Fall 2011

Millers mailbox
Words from the Wise
Our Teammates Share About Joys, Challenges, and Opportunities
The time is quickly approaching for our departure from the States, which means we will soon be experiencing many different aspects of culture, life, and ministry in Kiev. We thought the best way to prepare you, our readers, for what is to come in our life was to ask some of our teammates in Kiev about joys, challenges, and ministry opportunities. We hope these responses will give you a small glimpse into the life of a missionary in Ukraine. Q: What is your favorite part about living and serving in Ukraine? A: My favorite thing about serving in Ukraine is watching God do amazing things in and through the people that we work with for the advancement of His Kingdom. Eric A: Our favorite thing is that we know this is where God has called us to serve Him. Out of this comes the blessing of working with Ukrainians who share the same love for and desire to serve our King. Bob & Sherri Q: What has been your biggest challenge while on the mission field? A: It is a challenge to see the ravages of an overly traditionalistic and fundamentalistic mentality in the church. The internally-focused and rigid approach to ministry that results from such a mentality thwarts genuine spiritual formation, hinders evangelism, and gives no place to theological education or crosscultural missions. Although this mentality seems to be passing, it is still present and active and is hard to see and experience. Eric Q: Describe the level of openness of most Ukrainians to the gospel. A: Our experience of recent years is that Ukrainians are tired of merely hearing the words, Jesus loves you. They have been disappointed in promises made by their politicians who offered them hope, but instead demonstrated self-interest. Ukrainians are still very open to relationships and when we, as missionaries, open ourselves to them in sincere friendship we are able to demonstrate the truths of Gods faithfulness and love in a way that offers true hope centered in Christs redemptive work. Bob Q: Do you have an exciting ministry story to share? A: A few weeks ago, I was in a small town in the Odessa region where some of our missionaries serve. As we walked around the city, speaking English, a young man passed by and was very clearly paying close attention to what we were saying. We all stopped and invited him to come over and practice his English with us, since that is clearly what interested him. We spoke for about 10 minutes and, at the end of the conversation, one of our missionaries invited him to the upcoming youth group at the end of the week. That young man came, participated and had a good time, asking many questions about Christianity. We are praying that the Lord uses our time with this young man and his exposure to the Gospel to draw him to Himself. Eric A: We are excited to be a part of plans for a new church plant in Kyiv. Bob & Sherri A: Who would have imagined that we would see our Ukrainian church plant filled to overflowing? We recently held a youth conference where over 250 young people from all over Kiev gathered together to worship and learn more about Jesus! It seems like only yesterday that we were meeting in our apartment! David & Elsie *continued on back page

TOP LEFT: Taking time to enjoy the beautiful fall colors in Maryland on our way home from a friends wedding. TOP RIGHT: A fall view of Kiev and the Dnieper River. BOTTOM: A neighborhood in Kiev, likely similar to the area where we will be living. If you live in the city, chances are that you live in a high-rise apartment building like the ones in this photo.

Andy & Cassie Miller

735 North Street Huntington, IN 46750 260.316.9290Andy 260.224.0578Cassie andyandcassiemiller@gmail.com

SEND International PO Box 513 Farmington, MI 48332 248.477.4210 E-mail: info@send.org www.send.org

More Words from the Wise

Cassie is looking forward to the opportunity to join the family atmosphere at Kiev Christian Academy (or KCA) as a teacher. We asked a couple of recent graduates of Kiev Christian Academy about their experiences. Heres what they had to say about KCA and growing up as a missionary kid in Ukraine. Q: What was your favorite part of Kiev Christian Academy? A: My favorite thing about KCA is the family atmosphere. Most of us grew up together and all feel like brothers and sisters. The special thing about KCA is that we are in fact brothers and sisters in Christ! That is what connects us all together despite our differences. Having Christ as the center of the students' and the teachers' lives creates a unity unlike any other. Becca A: My favorite thing about KCA was definitely the community. The student body there seemed to be like one huge family. The kids from elementary to high school created a positive and spirited environment. When I think about KCA, I remember how it is a place that is full of genuine, loving, and lasting relationships. Lindey Q: What did you most enjoy about living in Kiev? A: I loved the city life and being able to travel on public transportation. I loved walking the streets of Kiev as the snow fell. And I especially loved all the ministry opportunities. There still is so much work to be done in Ukraine and I am so thankful to be a little part of the ministry happening there. Becca A: I simply loved being in a big city I loved the ministry opportunities I was given. I fully enjoyed going to orphanages and helping at camps during the summer. They are memories I will treasure forever. I would [also] have to say that my friends at KCA played a huge role in making my time in Kiev memorable and a place I will always consider home. Lindey

PRAISES & PRAYER REQUESTS

Praise the Lord for the joy of little blessings! Our niece, Brielle, was born in October. She is a beautiful addition to the Miller family! Praise the Lord for His faithful provision of partnerswe currently have over 95 families, five churches, a Sunday school class, and a youth group partnering with us on a monthly basis! Praise the Lord for arranging housing for us in Kiev! We now officially have an apartment, located on the 10 floor of an apartment building and close to a few other SEND missionary families. Pray for us as we prepare to leave for the field. A lot of preparations will soon need to be made, by far the most difficult being saying good-bye to family and friends. Please pray for Gods strength to get us through these difficult moments, as well as for family and friends that we will be leaving behind. Pray that we will have the funding and paperwork in place to leave for Kiev in January 2012! Pray that the Lord will continue to prepare our hearts to serve Him in Kiev.
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Follow our new weekly partner development updates! Each Friday, check your e-mail for a link to a quick video that illustrates how close we are to reaching 100%! If God is calling you to be a part of our last 11%, please fill out the attached form and mail it to SEND International!

89%almost ready for take-off!

Partner Development Update: We Need YOU!!

God has been doing some really amazing things in the past couple of months! By His provision, our monthly support account is now 89% funded! We are praying that the remainder of our support will be raised by Christmas so that we will be able to complete the necessary paperwork and other details to allow our arrival in Kiev around mid-January! Praise the Lord! Missionaries are able to serve through the faithful financial partnership of people like you. To reach 100% of our support, we need an additional $685 a month. Do you feel God calling you to partner with us in any of these categories? If all of these amounts are promised, we will be fully funded!! 10 families to increase their current support by $10/month 9 families to promise to support at $20/month 8 families to promise to support at $25/month 4 families to promise to support at $50/month

Cassies
We are standing in awe of the sovereignty of God. As many of you may know, we wanted to be in Kiev a year ago. The Lord has been showing us His perfect timing, as well as preparing us and teaching us. The partner development process has taken us nearly two years, which is considered average for most missionary families. We are experiencing a wide range of emotionsexcitement, nervousness, anxiousness, and joyas we see our partner development journey come to an end. We look forward to how God will continue to teach us and use us as we enter in to the next journeyserving Him in Kiev. We are thankful for your continued prayers. Please remember us in your prayers in the next couple of months as we prepare to leave and say many good-byes to family and friends. We anticipate the good-byes as being the biggest challenge either of us has had to face. We would appreciate your prayers for us as we take the next step in following Him. Grace and peace,

-Cassie

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