playing in a different culture. Please be praying for some good Tanzanian friends for them near our house.
-I have started meeting with our pastor two times a week for four hours each time. Please be praying for our relationship to be growing strong, and for the Lord to use us to “sharpen” each other. We’re working through the Firm Foundations (FF) curriculum as a Bible study. Though FF is already translated into Swahili, it’s just translated straight from English to Swahili without the cultural appropriateness that makes it so applicable to life. We are expecting to start modifying it officially once I reach the language level “Capable High,” which is the level accepted to begin translation work for NTM.
-This Sunday I’m teaching the morning Bible study (Sunday school) in Swahili. Please be praying for clarity in the message communicated. The chapter of the day is Exodus 24.
-I have a language evaluation coming up February 1, 2, and 4th. It takes two and a half days to make the evaluation. Please be praying for our language consultant who will be doing 5 evaluations and 5 consultations in the next few weeks. He will be exhausted and well used by the time he leaves here. Please also be praying for we who are being evaluated not to be nervous, as nervousness skews the results.
We are so thankful for the way that the Lord provides everything we need. We had to move out to the big city, and weren’t very excited about it, but now we’re happy to be here. The Lord used a good missionary friend to encourage us to enjoy the time that the Lord provides to prepare us.
We received several gifts from people stateside for Christmas. Thank you so much for your support. The money came at the perfect time, and in the perfect amount. We needed the money to set up our house here, and God provided. If you didn’t send money, don’t feel bad, not even a little bit, because God provided the exact right amount when we needed it, just like He always does. Thanks for being faithful.
Having to set up a house has been a full-time job. Looking for furniture that is good quality and cheap went out the window within the first three days of looking. Instead, I looked at the craftsmanship in the furniture, and pursued the carpenters, asking them to make custom furniture, which dropped the price, and ensured good quality. We also found some carpenters who work off the road a bit making furniture from old boats. Speaking Swahili like a local really helps to get good deals, and understanding that going back and forth over the price is a way to build a relationship has really helped with getting good, inexpensive furniture. The downside is that “Wazungu” (White people) get things fast since they pay a premium and are usually demanding a prompt delivery of their product. We have been waiting about a month for our furniture now, just like a Tanzanian would. Today is the day though. I’m going back again to hang out with the carpenters and pick up our table, chairs and coffee table today! No more eating on the floor or on plastic chairs. Doing things the right way takes time, and sacrifice, but it always pays off. I now have friends and great relationships with about 20 carpenters in our area. I expect to maintain relationships with several of them and even have plans in the making of a bee farming exhibition in the future bringing our pastor, friends from the Rukwa Valley, several church members, and these carpenters together to both build relationships and help each of them experience how great the Creator is in organizing even small bees. There is a demand here for honey, and I see bee farming (Apiaries) as a possible way for churches to support their own as they go out to serve in the future.
We recently had to change guards. Our new guard came with a wife and a little girl (Oprah, age 1). Mama Oprah cooks our lunch for us, and for payment we eat together, giving us a great chance to build relationships with them, feeding them, and providing a safe place for Sarah the kids and I to increase our Swahili every day. They live right here with us. We share a yard with them.
Life is busy, but we have been finding time to spend with each other also. There is a hotel on the beach with a pool about 15 minutes away, and for just 7 dollars for all of us, we have been spending our Saturdays poolside teaching the kids to swim, wading around in the Indian Ocean, and resting (though with three kids under 5 next to a pool it’s not always very restful). Sarah and I usually watch a recorded T.V. show in the evenings, or play a game together.
The kids are going to a pre-school three days a week for four hours each day. It’s good for them to be out of the house and playing with other kids, but they also pick up some habits that aren’t so desirable. Please be praying for us as we continue to raise our kids with love. Please pray for patience and consistency in our parenting.
Sarah is starting up Swahili classes again. She’s already completed four months of language study in another region of Tanzania. This time she’ll be in class 4 hours a day and have about 4 hours of homework to work on while the kids nap in the afternoons. She’ll be on this schedule for about two months. Please be praying for her to be encouraged with her progress. She’s doing very well. She speaks a lot better than she thinks she does. In Swahili I’d say “Bado hajajiamini,” “She hasn’t yet believed in herself.”
Thanks you for joining us in this ministry, and for the support you have shown as we continue shoulder to shoulder. As we continue together, please let us know how we can be praying for you also. We’re on a team. Let us serve with you.
