URGENT NEED for Doctor & Medical Staff at Egbe Hospital
Please take a moment and click above to see an urgent email from SIM USA’s president Bruce Johnson.
15 days from today, if you are driving the Watterson Expressway around 9am you will see an entourage of SUV’s heading to the Louisville airport. They will be carrying 20 pieces of luggage, The Miles Family, and some very physically and emotionally exhausted family members and friends. I feel sorry for the Louisville Airport employees that will be working that morning! I am sure it will be a mess of boxes, luggage, crying people and kleenexes.
The goodbyes have started and we are trying to capture as much pictures and video that we can. If you have any, will you please email them to me by clicking EMAIL? Our send off and good bye parties have been amazing. As we eagerly await our departure it is bittersweet….you cannot say hello without saying goodbye.
With only 15 days left we are at crunch time and still need help in so many areas.
1. We need prayer for VISA’s to get approved.
2. We need prayer for a new tenant for our rental property. Click 5306 Saratoga Estates Cir for more info.
3. We need to sell both of our cars. The Toyota Sequoia is a 2007 and has 92,000 miles on it and we are asking $17k. The Ford Explorer is a 2004 and has 105,000 miles and we are asking $3,900. We should have these online this weekend with pictures.
4. We need prayer for more financial partners. We need $350 in monthly support to get to 100%. Click DONATE to become a monthly or one time financial partner.
5. We need more prayer partners. We currently have 291 and we would love to have 400. Click PRAYER to become a prayer partner.
6. Last but not least we need prayer for our sanity over the next 15 days of packing. We will be checking the list and checking it twice.
We have been told from our cross cultural trainers that the Honeymoon stage will end around month 3 or 4 of our two year stay in Egbe. At that time most missionaries start to experience depression, frustration, anxiety and or just a reality check that they are not going to see friends, family or enjoy American comforts for a long time. My immediate reaction when we were in training was, “Not me! I am stronger than that!” Well now that we are home and the Goodbyes are starting, we are experiencing all types of emotions. It is bittersweet because we know that we cannot say hello without saying goodbye.
We are prepared now for the roller coaster ride we are going to experience emotionally and physically. We need your prayers while in Africa. Do you have one of the prayer bracelets above? We created these so that every time you wear the bracelet, see it in your jewelry box or nightstand, you will lift our family up in prayer. Prayer for strength, prayer for peace and joy, prayer for the people of Egbe and the hospital, prayer for God to use our family to help build and restore lives in Christ, prayer for our kids, prayer for our marriage and prayer for our safety.
If you don’t have a bracelet already we will have plenty at any of our farewell events that you might be attending. This Thursday is our send off party at St Mathews Community Center. Click Miles In Missions for the link to the event. I will also have some at my office front desk if you would like to stop by and pick them up. If you are out of town we would love to mail you one.
We currently have 277 prayer partners that have committed to pray over the next two years. If you are not one already please consider joining our prayer team by clicking PRAYER. We are at 87% of our monthly support goal for our ministry. We still are in need of several $100, $50 and $25 financial partners. If God has laid it on your heart to support our ministry please click Miles In Missions to donate.
Egbe Hospital Needs You!
Posted: July 7, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe Hosptial, Mission TripsTags: Construction Mission Trips, Egbe Hospital, Medical Mission Trips, Mission Trips, Post-Residency Program, Samaritans Purse, Short Term Mission Trips, World Medical Missions
The motto of ECWA Hospital Egbe is ‘CHRIST HEALS’. We want to glorify God through provision of holistic health care services with the intent and purpose of advancing the Kingdom of God through excellent patient care and the demonstration of the Christ-like lives of its staff.
Click to watch video.
As our family heads to Egbe in August we are excited and praying for who God will bring along with us. Currently there are 3 Samaritans Purse workers on site helping with the revitalization. This part of the project will be complete in March of 2014. Lenny and I will be assisting the Egbe team with the management of the compound, overseeing ongoing projects, hospital maintenance, coordinating short term teams and helping new missionaries transition into Egbe living.
We are very excited about the opportunity to help the Egbe missionary community grow. Key positions are a Family Physician, General Surgeon, Administrator (general manager type), Medical Director and Head Nurse. Right now the priority is getting a family medical physician that can provide leadership to the Nigerian Resident doctors and improve patient care. Egbe hospital is also in need of a Ophthalmologist, Pharmacist and additional Physcians/Medical Practitioners.
