March Update

Dear Friends and Family,
    It is hard to believe we have less than one month left in language school.  We have been working hard but it has also been a lot of fun.  Please pray for us as we unscramble our brains and learn to put to practice all that we are learning.  Even Satomi is learning a good bit of Spanish, perhaps she will be speaking more Spanish than us before we leave.  This language school is turning out to be very good.  The classes are designed to teach us the grammar and they give us tons of practice that reinforces our learning.  Then we also have one-on-one practice classes.  In my class we are working through the Bible in Spanish and learning how to write out a summary of the passages in Spanish.  It is great practice for preparing to teach the Bible in Spanish.  Meg is also improving in conversational Spanish.
    This past month has had its ups and downs.  We enjoyed a great weekend trip to visit Colca Canyon, one of Peru’s treasures. Satomi decided to see how hard she could bite down on Samuel’s fingers. Samuel learned to roll over. We have enjoyed becoming a part of a small presbyterian church here in Arequipa. We received bad news about my Father’s battle with cancer.
    Our main prayer request is specifically for my father. He started an experimental trial to treat prostate cancer the same day we left for Peru.  The treatment greatly helped the first four people in the trial but for some reason after starting the treatment in his case the cancer started to grow twice as fast.  It got to the point that they had to start radiation again in several spots on his spine for fear that the cancer may paralyze him, which disqualified him from the experimental trial. Since starting the radiation they have found another spot on his ribs.  It seems that the cancer is spreading quite fast. Please pray for him and my mother as they trust in the One who is able to heal him completely.
    Please also continue to pray for us as we learn to speak Spanish and will be traveling to Trujillo April 3rd, Lord willing.  Please continue to pray for the Parish Furniture shop that God will raise up enough funds to keep it running.  As always, please continue to pray that we would delight in Jesus and seek to glorify Him and bring others to Him.  Pray that we would remember it is not about us but about what Christ has done for us.

in the joy of resting in Christ,

Stuart Mills (for Megumi, Satomi and Samuel)

February Update

Dear Friends and Family in Christ,

One month into Spanish school, we rejoice in the Lord for all that He has blessed us with here in Arequipa, Peru.  We are very thankful to God and to all of you who are praying for us and supporting us financially.  The Lord has answered your prayers in that we arrived with all our luggage safely and provided in many ways to help us get settled in order to study Spanish.

Here are a few prayer requests (followed by a little bit more detail if you are interested & photos below):

• Spanish: maximizing study time while still spending quality time with each other and our children.
• Parish Furniture: Sales are not good because of the economy and the shop needs at least $40K to continue running another year. 
• Being good stewards of our time and resources.
• Health: there are some nasty bugs floating around here.
• My dad, Al Mills, had a bad weekend due to a bad reaction to experimental treatment for prostate cancer.
• That we would delight in Jesus and bring others to Him

Our host picked us up from the airport and brought us to his house where we are renting a 3rd floor apartment.  The family we live above has been a great blessing to us. Dennis and Ruth have been missionaries from Canada for nearly 30 years.  They helped us get our feet on the ground and threw a surprise celebration for Meg's birthday 4 days after we arrived. Then on Satomi's birthday they also invited us over for homemade pizza and cake for her.  They have been like Satomi's adopted grandparents.  They also connected us with a lady, Amelia, who helps them once a week and is now helping us watch Satomi, clean and cook lunch while we are in Spanish classes.  Amelia has been the biggest blessing for it would be almost impossible for Meg to learn Spanish with taking care of these things and the children.  

The Institute where we are studying Spanish is excellent. We are learning a lot and they are very helpful in teaching us about the culture in Peru. Please continue to pray for us to be diligent in studying Spanish and balancing life with two small children.  

We have also been spurred on by a few missionary biographies given to us by some of our family members before we left the States.  We pray the Lord will equip us to speak His Word to those around us, that our lives will be centered on delighting in Jesus and seeking to bring others to know Him.  We also pray that as you pray this for us, He will instill that same drive in all of you; to delight in Jesus and bring others to know Him.

