JULY 18: THE WEDDING- WOW! Everything went wonderfully! What a blessing for us to see the excitement, joy and anticipation on Ben’s face as Hannah approached him at the front of the church. We count it a privilege to have such a sweet, godly daughter-in-law and be related to a God-honoring family such as the Drennons. Both Heather and Melissa were bridesmaids along with Hannah’s sister, Jennifer. Almost all of the McMillans came so we were able, at least for a brief time, to reconnect with them.


So, what have we been doing since last we wrote? A good portion of the time we have spent undergoing medical examinations and procedures to meet the TEAM requirements for redeployment. We made a trip to DC to look for an apartment and thanks to the help of Dixie Wright we were able to lease a one bedroom basement apartment from a nice family in the Burke area in the southwest suburbs. It would not be available until after July 15th, but the landlord let Peter take a load of household goods and books up. Monday, the 20th, we moved out of Sharon’s parents’ home near Richmond, Va. and settled in the apartment where we will stay for the rest of the year. We are learning the whereabouts of every thrift store in the SW quadrant! There are still a few furniture items lacking, but we hope to be able to borrow some from church friends.

Melissa works Sunday through Friday as an assistant camp counselor at Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center. She had a 2 week vacation and went up with Heather to New York to the grandparents’ cabin. Her freshman move in date for James Madison University is either August 18th or 19th.

Starting this Monday both Sharon and Heather will take a one month intensive course to get certified as TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) instructors. This is a widely used method among missionaries to reach into a community and form relationships.

Sharon is writing this as we make our way back home to DC from Wheaton, Illinois. We attended REAP (Re-entry, Evaluation, And Preparation). About 100 TEAM missionaries and staff gathered together for a week of meetings and exchange. It was a great time of interaction, lots of ideas, interchange of experiences, and training on how to maximize our connection between resources and kingdom opportunities. We met several times with the missionary couple, Scott and Lorna Muha, who are considering teaming up with us in the next assignment. We interviewed many missionaries from various fields, including Mexico, to not leave any stone unturned as the saying goes. Every day we are involved in correspondence to various parties, research, prayer, and waiting on answers. We are hoping for a final decision in August so as to be able to direct energies and prayers to that end. We are excited anticipating this next venture with you!

Peter and Sharon McMillan
Cell phone number: 804-920-9739
Email address: psmcmillan@gmail.com

Trip to Spain and Tenerife

Dear prayer supporters:
This letter will cover the highlights, and only the highlights (out of consideration for your time)
of our investigative trip to Spain.
On the 1st day as soon as we dropped our luggage off at Mark and Kay Johnson’s home we picked up Tony Vasquez who is Tony Vasquez with Spanish/Arabic New Testamentfrom El Salvador with Youth with a Mission. He is developing a vision for sending Latino missionaries to the 10/40 window. He led us on a fast paced tour of Lavapies in downtown Madrid where 100 different nationalities live within an area of 4 blocks.

Near Plaza del Sol we ate our first “Menu”. Afterwards, we met with John Blake, who has worked with Billy Graham and Navigators in Spain for 44 years and has keen insights into the work in Spain. We will mention here only a few of the important facts that he impressed on us: 377 cities in Spain have no evangelical witness; less than 1% of the population is evangelical. Also, cities of over 5,000, 10,000, 15,000, and even 10 cities with populations of over 20,000 exist with no church. He encouraged us to consider working in one of those pockets where there is no witness. According to John, the key to reaching the Spaniard is to respond to the question, “Why am I here?” which manifests itself in drug addiction and domestic violence. The formerly tight family unit is no longer a commonality.

The 2nd day a group of us met with Ron Anderson, director of European Christian Mission (MK from Latin America and working in Spain for 20+ years. We gained insight as Ron encouraged us to not parachute in and start from scratch but to be a part of a team and connect with Spaniards if possible who have a vision for the same area. He told us of some social action efforts that meet real needs, such as drug rehabilitation, by which Christians have gained credibility as well as opened doors for opportunities for evangelism.

We visited with Aurora Tablante who is a former IBM church member. She now lives in northern Madrid (Los Tablas) an area of more than 50,000 with no evangelical church. Her community connects by trolley to two other communities with no church. She presently drives 45 minutes to attend church. She is pleading with us to help start a work in her neighborhood.

