We have been back in the states for almost one month now and as much as we love our family and friends we miss Egbe. Our flight back to Egbe is scheduled for this week. We will miss the U.S. food and comfy accommodations, but as we watch this video below we cannot wait to see our Nigerian family. We put together a short video to give you little insight into our Egbe life after 18 months of living there. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as we did putting it together for you.
18 months ago our family left the United States and landed on Nigerian soil. God has gently used us to help host over 100 construction and medical volunteers, say good bye to three Samaritan Purse pioneer missionaries, say hello to 7 new long term missionary families, completed work on a new pharmacy, OR, CSR, men’s ward, maternity, X-ray, laundry, 3 missionary houses, 5 containers unloaded, started a new guesthouse and a Wednesday Women’s Fellowship group. C.A.R.E. Africa came alive and over 20 children are in school now, 5 women are learning a trade and 2 women were helped to start a business. From rashes, Mosquitos, Lenny malaria x5 and Cason x2, cotta (Nigerian cold), dog dying, 110 degree temperatures, Mosquitos, bombs in JOS and Abuja, tearful goodbyes, stomach problems, Mosquitos, bank robbery and shootings, 
road robbers, Mosquitos, nail boys, Ebola, hospital gates stormed, fighting and did I mention Mosquitos, we survived. Everything was completed giving God the glory and lives have been changed and his kingdom has grown. He gives us small peeks every now and then of his big picture for Egbe Nigeria through open doors in ministry, national workers voices of gratitude, lives given to Christ, relationships built with Nigerian leaders, miracles at the hospital and deeper relationships with other missionaries . These small glimpses keep us going in a culture that is not our own.
We will be home in less than week and we are so excited! We have been gently used and God knew when this date was being planned that we would need this time with friends and family to refuel. While we are home we need your help. In less than a month we need to collect a lot of items to take back to Egbe. Can you look around your house and see if you have any of these gently used items that you could donate to the people of Egbe.
Boys items for ages 12-16
-Clothes
-Soccer wear
-Soccer cleats
-White Socks and Boxer Briefs
-Sandals, flip flops, tennis shoes.
-Belts
Girls items for ages 13-16
-Everyday dresses, skirts, shirts
-Sandals, flip flops and dress shoes
-White Socks
Back packs
Wrist Watches
Laptops
Tablets
Oxford Dictionaries
We would also like to get some t-shirts printed for C.A.R.E. Africa if anyone knows of an affordable place. Contact me at patrice.miles@sim.org if you have any of these gently used items you would like to donate. Or if you would like to donate directly to our ministry click Miles In Missions, missionary #040380.
C.A.R.E. Africa’s Etsy Store is up and running! https://www.etsy.com/shop/CAREafrica Almost all of the items have made their way back to Louisville, Kentucky and are waiting to be shipped out to a new home.
Everything is hand made in Egbe, Nigeria. There are four beautiful girls that make our beaded jewelry. Seun, who is a single mother. Remi, is a widow with 3 children. Felicia, is a young single girl trying to make ends meet. Last but least is our newest addition Abigail who is also a single girl.
All our cow horn, coconut and calabash items are currently made by Emma. He is in the process of training the Home Care boys on how to make these amazing pieces. The cow horn is from Fulani cows. The calabash is taken from trees in Egbe and dried and then cut into pieces for earrings. The coconut is taken from the Miles kitchen. We eat a lot of coconut so we have a lot of coconut shells J
A few different people in Egbe sow the bags and purses. Toyin, is an orphan and he also does a lot of the tailoring for the men on the compound. Janet, who is our compound seamstress, has an apprenticeship program. She trains women over the period of a year how to sew. These women in training sew our bags for us currently. Gift who is our only member in our seamstress program is a widow with 4 children. She is learning at Janet’s 3 days a week and then comes to CARE Africa on Saturdays to sew our new patchwork material for the purses.
