Archive for the ‘Prayer’ Category

I’m too tired…..

Posted: July 4, 2015 by Patrice Miles in Egbe Hosptial, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, People of Egbe, Prayer
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DSC_9795Every Wednesday morning I wake up knowing that prayer rounds at the hospital are in the evening at 7pm. As I drink my coffee and have my quite time with the Lord I think of all the patients at the hospital that I will get to meet and pray with that evening. I wonder if any have not heard of Jesus or what Yoruba greetings I can say to put a smile on their face. Then my day begins. By lunchtime I am already starting to feel the effects of the heat and the many directions I have been pulled since I woke. Why am I so tired already? At 1pm an espresso normally solves the problem and I get my second jolt to finish the day strong. By dinnertime, I am thanking God for Shola, who has dinner ready. I don’t know what I would do if I had to cook as well. 7pm comes so quickly. Why am I so tired? Maybe it is DSC_9805because I didn’t remember to drink water to replace all the sweat my clothes now carry? I sit with my family at the dinner table with my belly full and try to think of a million reasons not to go on prayer rounds. I am so tired and I have given so much already today to so many. I just want to shower this sweat off of me and relax in my PJ’s. Many times my flesh wins and I stay home. This past Wednesday God called me to the rounds. “Come on kids, Let’s go!”

I love our trek to the hospital in the dim hour of the night. There is enough light to see but not enough to watch for snakes. We turn on our flashlights and begin our trek taking in God’s amazing revitalization project as we walk. The new buildings and bright lights are a breathtaking view at night.

DSC_9802We meet our group of prayer warriors in the outpatient waiting area. We split up into male and female groups and then head off to the wards. My group’s first stop is an elderly lady who has eye surgery tomorrow. She is a Christian and tells us she prays 3 hours everyday. We pray with her and bring a smile to her wrinkled face. Next-door is a small girl with TB (Taye). Dr Jen has already starting talking to the patient’s caretaker (Radijat) who is her sister. Before I knew it we are in the middle of witnessing to a non-believer. Jen handled every question great and explained the gospel perfectly. This M&slim believer went from telling us what the K@ran says to wanting to know how she can find Jesus. We spent the rest of the night with her and never made it to another patient’s bedside.

DSC_9518We walked away that night filled with amazement but questioning how we would help these M&slim women come to know Jesus because they couldn’t read anything but Arabic. Suddenly Jolie says, “Mommy I have the Evangi cube from SIM.” My sweet baby girl had been by my side quietly observing and heard everything and wanted to help. I told her it was a great idea and asked her if she would want to come back down after school the next day and share the cube. I expected my shy little girl to say “NO”, but she immediately said “Yes” with a big smile on her face. The next day after school she came running through the door and said, “When are we going the hospital Mommy.” I was completely blown away. I fought tears of joy in my eyes, as I knew it would make her uncomfortable.

DSC_9517We went down and put a mask on Jolie to protect her from the TB and entered the room. Through an interpreter we found out that Radijat had accepted Jesus that morning after a dream she had where Jesus came to visit her. We were so excited to hear her vivid dream and that Jesus was now a part of her life. We asked if Jolie could share Jesus with her little sister, Taye and she said yes. Again I fought back tears as I watched my 9-year-old share the gospel to a small thin sick girl. I heard her talk about sin and heaven and how Jesus is the only way. She had no fear and spoke with confidence as the interpreter repeated everything in Yoruba. Once she was finished she handed Taye a teddy bear and gave her the cube. We told Taye she could take it with her to share with her family back home.

DSC_9520Thank God for prayer rounds! So many times I am too tired for God but thank goodness he is never too tired for me. I came to revitalize a hospital so the Doctors and Nurses could have a safe place to spread God’s word. I am simply God’s hands and feet backstage that just gets everything ready for the superstars. He puts people in my path everyday to show me I am a superstar too. Today was one of those days! I never would have thought he would use my blonde sweet baby girl to grow his kingdom at such a young age. He can use you too if you will let him. Come and join our team in Egbe. Please prayerfully consider coming to serve short term or long term in Egbe. If that isn’t what God is leading you to, then consider financially supporting our family as long term missionaries and/or becoming one of our prayer partners. God’s isn’t looking for your abilities he is looking for your availability!

