Miles In Missions

Mission Trips to Africa

Posted: November 4, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe Nigeria, H.E.L.P., Miles In Missions, Mission Trips, Patrice Miles
Tags: Africa Mission Trips, Egbe, Egbe Hospital, Egbe Nigeria, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions, Mission Trips, Nigeria, Patrice Miles, Samaritans Purse

A little over a year ago my life was changed by going on my first mission trip to Jamaica. It seemed that I heard God speaking so clearly when my cell phone was off, I had no Internet, and I had no agenda for the day. I write to you today because I am excited about the possibility of leading mission trips to Egbe, Nigeria. Having this opportunity to watch God work in peoples lives is so exciting!

Currently, Samaritans Purse is the main contributor to U.S. visitors in Egbe. These volunteers come every two weeks with construction skills that they use to help the revitalization project. In addition to the construction project, we now have the desire to start hosting large teams to do ministry inside and outside of the hospital walls.

I know running large teams every month could be stressful on myself, but I envision so many benefits from it as well. The opportunity to see U.S. lives changed by a new outlook on life, ministries in Egbe helped, people’s eyes opened to the hospital and its needs would be tremendously gratifying. I see all the benefits, but am in prayer to see if it is Gods will. Does he want this? I will be spending a lot of time putting it all together. Things like forms, schedules, costs, ministry options, etc. still need to be created. I will be dependent on God’s help to put all the pieces together because I cannot make this happen on my own. I feel like a little girl who is showing her Daddy a picture that she has drawn and then waiting for him to tell her how beautiful it is while putting it on the fridge.

I have high expectations of myself and admittedly, I can sometimes take on too much. I am sure there are many of you reading this that understand my pain. God has saved me from myself many times by not giving me what I want. I am thankful for that when I look back and see how he saved me from something that would have overwhelmed me or not worked out, but in that moment it was hard to be thankful. His will is always better than mine and it may or may not include my desire to see U.S. teams meet the beautiful people of Egbe. I am just going to have to wait and see. Lets all together watch and see what he does….. lets watch him show up and show off however that looks! How about you? Are you excited to see God show up and show off in your life no matter how that looks? If you have any interest in coming on a mission trip to Africa to serve the people of Egbe, no matter what your skill set is, click Egbe to email me.

I am NEPAman!

Posted: November 1, 2013 by Lenny in Egbe, Egbe Hosptial, Egbe Nigeria, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions

I am NEPAman! Sounds sort of like something from the 1980’s sci-fi movie Robocop where he says in a muffled human/computer voice, “I am Robocop”. Well, nothing so glorious for me in the last couple of days, just trying to get the electrical grid up and running on the hospital. NEPA is the national power company for all of Nigeria. I’m not sure of what the acronym stands for exactly, but I’ve thought of a good one for now…. Never Electrical Power Anywhere.

The problem started more than seven weeks ago where a part of the transformer that supplies power to the hospital “blew up”. It was determined that the repair would be around 80,000 Naira ($500 US). After 7 weeks of inaction, the Hospital and surrounding community decided to come up with the money so NEPA would fix the transformer.

Thankfully the hospital is blessed to have a large generator to power the full compound. However, due to the high cost of fuel, the generator is only ran from 11am-1pm Monday-Friday. All non-emergency surgeries have to be scheduled during these times, back up batteries charged, phones charged, computers charged, etc. etc. Anything of importance has to be crammed into two hours. Anything beyond that, like an emergency surgery has to be ran off of a small generator similar to one that you might have at your own home.

This is an expensive problem to have and the constant need for fuel is a challenge in itself. Two times a week I have my maintenance foreman Moses load up a van and he has to go purchase 210 liters (roughly 100 gallons) of fuel just to keep the small generators throughout the hospital going. Our family is affected by this as well, we use around 10,000 Naira ($70 US) of fuel a week. All of this said, I have not explained the most costly part of this, the high cost of life. With no power, a person dependent on an oxygen concentrator or a baby in an incubator face a huge challenge to stay alive.

When NEPA had finally shown up to fix the problem, I got a moment of relief. But that soon faded as they showed up with no tools, no ladders, no ability to really fix anything. With the blessings of the Revitalization project at this hospital, we were able to “help” them get their job done. Most recently we’ve used wrenches, pipe fittings, epoxy, ladders, trucks, and our John Deere tractor to aide them in the swapping out of a transformer. The last two days have been spent with them to get this done and I am glad to say that the hard work has paid off. The power is on!

