And the answer is........
For those of you who have been following the Miller saga, it appears there is finally an end to the cliff-hanger episode we've been living for the past year. After deciding to forgo Plan A (working as missionaries) and the LONG string of events that have followed, it appears God is planning to have us work as missionaries after all. The job in Natchez is somewhat more bleak than we first understood it to be. Instead of pastoring a congregation of 20, it appears we'll be leading a flock of eight. Within our denomination this means we'll be on missionary status and part of our salary will come directly from the denomination and money allocated from churches all over the place who support missionaries. We will shepherd the flock of eight and do what missionaries do: get out in the community to meet people and build relationships, start a small community Bible study with the intent to keep adding members, do outreach events, etc. In some ways it will be the same work we would have done with Campus Crusade if Plan A had worked the way we expected it to. We will be making the trip to Natchez in just over a week to look for housing, meet the "church", and get acqainted with what will be our new home. The salary they're offering is liveable if Tina gets a well-paying part-time job or a decent paying full-time job. The housing allowance is included in Joe's salary, which will help at tax time, and they're offering to pay tuition to seminary for Joe.
The downsides to Natchez: (1) the heat and humidity; (2) the hurricanes that move through the area bringing tons of rain and scary weather; (3) limited shopping/restaurants -- there's no Target, Hobby Lobby, Barnes & Noble/Borders, Chic-fil-a, or most any place that Tina likes to shop for clothing; (4) we'll have to change banks because there isn't a branch in all of Mississippi or Louisiana; (5) there don't appear to be many jobs for Tina, although she can apply for a retail job or the opening at a B&B for a cook/house-keeper; and, of course, the worst downside (6) family/friends are all roughly 10 hours away and driving to see them requires driving through Arkansas.
The upsides to Natchez: (1) sweet tea at every restaurant; (2) everyone who has been there has commented on how gorgeous it is; (3) there are fun NEW restaurants that we can try out; (4) changing banks means we might score a toaster or something out of the deal; (5) friends will have lots to see when they come visit us, which I hope they will; and, most importantly, (6) the ministry might be challenging, but it might also be VERY rewarding to basically start a church from scratch.
For those of you who've been praying, our continued prayer requests will be:
The downsides to Natchez: (1) the heat and humidity; (2) the hurricanes that move through the area bringing tons of rain and scary weather; (3) limited shopping/restaurants -- there's no Target, Hobby Lobby, Barnes & Noble/Borders, Chic-fil-a, or most any place that Tina likes to shop for clothing; (4) we'll have to change banks because there isn't a branch in all of Mississippi or Louisiana; (5) there don't appear to be many jobs for Tina, although she can apply for a retail job or the opening at a B&B for a cook/house-keeper; and, of course, the worst downside (6) family/friends are all roughly 10 hours away and driving to see them requires driving through Arkansas.
The upsides to Natchez: (1) sweet tea at every restaurant; (2) everyone who has been there has commented on how gorgeous it is; (3) there are fun NEW restaurants that we can try out; (4) changing banks means we might score a toaster or something out of the deal; (5) friends will have lots to see when they come visit us, which I hope they will; and, most importantly, (6) the ministry might be challenging, but it might also be VERY rewarding to basically start a church from scratch.
For those of you who've been praying, our continued prayer requests will be:
- for God's will to be done
- for our ministry to be fruitful
- for us to find some good friends to hang out with during our time off
- for our "old" friendships to remain strong even while we're away
Thank you to everyone who has following the story. Keep reading for more to follow, because I think it's just now starting to get interesting!
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