 

DSC_9529Currently Radijat and her sister Taye have been discharged from the hospital but cannot pay their bill which is over N100,000 ($500). If you feel led to help with the bill email me at Patrice.Miles@sim.org

Click Egbe Hosptial to ask more about volunteer and mission opportunities.

Click Miles In Missions to support our ministry in Egbe.

Click Prayer Partner to become one of our prayer partners.

 

Meet Iyabo, a F$lani Business Women

Posted: December 6, 2014 by Patrice Miles in C.A.R.E. Africa, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Patrice Miles, People of Egbe, Prayer
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Adamo in School

Meet Iyabo, a F$lani business women. Two of her daughters happened to be at a football match and met Emma, my partner with C.A.R.E. Africa. When C.A.R.E. Africa started, Emma remembered one of the girls, Adamo, We registered her in our home care program. Adamo and her family are a Yuroba F$lani family. The Father has many wives and is in the bush with the cows. He rarely visits. When he does come home there is no support given to the family. With 5 children to take care of, Iyabo, like many abandoned mothers, is struggling.

Picture Inventory Spreadsheet

Picture Inventory Spreadsheet

Iyabo has a store, but it doesn’t provide the income to sustain her family. We wanted to help her but in a way that would not hurt her later. We wanted something sustainable. We sat down and talked about what product she is selling and what product she is not. We quickly analyzed her business and found there were several items she wasn’t making any money on. There was also many that she was making great money on. We got rid of the non money making product and focused on what was moving . The next step was to teach her how to keep inventory and track expenses and income.

Emma explaining how to use the spreadsheet.

Emma explaining how to use the spreadsheet.

This was a lot harder as she does not know how to read. We came up with an inventory in an excel spreadsheet with pictures. Once we showed her the chart and how to use it, she was very excited and said no problem. We will be starting week one with her on Monday. I am so excited to see what happens. I am sure that we will find product she said moves doesn’t. There will probably be mistakes in the inventory count, but we will tweak it every week until we find out what works and what doesn’t. I never thought I would be teaching business in Africa but God did. He prepared me through running my husbands construction business and my own real estate business. Now I get to use those skills to watch his kingdom grow.

Iyabo and her store.

Iyabo and her store.

Please pray for Iyabo and her family to come to know Christ. Pray for God’s wisdom with C.A.R.E. Africa on how to help the people of Egbe, Nigeria.

Super Support

Posted: October 30, 2014 by Lenny in Egbe, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions, Prayer, SIM
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Super Support

back_patReach your hand up in the air, bend your elbow down so that your hand go towards your back, raise your hand up and give yourselves a great big pat on the back! We wanted to take the time to say thank you for all of the wonderful support for our first year in Egbe.

Thanks you to all of you that have joined us in one way or another, from financial partners, prayer partners to people gifted at sending care packages. We pray you are feeling the blessings of your sacrifices to God’s work here in Egbe. It certainly couldn’t be accomplished without you.

Let me just say that our family is blessed by having a firm foundation of support for our ministries here. We have only lost two monthly financial supporters during the first year in Egbe. God has been faithful and it seems each time he has an answer for the needed support that was lost. We are so very blessed to not have the added stress of looking for more donations while we serve from more than 5,000 miles away. This is an important thing to note because this happens too often to many missionaries in the field and takes away from their focus on their ministry.

Screen Shot 2013-12-06 at 1.07.13 PMMany of you have answered the call to sponsor several children’s school fees. You have no idea what this can mean to a child and their family here. If you could see the huge smile on their faces when we tell them that they get to go to school it would melt your hearts. Many times their family is so thankful that they periodically bring us fresh fruit or other items from their farms. It’s the one thing they can bring to us that says, “Thank you”. Just this morning, a man came to bring us several bunches of fresh picked bananas. It was more than our family could ever eat, so we had to give some away to other missionaries.

Prayer warriors! I wish I could know just how many times your prayers put a hedge of protection over us when evil was lurking in. I guess I will find out in Heaven. We certainly feel your prayers in everything from safety, to the progress of the work getting done, to emotional stability and also being able to see changed lives when God acts and they choose to follow him. It’s really amazing.

DSC_0242Some of you seem to go into stealth mode for our support, acting like spies trying to go under cover and figure out what we need or like so that you can send it to us. This is a great encouragement to us too! We know that you took time out of your day to shop for us or ship something to us and it really means a lot.

