Posts Tagged ‘Egbe Nigeria’

What We Miss From Home and What We Love About Egbe

Posted: November 7, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions
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Saturday we will have lived in Egbe, Nigeria for 3 months. I feel like we have lived here forever. Everything is so familiar now and comfortable. Our cross cultural teachers told us the honey moon stage ends around month 3-4. I am praying we will continue the honeymoon for years but I am realistic. We have all had a few emotions lately about missing home so I thought it would be fun to make a list of what we miss about home and what we love about Egbe.

1147717_10151741539303808_943404795_oJolie
1.Miss Dori and Kokomo cuz they don’t bite. (Bingo our Nigerian puppy nibbles on her feet.)
2.Miss my cousins cuz they are really really fun.
3.Miss our home church cuz here it’s long and I don’t understand them. 4.Love how nice the people are here in Egbe.                             5.Love our house b/c I thought it would be a bad one like the green one at the gate with the washing machines in it, but it’s not, it’s a good one!

IMG_2149Patrice
1. Miss family too. Loved living with my Dad and Minette the months before we left and the long conversations on their deck. Miss my moms hug when it had been a few weeks since I had seen her.                                                2.Miss celebrations. Every month was a birthday or cookout or get together. Miss the conversation with siblings and friends on what is going on in their lives. Miss the food, especially getting to bake the cakes and cookies.       3.Miss a delivery pizza & STARBUCKS!                                             Homeschool            4.Miss Southeast Christian Church. We get to hear the sermons but we miss out on the worship. I keep praying someone will lead them to record the worship too.                                                                5.Love the Yoruba people and community. I have never seen so many friendly smiles and waves in my life. Everyone here wants to help us and love on us.                                                                                       6.Love homeschooling. The flexibility and getting to find teachable moments in everything we do. I want to strangle Jolie at least 2x a week but I have loved getting to know how she ticks.                                   DSC_28447.Love all the ministry opportunities everywhere we walk. Watching my kids lay hands on an HIV positive women and pray for her. Seeing them make friends with a boy who has been at the hospital with his mother for 3 weeks to making HELP cakes with orphans is something words cannot describe.                                                                               8.Love my home. I cannot begin to describe how grateful we are for the revitalization teams hard work on our home. I have to step out side the compound daily to remind myself I live in Africa.                                9.Love all my new Nigerian friends from Shola to the girls at the guesthouse, the guards, workers and HELP center friends. They all take care of my family in so many ways.

Lenny                                                                                                                                                Screen Shot 2013-11-14 at 11.49.33 AM      1. Miss the changing of the seasons. Fall temperatures and hunting season.  2.Miss family and friend parties like our Harvest Party.                                    3. Miss Lowes Home Center where you could get anything you needed for construction work at anytime.                                                                        4. Miss good roads with no gallops (pot holes).                                        5. Miss good Mexican food.                                                                         6. Love family machine (motorcycle) rides. Patrice and Jolie to town and Cason in the bush.     photo-15

7. Love the much slower pace of life and my calendar not full every second of everyday. Giving the freedom to be spontaneous as everyday is an adventure.                                                                            8. Love seeing progress with the hospital and workshop guys

 

Cason                                                                                                                                                         1. Miss holidays with family in particular Thanksgiving at my cousins house in Charlotte and Gatlinburg.                 2. Miss Kripsie Kreme doughnuts and taking friends there after sleepovers.

3. Miss going to Poppy’s house and getting slushies with him.

4. Love all my friends and catching lizards with them even thought they end up killing half of them.

5. Love playing pingpong and the dogs at the orphanage.

6.Love my dog Bingo.

Mission Trips to Africa

Posted: November 4, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe Nigeria, H.E.L.P., Miles In Missions, Mission Trips, Patrice Miles
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Jamaica Mission TripA little over a year ago my life was changed by going on my first mission trip to Jamaica. It seemed that I heard God speaking so clearly when my cell phone was off,  I had no Internet, and I had no agenda for the day. I write to you today because I am excited about the possibility of leading mission trips to Egbe, Nigeria. Having this opportunity to  watch God work in peoples lives is so exciting!