We are proud that Egbe Hospital is a part of the World Medical Mission. Short term medical trips and 2 year post-residency programs are available. If medical is not your field but construction is, there are still several opportunities for short term construction trips through Samaritans Purse. If you feel God has been leading you to missions and any of these opportunities seem interesting, please let us know so we can get you more information. If God has been calling you to missions and you don’t see anything above that fits your skills, let us know as the Egbe community has more needs then what is listed above.
We are praying for you, whoever you are! We are waiting for you to say “Here am I, Send me.” Isaiah 6:8.
“What are you doing here?”
Posted: June 25, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe, Egbe Hosptial, Egbe Nigeria, NigeriaTags: Egbe Hospital, Egbe Nigeria, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions, Patrice Miles
“Come on kids, its time to go visit the M@sque.” I yelled. “Mommy, tell me again why I can’t tell them about Jesus when we visit?” Cason asked. I never thought I would be explaining to my 10 year old son why you cannot walk into a M@sque and start telling everyone about Jesus. It was precious conversation that I will never forget and a huge educational opportunity.
We have finished 2 weeks of our cross cultural training at CIT (Center for Intercultural Training) in Union Mills, North Carolina. We have two more weeks to go and it has been an eye opening experience already. They have helped us identify cultural, spiritual, and emotional issues that might arise while in the field. They are also giving us the tools to equip us once we encounter these hard issues. They want us to get uncomfortable in our American ways so we can truly understand how hard it is going to be in Africa. One of the uncomfortable assignments was to visit the primary Religious worship service for our country we are heading to. According to a 2011 report, about 50.8% of Nigeria’s population are Christians, 47.8% are M*slims and 1.4% adhere to other religions. So we decided to head to a M@sque along with 4 other families.
Nigerian M*slim Women
Upon arriving at the M@sque we were greeted by the parking director. “What are you doing here?” he asked. Telling him we just wanted to visit, he sent us in to find a congregation of men standing at the entrance. To say we were the center of attention would be an understatement. The looks and stares we received were just a little uncomfortable. Upon realizing there was a separate entrance for women, our group separated. We found the women’s entrance and immediately realized that our long skirts and long sleeve shirts were not the only requirements. Every women had on a head covering. The stares again were overwhelming and I was very uncomfortable. One of the missionaries I was with made her way to a table were one women was sitting and sat down. I followed her and we began to strike up a conversation with the Mu$lim women. She was from Nigeria….too funny!
I am excited about what God has in store for us in Egbe Nigeria and we would love for you to partner with us. We still need financial partners, 3/$100 partners, 7/$50 partners 9/$25 partners and 3/$10 partners. We also have 189 prayer partners and are wanting 400 prior to departure August 15th. To sign up to be a monthly financial partner click here. To become one of our prayer partners click here.
They Don’t Have a Walgreens in Africa?
Posted: June 7, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe, Egbe NigeriaTags: Egbe, Egbe Hospital, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, Patrice Miles
Yes this was the question I received when talking to the physician assistant at my allergists office. I really didn’t know what to say except….”Are you joking?” I had called to request them to change Cason’s prescription for his inhalers. We needed to stock up on them as they do not sell inhalers in Nigeria. She wasn’t very helpful or understanding of our upcoming trip and ended our conversation with “They don’t have a Walgreens in Africa?”
I had never really thought about all the things we relied on until I had to pack it all up and move it across the globe. Medications are the hardest thing to come by in Africa. We will be taking a two year supply of all meds and 2 nebulizer machines just in case one bites the dust.
Once we started talking to friends on the field we found out a few of our favorite foods 
didn’t exist in Egbe either. Peanut butter, coffee and chocolate……oh no! There is a grocery store, but as you can see it is very limited. We were told we can order American food items from the lady that owns the grocery store. They take a few weeks to get to her and it is very limited. They mentioned Pringles being a commodity. There is no rhyme or reason to what flavor you get, but they can be ordered.
I know once we arrive and are immersed in the community helping the locals, orphans and SP workers, these things will not hold the same value to us. However, now standing on the other side of the globe and having taken for granted all of these wonderful things….I am in preparation mode.
We shipped over 30 lbs of coffee beans, 20 jars of peanut butter and 12 packages of chocolate chips among other things. The chocolate chips will be melted but we have been told to throw them in the freezer, then just chunk off with a knife what you need. HAHA, never thought I would be saying that. So, when you drink your coffee in the morning, make a PB&J sandwich or eat some chocolate….enjoy it and realize that you are very blessed to even have the opportunity to consume those items.