When our red and green lights are on in our house, we are really excited. Not because we are celebrating an early Christmas, but because we are celebrating the fact that the power is on!

New OPD at Egbe Hospital

Posted: October 26, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe Hosptial, Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Mission Trips

I had a conversation recently with a local Nigerian and this is what he told me. “Once the new OPD is finished God will bring people from towns all over to come and be healed. Watch and you will see! Everyone will talk about this hospital and how it is up to international standards so they can come and be healed.” I have only been here for a little over two months and watching the progress is amazing.

A little over a year ago the demolition of the current OPD started so construction could begin on the new one. There is more than the OPD that is under construction by Samaritans Purse. Compound housing upgrades, water, electricity and so much more. Every two weeks we are greeted with new smiling faces of volunteers that take time away from family and friends to come and help paint, install cabinets, run new electricity grids and more. Click Samaritans Purse to see how you can come and volunteer.

Once the OPD is complete and the patients start coming we are going to need a lot of staff to help. If you are in the medical field in any capacity we need you. Come for 2 weeks, 1 month, 1 year but just come. I have been told that anytime a Western Doctor comes to Egbe people come from all over to be seen. I cannot wait to see this as we have an OBGYN doctor and her nurse coming soon. The increase in patients helps the hospital so much which in turn helps this community. Ophthalmologist, AIDS/HIV specialist, Teaching Doctors, Ear Nose and Throat, OBGYN, Family Medicine, Physicians Assistant etc etc…. come and let the skills God gave you heal the people of Egbe. Click World Medical Missions to volunteer.

Last but not least we are hoping to release short term team schedules for 2014 for churches, bible study groups and individuals. Just because you are not skilled in construction or medical doesn’t mean you cannot come and help the people of Egbe. The ministry opportunities here are endless from Orphaned children, teaching opportunities for pastors, doctors and school teachers, administrative, cooking & baking, Fulani outreach, agriculture and farming and more. Watch our BLOG for the exciting announcement of Team Trips!

Shola and Mommy Day

Posted: October 19, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Uncategorized

“Lord God, you know who will be helping us in Egbe when we arrive. You know her name, you know her face and you know her family. We pray for her right now that you would take care of her and her family and prepare her heart for our family. ” This was my prayer back in June, two months away from our departure to Nigeria. I get teary eyed now knowing I was praying for Shola the whole time.

Shola is amazing in so many ways. Her beauty is inside and out and we are so blessed to get to be a part of her life. She comes Mon.-Fri. 8:30am-5pm, Saturdays 12-5pm and stays late many nights. When I first arrived I thought I could handle all this cooking and cleaning ko si whalla (no problem). Yeah right!! Without Shola I don’t know where we would be. She cleans, cooks, goes to market, loves on my children, brightens my day, feeds our Aja (dog), and helps me with cultural questions. She allows me the time to focus on educating my children, keeping up with our ministry and finding new ways to be a light for Gods kingdom in Egbe.

Shola and Mommy Day has recently started on Fridays since Courtney, the Oyinbos (missionaries) from HELP started teaching Cason and Jolie. This gives Shola and I time to talk and pray. I asked her what she wanted to learn and she said typing. So on Fridays we are learning typing and next she wants to move onto the printer/scanner.

When I moved to Egbe I never thought part of my ministry would be in my own home. I love this place, I love the Yoruba people and I love watching God work in our lives and the people around us. Please pray for the next person to join our family. We are seeking God about the need to hire a guard/driver/gardner/handyman/mechanic. We know God has the perfect man with all of these skills picked out. We are trusting him to lead us to this Godly man just like he led us to Shola.

African Time

Posted: September 27, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, H.E.L.P., Miles In Missions
Tags: Egbe, Egbe Hospital, HELP, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, Patrice Miles

Hillary and Courtney at our house on Pizza and cookie night!

As I was excitedly collecting different odds and end snacks from my cupboard, Shola was pulling hot cinnamon rolls out of the oven. I put several of them in a ziplock bag. Two young missionary girls, Courtney and Hillary, arrived last week at HELP care center. They are staying for six months and were craving some US food. I know how quickly you start to miss your comfort foods and American things so I wanted to deliver some Joy to them.

