“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you … all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3.

You may recognize this verse from our Prayer cards. We chose this verse as it was influential to us in how we view our relationships with God and how we interact with the world around us. God blessed Abraham and the Hebrew people with His presence. Through Abraham’s offspring Christ came into the world to perfect that relationship and extend it beyond the Hebrew people. When we choose to follow Christ, we are adopted as sons and daughters with Christ (Galatians 3). In that inheritance we become an extension of the offspring of Abraham and have the opportunity to bring the message of blessing by salvation with Christ to the world around us. We are blessed so that others will be blessed through us.

This year has been a busy one for sure. Most of you have kept up with us through our monthly newsletters so I’ll just give you some highlights.

We will strive to focus on relationships and the gift Christmas through the remainder of this holiday season and continue strong in January. We are currently at about 75% of our outgoing expenses and monthly reoccurring budget. January will be our last month to support raise as we must be 100% funded by February 4^th. If we do not meet our goals we would be delayed another year. This is due to the required aviation training only being offered once a year. If not already, would you prayerfully consider joining our ministry as a monthly partner and consider a year-end gift to our outgoing expenses? We need you on our team!

As of December 14^th Anna and I have; in a step of faith, resigned from our jobs. We have not met our financial goals yet but trust God to provide. This has been a somewhat surreal process as we are excited about our next steps but also are entering into an unknown and really beginning the process of saying goodbyes. As much as the crazy schedule was hard to manage and the support raising process is difficult, this is the part of this process that is hardest to bear. We continually remind ourselves to keep our eyes on Him and trust His understanding, not our own(Proverbs 3:5-6). We rest in the comfort of knowing He walks with us through the sweetness of friendship and the sorrow of goodbyes. He truly is Immanuel; God with us.

Merry Christmas!

Second to salvation in Christ, prayer is the greatest gift God gave us. He allows us to commune with Him. We have the freedom to approach the throne of the creator of the universe. I find that often I feel as though my prayers come up short. Do I speak to Him endearingly and casually, or with reverence and reserve? Maybe the answer is somehow either, or both. After all, David prayed through all emotions and praised Him for His constancy, while Paul teaches us to cry out to “Abba Father.” No matter the way in which we speak to Him it never-the-less remains miraculous that it is possible. We are also promised that when we seek Him in His will, He listens. “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will he hears us. “ (1 John 5:14)   What about the prayers we don’t pray? Yes, the Holy Spirit can interpret the groanings of our heart (Romans 8:26), but God also provides for things we didn’t ask for and sometimes didn’t even know we needed.   We were recently on a trip back to Arizona. It was bittersweet as we greeted old friends and then said goodbye for several years. This was the first of many goodbyes that we will say. Our community in AZ will always be an important anchor for us. We were reaching out to new ministry partners and had spoken at our church. A man; whom I had met once before but didn’t know well, approached me and reintroduced himself. He continued by telling me that his son had been an aircraft mechanic but had passed away a while back due to an accident. After I expressed my sorrow at his loss he said, “I have all of his tools and I want you to come look at them and take whatever you want.” I have to pause the story here to emphasize what this means to a mechanic. Some people look at tools as merely possessions. To me they are how I support my family, my lifeblood. They are what I use to serve Christ and live out my faith, they are a part of who I am. You also need to know that there were 2 tools specifically that I was looking at purchasing that would be needed in Nairobi, one of which was very specialized and expensive. Needless to say, he had them both, plus some. I must have sounded like a broken record with the number of times I said thank you. God provided something I honestly didn’t think to pray for.  We have always enjoyed family hikes through the aspens on Mt. Humphreys in Flagstaff.