All of these children of God plus our Home Care kids come together every Saturday to work on the items for the Etsy store while also spending time in God’s word. All of the members are paid the moment they complete an item so they can support themselves throughout the week. We then send the items back to the US through visitors that come to Egbe. Once they arrive in our hometown Louisville, KY, my friend Diana Beville puts them on the Etsy store. Once an item is purchased she ships it to wherever it needs to go.
Please support the women, men and children in our program by purchasing some of the items as gifts for Christmas or for yourselves. All items will reach you before Christmas. Please pray for our store to find a place in Egbe too. We will be testing the Nigerian market at the end of January at an annual ECWA conference. We need your prayers.
Christmas or for yourselves. All items will reach you before Christmas. Please pray for our store to find a place in Egbe too. We will be testing the Nigerian market at the end of January at an annual ECWA conference. We need your prayers.
We knew only a few months after living in Egbe, that we were in our sweet spot. Now 15 months later our family can definitely say, this is one of the hardest things we have ever done. We love it here but the work is overwhelming and the need is unimaginable. Everyday we feel like a vacuum sucks everything out of us. The heat, the body ailments, lack of American comforts the spiritual attacks and so much more make us want to just pack up and go home some days. Other days, a laugh comes from a worker who you have never heard laugh before, a small child tells you it is the best day of their life because you gave them candy, a 14 year old smiles for the first time because they are wearing their first school uniform or your day is brightened from a long talk on the back porch with your Nigerian sister about culture. Days like these you thank God he has called you to be a part of this amazing project.
In February we will step foot on US soil after 18 months in the bush. We are super excited and also a little nervous. The emotions will flood us as we step foot into a church that we have only gotten to hear from our labtop. Nephews and nieces that were small, will be big. Places we knew and roads we could find won’t be so easy to know or find anymore. Friends we spent time with will have moved on and found new friends. We will truly understand the concept that a home is not a place.
“The good works that really matter require the help of heaven. And the help of heaven requires working past the point of fatigue so far that only the meek and the lowly will keep going long enough. The Lord doesn’t put us through the test to give us a grade; he does it because the process will change us.” Elder Henry B. Eyring.
We are so excited to announce that we are switching from Associate missionaries to Long Termers with SIM. We have several obligations to fulfill so we will be making a small home visit for one month, in February 2015. We will then return to Egbe for another 9 months. In November of 2015 we will come home for 3 months to complete our long-term requirements and start support raising for our long term mission. In 2016, with your support, we will return to our new home, Egbe Nigeria as long term missionaries.
We can’t wait to see you all in a little over two months! The countdown begins!
By: Jolene Eicher
My eyes are glued to the pot holed road ahead. My grandchildren and their parents sleep. My heart hammers with anticipation and uneasiness. It’s my first time in Africa. Ayo is driving the nine hours to my daughter and son-in-law’s mission field – ECWA Hospital Egbe, Nigeria. As we slow for mandatory police checkpoints, faces peer into the van. I lock eyes and see them mouth the now familiar word “Oyibo”. It refers to a person whose ebony skin has been “peeled back” making them white. I like that concept.
We are arriving a day late and still they come. The people of Egbe – they come in the rain and the late hour to greet me – to “gift” me. A startled chicken is thrust in my arms flapping wings wildly. Faces gather round me to get a “snap” (picture) with me. Greetings ring out from all directions. I am mildly aware of my daughter, Patrice, spraying me with repellent. It is then I notice the bloodied mosquito bites on my ankles. It is real. I am here!
“Ek’aro” (Good-morning) the disembodied voice says thru the darkened window at 5:30 am next morning. He has come to remove yesterday’s garbage. I don’t know his name… “Ek’aro” I say to the person I cannot see. This is Patrice’s alone time with God and already I see that “alone” is a figure of speech. Church has already begun as sounds of worship filters thru her gauzy curtains.
“Ek’abo” (welcome) greets me at the 8 am daily women’s devotional that Patrice leads while my son-in-law Lenny leads the men’s devotional. So many names to remember, Seun, Duro, small Shola and office Shola, Tolu, Kemi, Bukola, T.Y. So many phrases to become familiar with – “small-small”, oga, Eku’sie. In a week’s time I answer to “momma”. This is what I am called by young and old alike. It is a treasure to me.
