Archive for the ‘Jos Nigeria’ Category

Hireath

Posted: April 5, 2018 by Patrice Miles in Jos Nigeria, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions, Missionaries, Nigeria, Patrice Miles, Prayer, SIM
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hiraethHiraeth: a Welsh word for homesickness (or nostalgia)

(n.) a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the grief for the lost places of your past.

I don’t recall where I saw this picture but I saved it on Pinterest.  Lately, I have been feeling Hiraeth as most missionaries do. I sometimes wish I lived like the missionaries of the 40’s . They didn’t have Facebook, email or international calling plans. Seeing pictures of family get togethers on Facebook, receiving emails from friends about their life back home and navigating the six hour difference to talk to your family on the phone – it is always exciting, but it is also depressing.

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I wonder if missionaries of the 40’s missed their passport country as much as I seem too? They never knew if someone was sick or died or if there was a birth in the family until long after it happened. Is it better to immediately see and hear what you are missing out on or to not know at all?  

I feel like you can’t truly connect with your host country unless you completely disconnect with your passport country. But it can feel like you are turning your back on everyone you love and care about. Where is the middle ground?

Screen Shot 2018-04-05 at 9.46.24 AM.pngLately, I have been going through old pictures online trying to categorize them.  I stumbled across a file that had pictures of the annual Polsgrove family trip to Gatlinburg. I remember how every trip resulted in a Polsgrove male breaking or wrecking something or offending someone. There were pictures of the five Christmas’s or the five hundred birthdays we attended every year due to our big, happy, dysfunctional family. I remember how Lenny and I complained about the stress it created and we couldn’t wait to get away from all the busyness and family whalla (problems).  

Now as I look at each picture I wish I could have those annoying times back.  I crave the family get together where someone offends someone else.  I miss the chaos of attending three different birthday parties in one weekend.  It feels strange to look at pictures of a life and a home that no longer exist and could never be the same if we ever returned- and it grieves me.

Screen Shot 2018-04-05 at 9.38.56 AM.pngI grieve the loss of relationship with nieces and nephews that will not know who I am. I grieve not being there to pray with a friend and hug them when they are going through tough times. I miss those deep relationships where a friend knows when you are not being your true self. 

So what do I do? I wish I could say I have the answer but I don’t.  I DO know God has called me to serve in Nigeria.  However, when times get tough, when I feel lonely or when I long for the easier life …. my thoughts turn toward my old home and I grieve. I know that grieving is normal.  I ask God to help me remember that I am his daughter in Nigeria and I am not missing out, but it is one thing to say it and another thing to really feel and believe it!  Pray for God to help me not just say that I believe in His purposes for my life but that I believe and feel it with my entire being!  I am sure my feelings are no different than some of you reading this email who have families living miles apart or SANYO DIGITAL CAMERAmaybe your families ties have been broken and you miss those better times.  I hope this blog encourages you to know you are not alone and that your fellow sister in Christ completely understands. Our feelings don’t mean we are weak or incapable but that we are human.  We are also daughters and sons of the Most High and He is our one true home! 

Isaiah 43:18-19 Forget the former things; do not dwell in the past. See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.  (NIV)

What’s Lenny up to?

Posted: February 6, 2018 by Lenny in Jos Nigeria, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions, Mission Trip, Mission Trips, Missionaries, Nigeria, Patrice Miles, Prayer, SIM, Uncategorized, Volunteers
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I’ve been busy that’s for sure…

I’ve created SIM Nigeria’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Vimeo accounts. I of course stay busy finding and putting content on these social media pages for maximum exposure. I’ve been to several local events to film or take pictures to publish on our media sites. I’ve recently revised and published two very important brochures that SIM Nigeria uses for recruitment of short term missionaries as well as medical missionaries.