A small section of Las Tablas

On Monday, Micah and Kimberly and we took a 4-5 hour road trip to Granada in a lemon lime Citroen. We ooed and aahed at the fascinating countryside and were fortunate to arrive in time to visit Alhambra for a few hours. We stayed with Danny Johnson, a professor at IIBET, a training center for Latinos who plan to or are working in the 10/40 window. He took us to a teashop in the heart of the Arab section and helped us see the opportunity to work in the Granada area where there are thousands of immigrants from Muslim countries. The following day we priviledged to attend a meeting at the IIBET headquarters. We were humbled to be in the presence of dedicated, high caliber workers, especially Daniel Sanchez, currently on staff at Dallas Seminary. He explained several methodologies for reaching the muslims. We had lunch with a couple from Venezuela who have recently begun to start a church among the Muslim population in Granada. “Open heart closed Door - Closed door open heart.” We heard this phrase repeated a number of times while we were in Spain. Spain has a closed heart with no interest in God and yet there is a open door. In Morocco the Muslims have an open heart but the door is closed. In Granada the two come together.

The 2nd phase of our trip we flew 2½ hours to Tenerife for a fast paced orientation to the different facets of the culture and to the spiritual needs. Yauns, Belches, McMillans, Muhas, and Albrechts with Dr. FortesWe met with Dr. Jose Luis Fortes, (left of Sharon) director of the Council of Evangelical Churches of Tenerife. He gave an overview of the church planting efforts and encouraged us to work on the northwestern side of Tenerife where there are several cities with no church.

One night we gorged ourselves on Canary Style Barbeque in a quaint, rustic temporary eatery which only operates during the wine season while their home brew lasts.

One of the cities that we visited was Icod de Los Vinos on the Northwest side of the island. It has a small church of 8 (Planted some 20+ years ago). We were asked to consider starting a new church plant with this small group of believers.

One of the couples that we toured Tenerife with was Scott and Lorna Muha. (To the left in the picture)They are fellow TEAM missionaries with us in Venezuela. We met with them in Venezuela before we left to consider the possibility of working together with them in Spain. This was a high moment as we looked over this valley and considered this as a strong possibility.

One morning a member of the Albrecht’s church who is also a history professor kindly gave us an interesting overview of the history and culture of the Canarians.

At the open house on Saturday night we were privileged to meet many of the warmhearted and enthusiastic members of the Fountain of Faith and Hope Christian Church. Even as we waited for our departure flight at the airport, we had a brief meeting with the coordinator for FIEDE,
(the association of churches that work with TEAM).

Thanks for taking the time to read about our trip to Spain. Pray with us as we consider these options and seek where the Lord would have us serve next.

Peter and Sharon McMillan
psmcmillan@gmail.com
http://psmcmillan.blogspot.com/

Greetings faithful prayer partners:

Camp Chuparipal Report: 2 bus loads of 30 people went from

our area, contributing to a total of over 300. Many people were

challenged to be more faithful in their walk with the Lord.

One youth from our church, Jesus Marques, was deeply convicted

of sin in his life. What a testimony to see the other youth
around him, praying for him as he was broken before the Lord.

It rained several times, which would be the equivalent of snow

in the summer in the U.S! Small groups at camp

The waterslide stayed occupied all day!

This past weekend we experienced a Mini-Retreat: Friday

night and Saturday an hour away at a new developing camp.

@60 people from church, including children, gathered for

(re)orientation on the purpose and dynamics of the cell
group concept. Several new Christians and their families

participated. Our goal for 2009 is to develop 10 new cell group

leaders, form 5 new cell groups, and add 50 new members.

The biggest news and prayer concern this time is for the

Spain Investigative Trip.
We’ve had a surprise development: a young couple, Micah

and Kimberly Yaun, members of the Faith Presbyterian

missions committee, took up our invitation for someone to

come along! They have both come to Venezuela several times
with work teams and would like to explore the opportunity

to minister in Spain full time. Below is the basic itinerary

so you will know how to pray:

Visit Schedule:
Thursday: Leave 12:20 from Barcelona airport.

Leave 5:30pm from Caracas airport on 8½ hour flight and…

Friday:…arrive in Madrid 7:40 am their time. Visit an area

where ministry to Muslims in Madrid is going on. 4:00pm

meet with John Blake with Decision. Home and crash.

Saturday:
Meet with Ron Anderson, European Director of European

Christian Mission
Jake Bock - possibly
John Nicely, Coordinator for TEAM Spain, - lunch
6:00 Oasis Madrid church service
8:00 Tapas (drinks and light food) with Jay and Carolyn Sensenig,

formerly in Venezuela

Sunday:
Camarma Church Service
Lunch and afternoon with the Tablantes ( a dedicated couple

from our church who relocated a year ago)

Monday and Tuesday:
5 hour bus ride to Granada with Danny Johnson. Visit IlbET,

a training center for missionaries to work with Muslims. IIbET

has a need for a fund raiser, and it's strategic in terms of channeling
Latin Americans to Northern Africa, where it is difficult for North

Americans to enter. Maybe a visit to Alhambra?