Today I am on a tour of the hospital. I see the man with hollowed eyes who accidentally shot himself in the stomach while cleaning his flint rifle. I see way too many young men with injuries from motorcycle accidents. I hear a coughing lady. “Could be TB” says Dr. Oubre, “somebody put a mask on her and move her away from others” he calls out to no one in particular. Dr. Oubre is the 72 year old medical director and only surgeon (24/7). I see very thin people but thankfully no swollen belly babies. Egbe hospital is good for the people of Egbe and surrounding towns. Signs of revitalization are everywhere. But there is still so much to do. The pristine outpatient clinic stands in stark contrast to the semi-squalid condition of the men’s ward. The men’s ward needs to be moved. But there are other urgent matters – trenches to dig to keep water out of the central supply room, the new guesthouse that must be built, the x-ray room must be moved, the demolition must be completed..then we can move the men’s ward. So much work and so few to do the work!
Dr. Oubre dreams of a new surgery for the maternity ward so women in life threatening labor do not have to walk across the compound to the only OR. He dreams of new huts where families can cook meals for their hospitalized loved ones. Dreams are good. I am impatient for God to send the people, right now, who can make those dreams come true. Forgive my impatience.
I am vegetarian. The Egbe women do not know they are preparing five star vegetarian meals – they apologize for having little meat. Patrice takes me to Big Market where raw meat sits openly on wooden tables – I am glad I am vegetarian. At market there are many greetings and more gifts. I see how loved my daughter is by how they honor me – her momma from America. I see how Patrice has fallen in love with the people of Egbe. My eyes sting at the painful (yet proud) realization that my daughter has lost her heart to Egbe. This is her home.
Money raised to care for and sustain missionaries quietly fund a child’s tuition, pay a parent’s hospital bill so they can go home to their family, buy baking supplies for a single mother so she can sell the food to pay her rent, and materials purchased for the adult orphan trying to create a ministry for those at risk. It is good that the American dollar can stretch far. They need more.
My son-in-law, Lenny, fights the fatigue that hangs on from yet another episode of Malaria. He hurriedly surfs the net, before the connection is lost, for building plans he can use for the new guesthouse. Things that come easy in America are wrought with difficulty in a town with limited resources. Lenny feels the weight of the responsibility – this ECWA Hospital revitalization project. There is no staff of engineers nor architects, just missionaries like Lenny and the other men with resolve and commitment.
I hear their laughter from the schoolroom in the back of the house. My grandchildren, Cason and Jolie, have discovered the source of the foul smell that plagued their schoolroom all day. The dog has messed right outside their schoolroom window. Katie, gentle Katie from North Carolina turned missionary teacher, laughs with them. What made you come to Nigeria? “God did it” she says. So fragile this link between God and those He calls to the mission field. I want something more substantial, but it is sufficient says The Lord. I am glad Katie and her husband Nick were quiet enough to hear the call.
It is time to leave. Time to leave these missionaries who have been called. These ordinary people with eyes wide open and hands unfurled receive what God gives them each day. It is enough -not more than they need. It is not romantic nor ideal this place they are called to. The sun is hot, the mosquitos are greedy, stingy electrical power, unvaried food, faulty equipment and pets who get sick with no vet to be found. They are learning to live together – these strangers thrown together with varied callings and differences of opinions they must learn to tolerate. This is home.
The truth is quick in coming. I am not called. It hurts to acknowledge this truth. To let go of what I have held on to from my youth. Here is the truth. The Egbe people with so little have shown me so much. Be thankful for what you have and don’t dwell on what you have not. The hospital stands. The missionaries stay. Ebola has not come to Egbe. There is food to eat. It is enough. This is the Nigerian way. Be thankful for what you have today. Do not worry about tomorrow – I am reminded of Matthew 6:34.
Stay Patrice, stay Lenny…I say through tear ladened eyes. I must leave for I am not called. Stay and become the better for it. Stay and teach the rest of us what is true. There is no joy in owning things – there is joy in not being owned by things.