Anna and I received a notification one day that someone began monthly support. We scrolled down to see the name and were quite confused as we had no idea who they were. We had to ask around to find out who knew them. They were friends of my sister. They had never met us, and only knew the few things my sister had told them about us and God moved in their hearts to support us. We strive to spend time in prayer each time we meet with someone and ask them to support. It is an experience that has reshaped how we pray for missionaries and deepened our trust in God to provide. Considering all the preparation and emotion we put into support raising it is humbling and re-affirming to have someone you didn’t ask or know choose to support you.  Where are we at now? Currently, we are at 50% of both goals; our outgoing expense and monthly commitments. That means that God is continuing to provide ministry partners and the Holy Spirit is prompting people to give. Again, it is a humbling experience to see God work in the hearts of His people to rally behind His ministry through us. Developing ministry partners is a balancing act between gratefulness and faith. It is wonderful to know 50% has been raised and daunting that 50% remains. Our Targets must be met by We must continually declare trust in Him and remind ourselves of His sovereignty over his plans; That “He works all things out for the good of those who love Him…” but it is “according to His purposes…” not our own (Romans 8:28).   In our previous letter I talked about the “Great Commission,” that God calls all of us to go to the nations. However; in Acts 13 we see an example in the church at Antioch of only two from the congregation being called out. We see that consistent story in the New Testament that not all the church went on the missionary journeys. So how do we reconcile that all followers of Christ are commissioned with the task of seeing the gospel taken to the nations and yet not all are called out? There are approximately 78,000 Christians worldwide for every one unreached people group. Not all 78,000 can or should physically go to a people group. However, it is impossible for missionaries to go without the support of believers at home holding their ropes. The task requires senders, mobilizers, givers, prayers or it cannot be accomplished. How has God commissioned you in the task of going to the nations? Would you pray about partnering with our ministry?   If you are interested in partnering with us through monthly support or year-end giving you can use the link at the bottom of our emails. You can also contact us about other ways to give and connect with us.  Connect with God on our behalf: Come to Him with gratitude for the ministry partners we have thus far. That he would continue to provide new ministry partners. For continued recognition in our hearts of our reliance on Him. For peace in our children and family as we begin to say goodbyes and grieve. For joy as we celebrate Holidays with family. Ask for guidance as we finalize decisions about schooling next semester.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” ~Matthew 28:19

In the Great Commission; Christ’s final charge to His disciples, He doesn’t instruct us to simply proclaim the gospel but to “make disciples” and further more to “teach them to observe all” that He has commanded us.

As parents our first mission field is to our children. We are to shepherd them to Christ both with our words and with our lives. To that end, how can you disciple someone, or teach someone what it is to follow Christ without impressing upon them the need to take His message to the lost. Though I am certain we have not succeeded 100% of the time Anna and I have sought to teach our children all that He has commanded, to observe his commands and to be disciples. We believe serving God through AIM AIR will be an example to them of how we follow His leading to go to the nations. While we as adults understand the rationale behind what we are doing our children still view this transition through 9, 6 and 3 year old lenses. So, what do our children think of this and how are Anna and I preparing them for this upheaval?

-Meet our children-

Jude is 9 and loves science, specifically animals. He is enthralled by God’s creation and is constantly reading non-fiction about animals. He is most excited about seeing all the African animals. He knows his colors in Swahili better than anyone in the family. Jude is a follower of Christ and constantly amazes me by his understanding of scripture and the depth of his thoughts, even at the age of 9. He sees the need for why we go but also is apprehensive about leaving behind his pet rat, Kirby.

Lydia is 6 and lives in a world of rainbows and unicorns. If you ask her what her favorite color is she will tell you “rainbow is my favorite because I can’t pick just one.” She loves that her namesake in scripture was a seller of purple. Lydia is disappointed that we are going to Africa instead of China because there are no pandas in Africa. As a consolation she is looking forward to seeing zebras because they are black and white like pandas. Lydia is tough; our middle child who is a trooper through everything. Anna and I will have to be diligent to check on Lydia’s heart as she will never tell us how she feels. She is sad about leaving her friends.

Gideon is 3 and though he is physically the smallest in the home he may have the largest personality. He will climb anything and everything. We will have to watch him closely so he doesn’t follow a pack of monkeys home. All Gideon understands at this point is that we will be going on a big plane to Africa (wherever that is) and his toys seem to be disappearing. A message to all the grandmothers out there: don’t worry; we are taking “some” of his toys. Gideon calls me a helicopter doctor and enjoys looking at pictures of AIM AIR’s planes.

-Transition-

We have been talking a lot about this transition in our home. Whether it be things that we need to get rid of, friends we will say goodbye to, or cultural norms that won’t be present in our new home; there is a lot a grief in this process. There are also many things to be excited about. It is challenging to balance these things and be mindful not to blanket over grief with excitement. It must be processed, both as adults and as children. As a family we are working through this and making adjustments to be prepared for what God has ahead.

