Miles In Missions

By: Lenny Miles

Cap’n Crunch Time! I chose that title because it is true for us in a several ways right now. For one, we are eating everything in sight to get our last fills of American foods. Cap’n Crunch, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, etc. etc. and that’s just the breakfast cereals!

In the past couple of weeks we have had many “Good-bye” events, parties, and dinners with friends and family. Packing on the pounds has never been easier with all of the great homemade food and deserts. Did I mention the deserts?

All of the Goodbye events have been wonderful and we are so blessed to have everyone in our lives, even if they will be some 5,000 miles away from us for the next two years. We are also very glad that technology can bring us back together on a regular basis with Skype, cheap internet phone calls, this blog, and of course Facebook!

Right now, we are just eight days away from leaving and it’s definitely “crunch time” for our family. We’ve sold everything including both cars and Cason has a few items left he has on craigslist. Click Cason 1 and Cason 2  for links to his items. He wants to purchase a remote control four wheeler to take to Egbe.  Next, is the need to pack everything in luggage and boxes that have to be airline approved size and of course, they have to be under 50 lbs. each. This will be a challenge to say the least.

Lastly, it’s “crunch-time” for our support goals! Our support is just $200/month shy of where we need to be and we still need 104 prayer partners. If you feel led to participate with us in this ministry to the Nigerian people and the hospital that is so important to them, please prayerfully consider a monthly commitment of $10, $25, $50, or more per month to Miles In Missions. Prayer support is just as important as financial support, so if you want to be a prayer warrior, please email Patrice to let her know.

I need to tell you that I am continually amazed how people have come behind us and this ministry to support it in big ways. We want to give you all a very big THANK YOU as we would not be able to GO if people like you did not SEND.

15 days from today,  if you are driving the Watterson Expressway around 9am you will see an entourage of SUV’s heading to the Louisville airport. They will be carrying 20 pieces of luggage, The Miles Family, and some very physically and emotionally exhausted family members and friends. I feel sorry for the Louisville Airport employees that will be working that morning! I am sure it will be a mess of boxes, luggage, crying people and kleenexes.

The goodbyes have started and we are trying to capture as much pictures and video that we can. If you have any, will you please email them to me by clicking EMAIL? Our send off and good bye parties have been amazing. As we eagerly await our departure it is bittersweet….you cannot say hello without saying goodbye.

With only 15 days left we are at crunch time and still need help in so many areas.

1. We need prayer for VISA’s to get approved.

2. We need prayer for a new tenant for our rental property. Click 5306 Saratoga Estates Cir for more info.

3. We need to sell both of our cars. The Toyota Sequoia is a 2007 and has 92,000 miles on it and we are asking $17k. The Ford Explorer is a 2004 and has 105,000 miles and we are asking $3,900. We should have these online this weekend with pictures.

4. We need prayer for more financial partners. We need $350 in monthly support to get to 100%. Click DONATE to become a monthly or one time financial partner.

5. We need more prayer partners. We currently have 291 and we would love to have 400. Click PRAYER to become a prayer partner.

6. Last but not least we need prayer for our sanity over the next 15 days of packing. We will be checking the list and checking it twice.

By Lenny Miles

Louisville, KY to Tupelo, MS to Ft. Lauderdale FL to Ft. Myers, FL in 48 hours. Who can do that? My dad and I can!

My father and I’s adventure started when we left Louisville, KY on Sunday at 1pm. We drove the 26’ Uhaul truck down to Tupelo, MS arriving around 8pm. Along the way, we took a more direct route from Nashville following the Nachez Trail. It has a speed limit of only 50mph, but there was virtually no traffic of any kind and is a very scenic road (especially compared to boring interstates). In Tupelo, we stayed at the Motel 6 (swanky!). Getting up the next morning, we ate at McDonalds, where I learned that Elvis was born and raised in Tupelo. We proceeded to the Mississippi NW hospital to load used and unwanted medical furniture/supplies that had been donated for the Egbe hospital.

When we arrived, we realized quickly that the largest Uhaul truck we had rented was not big enough for everything, so we had to go rent a trailer to drag behind us the rest of the way. From 8am to 1pm we loaded the supplies, stacking them much like a game of Jenga. On the road again, we were headed towards Ft. Lauderdale, Fl where the supplies and some personal items will be loaded on a shipping container to be seen again in Nigeria. We drove straight through the night, stopping once for dinner and only for gas when needed. We arrived at our destination at 5am Tuesday morning.

We dropped the truck and trailer with employees of Banyan Air and proceeded to the home of the owner of Banyan. They graciously opened up their home for us to shower and get rejuvenated after our long intense drive. After that, we got to tour the “campus” of Banyan air and see many of the private jets that they service and house there. It was a great morning to catch up with him and his wife because I had not seen them since I was at Egbe in November of last year.

The owner of Banyan was a missionary kid in Egbe in the 60’s and his father was the original surgeon that helped start the hospital in 1952. He now blesses the Egbe Hospital and the people there with procuring materials and sending them in the shipping containers (and many more things). After the tour, we borrowed a car and drove 2 hours to Ft. Myers Beach and we are now visiting with my grandmother who has a condo here. We will come home on Sunday and until then we will relax and catch up on some much needed rest after such a long and eventful week. Thanks for all of your prayers!

Email Patrice@MilesInMissions.com if you would like to be added to our prayer partner list. We currently have 128 and we would like to have 400 before we leave. You can also click GIVE  if God has called you to become one of our financial partners.