Wednesday:
Meet with Paul Bowman, TEAM church planter
Leave for Tenerife 3:00 pm (2hrs 45 min.) arrive 4:45 their time.

The other TEAM couple, Scott and Lorna Muha, will join us for this

leg. We return on the following Monday morning 7am Spanish time

and arrive at Barcelona airport 9:40pm. Attached is the schedule for

the 6 of us while we are in Tenerife.

Wednesday, Mar 18 - Monday Mar 23

Visit in Tenerife. Checking out Possible target areas, local pastors,

Housing opportunities, checking prices, Needed documents,

opportunities,

Return to Venezuela March 23

Peter, Sharon and Melissa
psmcmillan@gmail.com
http://psmcmillan.blogspot.com/

Happy New Years! And Greetings from Lecheria.
Inauguration Day went by yesterday as we drove 2½ hours and met with another missionary couple to discuss future plans and ministry opportunities. After the whirlwind of extra activities in December and the first half of January, we are now focusing on the responsibilities that lie before us to finish well in the remaining 5 months and prepare for ministry in another area. The biggest need for the church right now is for someone to work fulltime in a pastor role. It looks like a good possibility that Alejandro Molero, one of our 3 national elders, will take on the responsibility. Another elder, Hageo, already receives half time salary.

This past Sunday night Domingo and Mimina apologized for their ungodly behavior. Sharon will resume meeting with her on a regular basis. It is a difficult thing to know how to counsel in this and similar situations.

Government offices are reopened. The efforts have begun anew in order to begin construction. Now we are waiting for the final electric, sewer, and structure calculations to be signed by a civil engineer to obtain the final approval for construction.

We have started the phase of “this is the last time that we….” The 7-10th of this month was the last time for us to attend an ASIGEO get-together in Caripe, a little mountain town where the conference center is located. It was especially helpful this time because we focused on how to develop, organize, and evaluate an existing or new ministry. Our group from church was so enthused about it that the elders decided to dedicate the following 2 weeks to planning. Each night 1 or 2 ministry areas meet. We are in the 2nd week and it has been encouraging especially to see the involvement of new people in the different ministry areas. Two areas of need are officially organized now: prayer and visitation.

Our church members participating in ministry planning

February 20-24 our church will participate in the family camp/conference held at our old stomping grounds- Camp Chuparipal! Some of our leaders are in charge of the sessions.

Now for a personal note. After Christmas we had a wonderful, but short, visit from our son, Benjamin and his fiancée, Hannah Drennan, from West Virginia. Several people from church helped us greet them by singing Venezuelan style Christmas songs with us in the airport! Then came the ultimate compatibility test for Hannah: she underwent being stuffed in our loaded down Cherokee with us for a 5 day camping trip in the Gran Sabana with a 10 hour drive at both ends. Another family from Melissa’s school joined us. Unexpectedly, the first night in the tents it poured rain and leaked terribly so the younger set ended up spending the rest of the night in an unfinished cabin!
Ben prepares to jump into a natural pool.

This past week and weekend Melissa participated in the CMUNCE at Columbia University in New York City. It provides experience in simulated United Nations sessions. She represented Russia in the World Food Summit. Heather also went to NY to visit her sister and see the sights.

Peter & Sharon

Dec 5th

It was after midnight and the loaded bus would soon be leaving the church for the 5 hour trip to the youth retreat. Jose’s girlfriend called and told him not to go with those “fanatics.” He would have returned home but for the timely intervention by his mother. The first day of the retreat he moped around, but that first night he received Christ. From then on he was a changed person. He said in his testimony that he wished that people had known him beforehand in order to appreciate the difference that Jesus had made in his life! He stopped smoking, and even decided to be called by his second name because he was now a new creature! So we are all excited about this new member of our cell group, Enrique Ferrer.

You would have sat spellbound on the edge of your seat listening to the testimonies of the 15 new believers who were baptized this past Sunday. They have already gotten involved in the body life and have begun to bless us in different ways. Speaking of blessings, some of you may remember Soraima who traveled to the States a couple of years ago for medical treatments. She who can not talk, has become the communicator for the church! Using her cell phone or the cyber, she sends out prayer requests and announcements almost daily.