-Education-

Anna and are currently working through how best to facilitate their education while in Kenya. AIM’s policy regarding the education of children is that they be able to return to their home country at the grade level that they should be at. We have traditionally chosen public schooling as it gives our children the opportunity to learn how to live out their faith in a fallen world and gives us a bridge to connect with people in our community. Public schools are not an option in Kenya as they do not meet the same educational standards as Western schools. This leaves two options; a private international school or homeschooling. There is a significant cost difference between the two and though we know that money is not the only factor in our children’s education, we are also aware of the sacrifice of our ministry partners that would give us the ability to choose an international school. The international school would allow us that bridge to connect with people in Nairobi Another factor in laying out an education plan is home assignment. Home schooling offers the flexibility to travel as needed where as an international school would only have summer breaks as a window to take home assignment. Additionally, we need to address each child’s learning style and how to best educate them. This is a multifaceted issue and not easily navigated.

Connect with God on our behalf:

• For wisdom as we shepherd our children through this process.
• For discernment in choosing a schooling option the would best fit our children and our situation.
• For our children as they each go through their own individual griefs.
• Ask for safety as we travel to Arizona this coming week to support and visit our AZ Family.

Spread The word:

• Please share this with anyone who may be interested in following our story.

 Contact us with any questions you may have. We look forward to continuing a dialogue with each of you.
 

 Blessed to bless,
 Daniel & Anna Miller

I am doing this letter backwards and beginning with the prayer requests.

AIM Air has a high standard when it comes to the quality and workmanship that goes into maintaining their aircraft; as well they should. A primary component of quality maintenance is quality mechanics. For that reason, all AIM Air pilots and mechanics go through Technical Evaluation (TE) before being officially accepted into the ranks. A former AIM Air pilot described the TE as more challenging than being shot at while flying over the jungles of Africa.  It is intentionally challenging to ensure appointees are fully prepared for what’s ahead. On Sunday; 08/04/19, I fly to North Carolina for my TE, where my skills and knowledge in aviation maintenance will be tested and evaluated for 2 weeks. I generally enjoy taking test (I know, one of those weird people) but there is a lot riding on this one. I don’t like the word anxiety, but I think it appropriately describes how I’m feeling. I ask that you intercede in prayer on my behalf; that I would cast my worries on Him, have clear thoughts and be able to rest each night to be ready for the next day. Pray also for Anna and the kids while I am gone. Anna will be parenting alone and Jude and Lydia begin school the 2^nd week I am away.

Transition. It’s not just a word to move us into the next paragraph. The coin of transition has excitement and anticipation on its face; loss and grief on its tail. Much of the process of transitioning our family to Africa has been exciting and filled with joy. As the opening song begins on Lion King, Gideon shouts out, “That’s Africa, we go to Africa, We go on a plane!” The theater was thoroughly entertained by him. However; these past few months have also had their fair share of the latter. As we move towards departure it becomes necessary to let go of responsibilities here, to free us for what God has next.

Anna and I have always desired to serve God in whatever capacities He would allow us. For our time in St. Joseph that has meant leading a small group for Renovation Church in our home once a week, serving in Renovate Kid City (RKC) and coordinating Renovations Serve the City Projects.

From September of 2018 to May of this year we hosted a ReGroup (small group bible study) in our home. We met weekly sharing a meal together, sometimes worshipping together and always studying God’s word and discussing and sharing how to grow further in our walks with Christ. We shared burdens, walked each other through heart-ache and supported each other in daily life. It is always a humbling experience when God allows me to taste what the early church was like; doing life together. Anna and I have grown and learned from each member of our group and we have seen each of them grow as well. In May we hosted our final ReGroup. Though it was not “goodbye” to the members of our ReGroup family, it did bring the grief of transition into focus.