Thanks to our current 39 financial partners, visas and plane tickets for August 15th are in the works. We still need a few more people to partner with our ministry in order to be 100% funded. We are currently in need of 4/$100 partners, 9/$50 partners 9/$25 partners and 4/$10 partners.
We are excited that we now have 180 prayer partners! We still need more people to partner with us in this area too. We are wanting 400 prayer partners before we leave in August.
Do not let this blog leave the impression we are not ecstatic about this journey God is taking us on. We are so excited words cannot even begin to express it. I just felt that if the PA didn’t know there wasn’t a Walgreens in Africa…maybe you didn’t either.
Here are a few ways you can join this ministry. Click one option below:
1. Support this ministry monthly
2. Pray for the ministry
Still have questions about becoming a partner. Click here Miles In Missions
Why Egbe Hospital?
Posted: May 23, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe, Egbe Hosptial, Egbe NigeriaTags: Egbe Hospital
By Lenny Miles
Last November, on my two week mission trip to Nigeria, that was the hardest question I had to answer. After all, there are many hospitals in America that can be built to help people as well, so why Egbe Hospital? Patrice and I set out to find out why…
When we met with a couple now living in Indiana, but originally from Eruku, Nigeria, just 
5 1/2 miles away from the Egbe Hospital, we knew it to be yet another confirmation that God had led us on the right path. Joseph and Grace described what a blessing this hospital was to them and their families while living in Nigeria. Joseph brought back memories of his mother taking him to the hospital on a bike because he was a “very sickly child”. He went on to say that the Hospital and the doctors there literally saved his life. Grace summed up the conversation about the hospital by saying, “The Hospital is like God sending the Messiah, you know, to save people” and finally, “without the Egbe Hospital, I don’t know where most of us would be”.
As we look forward to our August date of departure to Egbe, we take Grace’s last statement to heart. This hospital is used every day to save lives in the physical sense and is a beacon for Christ’s love and a spiritual healing. The impact of this hospital is a lasting one that touches families for generations, allowing people in this region of Nigeria to be physically healed and to also put their trust in their ultimate healer and redeemer, Jesus.
This impact is not only felt by the 1500-1600 patients seen every month, but also with the 
hospital staff including nurses, doctors, and maintenance men. A recent email from the Construction Manager, Mark Anderson with Samaritan’s Purse on site, spoke of two maintenance staff members that recently prayed for Christ to come into their hearts. He ended his email saying, “Keep praying for the work here. A hospital is being built, but more exciting than that is seeing these men come to Christ. The real reason for being here.”
There are plenty of people in America that need our help. However, Americans have access to 1 Doctor for every 400 people. Nigerians have access to 1 Doctor for every 3500 people and their life expectancy is 51 years of age. As you can see they need this hospital and they need missionaries to come alongside them to help re-build, re-store and maintain. This is where our family comes in.
Please prayerfully consider supporting us and this mission in Egbe, Nigeria. Our departure date is still projected to be August. Our monthly support is currently up to 76%, our one time support is at 80% and our 400 prayer partner list is up to 146. Click on the the following link to become a part of our financial team, GIVE. Email Patrice if you would like to become a part of our prayer partner team at Patrice@MilesInMissions.com.
Video of Our Journey to Egbe, Nigeria
Posted: May 7, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe Nigeria, Fundraising, Nigeria, SIMMany of you already know our story and many of you don’t. We have made the final touches to our video that guides you in 5 minutes and 22 seconds through Our Journey. I hope you can take a few minutes to watch and share with as many people as possible.
Less than a year ago we went on our first mission trip. Our hearts were changed. We felt God was calling us to something bigger than anything we could imagine. We started to look for opportunities to serve locally and internationally. After searching for months through different service projects, Lenny came across the Egbe Hospital Revitalization project. We both kept coming back to Egbe even when we tried to push it out of our minds. We felt God calling so we answered with a “Yes”. Lenny made a site visit and was given confirmation that this was where God wanted us.
Now only a few months later, we have SOLD everything we own and plan to head out in August for Egbe, Nigeria. We have committed to 2 years, but we know that this is something God might be calling us to for much longer. We are open to his plans and cannot wait to get to Egbe to help serve and evangelize.
Lenny will serve as the maintenance supervisor and I will be homeschooling the kids. We hope to also get involved with the local HELP orphanage and visiting hospital patients. Thanks for watching our video and feel free to visit our site at www.MilesInMissions.com for more information on how to give to our mission. You can also find out more information on Egbe Hospital and the project by visiting our site.