Samaritans Purse VolunteersCurrently, Samaritans Purse is the main contributor to U.S. visitors in Egbe. These volunteers come every two weeks with construction skills that they use to help the revitalization project. In addition to the construction project, we now have the desire to start hosting large teams to do ministry inside and outside of the hospital walls.

Egbe TeamI know running large teams every month could be stressful on myself, but I envision so many benefits from it as well. The opportunity to see U.S. lives changed by a new outlook on life, ministries in Egbe helped, people’s eyes opened to the hospital and its needs would be tremendously gratifying. I see all the benefits, but am in prayer to see if it is Gods will. Does he want this? I will be spending a lot of time putting it all together. Things like forms, schedules, costs, ministry options, etc. still need to be created. I will be dependent on God’s help to put all the pieces together because I cannot make this happen on my own. I feel like a little girl who is showing her Daddy a picture that she has drawn and then waiting for him to tell her how beautiful it is while putting it on the fridge.

Egbe Volunteers I have high expectations of myself and admittedly, I can sometimes take on too much. I am sure there are many of you reading this that understand my pain. God has saved me from myself many times by not giving me what I want. I am thankful for that when I look back and see how he saved me from something that would have overwhelmed me or not worked out, but in that moment it was hard to be thankful. His will is always better than mine and it may or may not include my desire to see U.S. teams meet the beautiful people of Egbe. I am just going to have to wait and see. Lets all together watch and see what he does….. lets watch him show up and show off however that looks! How about you? Are you excited to see God show up and show off in your life no matter how that looks? If you have any interest in coming on a mission trip to Africa to serve the people of Egbe, no matter what your skill set is, click Egbe to email me.

HELP West Africa, Inc. Egbe Nigeria Care Center

Posted: September 20, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe Nigeria, H.E.L.P.
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HELP EgbeWhen I think of an orphanage I always think of the movie Annie. The song “It’s a hard knock life for us,” rings in my mind. Nigeria has changed that picture for me. Most of the orphanages are called care centers, not orphanages. The children in these homes have parents but the parents either sold them and the child was rescued or the parents gave them up because they were too poor to feed them or too sick to take care of them.

HELP Egbe GirlsThe kids and I have had the pleasure of getting to know these children over the past few weeks. Cason normally hangs out at the ping pong table with the boys while Jolie and I hang out with the girls. We play games like duck duck goose, I see something you don’t see and more. We just love to be with them as they are some of the most happiest little girls we have been around. They have so little but yet find so much joy in everything we do together. Their smiles are contagious. Check out the video below and you can see for yourself how much fun they are.

HELP Egbe Nigeria Care CenterThe HELP care center is just a small part of what this organization does. They also have a widows ministry, outreach program, micro finance, agriculture and more. In 1999, some medical missionaries moved to Nigeria with their children. During their years in Nigeria, they fell in love with the people and culture of Nigeria, particularly the Fulani.  After their return to the United States in 2005, HELP West Africa, Inc came into existence. Check out their site by clicking HELP. I don’t know what God has planned for my kids and I at the center but I know that the joy I experience when I am there is so fulfilling. I am looking forward to getting to know these girls and their stories as we spend two years in Egbe.

Screen Shot 2013-09-21 at 11.38.19 AMPray for Cason Jolie and I to be a light for these children. Pray for God to use us in any way he sees fit at the center or in any other part of the HELP ministries. Pray for the staff at the center. They are amazing and need Gods strength daily. Pray for the other ministries within HELP to grow and spread Gods kingdom. Pray for the Starns family that is coming to live at the care center in January for 6 months. We are so excited about their arrival and know God has great plans for their time in Egbe.

“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.