For eternity,
-a
Please keep in contact with us on our Facebook page. Due to a generous gift of an iPhone from the Jr. High youth group at ABC we are able to update via phone to our Facebook page frequently. We want to keep you as informed as possible.
http://www.facebook.com/Abel.Sarah.Miller.Tanzania
If you would like to contribute to the ministry here in East Africa, please follow this link:
http://blogs.ntm.org/abel-miller/give
We always enjoy getting updates from you as well. We want to be praying for you and be involved in your ministries also. Please let us know how you are doing. Our e-mail is:
abel_miller@ntm.org (mailto:abel_miller@ntm.org)
This is a link of a video put together showing examples of some people groups here in Tanzania: http://vimeo.com/52382505?action=share
Abel and Sarah Miller
Tanzania, East Africa
November thoughts from the Millers
The world is full of hurting, dying people. Stepping out into the morning sun after a breakfast of oatmeal with warmed mangoes and homemade syrup poured over the top, I was greeted by over 30 people who had gathered on the bench outside the little house of our friend here in western Tanzania. They are here today, like every Monday and Thursday, for medical reasons. The reasons vary widely, from disfiguring wounds both new and progressively healing to skin diseases that make me want to look away and cry. This is not a the place to get into the details. I expose you slightly to ask the question:
How can I make a lasting difference?
I’m not talking about a difference in my lifetime, but in eternity. Where do I put my efforts when I’m overwhelmed? There is a great need here both physically and spiritually, and the answer to both goes hand in hand, and it’s not surprising when I look at the example Jesus set for us. Though I can’t heal like Him, I can be used to help physically. I’m not trained as well as I could be, but I’m willing, and that’s who God uses… the willing. There are books to be found on how to treat various ailments, and with our moderate education and prayer most things can be figured out. I’m thankful that the Lord made our bodies so well that we can heal, even from very disabling injuries. That’s the physical side, but if we stay only on the physical side, we’re only prolonging the inevitable. These people, like all people, will die. And then what? I look forward to the time when we will have more time in one place and be able to work together with the Tanzanian Church, learning from them, and growing together with them to see the Church actively feeding itself from the Word and reproducing in a mature way.
I have a lot to learn about people and the culture here. I feel like (sometimes) I’m being pecked to death by chickens… everyone asks and asks and asks for things.
Allow me to relate a story. I stopped to greet to a guy while carrying a bag of cement down to the intake for the water project in Wangama, just greeting him and stuff, and explaining what I was doing there. Things moved along and I explained the frustrations of working day in and out without getting help, and being exhausted, and disappointed in the involvement in the community. He responds (me still with a 80 lb. bag of concrete on my shoulders and him in a suit leaning up against his motorcycle), “Why don’t you give me a generator so I can pump water up here to my crops?” So I say to the guy, If I give you a generator, what about your neighbor? What will he do? I said, I can give you advise that will make you rich, but you have to be patient and work hard. I then set the bag down and spent about 15 minutes lining out a plan for him explaining percentages of income to put back into his plot, different trees he could plant to produce a certain yield, and the current market price for the produce. I lined it out so that in 7 years he could retire and have a group of people working for him. The happy ending is he ends up in a decent house, sipping lemonade from his own trees in the shade of his porch. He also would have two small stores (growing) and a motorcycle transportation business to supply his stores, and other stores in the surrounding villages. He says, “Sawa, lakini nataka genelator, na sipendi kufanya kazi.” “Alright, but I want a generator, and I don’t like to do work.”
Here’s the kicker- he’s a retired official, with the best education possible here. That makes no sense to me. People expect me to ask them for things… it’s part of the relationship. And they also expect to be able to ask for things. I need to know where to set up boundaries. Please be praying for wisdom and growth as we become accustomed to living here, Christ-like. As I write this, there is a small printed quote on the wall next to me. It says, “Every culture in the world is foreign to someone. At first it’s scary, then maddening. To survive you have to grab it, fall in love with it, and make it yours. God understands.”
We’re out a ways right now into the “wild” area of Tanzania, and are also looking forward to being settled for a while again after a few more bus rides. Please be praying for safety in our travels as we head towards the coast tomorrow. We still don’t have a place to stay there. Some of our teammates have been looking for a place for us, but we haven’t heard anything yet. It’s a long journey, about 30 hours of road travel if the busses don’t break down. Traveling by bus isn’t exactly the safest mode of transportation. We see, regularly, busses overturned and burned, and busses driving down the road missing large chunks of their bodies, or their tops completely off… please be praying. I know you have been, and we’re thankful for that.
