Final Thoughts for 2016

2008. That was the last year my (Carl's) whole family was all together for Christmas. Claire and I had a 3-month old girl (Micah); my brother Sam had been married about a year; and John, Steven, and Melody were all still single and in college. Sean was only 13, not even in high school yet! This year, the Miller family Christmas was a little bit different. Five of us are married now, and between all the siblings there are 9 grandchildren running around! Despite the differences, though, the family Christmas had the same feel to it: the same frustrations, the same joys, and the same chaos (though admittedly more of that now). We loved our Christmas, and we'll enjoy the 3-year respite before we subject everyone to that level of craziness again. 

As if we weren't busy at all, for the last month or so, I’ve had a second full-time job. My friend Matt asked me to apply to be a chaplain with Operation Christmas Child in the warehouse where they process all the packed shoeboxes. I was unsure what to expect, but I applied, and was accepted. The job turned out to be an incredible experience. For nearly 30 days my main responsibility was to pray: I prayed for everyone volunteering to help process shoeboxes going to kids around the world; prayed for the seasonal employees who needed a job to make it through the holidays; and gave devotionals walking everyone through the Bible story. In many ways, this job was the perfect intersection of my teaching and member care ministries in the Philippines, so it was a perfect fit! While we worked, I had the opportunity to build relationships with volunteers and other employees, and had the privilege and joy of seeing two employees give their lives to Christ. 

One employee had to miss the last few days of the job because of financial and family issues but came back on the final day. He said he had two reasons for coming back: the first was to return his work shirt that belonged to the company; the second was to give his life to Christ. All season long his buddies and his manager and I had been praying for him and urging him to become a follower of Jesus, and repeatedly he said he wasn't ready yet. But on that last day, he came back because he was ready. I was able to pray with him and watch him give his life to Jesus and become a disciple.

This job challenged me more than I've been challenged before to share the Gospel. I realized that too often I simply assume that people are believers, that they don't need to be called to follow Christ. I'm learning now not to assume, and I'm learning to have the courage to ask. To ask and to call. Even at Faith Academy, even children of missionaries, I can't simply assume everyone is a believer. When we return to Manila, this is something I'm going to change, because if I'm not calling people to follow Christ, I'm wasting my energy with anything else I do.

Just before I started with Operation Christmas Child we met with a financial advisor to take a closer look at how we're doing financially. A good friend of Claire's family, he sat us down and made us take an honest look at our support level. While this wasn't completely embarrassing, we were still forced to look at the ways we've not done well with this aspect of our ministry. For those of you interested in details, we were told we need about 150 people supporting us in order to have a good support base. If everyone who opened our newsletter began supporting us at $40/month, we would be fully supported! When we realized that, suddenly support raising didn't seem like an insurmountable task. We're even beginning to find it exciting to invite people to partner with us monthly (not something I was expecting to be able to say!).

All that being said, we wanted to say a special thank you for those who are supporting us monthly. We don't appreciate you nearly enough; without you, we would not be doing what we're doing. Without you, Claire wouldn't have started the Mom's group, I would not have been part of creating a curriculum for the Humanities course, and we would not be helping care for over 50 missionaries living and working in Manila. You are part of a ministry that literally spans the globe. Thank you.

We still want to reconnect with you if we haven't yet, so here's our travel itinerary in brief. We'll be in the Chicago area from January 13 until around the beginning of April. We need to head back to Texas then so we can be settled when the baby comes in May. We'll finish out our Home Assignment time in the Dallas area, and once our support is raised, we'll head back to Manila after July 4. Seems like a long way away now, but I know it will surprise us when it gets close.

Congratulations! You've read till the end! :) Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and most of all, thank you so much for praying and partnering with us!

Change is Hard, Pt 2

...or, Why do we do this?

Our kids are amazing. I'll just throw that out there first. We've dragged them halfway around the world and back. We've tossed them into a new public school (from which we plan to wrest them back and move to the North Pole -- I mean, Chicago, for the winter). We've driven them over 3,000 miles (and that's just been this summer!); and after a year, all the friendships they've grown will have to lay dormant while they move back to a home that's moved on without them for a year. Through all of this, they have woken up with smiles on their faces and eager steps to get to school and see their new friends.

I'm not sure I have that kind of emotional stamina. 