I rushed out the door with all my goodies thinking is would only take me 10 minutes at the most to get to HELP. We had a dinner to be at at 6pm so I had to hurry in order to get everything done. I dropped Shola at her house because it was on my route to HELP and then I stopped at the supermarket and paid my bill. Once at HELP I was on a mission to deliver the goods. I found the girls and walked right passed John the coordinator and Uncle Charles who watches over the boys. Uncle Eman who also helps with the boys was sitting with the Courtney and Hillary and I didn’t even say anything to him. He greeted me after I had been talking to the girls for a few minutes and seemed a little hurt. We started to head to the car to get the box of goodies and Hillary stopped and greeted John the coordinator as we passed. He looked at me and said “You didn’t greet me?” His tone sounded hurt and it then hit me of every mistake I had just made in the past 15 minutes while on my mission to bring Joy.

When I dropped Shola off I greeted her children but there was a younger man there and I didn’t greet him or even find out who he was or his name. At the supermarket, I said hello but that was it. I didn’t ask the owner how she was or how her children were. At HELP I pulled in and barreled my way past everyone on my mission. Some of you in US may be saying, “What’s the big deal?” In Yorubaland greetings are a very big deal. I had just left a trail of disrespect and unkindness on my mission to deliver Joy. I started to wonder how many times in the US I did this same thing. How many opportunities did God put in front of me to build relationships and my task was more important?

I used to get frustrated at African time, but now I am starting to understand it. If I am late 15-30 minutes my host will understand. That 15-30 minutes will have been used to be a light to people and relationships will be deepened.

I know I am forgiven but it still pains my heart to know the impressions of the “busy American” I had left on the hearts of these people. God is helping me to remember that everything I do all day even the mundane things like paying a supermarket bill have His name written all over it. I am to be a light everywhere I go not just when my calendar says it is ministry time. I used to get so mad at people that were late. Now I am thinking African time isn’t so bad if God gets to touch people along the way. God please help me to slow down and see the opportunities you put in front of me everyday to be a light for your kingdom.

HELP West Africa, Inc. Egbe Nigeria Care Center

Posted: September 20, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe Nigeria, H.E.L.P.
Tags: Egbe, Egbe Hospital, Egbe Nigeria, H.E.L.P., HELP Inc, Miles In Missions, Patrice Miles

When I think of an orphanage I always think of the movie Annie. The song “It’s a hard knock life for us,” rings in my mind. Nigeria has changed that picture for me. Most of the orphanages are called care centers, not orphanages. The children in these homes have parents but the parents either sold them and the child was rescued or the parents gave them up because they were too poor to feed them or too sick to take care of them.

The kids and I have had the pleasure of getting to know these children over the past few weeks. Cason normally hangs out at the ping pong table with the boys while Jolie and I hang out with the girls. We play games like duck duck goose, I see something you don’t see and more. We just love to be with them as they are some of the most happiest little girls we have been around. They have so little but yet find so much joy in everything we do together. Their smiles are contagious. Check out the video below and you can see for yourself how much fun they are.

The HELP care center is just a small part of what this organization does. They also have a widows ministry, outreach program, micro finance, agriculture and more. In 1999, some medical missionaries moved to Nigeria with their children. During their years in Nigeria, they fell in love with the people and culture of Nigeria, particularly the Fulani. After their return to the United States in 2005, HELP West Africa, Inc came into existence. Check out their site by clicking HELP. I don’t know what God has planned for my kids and I at the center but I know that the joy I experience when I am there is so fulfilling. I am looking forward to getting to know these girls and their stories as we spend two years in Egbe.

Pray for Cason Jolie and I to be a light for these children. Pray for God to use us in any way he sees fit at the center or in any other part of the HELP ministries. Pray for the staff at the center. They are amazing and need Gods strength daily. Pray for the other ministries within HELP to grow and spread Gods kingdom. Pray for the Starns family that is coming to live at the care center in January for 6 months. We are so excited about their arrival and know God has great plans for their time in Egbe.

A Day in the Life of Oga

Posted: September 3, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe, Egbe Hosptial, Egbe Nigeria

By Lenny Miles

Oga means “boss” and this is just one of the many names that I am called around here. Some of the other names I am called are Engineer Miles, Oyinbo, and Master. All of these are hard to get used to, but most awkward of all is Master. It is not a term like we would consider it to be in the United States, but is more used when speaking to someone to say, “I am at your service”. While Oga is a term that I am getting accustomed to, it is still hard to see that these men are looking to me as their boss, since I have only been here for two weeks. But it is a sign of respect and way of showing that they look to me for some direction in their daily work.

