Words and pictures cannot describe the fruitfulness of our 1st trip of 2020. God used all of us and the gifts he has given us to encourage all the kids, caregivers and staff at C.A.R.E. Africa and Foundations Academy. Take a peak below and pray about joining us on my next trip in June. Email me at patrice.miles@sim.org for more details.
Another beautiful post by Titi!!
via It’s Our Testimony Not A Source Of Frustration. — Plantains Please
It’s dark in here. The shadows slowly creep in.
Its slithering tentacles slowly wrapping itself around the last of my resolve. It’s hard to open my eyes, it’s dark in here.
My heart is racing, pumping useless adrenaline through my body, increasing my crippling anxiety. The part of me that is of the darkness fights the light and I struggle as I will not give in to the darkness.
But for how long? How long before the shadows seep into my unconscious self? How long before I lose myself?
Why is this so hard? Why can’t the whole of me desire the light? I need it, this light.
Of what use are my desires anyways? They sing to the messengers of the dark like a siren’s song craving destruction, seeking to drag me to my demise and away from whom I have only ever bared my soul to.
He who showed me what it means to love, the one who I engaged with in pure love. I want it, this light.
The one that completes me, the dregs of my being cry out for him and his light. My nothingness cries out for his fulfillment, my heart longs for moments not clouded with sin.
My will falls apart everyday, it’s harder to build it back up. I crave it, this light from my savior.
Is our choice between life and death, a blessing or curse? My dejected self longs for destruction, my flesh is the epitome of foolishness as it continues to crave misery. It is a constant battle, draining and exhausting.
Yet I will keep fighting to see and live in his light, this light will permeate through the darkness of my heart.
Ara mi gbōn, okan mi gbògbé, iye mi wuwó! sugbon otí mumi larada!
(My body is weak, my heart bleeds, my mind is heavy but you have saved me!)
Fear not, my dejected self, if only you would completely surrender. For the thick and deep shadows fail to stop his light from shining through.
One day! One day! He will come back and we will forever be free from this growing weight.
It is a testimony, It is your testimony, embrace it for He embraces you- the whole of you.
Starting January 2020, our school started an after school reading program. Many of our children are behind in reading due to lack of an education or the quality of the education they were receiving before they came to us. A few days after starting the reading program we received a call from the hospital that we had boxes to pick up that had come on the last container shipped from the USA. We were so encouraged and surprised to find a large donation of children’s books!
The next day our staff went through all the books. There were so many that we are having more shelving built for the library. The icing on the cake was that there were multiples of the same books. This may not sound like anything special, but for us it was! Now, at the after school reading program, all the kids can have the same book and read along as others read. This will help speed up their reading and comprehension skills as they are able to follow along and not just have to listen or read on their own.
We are so grateful for this donation and encourage anyone and everyone that has books they would like taken off their hands. We will take them!! Email patrice.miles@sim.org.
In less than a month, I will be headed back to Nigeria with a team of servants going to help make a difference in the lives of so many kids, teachers and staff. It is always overwhelming to put together the schedules for the team. I wonder how each team members gifts can be best utilized in our ministry. I alway want everyone to have the best experience and to leave Egbe, Nigeria forever changed. I am challenged to not just make it about the experience but to also make sure that my staff on the ground are encouraged and inspired. This isn’t an easy task and only with the Lord’s help can all the pieces fall in place for a team with so many gifts and talents.
Stephen and Diana Beville from Louisville, Kentucky.
Diana and Stephen visited Egbe, Nigeria in 2014 before C.A.R.E. Africa had started. They helped us put together the new pharmacy at ECWA Hospital Egbe. Stephen is a solution architect with GE and Diana runs our C.A.R.E. Africa markets while also working part time as a career consultant for people with disabilities. Since their last visit they have helped me put together the U.S. C.A.R.E. Africa legal side with accounting, board meetings, taxes and 5013c status. They also started the C.A.R.E Africa markets and our Etsy store. Diana visited us again in Jos, Nigeria in 2018 to run our children’s program at our SIM Spiritual Life Conference. They will be serving in our new seamstress program, documenting our Caregiver cooperative initiative and doing interviews with C.A.R.E. families.
Kathy Matheny from Louisville, Kentucky.
Kathy is the President of Cardinal Planning & Design. Her company did our land surveys years ago when Lenny and I were in construction building homes. They have been supporters of our ministry in Nigeria and now Kathy is excited to see what she has been investing in. This will be her first visit to Egbe, Nigeria. She will help lead worship at AWANA, teach elective classes, serve in the library at the school and assist with interviews.
Michael Beaumont from Bluffton, South Carolina.
Michael is the lead pastor at Live Oak Christian Church. His last visit to Egbe was in 2014. This will be his fourth trip to Egbe. He is the Pastor at Live Oak Christian Church. He will be leading a one day retreat for the C.A.R.E. Africa staff through a curriculum he created called Leading Healthy. In addition he will help with AWANA, our Sports Outreach and our weekly staff devotional and caregiver meetings. He will assist me with looking at land options for C.A.R.E. Africa’s new center.