Pinot’s Palette in St Mathews to Host Fundraiser

Posted: April 2, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Fundraising, Uncategorized
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Sunset Safari

Sunset Safari

We are so excited that Mollie Younger, owner of Pinot’s Palette has blessed us with our first fundraiser event. Wednesday April 17th at 6pm supporters will be instructed for 2 hours. Each person will receive a canvas, paint and brushes. At the end of the evening they will leave with a masterpiece, Safari Sunset. While painting our family will get to mingle and and pass out snacks. This should be a fun event and our family cannot wait to get to see everyone. Click on the following link to RSVP as we only have 60 spots. Pinot’s Pallete St Mathews. pinot's palette

Our departure date is less than 4 months away! Our home is SOLD and we move April 28th. In May we will be taking items down to our container in Ft Lauderdale that will ship to Nigeria. We will be shipping foods we cannot live without (coffee, peanut butter), household items, clothes, furniture and more. It will take almost 3 months for the container to reach Egbe. June we will spend the entire month in the hills of North Carolina for cross cultural training. In July we will be back in Louisville finalizing packing and saying good bye. August we are off and will not step fool on American soil for 21 months.

We are currently 40% funded and will not be able to leave in August unless we are 85% funded by the first of June. This event and many others will help us reach our goal. We cannot wait to get to Egbe to help the Nigerian people and the Egbe Hospital. There are so many ways you can support us and help the people of Egbe;

  1. Attending the Pinot’s Palette event
  2. Volunteer to make snacks for the Pinot’s Palette event
  3. Allow us to come and share our journey with your Bible Study group or office.
  4. Become a financial partner with us. DONATE HERE
  5. Become one of our 400 prayer partners. Email me to be added to our prayer partner list at Patrice@MilesInMissions.com

Egbe Hospital Saved My Life

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Egbe Hosptial
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Meet Joseph & Grace from Eruku, Nigeria. Eruku is on 9 km from Egbe hospital. Lenny received a phone call from Joseph about a month ago after our article in the Southeast Outlook went live. Joseph immediately told Lenny that Egbe hospital saved his life and he wanted to meet us. We met at Starbucks for almost 2hrs listening to their story and sharing ours. Joseph was a very sick child and practically lived at Egbe. His parents would ride him on a bicycle to the hospital and he says he would not be here today if God hadn’t used Egbe hospital.

Grace won the VISA lottery and was selected to come to Louisville almost 20 years ago. They moved and have raised their children here and visit their family back in Eruku as much as possible. They plan to come home to Eruku in  Decemeber and have invited us to their families home for all the holiday festivities. Grace says we have never seen Christmas celebrations until we have come to Africa.

This testimony encourages Lenny and I in our mission to help the Egbe people. Lenny will be working alongside the Egbe men to disciple them but also to show them how to keep the hospital running so people like Joseph can continue to be helped. Grace’s mother who is 83 years old still comes monthly to Egbe to get her regular check ups. The kids and I look forward to meeting her and many other hospital patients. We plan to visit with them regularly evangelizing, encouraging and helping anyway we can. We are so excited about fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives in Egbe and pray you will consider partnering with us on a monthly basis in this amazing mission! Click the Give button above to partner with us.

Egbe Grocery Store

Posted: March 1, 2013 by Patrice Miles in Uncategorized
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Egbe Grocery Store

Egbe Grocery Store

Abby Anderson was nice enough to send us a picture of our new grocery store. As you can see we will have a large selection of items to choose from….HAHA. We will be living in the bush so I guess I should be happy that we have a grocery store at all. We have started thinking of items to ship over before we arrive since we will need some time to adjust to the Nigerian food. We tried to quit drinking coffee and after a week we were going to hurt someone our ourselves. Needless to say we will be shipping 100lbs of coffee along with many other essentials in May on a large shipping container. A few other items will be our couches, mattresses, clothing for two years, dishes, small appliances, and a motorcycle for transportation. These are just a few of the items we have been advised that we will not be able to live without. This is just the beginning of items we will need to purchase and pack. It is very overwhelming and since we have no mail courier service and the closest town with essentials is 3 hours away, we get worried that we may forget something!

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