Along with all of this, there has also been a lot of traveling for me over the past few months in order to get video of four Theological colleges where SIM missionaries can come to serve. One of the colleges is about a 14 hour drive away from where we live.  Another college is three hours away and yet another is about six hours away. This last one being located almost to the most northern border of Nigeria. Each visit consisted of many interviews with educators, administrators, and students. After all of the travel, I’ve spent about 60 hours editing this one video. The purpose of this is to get people excited about the opportunities to serve with SIM Nigeria if they are a professor or educator. Click the picture to see the video.

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This will be longest of a series of videos I will complete for theological education in Nigeria. The idea would be to provide shorter versions of this to get people excited and if they should want more information, then they can watch this longer seven minute video.

Overall, my role here with SIM Nigeria is being well received by our fellow missionaries, who’s excitement is growing as they see the potential of helping their ministries. Also, our administration is enthused about this becoming a huge recruitment tool for our field. Some of the biggest excitement is from our Nigerian church, ECWA. These brothers and sisters who are ministering all over Nigeria, see the potential to provide a huge tool for them to reach the lost.

Pray for me as my work load is not getting smaller, but rather bigger. Upcoming, I will be working on videos and materials for medical missions, youth ministries, ministering to those marginalized & vulnerable in our society, short-term missions, the persecuted church, indigenous missions, trauma healing ministries, and so much more! Also, pray for workers, as the harvest is plentiful.

 

Accidents Happen!

Posted: January 30, 2018 by Lenny in Jos Nigeria, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions, Missionaries, Nigeria, Patrice Miles, Prayer
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Wrecked CRV

On New Years Eve, one of former colleagues from Egbe was in Jos to visit. She said she wanted to meet one of her friends just down the road and said she would get a ride in a small taxi called a keke (kay-kay). Patrice said, “No way, just take our car and come back when your done.”

Unfortunately, she made it only about a half mile from the house before she was hit by another driver. The 4-way intersection is unmarked with any stop signs and it is unclear who truly has the right of way, even though our friend was on the larger

“main road”. Thankfully she is OK and had only some bruising and soreness on her left arm from the impact. We are relieved that the side airbag did deploy for her safety.

My Find in Abuja!

Our car suffered the worst. We deemed it a total loss and sold it for parts money. The good news is that SIM has a car insurance group and they are covering most all of the funds for replacement cost of that cars value. The only problem now was buying a car in Nigeria. The last car we bought, we bought from a missionary and we knew the history.

I had to take a short trip to Abuja to car shop and it was quite the experience. Most everything that I could look at had been wrecked and had terrible quality repair jobs. I was a little bummed that I couldn’t find something dependable until we came across the last car that I would l

ook at that day. A British embassy employee was selling her car and it was perfect and well maintained. It was $1,000 more than what the insurance company was giving us but we were just so grateful to even have found something.

Pray along with us that the deal goes through and that this new car will last us a very long time!

Trouble in Jos…

Posted: January 19, 2018 by Lenny in Jos Nigeria, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions, Missionaries, Nigeria, Patrice Miles
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Click the picture above for a quick video of how long the line is waiting for gas.

A fuel crisis has been ongoing for about two months now in nigeria. Every year around Christmas the gas stations start to hoard their fuel in an effort to drive up prices as the demand grows. Everyone wants to travel back to their various homes and villages throughout Nigeria to visit their families for Christmas.

The result however is somewhat chaotic. People wait in tremendously long lines all day long for just a little bit of gas. Sometimes they sit there all day to finally get their turn at the pump and there is no fuel. It’s not uncommon to see a fight as you drive past the lines from one car cutting line in front of the other. Or a fight at the pump for the last drop of gas. In addition, we have notice that NEPA, the electricity company is giving power a lot less. Cell phone service is not as strong as it was two months ago and the network is constantly going down. All of these companies need fuel for generators to run things so if fuel is scarce, electricity and cell phone service is too.

For us, it just makes things more expensive. Instead of waiting in the long lines, we buy our gas where prices for gas are double or triple that at the pump. Driving the car or running our generator suddenly becomes an expensive proposition, yet we have to run our gen more because natural electricity isn’t coming to the house like before.

Please pray that the fuel shortage ends soon!

Click the picture above for a quick video of how long the line is waiting for gas…

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