August Update

    Wow, these past several months have flown by! Things have been extremely busy with visiting teams almost every week since June and adjusting to manage things at the wood shop. I intended to write an email update once a month and a newsletter once a quarter.  As I am carving out time to write an update, I realize it is already time for our newsletter and I missed a couple of months of updates.  I apologize that the newsletter will have to be next month. 
    First of all, I want to thank all of you for your faithful prayers and support.  We have been tremendously blessed these first several months on the mission field.  While there were some hard times with the children being sick, overall things have been great.  We are getting more and more adjusted to life here. We were also able to go on a trip to Huaraz, Peru with our summer fellows at the end of their term.  The discipleship at the wood shop has been very exciting.  There have also been some exciting challenges and adjustments with the business side of things. 

Praise and Prayer List:   

• Praise that Megumi is beginning to get more sleep now that Sam is sleeping better.
• Praise that Samuel and Satomi are both growing well and adjusting to the climate.
• Praise that the mission team visits went extremely well thanks to our short-term team coordinator, Alleen Mclain’s hard work!
• Praise that Norvil & Flor were married July 31!  Norvil is one of the woodworkers and is growing tremendously in his walk. 
• Pray for the growth of the men in the shop as we are walking through an overview of the Bible every morning before work for nearly 1 hour.  We are currently in the middle of Exodus.
• Pray for the success of gift shop sales in the States as we are gearing up to send a shipment next month and open up sales on our www.parishfurniture.com website after they have time to arrive hopefully early October!
• Pray also for other hopeful opportunities in selling furniture in the States. 
• Praise that we have received so far 3 custom orders for local construction!  This will challenge our departure date on the gift shop items but it is exciting. Pray also for continued entry into the local market as we are broadening our market in adding gift-shop items.  
• Pray for wisdom as we consider how to continue with Parish.  We are evaluating the best timing of how long to employ our woodworkers and/or transition them into their own business where we purchase their products and continue working with them in discipleship.  Pray for their development in learning how to manage business in a way that glorifies God.
• Pray also for Parish as we look for another shop location to lower costs and to be ready in case the owner fulfills his hopes of selling the property.
• Pray for Stuart’s father, Albert, as he continues to battle prostate cancer. His PSA levels are rising and they may discontinue chemotherapy. However, he feels great right now.
• Pray for Stuart’s Aunt Kathleen who recently received news of liver cancer.
• Praise that Meg’s sister is coming to visit us for two weeks!

June Update

    We are extremely grateful to all of you for your continued prayer and financial support.  Things are very exciting and busy these days. The exciting part is getting to see God provide in miraculous ways!

Here are a few updates and prayer requests as you lift us up in prayer to our faithful provider:
1. Pray for the Lord to raise up sales and/or donations to keep the Parish wood shop going.  It is out of money and the mission is graciously keeping us going in hope that the Lord will provide.
2. We had to say farewell to the Bolton family as they returned home last month.
3. Pray for me as I am learning more and more how to balance running the shop and discipleship with the woodworkers.  Things have been very busy after Chris Bolton's departure.
4. Praise that one of the men has decided to marry his "wife"! 
5. One of the other woodworkers has started taking an AutoCAD class at a local technical college, several others are interested in taking classes as well.
6. Pray for Meg as she is scrambling after two very active little children and busy hosting weekly mission trip team dinners this summer.
7. Pray also for her as she considers a possible opportunity to present a seminar at a local university.
8. Pray for the whole Peru Mission team as we are down to 3 families out of the previous 5 for this next month of hosting mission teams.

May Update

The Throne

This is a prayer from "The Valley of Vision" p.272  It is very encouraging and I want to share it with you.

 O God of My Delight,

Thy throne of grace is the pleasure ground of my soul.

Here I obtain mercy in time of need, here see the smile of thy reconciled face, here joy pleads the name of Jesus, here I sharpen the sword of the Spirit, anoint the shield of faith, put on the helmet of salvation, gather manna from thy Word, am strengthened for each conflict, nerved for the upward race, empowered to conquer every foe;

Help me to come to Christ as the fountain head of descending blessings, as a wide open flood-gate of mercy. 

I marvel at my insensate folly, that with such enriching favours within my reach I am slow to extend the hand to take them. Have mercy upon my deadness for thy Name's sake. Quicken me, stir me, fill me with holy zeal. Strengthen me that I may cling to thee and not let thee go.

May thy Spirit within me draw all blessings from thy hand.

When I advance not, I backslide.

Let me walk humbly because of good omitted and evil done.

Impress on my mind the shortness of time, the work to be engaged in, the account to be rendered, the nearness of eternity, the fearful sin of despising thy Spirit.

May I never forget that thy eye always sees, thy ear always hears, thy recording hand always writes.

May I never give thee rest until Christ is the pulse of my heart; the spokesman of my lips, the lamp of my feet.

Peru Mission update

A New Way to Support Missionaries

 Are you interested in finding beautiful handmade greeting cards?  There is a group of talented artists in Trujillo, Peru who make them from recycled paper.  This is a great new business that is helping change peoples lives.  Just check out their website, Peru Paper Greeting Cards.

Now you can also support us by buying these cards. If you put our name, MILLS, in the comments section 10% will go towards our support.

To have 10% of the purchase price of your Peru Paper order donated to one of these categories, please put the code in the "Order Instructions/Comments" (NOT the "coupon code"- this isn't a discount but to indicate to me to make the donation) section on the "Order Confirmation" page of the cart checkout.  This will let me know that you would like 10% of the total purchase price donated to CMS to the account indicated.  Peru Paper Company will make a donation at the end of each month for all of the orders we receive, and I will put a note in the order so you will know that a donation was made. 

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.