Lastly we ask you to pray for Parish Furniture.  We are still in Arequipa studying Spanish and are looking forward to getting to Trujillo and joining in the work in the shop.  As you know the economy has been bad these last couple of years and this has affected the sales of furniture.  Parish is working on making adjustments to help but still needs at least $40,000 to keep running another year.  Please consider donating to Parish through Peru Mission to keep this vital ministry going. We are confident God has called us to Peru for a reason and we are confident that He will provide the means for what He wants to do.  Could it be that He chooses to use you to provide for His work?   I would like to have at least a year working in the shop before we make any decisions on redirecting this ministry.  Our primary goal is to make disciples of Jesus in the workplace. If God has other plans on how we do that, we are praying that we will be open to His guidance. Please pray for this as well.

in the joy of resting in Christ,

Stuart Mills and family

At Home in Arequipa!

We have made it to our new home for the next three months while we try to cram in as much Spanish as we can.  It was a long flight and we could not have made it without all the many blessings from God in so many friends and family helping us in big ways as well as meeting new friends on the airplane.  Satomi met two other toddler aged girls to entertain her, so much that she didn't sleep a wink on the flight to Lima.

I never cease to be amazed at how much God blesses us by providing people to help. I pray that we will be faithful to live out the example that has been shown us and that we will be giving and serving to others that God brings in our path.

As you continue to lift us up in prayer that God would give us grace in learning Spanish and for the children to grow and adapt to life here in Peru, I have another request for my father. 
The same day that we left for Peru, he was scheduled to start the first stage of this clinical trial to fight prostate cancer. Please pray for him and my mother as they go through these next three months travelling back and forth to Houston.

Now we are off to catch up on sleep!

A Thousand Thanks and Prayer

We have now left Jackson, MS and moved to Zachary, LA.  There are several reasons for doing this. One is that Zachary is where much of my family live. Second is, we have a lot of itinerating do in this area while we seek to raise the remaining support needed for us to move to Peru. Third is, Don Charlet, one of the designers for Parish Furniture lives here also and I can spend some time learning from him.

We are extremely thankful to all the people that have helped us in Jackson over the last several years. To only name a few we are especially thankful to the Robertson’s, Vickery’s and McGowan’s  for their help in babysitting at different times. We are also thankful to the Robertson’s in the amazing show of love in helping pack up for the move.

God has show us so much love through the members of Redeemer and other brothers and sisters in Christ in the area. We are great debtors to be servants of Christ because we have been served so much by His servants.

We are also thankful to the body of Christ in Zachary in their show of love in helping us unload and to my parents for putting up with us for the month of December.

Please be in prayer for Stuart’s father battling prostate cancer.  He was recently accepted into an experimental trial in Houston, which shows much promise.

We are ready to make our departure date for January 5th!  As soon as our passport comes in for the baby, we will book our tickets. Please continue to pray that God will raise the last remaining funds, only $25,000 left to bring our budget to 100%

Heard of God

     We give praise to God for the life He gives us.  We really wanted to avoid a C-section for this baby.  We prayed for a safe and healthy delivery.  I must admit that as much as I don't like all the unnecessary medical intervention in labor, I am extremely thankful for the necessary medical intervention in labor.  If there were no such thing as C-sections, it is very likely that I would not have a family today.  I give praise to God for being in a place where it is a routine procedure and everything went smooth.  I am very glad we decided to name our son Samuel since God has shown us time and time again how he hears us and answers our prayers.  Often the answers are not exactly what we want but it is obvious that He hears us and is good.

     I have been encouraged lately in reading through the Scriptures.  In attempting to keep up with a daily reading schedule, I am in 2 Chronicles, Daniel and John.  In reading through 2 Chronicles I came across the history of Jehoshaphat.  There came a time when a great army was making their way to attack Judah and Jehoshaphat sought the Lord in prayer for deliverance. In his crying out he said, we are weak and powerless against this great multitude and we do not know what to do but our eyes are on you.  Then God responded by telling him to go out but that God would fight them himself. Before Judah got to them, God had caused them to wipe themselves out.  This reminds me of another rare king in the midst of  2 Chronicles, Asa.  Most of the kings during this time did not seek God but sought other idols and God allowed them to be destroyed.  These two kings were among the few who sought to follow God and honor him.  God blessed them for it.  It wasn't that these men were really great or awesome men. It was just that they sought to follow God and worship Him alone.