Heidi fell last night and busted her chin wide open. We cleaned it up well and put 3 steri-strips on it, and I’m fairly sure that it will heal up with minimal scarring. She took it like a champ. I’m very thankful for tough, obedient kids.
-Could you be praying for a place to stay? We’re headed off tomorrow morning trusting that something will be there.
-Please be praying for endurance, and for us to continually show love.
-We are wanting to buy a vehicle so we can be in a little more “control” of the speed we travel and when we overtake other vehicles on the road. Pray for money for the vehicle (If we’re supposed to have one).
Thanks. It’s good to be working shoulder to shoulder with you.
-abel for the millers
Please keep in contact with us on our Facebook page. Due to a generous gift of an iPhone from the Jr. High youth group at ABC we are able to update via phone to our Facebook page frequently. We want to keep you as informed as possible.
http://www.facebook.com/Abel.Sarah.Miller.Tanzania
If you would like to contribute to the ministry here in East Africa, please follow this link:
http://blogs.ntm.org/abel-miller/give
We always enjoy getting updates from you as well. We want to be praying for you and be involved in your ministries also. Please let us know how you are doing. Our e-mail is:
This is a link of a video put together showing examples of some people groups here in Tanzania: http://vimeo.com/52382505?action=share
Water project
This is the intake before being widened and raised
This is a quick update to involve you more in the water project that I’ve been working on this last month or so. The problem was, there was a project started to bring water to a village about 12 years ago that hadn’t been completed. This effected over 3,000 people and their relationships with the folks who said that water would get there to the village. While Sarah is finishing Swahili school, I figured I could walk over and see what could be done. Why not be used?
Problem 1- Volume of water to the hydram (http://www.allspeeds.co.uk/blake-hydram/water-powered-pumps) wasn’t enough.
The picture above shows the intake, where a lot of water is going over the wall, and volume is being lost. The solution to this problem was to block off the water, break the lower watt, widen it, and raise the level of the wall.
I also decided to put a concrete floor to increase the efficiency of the intake. The widened, raised wall of the intake is shown below:
New intake, still working on removing dirt
Since I raised the wall here, I needed to raise the wall all of the way to the settling tank, which took a few weeks as well. There were several places as well that needed to be broken down and widened, since they were effectually bottle-necking the water, and then they had to be rebuilt.
Thankfully, I had some good helpers. Andrew is shown below working hard with some of his buddies getting sand for the mix.
Andrew working hard with his buddies
…and here is the Heidster eating baobob seeds under the header tank we’ve been building.
Heidi Kate came to work with me too. Good daddy- daughter day.
This is how we set the culverts on the existing tank (below).
You can see a blue line running down the left side of the tank. I used this line tied to some rebar as a plumb bob, and checked it at 90 degree intervals to make sure it was straight. it worked well.
Hopefully the water should be opened and tested on Saturday. Please be praying for success and a good amount of water to go screaming down the trench… as I write this, in town, it is raining like crazy, so the trench may open itself up today. I hope not, but whatever, we’ll see what happens. It’ll turn out alright.
Thanks for being on a team with us. It’s good to be working shoulder to shoulder with you.
Abel for the Millers
If you want to support financially: http://blogs.ntm.org/abel-miller/give
October in Ostafrika
Just like while we were in the U.S., Sarah and I continue to build the body here however we can.
While in language school, Sarah is being challenged to answer such questions as: “Why do you pray?” and “What good is it to go to Church?” and “Has God changed since the Old Testament?” All of her answers must come from the Bible, and they must be in Swahili. Challenging stuff, but great for learning.
Just last month I was in class with my teacher, and we went through the old testament and hit most of the histories, showing how God was making allowances all along for man, who is full of faults. When we got into the new testament we traveled along a bit, and then went to Hebrews, in Chapter 8. As we went through Hebrews 8, 9, and 10 the Gospel was totally brought out. I think Hebrews is one of my favorite books right now.
I stepped out of classes shortly after going through the Bible with my teacher, and spent a few days taking him around and showing him a water project that a friend has been working on slowly for the last 12 years. He was amazed at the investment of both time and resources that my friend had put into the village without getting any benefit whatsoever out of it. Also, as my friend had put nearly $50,000 into the project to help the village, me teacher was amazed at the size of my friends’ house, which is very humble. Overall, it has been a great opportunity to show my teacher how we, as Christians, are supposed to be showing love in this context… not necessarily dumping money into a project, but preferring our fellows in love.