Thank-you Campions for keeping the doors of ECWA Hospital Egbe open. Thank you SIM and Samaritan’s Purse missionaries for doing what I cannot do – stay, stay and make a difference. God bless and keep you healthy to do that which He has called you to do. I will tell your story.
You might be a Missionairy in Africa if….
1. you know how to pop mango worms out of your dog.
2. your shirts smell like BO and you don’t care becuase you smell like everyone else.
3. you go weeks without shaving your legs, armpits or facial hair.
4. your kids ask nonchalantly if the nail boys are going to kill you as you are stopped on the side of the road getting harassed.
5. you feed your dogs chicken bones daily.
6. you have to tell your kids friends not to sh_t in your front yard.
7. you carry a role of toilet paper, hand sanitizer and bug spray in your purse everywhere you go.
8. your child and his friends carry a machete wherever they go.
9. everyone’s legs in the family look like they have visited an acupuncturist from all the mosquito bites.
10. your guard asks if he can eat your cats.
11. your 8 year old daughter receives marriage proposals everywhere she goes.
12. you blow dry your hair next to your generator, as that is the only source of electricity.
13. you are excited to receive chickens, goats, fruits and vegetables as gifts.
14. you de worm your kids along with your dogs.
15. you hear the “f” word from the church pulpit.
16. you smell something burning and you don’t jump up to see what it is.
17. you can’t stand other missionaries.
18. you reuse water bottles and ziploc bags at least 10 times.
19. you stop taking anti-malaria medicine.
20. your amazon prime has at least 20 plus shipping addresses in it.
21. you eat processed foods and get sick.
22. you make Ebola jokes when someone has a fever.
23. you tell your kids before they go to bed to brush their teeth and wash their feet.
24. you hear screaming at night and don’t worry becuase it is just the local church night vigil.
25. you can fit your entire family on a motorcycle.
The world was awakened to Ebola several weeks ago when our fellow SIM friend Nancy Writebol and SP worker Kent Brantley contracted this horrific disease. It seemed like anything I read on Facebook was about Ebola. Since then we were relieved to hear that all our SIM friends that were living in Liberia, are back in the U.S. and doing well.
I am sure you have heard that Ebola is in Nigeria now. Currently there is 19 cases and 7 deaths. Lagos and Port Harcourt are currently the two effected cities. Both of these cities are about as far away from Egbe, as Louisville, Ky is from Charlotte NC. Due to the distance one would think the likelihood of it coming to Egbe is very small. However, when the first case was reported I gripped my chair and my mind started racing. What if it spreads? Can it come to Egbe? Will people hear about our fancy new hospital and think the Western doctor can cure Ebola? What can we do and how can we control it?
Well you cannot do anything but prepare for it and you definitely cannot control it, you can only contain it. This statement is not something that comes easily acceptable to me and my Western mind. My whole life I have planned, studied, prepared, and controlled everything…or so I thought. Now I am faced with something so much bigger than my mind can even grasp. The funniest thing is if you talk to anyone in the Egbe community, they are not worried or anxious. Their response is that Ebola will not come to Egbe. They say it with such faith and belief it will make you tremble! “Ebola will not come to Egbe!”
I don’t know what God has planned, but what I do know is what he promises. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
As our medical team creates an isolation ward, security is tightening, pre screening of patients is starting and we have ceased all visits to the wards by non-essential personal. While all of these pre cautions are being implemented and the local churches are praying for this hospital at 4:30am every morning, I find peace in my time here in Egbe. Everyday I wake up in the freedom to know that he has got my family in the palm of his hand. He has us right were he wants us.
I am so proud of the team of professionals I serve with. I have watched our Medical Director, head Family Physician, Samaritans Purse Project Leader and my husband spend hours on meetings, calls back to the states, intense research and collaboration and then implementation of new policies and procedures. This disease is foreign to everyone here but “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).
For more information on the Ebola Crisis visit http://www.simusa.org/ebolacrisis
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The unexpected realities of working at a mission hospital…….