One of the greatest joys of our time at Renovation Church in St. Joseph has been serving in RKC. Anna served in the nursery (birth – 2) and I in the preschool room. Children’s ministry is often overlooked in church as just childcare; but the impact it has goes far beyond freeing up parents for a church service. Anna would tell you that nursery would not have been her first choice in the children’s ministry; she’s not a baby person, but came to an understanding of what it really means to the babies and their connection to the church. When asked about why she serves in the nursery she replied, “They are learning trust vs. Mistrust at this age. If we can begin to teach them that they can trust us, trust the church, trust God! That is monumental!” I have always fit right in with preschoolers; I’m at just the right maturity level. It truly was a joy to teach the Bible story to a room of 2-5 year old’s every Sunday. We don’t learn theology by reading a list of theological doctrines in scripture, we learn by reading stories. Stories are an amazingly powerful tool, that’s why Jesus taught in parables. I was able to help instill foundational stories in these children, laying the ground work for how they will interact with scripture, learn about Christ, and form their theology. Yes, that’s correct, I taught theology to preschooler’s. June 23^rd was our last Sunday serving in RKC. Saying goodbye to the children we served was not something we looked forward to. It gives us peace knowing God will bring someone else in to fill the gap and continue to meet these children in His timing, but that does not diminish the sadness that confronts us when we reminisce about RKC.

We have a desire to see the body of Christ serve. To meet practical needs as well as spiritual needs. We coordinated Renovation’s Serve the City projects, teaming up with Pivotal Point Transitional housing who work to end homelessness in St. Joseph. “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” ~Matthew 25:40. It was amazing at each event to see God working in the lives of “the least” through His people.

It is exciting to look forward the God fulfilling Anna and I desire to serve Him in Africa; a goal we have shared for 12 years, but I find myself on the other side of the coin more often in this season. It has brought about all these words that I don’t like, pain, sadness, anxiety, grief (yes, I’m an avoider). In scripture David set a precedence for God centered lamenting. To lament is to feel the sadness and pain, go through the grief and anxiety but; as so many of his psalms show us, we are to come out the other side of the lament praising Him and remembering that He is good.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” ~Romans 8:29

God has gifted Anna with a driven pertinacious spirit; so even though May was already busy with both of us working full time, the kids finishing up school, me having to travel for work 2 weeks in a row and other ministry opportunities that sprang up, we still worked in several many support raising appointments and speaking opportunities. One of those opportunities connected some dots on a story God has been writing for over 10 years now.

11 years ago, Anna and I were married certain that we would be headed overseas in no time. Little did we know that God had a few things to take care of first. Meanwhile; in Nairobi, Kenya The AIM Air avionics shop was losing a member as he was transitioning back to the US. A group of women in Nairobi began to pray that his position would be filled.

After finishing Bible college and moving to attend tech school for aviation maintenance, a job opportunity arose. “Anna, do you want to live at the Grand Canyon?” We set out on an adventure to Arizona leaving family back in the Midwest. This forced us to reach out to the body of Christ for connection and we were grafted into the family that is “The Williams Neighborhood Group.” This family taught us so much about what it meant to live out life in service to Christ with those we were not biologically related to but will forever be indelibly tied.

In Arizona I gained experience at Grand Canyon Airlines that I would later learn directly correlated to mission aviation. I worked under an avionics guru who trained me in what would become my passion. This led to a transition to Grand Canyon Helicopters as the Avionics Manager where I would further refine my skills in avionics. During this time God was teaching Anna how powerful a connection motherhood is. She saw a need and helped start a mom’s group. It was amazing to her desire to connect with women and moms on the fringe and bring them into relationship with the body. This is a passion that she still seeks out today and I’m certain God will continue to use in Nairobi as children break down cultural barriers.

After 6 years in Arizona Anna and I came to the difficult decision to leave our AZ family and head back to MO. God put us in St. Joseph, Missouri. This was a difficult and painful transition on our family as we left a piece of ourselves with the Williams Neighborhood Group; but God had things to teach us in MO.

As you know we were accepted with AIM in March. This May we traveled to Abbyville, KS where a rodeo happens every year. This is always a great time of reconnecting with family and enjoying some Pit BBQ, which Anna’s family oversees. On that Sunday we spoke at Anna’s aunt’s church in Plevna, KS. When we said we would be serving in the avionics shop at AIM Air she replied, “oh we know AIM Air, we supported an avionics technician with them 10 years ago, he was our former pastors’ son.” And God’s story comes full circle.