So, Oga wakes up between 5:30-6:00 am every morning, does bible reading, drinks plenty of coffee, and eats, more often than not, a cup full of dry homemade granola (no milk, as I am not daring enough for the powdered milk yet). Cason and I dart off to devotionals in the maintenance shop at 8 a.m. (our last blog post has a video of this). We are in a study of the book of Romans were we read a few verses and then have discussion.

At 8:30, Cason runs back up to the house (school) and I meet with several of the maintenance staff to plan out their day. There are the grounds crews, which consist of Sunday, Gabriel, and Mody who have to follow a mowing/trimming schedule weekly to keep the 33 acres here maintained and looking sharp. These guys are also in charge of collecting the garbage (including medical waste) and burning it in designated spots.

Next, Moses who is in charge of general maintenance of the hospital including plumbing issues, making sure there is water for the hospital, and many other things, meets with me and go over what is most important to be fixed that day.

Last are the drivers/mechanics Ayo and Yemisi and we go over what they are going to do that day. Since in general I am not a mechanic, I can only watch them work and try to understand all that they are doing throughout their day. They are in charge of vehicle maintenance, generator maintenance, fuel for generators, driving the volunteers to and from the airport, etc.

Eventually, I make it over to the MDG building.. It is a complete remodel that is about half way complete. The Samaritan’s Purse (SP) Project managers on the ground have allowed me to be the “General Contractor” to complete this remodel. It is a good way to “get my feet wet” and see how things are done with the labor force here, quality of work, etc. At this building, I meet with John (a Nigerian worker), who is a sharp guy. John will also translate for me to the men that speak more Yoruba than they do English, so that hopefully nothing gets lost in translation.

The rest of my day is spent running around checking on everything that I had discussed with workers. Also, I am sometimes pulled away to the dam that is about a mile away from the compound. Currently there is a leak. It seems that a small leak would be easy to fix, but as you can see form the picture, patience, planning, and muscle play a huge role in getting it done right.

The maintenance staff gets off work at 3:30, leaving me with an hour and a half to check on things and get an idea of what should be accomplished the next day. I go to the house around 5 p.m. and Mon-Wed-Fri. we go running with the Egbe running club. I am still slow as molasses, but it’s good for us anyway. After that we eat a great meal, talk with some of the short term volunteer, and let the kids play with their new friends. We end up at home around 7:30 to start baths for the kids and try to be in bed at 9 p.m. for some much needed sleep.

I feel so blessed to be apart of something so big. This project and what it will do for the people of Egbe and surrounding towns is amazing. It is all being done in the name of Christ and everyone that visits the hospital knows this. The people of Egbe praise God for this project and know that without him none of this would be possible. Just today in my email Inbox was this “A nurse just gave report of a male patient coming to Christ this morning! Just thought I would pass along an impact this hospital has had on the community.” Mark Anderson Project Manager for Egbe Hospital Revitalization Project Nigeria.

For more information on how you can volunteer in Egbe with the project click Samaritans Purse. For more information about how you can be a medical or administrative volunteer at the Egbe Hospital, click Egbe Hospital.

A Day in the Life of Patrice & Kids in Egbe, Nigeria

Posted: August 28, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe
Tags: Egbe, Egbe Hospital, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions, Patrice Miles

“Eu karo, Sunday!”

6am every morning we are awakened with 2 sounds. One is Sunday raking our yard (sand), and the second is the moto bike of the guard coming for shift change. I grab my flashlight and scan the floors for visitors before I put my feet on the tile. You never know what might be waiting to say good morning to you. Potty break is first and the saying is, if it is yellow let it mellow and if its brown flush it down. Water from 6am-10am and then again 6pm-9pm. So normally Lenny hasn’t left any surprises for me in the mornings. HAHA.

Next is coffee! The question is, is their electric or not? Seems lately, not. I warm water in the kettle on the gas stove and then pour it over the coffee grinds in our coffee maker. Then for some quite time I view out the back at Mount Baldy. The sun starts to rise and I get to listen to some of the most interesting animal sounds as I read my Bible.

Next is turning on the generator if the electric is out. I have limited time for water and the laundry has to be done daily b/c everyone is so dirty and stinky. Once a load is going I go and tickle some kids awake. Next is a warm shower if the electric has been on at night. If no hot water then no shower for me as I have not been brave enough yet to take a cold one. I try to fit cleaning dishes in also as the water will be off soon. Once everyone is ready we head to 8am devotionals.