When preparing for our new lives as missionaries over a year ago, I had never put much thought into the fact that we would be serving at a health care facility. Having never worked in a medical field before, I wasn’t really prepared for the sights, sounds, and smells of all that comes with it. This blog piece is about those new and interesting things that I’ve learned in the past year of living here.
First the Good. Wow, praise God for the miracles that do happen! I have been around many patients with hopeless diagnoses and have gotten to see those ailments get cared for and healed. This is very up lifting and it shows the power of God working through his servants here on the ground. Hearing the surgeon come out of surgery and tell us all that the patient will make it when the case could have went one way or the other on the operating table, is very, very encouraging. Also, when a patient that had a particular “rough case” gets to go home and is smiling from ear to ear, it is very rewarding for us here serving in this capacity!
Next, the bad. Lets face it, death is not pretty. Sometimes it can be welcomed for the elderly family member that has been suffering for a long time. However, generally death is not welcomed and no-one really ever wants to say good-bye. One of the most sobering and impactful things for myself is seeing death up close and a little too personal.
Several cases come to mind as I write this, but I want to tell you particularly about a 20 (+/-) year old man that came in with major chest trauma. I remember there was yelling and commotion at our gate so I went to investigate. This is usually the case with most road accidents because someone is usually irate at the other party. The young man was just being wheeled out from our x-ray unit. I stood on the side of the walkway and could see the mans lifeless eyes as they wheeled him by. It hit me like a ton of bricks. An alive an energetic man just a few minutes before, was now dead and had died while they were taking x-rays of his chest. The story is that this man was a “tree cutter” and with this job, they load large logs onto the back of dump trucks. He happened to be standing between two trucks when one backed up and crushed him at chest level. So very sad.
Lastly, the ugly. Well, lets just say that sanitation is not the utmost priority here. During times of maintaining equipment its very common to open up a panel and find dried blood and other unrecognizable things inside. Next, the morgue at the hospital is not a place that I frequent. I’ve been there a total of two times in a year just to maintain several air conditioners. The smell of death and decay is something I will never forget, although I would like to.
Also, the reality of amputations has hit home. The doctors might explain that a person has to have an extremity taken off due to gangrene or a severe injury and I wonder where that body part goes. Well, lets not go there at all! There are no garbage trucks, no biomedical waste trucks, or anything else that comes to this hospital. These things simply do not exist here and all of our waste is contained within our 33 acre compound.
Our revitalization team here is doing everything in our power to improve the conditions I described. Most comes from educating the staff, doctors and nurses. Other things such as improved morgue facilities to care for our dead and an incinerator to take care of the biomedical waste, comes from us the maintenance and construction crews. Please pray for God’s continued blessing on this project through financial partners, wise missionaries, and our Nigerian counterparts to bring this hospital up to its full potential.
Through all of this, God has shown me many things in my heart to love on people more and truly appreciate my family. As we all know, life if very fragile and it can be taken away at any moment. Love God, love your family, and love your neighbor as yourself. These things are the most important acts we get to chose to do everyday.
A friend who I met in Egbe, while she accompanied her husband to work on our lab, led me to a Beth Moore study recently. Today is Day 2 and it started out saying ” Anything God emphasizes, the Devil seeks to exterminate.” This spoke to my soul and led me to blog to you today.
We have had so many answered prayers here in Egbe and continue to daily. The arrival of two more Missionary families this week and still more arriving in the following days is an answer to so many prayers. We are now the second largest SIM Missionary establishment in Nigeria. Our OPD is now open and operational. We have a great Medical Director and Hospital Administrator that are making some amazing changes. I would say that God has emphasized our community and we are on the radar! This is why Beth Moore’s quote spoke to me this morning. “Anything God emphasizes, the Devil seeks to exterminate.”
Spiritual attack has definitely been felt by all of us in one way or another. From sickness, uncomfortable rashes, electrical issues, marriage issues, sleepless nights, work issues,VISA issues and back at home U.S. issues we are feeling an increased spiritual attack. Our Missionary community is tired most days and we all feel the emotional fatigue from these spiritual attacks.