We’ve had several opportunities at receiving things directly from you and every time it’s like Christmas morning opening gifts. Some of you have sent boxes and things to the containers that come sporadically, while others have taken advantage of groups that have come to visit us. They bring extra luggage with them so that we can have some creature comforts that we cannot find in country here. The most recent example is when, “Grandma” came to visit us and we went through customs with 12 checked bags, five carry-ons and five backpacks. We certainly gained the customs agent’s attention and turned heads everywhere we went!

After all of this, the point is to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you. We look forward to continuing to share our lives with you from here in Egbe and pray for your continued support in every way.

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C.A.R.E. Africa

Posted: October 17, 2014 by Patrice Miles in Egbe, Miles In Missions, Patrice Miles, Prayer
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2What is C.A.R.E. Africa? Children At Risk Empowered! When I arrived in Egbe over a year ago, I immediately fell in love with the women in the Guesthouse kitchen. These amazing women, who are now my best friends, always carried a smile and joy in their hearts. Their stories however, would not bring a smile to your face or joy to your heart. Most of them are abandoned mothers who have been abused in one form or another. Their stories are a re-occurring theme I have found with women in Egbe.

This love for my girls in the kitchen and their children put a burden on my heart for abandoned mothers. How could I help empower them? How could I help them to walk closer with the Lord? How could I help and not hurt their situation so they can send their children to school and put food in their mouths. I was overwhelmed with the amount of women and children I came in contact with that have been abandoned in Egbe. I just couldn’t stand by and watch. “God help me to help them!” I prayed for many months. I became frustrated when my desires to help were not met with a clear plan from God. Why was he not helping me to help them. I prayed for God to bring someone to me to help. I needed a local person to this culture that shared the same vision. Someone that could be trusted and that was known in the community. Nothing happened and no one came for months. I continued to pray and he finally answered my prayer with Emmanuel Salako. (Emma) Screen Shot 2014-10-16 at 8.00.23 PM

Emma and I met when we first arrived in Egbe in 2013. He shortly left for school and I heard from him every now and then through phone calls and Facebook. When he returned he came to greet us but only Lenny was home. Lenny asked him how school had been and Emma began to share his vision for orphans and widows in Egbe. Lenny said “Wait! My wife has to hear this.” Once I arrived home I could not believe what I was hearing. Emma’s vision was inline with everything I had journaled and written down for the past 6 months. There were so many similarities that it gave me goose bumps. We agreed to start slow and small and see what God would do. DSC_0449

I am proud to announce C.A.R.E. Africa to you today. Together Emma and I are God’s hands and feet in Egbe. We meet weekly together to explore new opportunities to spread God’s word through empowering needy women and children. We currently have a bead making program that meets on Saturdays. Women come for a 30 minute devotion and then learn the trade of bead making and best business practices. We also have a home care program for orphans. Through a scholarship to school, weekly accountability, tutoring and mentoring of the entire family orphans are able to remain in the home of a family member. Through discipleship and education we are empowering God’s children in Egbe. As we venture down uncharted territory we need your prayers. Please click C.A.R.E. to email me (Patrice) to become one of our prayer partners. We need your prayers for wisdom, local leaders to join us and finances. You can also follow us on our new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/careafrica.

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Back to Normal…… Sort Of

Posted: October 4, 2014 by Lenny in Egbe, Egbe Hosptial, Lenny Miles, Miles In Missions, Missionaries, Prayer
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willSince returning back home to Nigeria from our three week break, a few things have changed. Most significantly for myself, I have been asked to take the role of Construction Manager. This has happened for several reasons;                    –The role just fits me better. With my past experiences in building new homes and other construction experiences, this is where God can use me most.                                                  –We had to say goodbye to our friend and Samaritans Purse Construction Manager, William King. William had served two and a half years in this role, but he is moving on to another part of Africa.                                                                       –New missionary Rick Bradford and his wife, Martha, arrived less than six weeks ago. Rick has become the new Maintenance Supervisor, filling my vacant role. He has extensive maintenance experience with a large steel company in Canada.

teamSo, along with change come new challenges. Work has gotten much more demanding for me. I feel the pressure coming from all around. Some of it is brought on by myself, but other things are external forces that seem to weigh me down. The pressure of running a multi-million dollar project, accounting, ordering, directing, and managing, all the while trying to make sure no one is stealing or cheating, is exhausting! The thoughts of, “I’ve got to do all of this myself!”, has really started to creep into my thinking.