Why would we do this? 

Our time back in the US isn't necessarily restful; we're not here to take a "vacation," though our time here so far has been fun and restful along with being busy. 

Liana enjoying
her birthday presents

At the same time, we're not here to work and "make a living" doing whatever jobs we can find for a year.

The purpose behind all of this, the reason that we emigrate repeatedly between two different homes, is because we want you to be more than simply a name and an email address in our database.

Paul calls the Philippian church his "partners" in ministry, and that's what we long for with all of you! To be a partner, there must be a sharing that happens; and for sharing to happen, we have to be present and available.

Friends, that's why we're back here! We want to re-invest in you as you have so generously invested in us. Every time we remember you, we smile, knowing that you're praying for us, that you're supporting us financially, and that you're a part of what we're doing in the Philippines.

Oh yeah, I said I would tell you more about what we've done this summer, too...


Our summer began with a horrendous flight from Manila to Dallas (ask us about that some other time!); and I flew up to Chicago for TeachBeyond's New Candidate Orientation that same day. Seeing over 40 individuals and families preparing to serve overseas was incredible, to say the least.

Some of our best friends!

Claire, soon after, had her own week-long getaway, to a women's conference in Colorado. She relaxed, was refreshed, and even met up with friends from the Philippines!

The hit of the summer, though, the pièce-de-résistance, was Pine Cove summer camp. We went three years ago for the first time, and our kids have been looking forward to it again for just about the last three years! The camp is designed with families in mind, and they have wonderful programs for everyone from toddlers to parents. Horses, boats, a pool, a mud pit, date nights, sunset cruises on the lake, and more; Pine Cove is an amazing experience. Micah asked on the last day of camp if she could be baptized, and I'll admit, my eyes were wet as I agreed to baptize her.

There aren't words for this; my heart is full!

We've now settled down somewhat into the routine of school for all three kids (yessssss), and hopefully we'll be able to get together with many of you now. We truly do love all of you, and are excited to be a part of your lives as you've been a part of ours.


-Carl, for the family

Change is Hard, Pt 1

"Liana, say 'Hong KoNG.'" She tries again, and almost says it right. Then, "We're going to Honk Konk tomorrow?!?" She's told her friends, her ballet teacher, and nearly anyone she talks to that we're going to Hong Kong tomorrow, then the States in June (our flight is routed through Hong Kong, but there's only a short layover). I think the transition will be harder on her than any of us. When my parents retired in February, she was convinced that we were following them back to the States within the week. Even now, she struggles to understand exactly how long it will be until June.

Liana "hard at work" at preschool

While we're looking forward to being back in the States to see everyone, that transition does not come without cost. We'll uproot our lives here to visit somewhere everyone expects us to call home, stay there for a year, and come back to a home that has moved on in our absence.

Some of our friends are returning to the Philippines as we leave, others will be leaving as we return, and one of those families is leaving for the States permanently. Goodbyes are never easy, but a leave-taking without a goodbye is heartbreaking.

Micah (left) and classmates during International Week

There will be a family living in our house while we're away, which is a great blessing (for us and them); unfortunately, we've also had two major appliances (refrigerator and oven) break over the last month. That adds another layer of stress as we work with them to replace those items before we were ready to. As we prepare to travel and transition, pray that we will close out relationships here well, that our travel will be smooth, and that our transition time will be quick.



In other news, I was invited this semester to work with six other teachers to create a 9th grade Humanities class that will weave History, English, and Bible into a single coherent course. This triple-credit class is groundbreaking for Faith Academy, and will force both the teachers and the students to integrate all three academic disciplines. We aim to teach students how to think biblically about life (History) and articulate their thoughts and opinions effectively (English). The class is scheduled to roll out in the Fall of 2017, just as we return from the States. The other teachers were gracious enough to wait for me before they implemented this.


The new Bible curriculum (check it out at www.EngagedSchools.com) is still being rolled out as well, with all 8 courses fully implemented by the Fall of 2018. The further we move into this curriculum, the clearer we can see those areas that we have already done well, along with those areas that we have not tried to cover at all. We've been encouraged in a lot of ways, seeing that we've been doing many of the things this curriculum is offering; our next step is to integrate the best of this curriculum and the best of what we had already done into something even better.