I’ve also been to Israel and back since the last post. What a wonderful opportunity to see the Holy Land! Maybe I can post something on it later, but all I can say is that it was the trip of a lifetime. I’ll never read my Bible the same again. When you get over there and see where all the stories took place it brings everything to life. One lesson that stands out is how practical Jesus was in his teaching. If you read the Biblical passage standing where He would have delivered the message, you see how He used the world around Him as the illustrations for His teaching. It’s a great lesson for all teachers of the Bible to apply.

We’ve also moved closer to our goal of church planting. As many of you know, we are planning on starting a church in the Raleigh, NC area. Currently I am looking more specifically at a suburb outside of Raleigh called Knightdale. With the completion of a new section of the I-540 bypass around Raleigh, this sleepy little town has been the location of a massive influx of people. In fact, the Raleigh area as a whole has exploded. There are 167,000 people projected to move into the area between 2008-2014. This massive growth, combined with a general lostness makes Raleigh a prime spot for a church plant. Knightdale itself has grown 69.9% since 1990. It has attracted my attention not just because of the growth, but because no other church planters have been going there. In other news, about a month ago Jenny and I had our church planting assessment. This was a huge step to go through. With the completion of the assessment, we have the green light to continue through the planting process. As more developments arise, I’ll keep you posted, but continue to keep us in your prayers as we seek the Lord’s will for future ministry.

Lastly, I want to invite all of you to be a part of our prayer network. I know many of my readers are already on my e-mail list, but we need more. Prayer is the fuel for the journey! Without prayer we could do nothing! I will be sending out prayer updates about every other week unless an urgent need arises. I would like to ask all of you to pray for us at least once a week. If you would like to get our prayer e-mail click here to send me a message. You can also follow me on facebook or twitter. I update both of these daily, and you’ll be able to stay up to date with me there.

Please pray for us that we will have wisdom from heaven as to where to plant a church. It is my fervent desire to serve the Lord with my life, and I want so desperately to go where He would desire me to. I’ll post an update about our meeting later, but please remember to keep us in your prayers. Our meeting is at 11:45 tomorrow. Thank you!

I am looking forward to the opportunity, but I am also dreading it in other ways. This will be the first time that I have had an extended absence from not only Josh but Jenny as well. I will miss them both desperately. I will give you all updates on the trip later, but this is an incredible opportunity that I have to be able to work with some church planters in that region and see what they face on a daily basis. Thank you all for your prayers. I’ll update you soon.

canada software PRiveDd

Dad had a great report at his doctor’s appointment on Friday. He is on the mend! He’s continued to lose weight (most likely from the loss of the excess fluid in his abdomen), but we hope he’s bottomed out now and will begin putting it back on very soon. His appetite is healthy, and he feels pretty good. He and Mom are trying to return to their normal routine as much as possible now. We are so very appreciative of your prayers and support! We have seen God answer our prayers time and time again. He has definitely carried us through the past five months. Please continue to pray for Dad’s strength to return and for Mom to have peace and rest as she helps care for Dad.

We’ll try to be a little more faithful to post updates, but April is looking to be a very busy month for the Millers!

Dr. Nguyen called the situation “disheartening.”  After the surgery Dad had several tubes to collect drainage.  The nurses were emptying 3-4 liters per day from the tubes, but Dr. Nguyen told us that the fluid had some important proteins, enzymes, and electrolytes that Dad’s body needed, so a few days before his discharge, the tubes were taken out.  His abdomen became distended, and Dad’s waistline grew from 34 inches to 41 inches.  All that fluid made him pretty uncomfortable (as you can imagine), and last Wednesday they tapped his stomach and removed 5 liters of the fluid.  He thought this would give him immediate relief, but instead he suffered from severe cramping that night (from the loss of electrolytes), and was very fatigued all weekend.  Evidently, his liver desperately needs the nutrition from this fluid, and right now it is not getting it.  The CT scan and lab work today showed that his liver could fail (worst case scenario) if it doesn’t get these nutrients from the fluid.  Forgive my poor medical understanding….it seems that his body needs to make connectors of some sort to get the fluid to the liver.  I don’t know how that works, but that’s what we’re hoping for.  So they’ve ordered his stomach to be tapped again tomorrow to remove more fluid buildup.  They’ve also prescribed a medicine to prevent the side effects he experienced last week from the tap.  Please pray that Dad’s body would do what it needs to get this fluid to his liver.  Because Dad has had cancer, he would probably not be a candidate for a transplant if he suffered from liver failure.

Our comfort comes from knowing that our Heavenly Father is not taken by surprise by this recent complication.  We know that He loves Dad more than we do, and He is using this sickness to teach us all about His amazing character.  We are very thankful that Mom got three good nights of rest this week, and she and Dad are continuing to set an example for us in trusting the Lord for one day at a time.  Without hesitation we can agree with the prophet Jeremiah:  The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.  “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore, I have hope in Him.”  (Lamentations 3:22-24)

Thank you so much for your continued prayers.  We appreciate your support more than we could express.

Shortly after Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Mom suggested that I meditate on Psalm 34 as she had been doing. In fact, Mom was trying to memorize the entire chapter. Desperate for encouragement, I started reading through it every morning, sometimes several times throughout the day. I wrote it down on an index card and carried it in my pocket at work and school, trying to commit the verses to memory. This psalm, almost three months later, is now very dear to my heart. Verse one – “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be on my mouth” – is very easy to say when life is good. And now, as Dad is on his way to recovery, I love to repeat this verse back to the Lord. But there have been many days, even recently, when it has been difficult to bless the Lord. Meditating on this passage has reminded me that, even in life’s trials, God is completely worthy of my love, devotion, and praise because He is God. And He is faithful! He has carried us through this trial and given us a peace that exceeds human understanding. What an amazing God!

Dad had another appointment this morning. Last week doctors confirmed that there are two spots of basal cell carcinoma on the top of his head. Basal cell is the most common and most easily-treated of the skin cancers, and these spots do not concern them. They’ll be removed later, once Dad’s a little more healthy. And the pathology report came back today for the spot on Dad’s side – and praise the Lord, it’s not melanoma! In fact, it’s just a normal mole.

Please continue to pray for our family. Dad is uncomfortable from the fluid buildup in his abdomen (they hope to remove some of the fluid this week), and Mom is struggling with anxiety. We have been so blessed to have another family offer to pay for us to fly down to visit, so this weekend, Leslie, Megan, Nathan, Robby, and I are all going to be in town with Mom and Dad. We look forward to some great time together! Thank you for your continued prayers and words of encouragement. We love you all!