In addition to the construction, our Family has been on the ground serving in Egbe for the longest, just 13 months. People many times look to us for answers to questions that we have no answers to. Our missionary community has grown leaps and bounds since we first arrived. In August of last year, there were only three other full time missionaries on ground, now there are 12 plus our family. This is great, but along with it comes its own challenges. We all live within a one and a half acre area, where we serve, live, work, and on most weekends eat together. Everyone has different demands, opinions, needs, and life experiences that can be challenging.

All of this is happening while we are trying to keep our families healthy and happy. We also hope that God is glorified through it all.

Screen Shot 2014-10-04 at 4.10.25 PMWait… wait just a minute! This doesn’t sound right. Aren’t we taught as Christians that we should glorify God first, take care of our family second, and thirdly take care of work? Why is it that everyday I have this order reversed? Even while writing this blog, I have done the list backwards. Work first, family second, and then God. What is wrong with this picture? What does it all mean?

I don’t say all of these things to complain or seek sympathy, but just to simply say that we are all human. Some people seem to put missionaries on a “spiritual pedestal”, but in reality we are just like everyone else. We can all let our circumstances drive us. In the process, we can easily leave God out of it and try to control it ourselves. This isn’t God’s plan for our lives. He wants us to seek him first and then all else will fall in place. Including our families and work.

I was challenged by our small group here in Egbe to make sure that I am seeking God first. Truly it’s made a difference in a few days already. Things that I’ve wanted to get off of my to-do list are getting done, emails rolling off my fingertips, and other administrative stuff getting plowed through. Sometimes, even with a little time left over for fun! How can you allow God into your life to take away the weight of your to do’s? Seek him, ask him, and watch what he can do in your life. He loves you enough to take it from you!

Please continue to pray for our family. Dry season is approaching and the heat and dust can be extremely uncomfortable. This can add stress and irritability, so continue to pray for us to put God first through it all

 

Ebola in Nigeria

Posted: September 15, 2014 by Patrice Miles in Egbe, Egbe Hosptial, Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Missionaries, Nigeria, Prayer
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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.

IMG_2990I 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!”

photo5555I 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

 

 

 

Spiritual Attack

Posted: July 22, 2014 by Patrice Miles in Egbe, Egbe Hosptial, Egbe Nigeria, Missionaries, Nigeria, Prayer
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thessA 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.”

riddlesSpiritual 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! 

Front hospital

People of Egbe: Samuel a New Believer

Posted: April 1, 2014 by Lenny in Egbe, Lenny Miles, People of Egbe, Prayer
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ImageA few days ago there was a blog from us about the spiritual fruit in Egbe. There was one man that was mentioned that has given his life to Christ in 2014. He works in the workshop and his name is Samuel Ariyo. He is in his early 20’s, working in our general labor force (very hard work). Admittedly, when I first met Samuel I was a little stand-offish. He was rough, tough, and had an almost permanent scowl on his face. I remember saying to myself, “that boy is so angry that his face is always distorted”. So much so that it was in an evil fashion. I hated thinking these things of him, but it was the truth at the time. 

Well, I am extremely happy to say that is not the case anymore. This young man has been through such a great change. I can distinctly remember one Friday morning after devotions, our Project Manager took Samuel aside to talk with him more about Jesus. By the end of the conversation, Samuel had given his life to Christ. From that point forward, I have not seen that angry, nasty scowl again. It was quite an amazing change to see so quickly. It was evident that his heart had changed and that Jesus had released this young man from some kind of bondage that I might not ever understand. Thank God!

Upon trying to make sure that I had his name spelled correctly, I Googled a couple of different tries at his last name. Finally, with the winning combination, Google told me the meaning of his Yoruba name, Ariyo… “There is cause for me to rejoice”. Amen. Please rejoice with this young man!photo 3

I’ve attached a couple of pictures of Samuel for you to pray for him. I tried to get him to pose and let me take a picture of him with his “old scowl”. Remarkably however, he couldn’t do it! All he could do was smile and laugh at me. It was more evidence for him and I that his old self had truly been buried and another person rose as a new creation. 

 

Do You Have One?

Posted: July 23, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Prayer
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Miles In MissionsWe 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.

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.

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