  There was another very similar message in reading Daniel chapter 2.  Daniel didn't learn the interpretation of the dream because he was so smart or wise.  He didn't know what it was when the king demanded the wise men to tell him what his dream was.  Daniel decided to ask the one who did know and asked his friends to pray with him and fast.  God revealed the dream to Daniel so he could tell it to the king.  Again, God tells us in Scripture that he answers prayer.

     Again in reading in John there is a very encouraging message about prayer.  Jesus himself is praying to the Father. He just finished telling the disciples that it was necessary for him to leave so he could send the Helper who would convict the world and guide us into all truth.  Then he prays to the Father that those whom He has given Him would be united with Him with the Father in heaven.  How much more if God answered the prayers of Jeshoshaphat or Daniel will he answer his own prayers in Jesus?  We can be certain that though, God may not answer all our prayers as we want Him to, He will answer them. We can also be certain that He will answer the prayers of Jesus in uniting believers with himself and guiding us by the Holy Spirit.  Jesus said to ask in His name and we will receive.

     We are at a point where we are asking a lot.  We have a large amount of money to raise before we can go to Peru.  We believe that it is necessary to leave for Peru in January.  This is not something that we can do on our own. So we cast our eyes on Him and ask you our friends to seek Him for us to move in mighty ways.  While the money is a very tangible thing that we need to get there, we realize that in our need for prayer money is only a small amount of what we need from God.  Much more than money, we need God's Spirit to empower us and help us serve Him and obey Him. We need the Spirit to help us love Him and love our neighbors.

     The most important thing we need from God is His equipping us to serve and His continued grace and lovingkindness.  The most important thing in going to serve Christ is faith and repentance. That is what we ask for.  Without His spirit working through us, we will simply be going to live in another country.  There is nothing special about us that will fix anybody.  Jesus is the one who will fix us and the people we go to serve.  We are only going to Peru because we are certain God wants us to go there, not because we think we are needed there.  I truly believe this, but I realize I need the Spirit to remind me of this every day.  It is something I often forget.

Last month's update

I finally figured out how to post it.:) More to come about our new son born!

Overflowing Joy!

I made a little table for our little daughter to play at.  It was a lot of fun.  I kind of experimented with the joinery and got a little creative.  It may be a little fancy for a toddler but it was worth it.

Make known His deeds among the peoples!

This morning I was reminded of the power of God's Word to encourage. I was discouraged because I was being forgetful. By God's grace, I was working through 1 Chronicles and came across the description of David and his mighty men.  Some of them came to him when he was in Ziklag and he came out to meet them and said, ““If you come peacefully to me to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on it and decide.”” (1 Chronicles 12:17 NAS95)  I was impressed with David’s confidence in God as well as his awareness of the evils of man.  He was not afraid of the possibility of deception though he was aware of it because he knew that God was in control and would protect him. I keep forgetting that it is not about me but it is about God.  I spiral down and look at my sin because I am not looking at Him but at myself.  He is righteous, not me.  I trust in Him, not in myself.  I was also very encouraged by this speech of David after they finally brought the ark to the place he prepared for it according to God’s ordinance. It is also found in Psalm 105, 96 and a couple others.

“Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the LORD. Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually. Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth, O seed of Israel His servant, Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth. Remember His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations, The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac. He also confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, As the portion of your inheritance.” When they were only a few in number, Very few, and strangers in it, And they wandered about from nation to nation, And from one kingdom to another people, He permitted no man to oppress them, And He reproved kings for their sakes, saying,“Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” Sing to the LORD, all the earth; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and joy are in His place. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him; Worship the LORD in holy array. Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD; For He is coming to judge the earth. O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Then say, “Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks to Your holy name, And glory in Your praise.” Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the LORD.” (1 Chronicles 16:7–36 NAS95)

This is our reason to go out.  What confirmation that we kill sin by the Spirit through the Word. Speak the promises of God to ourselves and drive away our doubts and fears.