I continue to learn Swahili while working in the village 6 miles from where we are staying. I’m not playing hookie from school or anything… my Swahili is just at a good level. On top of just learning language, my cultural knowledge is increasing greatly. I am continually amazed at the cultural mistakes I have made in the past (and I’m sure I continue), and how forgiving the Tanzanians have always been even without me knowing.
Work has been very difficult. There have been many days that I work with just one other guy all day, sometimes busting up rocks to build structure, sometimes moving sand from the river to the building site, sometimes digging gravel out of the new intake. I am grateful for the time to be out and help people. On the other side of the project is my friend, who has been working for years to complete this project, but has not had the time to be at the project every day because, as a pilot, he is very busy.
It’s good to be used. If I have something that can be used, it should be used. I’m thankful for the time that the Lord has given us to be in Tanzania, and the extra time that He has given me here on the earth. While I’m here, as long as He gives me, and us, we’ll be used. I want to challenge you all to be used. Look for some way to invest your time in eternal things. How? That’s between you and the Lord. Look for a way to be used. I was thinking just yesterday while I was working- “I feel like I’m being USED by these people.” Is it so bad to be used? I’m blessed with education and the knowledge of how to complete a big project like this, and also a body that works and is only missing one bone! Why not be used?
At the end of this project, which I expect to be done within the next week (African time meaning the next 3 weeks), 2,500-3,000 people will have water close to them, when they had none before. I can’t explain how difficult their lives are without water, especially now in the dry season. Please be praying for my health to stay up, and safety in traveling to and from the project, as there are snakes around, and, as I learned yesterday by the footprints all over the site, a hippo.
Thanks for being on a team with us. We’re so glad to be the hands and feet here in East Africa.
Please continue to pray for us as we continue here for:
-Sarah to be focused in her study times
-Andrew and Heidi to be safe while they’re playing with their friends during the day
-Pacey to keep being cute ( I don’t know what to ask for her… but she is cute)
-All of our kids to understand the amazing thing that the Lord has done to forgive us through His Son Jesus.
-Safety for us as we travel to and from town about once a week
-The different people that we run into hourly that don’t know what True love is
-Endurance
Thanks-
abel for the millers
Please consider supporting the work here:
http://blogs.ntm.org/abel-miller/give
Andrew came to work with dad and helped mix concrete
Off the Plane and Onto the Ground
We are glad to finally be in Tanzania, though we’ve walked into a foreign and uncertain environment. We are so thankful for your prayers and your warm thoughts and love. I think I still can’t believe we are actually here! Knowing that so many people are praying for us gets me through when I start to feel alone and start to doubt our being here.
The plane rides went smoothly. Pacey was a little snuggle bug (I was mainly concerned about her squirming and fussing a lot prior to the plane ride). She did great. The older two kiddos did fairly well also. Of course being kids, they had a few issues. All of our luggage arrived safely. We had a lovely welcome and were greeted by some fellow missionaries with a thoughtful goodie basket to help get us started. Thank you for praying for our travels. 
We then got our first cultural experience that caused us to jump right in to being in Tanzania on our way to the hotel from the airport. Driving is a lot different here then in the America. I was so tense all the way to the hotel. It’s amazing how close the cars, buses, motorcycles, bajaji’s (three-wheeled covered carts with a lawn mower engine), people, and bikes can come to one another without anyone being hit. But what I’m truly amazed at besides the chaotic driving is that no one gets road rage. From what I’ve seen, there is just none. It’s quite interesting and bizarre by my standards. In that car, God brought to mind that He’s in control always! Always always always. I find that comforting. So many times, I want the control and think I have it and then, I am happy. But all along God’s the one who gives us everything that we have. God’s the one who allows everything. And God is good, always…and I forget this daily.
We have been in the capital city and will soon be making our way to language school for four months. For the last week and a half we have been staying at a hotel. It’s been wonderful to get to know some of the staff here. They are lovely and kind people. It’s been neat to see the kids slowly warm up to them and feel more and more comfortable trying out some Swahili words. I’m excited because I’m remembering a lot of the Swahili I’ve learned awhile back.
I’m glad the Lord has had us here for this time. It’s been a good place to just chill and process everything. I’ve gone through many different emotions while here. At times I am very excited to be here and can’t wait to learn the language and get started with my life here…for everything to be normal. Other times I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to get to know the people, I don’t want to have to filter my water, I don’t want to have to put mosquito nets up every night, I don’t want to be uncomfortable. I try and justify in my head why it would be good to go back to America and do ministry there. There are lost people there too, right? There are. I know God has called us here. I’m glad to know that I serve a perfect God who loves me and loves the Tanzanians. Each day has to be about serving Him and finding my joy in Him alone or else I’m going to be let down constantly. If I’m doing it for any other reason, I will be miserable.