Beth Moore says; Are you In a season where faith feels like hard work? Is loving laborious? Is hope circling the drain as you keep longing and waiting?If you answered yes to all three questions you are under a triple threat. Satan cannot snatch faith, love and hope from you. You have to hand them over.
Pray our Missionaries and my family decide not to hand over anything to Satan today tomorrow or any day. Pray that as we are becoming a beacon in Nigeria that we will not experience any repercussions from our popularity. Pray for God to give us the strength and wisdom to discern and persevere.
Beth Moore says we are not like everyone else breathing the worlds toxic air. Our flight has been hijacked by hope! So many have had hope to see the day that this Egbe community is revitalized and it is finally here!
I will never forget my melt down on my Fathers deck a few weeks before leaving for Nigeria. The unanswered questions were starting to create anxiousness throughout my entire being. My Dad asked me, “Do you need your questions answered or do you just not trust that God knows what he is doing and will take care of you?” I had to really do a basement trip on this core issue and discovered I didn’t trust him. I had always taken care of myself. This time I couldn’t prepare, I couldn’t control, I couldn’t even envision what was coming because I had never even been to Egbe. Once I repented of this sin and handed it over to God a Peace came over me and the anxiousness went away. My white knuckled grip of everything familiar loosened and I am enjoying the ride. The funny thing was, once I said yes to him and walked through the door, all those unanswered question were answered.
Riyom Attack that we drove through about 30 minutes prior to the attack.
Some of my questions were;
1. Will we be safe, Nigeria has a lot of unrest?
2. Will my children have friends, there are no other families there?
3. Will Lenny and I be lonely, there is only 3 Missionaires there?
4. What will I (Patrice) do all day?
5. What will we eat and will we like it?
1. Will be safe? I continue to see Gods hedge of protection around us through snake encounters, whalla in the town, nail boys on the road and close encounters of unrest as we travel to and from the North. Our family is at peace about his protection here. We almost forget sometimes we are in 
Nigeria.
2. Will my children have friends? Haha…I laugh at this one. Everyday you can look out the window and see children trekking to my house. It amazes me how my kids have adjusted thier play to Nigerian style and have so much patience and grace for these kids. They love being teachers and showing the kids new things to do and play. They even have a “Nigerian Playground” as Cason calls it where they set up chairs and play make believe and ride bikes.
3. Will Lenny and I be lonely? God has blown us away with this one. See who is 
coming in this picture! We are so excited to introduce you to the Egbeites as they are calling themselves. In less than 6 months we will have a medical director, surgeon, hospital administrator, 2 nurses, family physician, elementary teacher, fire fighter, mait manager and a music teacher. Wow and I thought we would be lonely!
4. What will I, Patrice, do all day? Another one to laugh at as I was worried I was going to be bored. As compound manager, volunteer coordinator, guesthouse manager, school teacher, wife and friend….there is never a dull moment. I still ask that you pray for God to reveal ministry opportunities to me. We get glimpses here an there of how he is using us in the community but I know he has something more in store then the above job descriptions.
5. What will we eat and will we like it? I love, love, love Nigerian food. I miss our vegetables but Lenny and I love the food. Spicy red sauce with meat over rice and sprinkled with ground nuts, Jollof rice with chicken mixed with cabbage, tomato, cucumber and ranch dressing is like Nigerian Qudoba, Oh and pounded Yam with Egusi soup I cannot even explain the deliciousness and last but not least I dream of Duro’s sugar cookies that she makes….they are amazing! The kids….well what kid likes food unless it is coated in sugar. They eat but it’s the same as it was in the US….every meal is a battle…some things don’t change no matter where you live.
Through grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ, the disarray we create with our choices and actions transforms into our testimony.
"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35)
my words sound better coming from my hands than my mouth,
A writer whose passion is to encourage others to live joyfully!
"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35)
"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35)
"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35)
"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35)
"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35)
"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35)
"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35)
"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35)
"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35)
"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35)
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Miles In Missions 