Time keeps on slipping away.  Before I know it, January will be upon us. Will we be ready to move to Peru? I don’t know. I hope so. I am plagued with doubts and fears of failing. I must remember that God is sovereign and that He has called me.  I keep wanting to make everything about myself. Life is about God, not me.  I keep forgetting that. I look at my weakness and shortcomings and start to spiral down.  I must look to God and His greatness and remember that if He has called me, He will equip me.  I must remember that if He has called me, He will provide. He has always provided all our needs just in time in the past. Why should I doubt that He will do it now?  I shouldn’t.  I struggle with this doubting in everyday life dealing with our second baby coming, work and support raising as well as in seeking Holiness and being faced with sinfulness. I so badly want to be Holy because He is Holy and has called us to be Holy. I am torn in this desire because it is mingled with a desire for sin. I am full of it. The more I try to be free from sin the more I realize how deep it is in me.  It is not that I commit a few sinful deeds but that my very core is sinful and wicked.  It is true. I tend to ignore it or try to cover it.  Only the blood of Jesus can cover it.  When I start talking about sin, I keep hearing people or my own heart say that I should not be so hard on myself and that I should be more confident.  I agree and I disagree.  I should be honest and admit the wickedness within.  I would be a liar if I were to be confident in myself and say that I am not that bad.  But, I should also look to my reality in Christ. I have been called by Him in his death and resurrection and am now raised up with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places.  I should be confident in what Christ is doing in me. I should stop looking down at myself, not because I am not that bad, but because Christ has redeemed me.  This is such a hard thing to accept.  I do accept it and glory in it, but at the same time I find it hard to live out.  I read God’s command for obedience and am floored by my disobedience. I wish that I were not plagued with desires that offend Him.  I want to be free from sin. I hate it. But I love it at the same time. Paul tells us about this war with my old man and the new man in Christ. I feel it. Romans 8 tells us to kill sin by the Spirit. John Piper makes the point that this means by hearing God’s word and believing it in faith since the sword of the Spirit is God’s Word.  So, though I see a sinful man I must look to the Word that tells me Jesus has redeemed me and made me righteous. I can also look to the Word and see how it points to glorify Jesus and God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Instead of wanting to glorify myself and trying to make life all about me, I must repent and glorify God and make life all about Him.  Because it is.  This is why I want to serve Him. It is not because I am so good or so brave but it is because I am so bad and weak, yet He is so good and powerful. I want to tell the world about this good and powerful God. I also can trust Him to provide for us and pave the way for us in His timing.

Changed Times?

Ten years ago when I lived in Cusco for 7 & 1/2 months as a soltero (bachelor) it was very easy to get by on $1,000 a month. Actually that was more than enough. Most Peruvians get by on $200 a month or less.

Now as we are preparing to move to Trujillo with a family and working out our budget, it doesn’t seem so easy. We had a budget for 50K a year and thought it was plenty. Now after looking over it with our team, it seems it should be more like 75K a year. With all the one-time costs such as 4 airplane tickets and house furnishings and language school it really works out to our living expenses being only 39K a year. I still have a hard time adjusting to things costing so much in Peru. I suppose there is a big difference from living in Cusco with (in 2002) around 300,000 people and living in Trujillo (in 2010) with over 1,000,000 people and growing tremendously. The cost of living has definitely gone up.

All that to say that we are now around 60% of our support. Not far below but we do have more to raise. I trust that God will raise it up if it is necessary to get us there and if He wants us to go. He has raised up so much so far, I am confident He will raise up the rest and even more if it is needed. I do ask you to keep praying for us whether we have all the money needed or not. One thing we need is more people, families, and churches to commit to lift us up in prayer.

Our plan is still to leave for Peru in January, if our son is born in good health and the financial support is sufficient. We are now planning to move to Arequipa to start language school for three months and then move to Trujillo and start our two years of work with the ministry.

Fun work

I had fun working on this project. I was reminded while doing it how much fun woodwork can be.

It has been a blessing to have work lately. On the other hand, having work has slowed down my progress on getting support raising work done.

The most exciting thing lately is seeing that God is raising our support without us. It looks like we are already above 80% of our two-year support! While we have been busy trying to keep up with work and Satomi, God has been gracious. I hope to be able to get back to taking care of support raising work more this fall. Please be in prayer for that.
I should have a new update soon on how things are going with Parish and Peru Mission.