I am so deeply grateful for your prayers. It overwhelms me. I really don’t even know how to express my joy and gratitude for your support. Thank you! Thank you for allowing the Lord to work in your lives.
We do have some specific prayer requests since we are talking about prayer.
-Andrew has had a fever for a few days. We’ve tested for malaria and it came back negative (he doesn’t have it). We believe he has an infection in his chest that is flu related. (Since writing this Andrew has not had a fever today, yeah! We’ll see if his fever comes back tonight.)
-Since Abel and I will both be taking language classes in the morning starting this next week, we will need someone to watch the kids. We have some ides but we’re not sure exactly what we’re going to do. So please pray for wisdom. If anyone wants to come out for four months and help out with kids, Karibu! (which means, you are welcome!)
-Please pray for the bus ride to language school. It will be about 9 hours. We will be traveling with with another family, the Schleens.
We love you all and are so glad to be on the same team,
Sarah for the Millers
Movin’ on out
Movin' on out
We made it across to Ohio safely, and in good spirits. Thank you for your prayers. We met up with several Church groups along the way, and were very encouraged in what the Lord is using us to do both in Tanzania and as we are involved in the lives of people here in the states. Great connections were made, and I think the Body was made stronger from the opportunities that the Lord gave us to speak to people, share where we’re going, and to share also how faithful He is always. I’m interested to see what the Lord is doing with the people we were talking to. Please be praying for them. I felt challenged to encourage people to go to Bible school, and several responded. While I do want to follow up with them, I know that they have to make the final decision about going.
We’re still short on support, but we’re trusting that the Lord, as always, will provide exactly what is needed, even though it may not be up to the “recommended” support level that we have been given. Please be praying for the team to be filled up with financial supporters.
I am still being amazed by God. On the way across, we only had 50 dollars the day before we left, and a van full of fuel. I knew, from keeping records on the trip out to Cali, that we needed 863 dollars to cover gas and food. A guy gave us 120 Monday night before we left. A couple (who also payed to have the house we were staying in professionally cleaned!) gave us 300, and we left 200 for the people who let us stay in their house. We left with a full tank and 270 bones. Sarah’s mom called as we were driving to the Church that morning, and told us that she had just dropped a check someone had written for 600 dollars in the bank. Blam. 7 dollars to spare. Thanks God. I wrote about another one on facebook the other day. That’s the money side, but it’s been awesome to see how God works in every discussion we have to equip us with just enough to communicate Gods’ love to the people we come in contact with. God is good.
Thank you so much for your prayers. We have a few big moves coming up for which we’ll be asking your support through prayer:
Ohio to Tanzania- We’re waiting to find out the exact date that we’ll be leaving, but it will (Lord willing) be between the 16th and 21st of July.
-Please be praying for money to come in for the tickets.
-Please be praying for us as we say goodbye to the families here with whom we’ve gotten so involved
-Please be praying for the kids (age 4, 3, 8 mos) on the flights (8 hrs, 12 hrs.), as well as Sarah and I on the flights
-Please be praying for connections between flights to be made, and the baggage to arrive
-Please be praying for a quick recovery from the jet lag
Dar Es Salaam- Language school
-Please be praying for the trip across to language school (10 hours on a bus) with the kids
-Please be praying for Sarah to be okay learning the language at her own pace, and naturally
Thank you so much for your prayers. We’re excited to see what the Lord is going to do with us in these next few months, but we’re also very tired. Please continue to be praying for restfulness for us.
Thank you.
-abel for the millers
Support the Millers ministry-
Rejoice Always, Pray without Ceasing, In Everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. If you would like to respond to this post, we would LOVE to hear from you at abel_miller@ntm.org !
Go Team Go!
We’re planning on being in Tanzania on the 1st of July, and beginning language school on the 18th. We’re headed out from California on the 29th of May, and begin our trek across the US, and will fly out of DC hopefully on the 28th or 29th of July.