By Lenny Miles
Louisville, KY to Tupelo, MS to Ft. Lauderdale FL to Ft. Myers, FL in 48 hours. Who can do that? My dad and I can!
My father and I’s adventure started when we left Louisville, KY on Sunday at 1pm. We drove the 26’ Uhaul truck down to Tupelo, MS arriving around 8pm. Along the way, we took a more direct route from Nashville following the Nachez Trail. It has a speed limit of only 50mph, but there was virtually no traffic of any kind and is a very scenic road (especially compared to boring interstates). In Tupelo, we stayed at the Motel 6 (swanky!). Getting up the next morning, we ate at McDonalds, where I learned that Elvis was born and raised in Tupelo. We proceeded to the Mississippi NW hospital to load used and unwanted medical furniture/supplies that had been donated for the Egbe hospital.
When we arrived, we realized quickly that the largest Uhaul truck we had rented was not big enough for everything, so we had to go rent a trailer to drag behind us the rest of the way. From 8am to 1pm we loaded the supplies, stacking them much like a game of Jenga. On the road again, we were headed towards Ft. Lauderdale, Fl where the supplies and some personal items will be loaded on a shipping container to be seen again in Nigeria. We drove straight through the night, stopping once for dinner and only for gas when needed. We arrived at our destination at 5am Tuesday morning.
We dropped the truck and trailer with employees of Banyan Air and proceeded to the home of the owner of Banyan. They graciously opened up their home for us to shower and get rejuvenated after our long intense drive. After that, we got to tour the “campus” of Banyan air and see many of the private jets that they service and house there. It was a great morning to catch up with him and his wife because I had not seen them since I was at Egbe in November of last year.
The owner of Banyan was a missionary kid in Egbe in the 60’s and his father was the original surgeon that helped start the hospital in 1952. He now blesses the Egbe Hospital and the people there with procuring materials and sending them in the shipping containers (and many more things). After the tour, we borrowed a car and drove 2 hours to Ft. Myers Beach and we are now visiting with my grandmother who has a condo here. We will come home on Sunday and until then we will relax and catch up on some much needed rest after such a long and eventful week. Thanks for all of your prayers!
Email Patrice@MilesInMissions.com if you would like to be added to our prayer partner list. We currently have 128 and we would like to have 400 before we leave. You can also click GIVE if God has called you to become one of our financial partners.
We’ve Moved
Posted: May 1, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe, Egbe Hosptial, Egbe Nigeria, Fundraising, Nigeria, Prayer
Well we officially moved over the weekend to my Dad’s house at 12334 Dominion Way. Last week was a roller coaster ride to say the least. Broken foot, Jolie breathing problems, debit card number stolen, closing on our home cancelled and more….. I immediately sent out an emergency prayer request to our 400 prayer partner list. We had so many people show up to help us pack, help us move, cook us meals, help us unpack, organize everything, clean our house for new owners and just call and pray with us. I was truly overwhelmed at the support we received from so many of you! Thank you! Thank you!
Lenny and his father (Lenny Sr.) started their drive to Ft Lauderdale, FL Sunday afternoon. I was a little nervous of what a mom with only one foot was going to do, but putting everything on hold was not an option. Once again my family was there to take care of us. My mom has helped with shopping. She pushes the cart as I navigate the aisles in my electric scooter. My poor step mom Minette hasn’t sat down since the kids and I arrived at her home. Cooking for us, cleaning up after us and then disinfecting everything for her cancer patient, my Dad. I have to constantly remind myself as he lifts boxes and helps me that, he has cancer!
This past week has been a week of perseverance. My memory verse for my DC class was James 1:2-4,Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Lenny and his Dad arrived safely in Ft Lauderdale at 5:30am Tuesday morning. They had to make a quick stop in Tupelo. There was a hospital that was remodeling and they donated all their old stuff to Egbe Hospital. Lenny and his Dad added everything to the Uhaul that will be shipped out on a container to Egbe in a few weeks. It will take about 60 days to arrive.
Now that we have moved, the question is when will we be leaving for Nigeria? We are currently 60% funded on our monthly support and 55% funded on our one time set up cost. SIM will not order our VISA’s until we are 85% funded. We are waiting on Southeast Christians’s decision on our approval but we still need your help. Please prayerfully consider joining our team. We need prayer partners, monthly and one time financial partners. Email me at Patrice@MilesInMissions.com to be added to our prayer partner list. Click here GIVE to be directed to our online site to become a financial partner.
Miles In Missions 