Scott Beebe from Bluffton, South Carolina
Scott is the founder of My Business on Purpose and helped C.A.R.E. Africa create our vision, mission, values and goals. He helped us document our practices and coached us through the stages of his model to get us to where we are today. He will be joining the team to do leadership training, serve at AWANA and Sports Outreach, assist Michael at our one day retreat and visit all his old friends as he is a native of Egbe, Nigeria and has visited too many times to count.
We are so excited to see what God is going to do with and through this team.
We would love to take any of the following items with us when we go.
You can Email me at patrice.miles@sim.org with any local donations I can pick up or I can give you a shipping address.
Whatever your title -teacher, mom, CEO, wife, business owner, friend, leader, sister, pastor, husband or father…do you ever feel unequipped and think God totally picked the wrong person for the job?
When I first got back to the U.S. in May I knew my role with my ministries was going to look much different. I needed to learn to speak at events and churches, network with people and businesses and create awareness of what God is doing in Egbe, Nigeria. I begged God to help me become that person who can engage a room full of people in easy conversations. I watched Ted talks on public speaking and tried to do what they did but I sucked at it. I would get mad at myself for not being able to be a great advocate for C.A.R.E. Africa and our other ministries. What is wrong with me? Then one day I read a blog about a teenager who didn’t meet the criteria for the job.
She was Young, Inexperienced, Simple, had no Training, Poor, and a Virgin!
But…… God chose her to be Jesus’ mother. Her willingness was the only qualification she had.. Luke 1:38a, b: “‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’”
Mary had every reason to feel unequipped, yet she was told she was chosen and she only had one question: “‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’” (Luke 1:34, NIV)
The angel Gabriel in Luke 1:35-37 reminds her that what seems impossible to her is absolutely possible with God.
I look around and see amazing nonprofits run at such a professional level. I continue to think they are so much more qualified than I am…. I don’t even have a college degree!
But I am reminded this Christmas season that all God wanted from Mary was her willingness and that is all he wants from me too. He has given me all the gifts necessary to be a great mom, sister, friend, daughter, wife, advocate for my kids, staff and caregivers in Nigeria, marketing manager, child sponsorship manager, missions trip leader, speaker, fundraiser, CEO and whatever other role necessary. I just needed to lift my willingness up to Him and let Him help me be the best version of me.
Are you feeling unequipped for the role you are in? Should God have picked someone else for the job? Well you should know that God loves to show off and take ordinary people and do extraordinary things through them.
God doesn’t want us to perform for him. He simply wants us to say “YES” to Him.
When you see the manger scene this Christmas, look at Mary and be reminded of her “YES”. Lift up your willingness in all areas of your life – at work, in ministry, at home, with family, friends and neighbors. Let’s make our greatest desire in the New Year to be all God has called us to be and nothing more.
by Emma Salako
At this time in my life I have come to understand that following one’s dream and achieving it is never easy. To achieve that “burned in your heart” dream, it must come with sacrifices.
Such sacrifices may involve friends, family members and yourself. Total abandonment of yourself for the dream is necessary. Sacrificing yourself requires self discipline, self control, patience and long-suffering. Prayer must be the foundation and the altar upon which your dream and your sacrifices are built.
The dream within me is bigger than myself! I will not allow what people think or say about me stop me from, Dreaming, Hoping, Believing, Striving, Developing.
When you have a dream do you allow people’s thinking to stop you?
That means that what they think or say about you is more important than your dream. You must remember the dream is not for you but for those who it is going to impact. Lives will be transformed through your prayerful perseverance to achieve the dream.
Achieving dreams isn’t based on the money in my bank account, but the riches in my heart towards seeing lives impacted and transformed. Achieving dreams is not based on education, family background or about who you know. It is about believing in yourself, striving every day and not giving up.
You don’t need anyone to approve your dreams. The right people will come alongside you and help you grow it. That is where I am today – working with the most loving, caring, gentle souls who believe in the dream called C.A.R.E Africa. We prayerfully Believe, Hope, Strive and Follow where the dream takes us each day.
There is Black Friday, Cyber Monday and then #Giving Tuesday! Today is the day to participate in this global event! If you didn’t read our blog last week of how you can help, here it is again!
Two years ago we were struggling with getting our kids to and from the C.A.R.E. Africa center for A.W.A.N.A. and other programs. We started a bus campaign and raised $10,000. It wasn’t enough to get a bus but it did get us a minivan. Our minivan has been a huge asset over the past two years. From bringing teams to and from Egbe from the airport, to transporting the kids all around town, to making needed shopping pickups in Ilorin and taking our secondary school kids to University visits. This vehicle has blessed us abundantly but we have grown.
In the last two years we started a school, Foundations Academy Egbe. With over 70 children in the school, our needs for an actual bus have become more urgent. Currently our driver makes several trips to and from the school everyday to get all the kids home safe. The wear and tear on the vehicle and the amount of kids we have to pack in each trip is getting overwhelming. We need your help!