It’s been exciting to see how the Lord is filling up the team as we prepare to move to Tanzania and continue ministry building the Tanzanian Church. New Tribes Mission has set our monthly support level at $7200 a month, and we are working towards raising monthly supporters. Just like the Lord has called us to Tanzania, and equipped us, I know He has called many of you to partner with us, and has equiped you also. As part of the Body of Christ, our ministries may look different, but we’re all investing in eternity. We get to be on the ground in Tanzania seeing people reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, but we need supporters responding to the Lord in order to keep us there. Please be praying, and asking the Lord what part He might have been preparing for you in building the Tanzanian Church. We’re being faithful with our lives because the Lord has blessed us so far with more cancer free years, and are encouraging you to be faithful with what the Lord has blessed you with. If you would like to partner with us financially please visit http://blogs.ntm.org/abel-miller/give and sign up for the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) option. If you do the EFT, there is no processing fee, so it ALL goes directly to our ministry in Tanzania. Please also be checking our Blog: http://blogs.ntm.org/abel-miller/ to keep up to date with us, and to know how you can be praying for the team that YOU are a part of in Tanzania, East Africa. Thanks for being on the team. It’s good to be serving the Lord with you. -a
Support the Millers ministry-
Rejoice Always, Pray without Ceasing, In Everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. If you would like to respond to this post, the Millers would LOVE to hear from you at abel_miller@ntm.org !
My dad can’t dance
Our family
My dad can’t dance. I love him, but he just doesn’t get along well with a beat. He can chase that beat all over the floor, but he just can’t seem to catch the thing. Our family has mocked him since I can remember for his lack of skills in this area. He has this extra tick in his dance that doesn’t made sense. At a wedding, years ago, someone flipped on “Polka” the stars came into line, and we were silenced in awe. My dad was dancing. He’s the Polka king. He was born to Polka!
I recently did a question and answer session at a church, and was embarassed by how difficult it is for me to keep my train of thought on the rails. The situation played itsel out something like this: A question would be posed by someone in the audience. I would restate it, both for the general assembly to hear the question and for me to be clear that I understood the question. I would answer the question. I would then ask the questioner if I answered his/her question to their satisfaction. Several times I had started off well, and ended miles away from the question and would have to set about answering the question again. It was embarassing, but through this, God was glorified. That God would use me is an amazing thing. In using me, He gets the glory. Sure I bring stuff to the table, but it’s been interesting to see the different ministries that the Lord has trusted to us, and how they don’t really fit in with the things that I’ve considered myself gifted in.
Do you remember the Linguistics course at the missionary training center? I was put to the task of analyzing languages for 8-10 hours a day while working with a computer (computers and I, we have an understanding- we don’t like eachother), not outside, and away from people. This is not the type of thing that I would have put my efforts into apart from the Lord. Just like my dad was awkwardly awaiting his “Polka calling,” I feel like the we’ve been prepared and called to Tanzania.
What are you made for? What is your purpose? Are you using everything that the Lord has given you in order to glorify Him? Am I? We need to be.
I’ve been dreading this part (raising support) since we started down the road to missions several years ago. Remember how the Lord worked when we were at WOL? He provides, because He’s the Provider!! I thought that I’d have to beg, and make a case for building the Church Body in Tanzania, but I forgot that it’s not my/our ministry, the ministry belongs to the Lord. He has gone before us, and He has been calling other people to the team expanding the reach of the Gospel to Tanzania as He has called us! We are amazed at His provision, and the blessings that we have gotten out of this phase in our lives. We get to spend a lot of time with people, and get to be involved in a pretty serious way with their ministries as they are getting involved in ours. I’m not a “Song-and-dance,” fakie type of guy, and to be able to be used as “Abel” has been sweet. I don’t have to pretend to be some flashy missionary dude with a magic trick, and a tear-jerking story. I do what I do- encourage, disciple, pass on information- and the Lord has blessed the ministry that He’s trusted to us. It’s sweet. God’s good, and gets ALL the glory.
Pray for peace and ease with the multiple moves the family will be making in the next year (California to Tanzania, Language school in Central Tanzania to Western Tanzania, etc.)
Pray that relationships would be established with the Church in Tanzania on level ground, and that the Lord, and not the Millers would be seen as “The Answer” to the growth needs in the Tanzania Church.
Pray that God opens the doors for the financial support needed to build the Church body in Tanzania.
Thanks for your prayers and support!
-abel for the millers
Support the Millers ministry-
Rejoice Always, Pray without Ceasing, In Everything Give Thanks for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. If you would like to respond to this post, the Millers would LOVE to hear from you at abel_miller@ntm.org !
Somewhere in the middle of the desert
Tags: Polka