Archive for the ‘Nigeria’ Category

Nail Boys

Posted: December 10, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Miles In Missions, Nigeria, Patrice Miles
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Screen Shot 2013-12-07 at 8.31.44 AMMy excitement rose as I boarded our new bus with reclining seats to head to my new favorite place, Shoprite in Illorin. After Thanksgiving week without my US family I was needing something fun to do. My list was complete of everything I would be purchasing. Comfort foods from home like chips, lunch meat, hamburger, doughnuts and so much more. We started our 2 hour journey with gallops (potholes) galore. Swaying from one side of the bus to the other anticipating the better roads ahead and then there they were…. Nail boys. Nail boys specialize in creating eight-foot lengths of 4 x 4s studded with spikes. They set up roadblocks in order to collect “taxes” from hapless travelers. No big deal, we had the paperwork to show we had paid our dues for the year.

new bus“Nice new bus”, was the first words out of the leaders mouth when we stopped. After our driver talked to him in Yoruba for several minutes I could tell by his tone that things weren’t going well. Seems we were missing a paper and the cost was #28,000 ($170 US). Were we missing a paper, maybe….but did it cost #28,000?…NO! Oh and guess what….you cannot turn around and go home or go forward to Illorin until you pay. Lets just say that this ended the honeymoon stage they talked about in our cross cultural training for me.

Ayo our driver was amazing. We all started making calls for someone to rescue us. The network was horrible were we were positioned so every caller barely understood us and we barely understood them. The entire team back at the hospital was on the phone with Cheifs of Egbe, Chairmens, and all other influential people they could call. After four hours of sitting in the bus on the side of the road in the bush, someone got a hold of the nail boys boss and our fee was reduced to #5000. By this time it was too late to go to Illorin and we were all exhausted, so we returned home.

Screen Shot 2013-12-07 at 8.41.58 AMDuring this adventure I was never scared, just frustrated. I have seen God cancel my plans many times. I have always felt he was protecting me from something so much bigger than my current obstacle. I have never had a problem resting in the truth that His ways are not my ways. Where I struggled, was the fact that this is my life now. My life is different now, not right, not wrong just different. My relationships with people are different now, not right, not wrong, just different. My food is so different now, not right, not wrong just different (I think some nutritionalists might disagree..HAHA)

crossDuring my mourning of everything familiar the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said “Patrice…don’t forget about me…I’m not different. I am the same today and tomorrow as I was yesterday. I am the same in the US and in Nigeria. My relationship with you has not changed. I still love you and have a plan for your life.” This truth hit me hard and tears filled my eyes. I was sad that God was the only thing familiar to me now, but also comforted by his words. He is all I need and in Nigeria I am truly learning the meaning of that! He is right, he is not wrong and he is not different, he is God. He is all you need! I pray you can find rest in that today with me.

“What are you doing here?”

Posted: June 25, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe, Egbe Hosptial, Egbe Nigeria, Nigeria
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Free image“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.

Nigeria Muslim Women

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.

Video of Our Journey to Egbe, Nigeria

Posted: May 7, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe Nigeria, Fundraising, Nigeria, SIM
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Many 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.

We’ve Moved

Posted: May 1, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe, Egbe Hosptial, Egbe Nigeria, Fundraising, Nigeria, Prayer
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dominionWell 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!

Ft MeyersLenny 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.

uhaulLenny 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.

“So, Are You Scared?”

Posted: April 18, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Nigeria
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By Patrice Miles

Kids at SimGo “So, aren’t you scared to move to Nigeria?” If we said No, we would not be human. But there is a huge difference in being scared and being anxious about the unknown.

We have stayed so busy since we first received our call to missions. From training,  getting our house ready to sell, packing for our container, the death of a grandfather, the diagnosis of cancer for my father, transitioning out of The Miles and Smith Real Estate Group, fundraising, newsletters, blogs, and websites. Needless to say, there are very few moments where we actually stop and sit still long enough to feel the butterflies in our stomachs.  We are moving to Africa!! What?

Deuteronomy 31:8 says, “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” So again when asked the question, “So, aren’t you scared to move to Nigeria?”  My answer is No we are not scared but we are anxiously excited about what God has in store for us.

What we are anxious about;
*Cason is anxious about nothing. I actually had to ask him several times and prod him. He then asked me “Will we have a TV?”
*Jolie is anxious about diseases and sickness. “All the stuff we got the shots for, Mommy.”
*Patrice is anxious about the heat. I have never lived or experienced a consistent 100 degree temperature before. I am also anxious about keeping my Spiritual cup full without Kyle Idleman and Dave Stone every Sunday, my DC girls 6am Tuesday morning and my peeps at Sunday night study. I am soooo spoiled!
*Lenny is anxious about feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the project and the needs of the people.

Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation– whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life– of whom shall I be afraid?

What we are excited about;
*Cason is excited about homeschooling and getting to ride the mopeds.
*Jolie is excited about moving into a new home and meeting new friends.
*Patrice is excited about a change in the pace of life. I’ve been a Realtor for 12 years battling daily with putting God and my family first.  I’m also excited about the orphanage down the street and getting to know the children there. I’m excited about home schooling my kids and getting to watch the light bulbs go off and being a part of that.
*Lenny is excited about having the opportunity to disciple the group of maintenance men that he will work side by side with everyday.

We still need prayer partners. We currently have 113 prayer warriors. We would like to have 400 people praying for all these anxieties now and while we are in Egbe. Email me at Patrice@MilesInMissions.com to be added to the list. We are also still in need of one time and monthly financial partners. We have currently raised 59% of our monthly and 36% of our one time. Click the following link if you would like to help support Miles In Missions.

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