In one week on December 3rd it is #Giving Tuesday! would you please consider donating any amount toward the purchase of a bus for the school. Help us “make the wheels on the bus go round and round” for the C.A.R.E. Africa kids. Click https://www.donorrise.com/careafrica/bus
“So, Patrice, what do you do all day?” “Oh, I just sit around all day eating bonbons!” HAHA! Since moving back to the states this has become the number one question people ask me. I can’t give them a quick or short answer. Should I show them everything on my to do list that I have completed or all that I still have to complete? Should I get my calendar out and show all the people and places I have visited or are scheduled to visit? Running a nonprofit and having responsibility for over 100 people (60 children, 50 caregivers and 23 employees) that live halfway across the world is inherently difficult. Not to mention the six hour time difference.
In Nigeria, I employed house help and a driver as part of the ministry to give people jobs. This allowed me to work all day on C.A.R.E. Africa and have my evenings and weekends free for family and Sabbath time. In the US I still get to focus on ministry during the day, but nights and weekends have turned into cleaning, cooking, shopping and driving kids around…… Welcome to America most of you would say!
Sabbath is how I refuel. Not the 30-minute rushed devotional in the morning but spending an entire day sitting at his feet and breathing him in. Without it, I am running on empty and when someone asks me “So, what do you do all day” – I get annoyed. This annoyance is a red flag that my heart is not in the right place and I need some time with the Lord.
This past Sunday I scheduled a Sabbath on my calendar because I knew it was the only way it would happen. During that time God showed me my need for approval from people in order to feel good about myself. When people ask me “What do you do all day?” it makes me feel judged -like I am not doing enough. I am not blogging enough, emailing enough, meeting enough people and not sharing the C.A.R.E. Africa story enough. Otherwise, people would know what I do all day and wouldn’t have to ask. In my quiet time God gave me Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
In one week it will be American Thanksgiving Day. Odds are you will be around some well-meaning family members who might ask “So, what do you do all day or when are you going to get married or find a better job “ – other people’s expectations as to what you should or should not be doing in life. Remember who you are and whose you are! You have already met the approval of the only One that matters! So sit down, take a breath and enjoy this holiday. God loves you unconditionally always!
Orphan Sunday started in a small, struggling church in Zambia. The church members had little, but the pastor believed that everyone is called to express love for the fatherless. The church responded in astounding ways, some even removing their own shoes for orphans nearby.
This Orphan Sunday our staff and children headed out to create awareness and serve in Egbe and the surrounding communities. They started at Chapel Of Blessing to speak sing and pray for all the orphans around the world. They then headed to two orphanages, Ekundayo Orphanage and Greater Grace in Isanlu. Both orphanages reminded us how blessed C.A.R.E. Africa is.
Emma spoke to the orphanage staff to remind them that the children under their care are precious and not a problem, they are of value and not of trouble, they are the next leaders in Nigeria. He spoke of how it is not poverty that stops us from giving and caring for the orphans, but our unwillingness, and because we don’t want to share with others what God has given us. C.A.R.E. Africa enjoyed giving this Sunday instead of receiving. We pray seeds have been planted and God was glorified in these two orphanages and also in our staff and children that attended.
Jolie, what is the best thing about being back in America?
1. Air Conditioning in my school.
2. A real school cafeteria with food.
3. The dinners you cook us at night.
(She is definitely my daughter, everything relates to food!)
Jolie, What do you miss about Nigeria.
1. I miss my friends, Caitlyn and Lowena
2. I am sad I will miss SIM Spiritual Life Conference in January.
Cason, what is the best thing about being back in America?
1. I love American school and making straight A’s now.
2. I love how much there is to do.
3. I love having all types of food options to eat.
Cason, what do you miss about Nigeria?
1. My friend Jephthah.
2. I miss having Jollof Rice all the time.
3. Freedom to do whatever and no rules.
Lenny, what is the best thing about being back in America?
1. Love having hobbies again like hunting.
2. More activities to do as a family and couple.
3. Being around my family again.
Lenny, what do you miss about Nigeria?
1. Food, Egusi & Pounded Yam!
2. Miss the missionary community.
3. Rainy season.
Patrice, what is the best thing about being back in America?
1. Food, Food, Food and more Food! (Doughnuts, cakes, cookies, real chocolate oh my!)
2. Seeing my kids joy as they play sports and are involved in different programs.
3. Hanging out and catching up with all my family and friends.
4. The participation and involvement from family, friends and strangers in C.A.R.E. Africa!
Patrice, what do you miss about Nigeria?
1. Food, Egusi & Pounded Yam.
2. Driving around with my driver, Samuel, on all our adventures in the crazy city.
3. Jumai, who helped me clean, cook and shop.
4. Those deep conversations with like minded missionaries who lived and breathed the same trials and tribulations we did.
5. My Nigerian brother and sister, Emma and Tofunmi.
6. Having to rely on God every day to just get from Point A to Point B in anything and everything I did.
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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Patrice Miles
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Miles In Missions 