Cason and Daddy head to the workshop with the guys and Jolie and I head to the volunteer house with the gals. This is one of my favorite times of the day. The girls sing some of the most beautiful songs and they love to shake their bum bum. Check out the video below.

At about 8:30am Cason walks back to the house and eats breakfast with Jolie and then we start school. School seems to be ending right at or before 12pm. Then we get to eat lunch with Daddy!

After lunch I currently am playing house maid. The floors have to be swept daily as the dust is amazing. Mopping at least every other day. Laundry that is hanging outside has to be brought in a folded. After house duties I get to sit for a little bit and check out what is going on in your lives on Facebook, check emails and make my to do lists. Normally by 2 or 3pm we are free to do whatever we want but can pretty much guarantee a small visitor will be looking for Cason or Jolie to play with.

This is wear I am in prayer for what God wants my children and I to do to serve him. We love to visit the hospital and say hello to the patients. We have also visited the orphanage and are praying about how God could use us there too. There is so many opportunities to serve here. Please pray for God to show us which opportunity is best for our family.

Jumping the Fence to Run

Next is 5pm work out time. MWF is Egbe running club with anyone that wants to run in the bush together. This is so awesome and miserable at the same time. Beautiful surroundings but oh so hot and exhausting.

6pm is dinner which we are in love with the food here. Normally something spicy with rice. Right now we have been blessed with getting to eat with the volunteers. That ends this weekend and we will be on our own. I am hoping to have house help start working next week. Please pray for the lovely lady that ends up joining our family.

After dinner we get to relax and play on our computers or veg out. Bedtime is normally at 9pm and the kids must wash their feet and brush their teeth before bed.

I hope you have enjoyed hearing about our daily routine. We are challenged daily with being in an environment that we know nothing about. We just keep on taking steps not fearful of looking stupid or making a mistake. We ask a lot of questions and are leaving the big stuff like snakes, malaria and financials to God. We are still in need of $200 in monthly support to be 100% funded. If God has put it on your heart to support a ministry over seas click here, MILES IN MISSIONS.

Miles In Missions Goodbye

Posted: August 15, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Miles In Missions
Tags: Egbe Hospital, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions, Patrice Miles

As you are watching this we are probably in route to Egbe. This is a quick video we put together to say Goodbye.

God takes dust and make beautiful things. Our family is a perfect example of that and so are you. When you are praying for our family in Africa remember this and ask him how he can use you too? He can make beautiful things everywhere, even in your own backyard!

We love you all and tried to get everyone on the video, sorry of we missed you. Thank you for all the love and support that you have shown our family.

Cap’n Crunch Time!

Posted: August 7, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Uncategorized

By: Lenny Miles

Cap’n Crunch Time! I chose that title because it is true for us in a several ways right now. For one, we are eating everything in sight to get our last fills of American foods. Cap’n Crunch, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, etc. etc. and that’s just the breakfast cereals!

In the past couple of weeks we have had many “Good-bye” events, parties, and dinners with friends and family. Packing on the pounds has never been easier with all of the great homemade food and deserts. Did I mention the deserts?

All of the Goodbye events have been wonderful and we are so blessed to have everyone in our lives, even if they will be some 5,000 miles away from us for the next two years. We are also very glad that technology can bring us back together on a regular basis with Skype, cheap internet phone calls, this blog, and of course Facebook!

Right now, we are just eight days away from leaving and it’s definitely “crunch time” for our family. We’ve sold everything including both cars and Cason has a few items left he has on craigslist. Click Cason 1 and Cason 2 for links to his items. He wants to purchase a remote control four wheeler to take to Egbe. Next, is the need to pack everything in luggage and boxes that have to be airline approved size and of course, they have to be under 50 lbs. each. This will be a challenge to say the least.

Lastly, it’s “crunch-time” for our support goals! Our support is just $200/month shy of where we need to be and we still need 104 prayer partners. If you feel led to participate with us in this ministry to the Nigerian people and the hospital that is so important to them, please prayerfully consider a monthly commitment of $10, $25, $50, or more per month to Miles In Missions. Prayer support is just as important as financial support, so if you want to be a prayer warrior, please email Patrice to let her know.

I need to tell you that I am continually amazed how people have come behind us and this ministry to support it in big ways. We want to give you all a very big THANK YOU as we would not be able to GO if people like you did not SEND.

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