We had been certain that it was our decisions or mistakes that “delayed” us getting to the field, and maybe that was part of it but God truly did work all things together for good according to His purposes, not our own. It is amazing to zoom out on the perspective of our lives and see how God has woven every detail into the tapestry of our story; each of the tiniest intricacies coming together to create beauty from the seemingly mundane.

What can you do?

Connect to God on our behalf and pray:

• Perseverance to continue working full time to pay off debt.
• To make the most of moments to invest in our children and find joy daily.
• Maintaining momentum in making, keeping and following up on support raising appointments.
• That we can bring awareness to the need for Christ around the world, even mobilizing others to join the work.
• To trust God for the full story, even the little details. So much we don’t know and must lean on His understanding.

Spread The word:

• Please share this with anyone who may be interested in following our story.

 Contact us with any questions you may have. We look forward to continuing a dialogue with each of you.

 Blessed to bless,
 Daniel & Anna Miller

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” ~Ephesians 6:12

This year so far has been quick, difficult and fruitful. From the moment we said “Yes” to an interview with Africa Inland Mission (AIM) we began to experience what was probably the worst month of our marriage relationship. At the time we didn’t see it for what it was; spiritual warfare. Daniel’s mentor Scott Brawner once said “Satan is not a mind reader but he is an excellent judge of character.” We found that to be true and satan exploited our weaknesses, our doubts and our fears. We finally realized what was happening and reached out to the body of Christ for prayer. As Christ showed us when he went to the garden to pray, we are not meant to do this alone. As William Carey said, “I will venture to go down, but remember that you must hold the ropes.” And that is what our brothers and sisters in Christ did; they prayed, you prayed. It is because of that prayer and support that we saw an immediate turn around. The fruit that this time produced was a vigilance against how the liar wants to distract us from God’s will.

Following that we geared up for Connect Week at AIM headquarters where we drank from a fire hose of information, wisdom and training. It was a trying week as we had a lot of information to absorb and things to accomplish. We met with a counselor and had our faults laid out before us, not to shame but to grow. It was hard but fruitful. It brought us to a place where we knew we needed to hang everything on God and rely on His faithfulness and the support of His people. On Thursday of that week we were accepted to serve with Africa Inland Mission. The grace of God is amazing in how He uses flawed people to do His work.

So, how will God be using us?

We will be serving with AIM AIR who operates a fleet of six aircraft to support the broader work of AIM in planting Christ-centered churches among all African peoples in some of the hardest to reach places. Daniel will be a maintenance and avionics specialist in Nairobi, Kenya; using his skills to serve those who serve. Anna will continue to be mom to our 3 children as we transition to a new country and culture. She has always looked for ways to serve God more and will continue seeking ministry opportunities in Nairobi.

From here, there is much to accomplish to be ready for launch. We have already begun to move through our Outbound Checklist; where we keep track of the logistical items that need done, from passports and medical checks to planning for the kid’s education. In August Daniel will travel to North Carolina for a two-week Technical Evaluation to make sure my skills are up to par for AIM AIR’s high standard of technical excellence. We are both working full time to be debt free. Our goal is to fully funded and financially cleared by February 2020. Our final step will be 16 weeks of Technical Orientation in North Carolina, with departure to Nairobi, Kenya in July 2020.

Through all of this we will be building up our team and meeting with potential financial ministry partners. This where you come in. As we have already discovered, it is foolish to attempt to do God’s work without the support of others. We need you to hold the rope! We cannot go without funds and we will not go without prayer. Ministry comes at a cost and we are expectant for those God is mobilizing to invest in what He is going to do through our service at AIM AIR.

What can you do?

Connect to God on our behalf and pray:

• For energy as we work and are diligent at the tasks before us.
• For grace within our family; that we would abide in Him giving the enemy no foothold.
• That God would raise up ministry partners to hold our rope.
• That Daniel’s employer would give him two weeks off to complete the Technical Evaluation and that he would pass the evaluation.
• For our children; Jude (8), Lydia (6) and Gideon (3) as they make several life transitions.

Spread The word:

• Please share this with anyone who may be interested in following our story.

Contact us with any questions you may have. We look forward to continuing a dialogue with each of you.

 Blessed to bless,

The Millers