Fifteen candidates for baptism. Enrique is in back with windblow hair. We request prayer for the new ministry areas that are in the process of forming. We’d like the process to move faster, but we are not the ones in charge of them at this point. (Visitation, member care, special events,local and foreign missions, prayer promoters)

Praise and thanks to the Lord for the tranquil way in which the regional elections were conducted here in the country of Venezuela. We asked for peace and our prayers were heard.

With just 6 months left in Venezuela we are wondering what our next assignment will be.

Thanks again, Your prayers make a difference!

Melissa recuperating from minor surgery for ingrown toenails

Thanks for Praying,

Peter and Sharon

November 14 Update

Dear praying friends,

Would you be proud if your daughter was the co-secretary general of the United Nations? Well, okay, actually it was the South American Model United Nations. About 250 delegates and teachers from international schools from various countries met in Caracas for 4 days. In January, Melissa and several other teammates will participate in a similar activity in New York.

The NDLL (Network for Developing Latin Leaders) Conference in October was a success. 231 attended from many different denominations. It was an opportunity for leaders who are always planning and involved during church functions to be able to “sit and soak”. (Peter actually was always busy, only attending the very last session. Sharon was only able to go to half of them.) The speakers presented their material with compelling convictions. The participants left excited, challenged, motivated, with renewed perspective. One of the principle themes was that “being” concerns God more than “doing.” They also strongly emphasized a day of rest in the Lord every 7 days. Other important themes: transparency and accountability.

Two weekends ago 27 leaders and workers from the church spent 2 days and a night at a beach house on a private beach. We relaxed mostly, and planned strategies and objectives with respect to new ministries such as prayer, creative evangelism, and attention to visitors, visits to the sick or to slack attenders. This plan will provide more opportunities for the newer Christians, and increase responsibility and commitment in the ones who are already working. Ministry does happen in these areas, but it has not been organized and someone delegated to be in charge.

Speaking of being in charge, a deacon, Jesús Idrogo, was in charge of Peter’s class on leadership integrity this past Tuesday when we were out of town. There are two lower levels of classes and a special class on the family offered during the Bible Institute time, which is similar to ABF or Sunday School. Each elder has an assistant who is training to be able to do it alone.

Two old (in the sense of being “long known” rather than “advanced in years”) supervisors/friends visited us this past weekend: Jim Carmean, our former field director, and Gary Bowman, our former area director. They also visited each of the 8 missionaries left on the field, 3 couples and 2 singles, to aid in the redeployment process to another ministry opportunity. It did us a world of good to be able to disclose frustrations and also receive good counsel and encouraging evaluation. We were encouraged to back off from organizational responsibilities and spend more time just fellowshipping and mentoring in the last months we have here.

We started doing premarital counseling this past Sunday with two faithful youth, Luis and Mabel. Please pray for their future together as leaders.
We have been really disappointed, hurt and discouraged by the behavior of Domingo and Josefina. They lived together for about a month before getting married by the justice of the peace. It is a big struggle for all of the elders and wives. What do we do now? Most advocate acceptance, love, “wait and see”, but where does discipline come into play, especially when there is no confession or expression of repentance?

Today is Anzoategui day. What? It’s the official Anzoategui state holiday! Our family, along with about 50 other people, mostly youth, will take advantage of the 3 day weekend and travel to Caripe, a mountainous picturesque town with a retreat/conference center owned by our church association, ASIGEO. For the first time ever Peter and I have no assigned responsibility! We’ll just be there to talk with people. ☺

Thanks for Praying,

Peter and Sharon

Vacation Bible School

Dear Praying Friends,

Whew, VBS is over and the last 2 weeks are a blur already, but certain impressions stand out:

Lack of teachers. The majority of the trained teachers had either full time employment or were enrolled in summer classes, so they could not be involved during the actual afternoon hours of 2-6. Right up until 2 days before it started there were only 2 teachers confirmed for the 5 classes! Also we had previously had a 10 day CEF training, then a week of evangelistic activities which delayed preparations. Only one week was left before VBS started!

How achy my legs felt on the Saturday before it started: I was on my feet pretty much from 8:30am til 10:30 pm. The group that came worked hard, but it was too late a start. The dramatizations that we did each day were put together in a frenzy.

Saturday night the church copy machine died: Someone mistook a transparency cover, a thin, floppy, clear plastic material, for a transparency and stuck it in the photocopy machine, melting it onto the cylinder and damaging it. We still had to use it (after the repairman came at almost 10pm and picked out all of the melted pieces) as a new one takes several days to order. All of the copies for the rest of the week came out light, but at least still legible.

Monday, how bewildered and helpless I felt on Opening Day when a teacher quit 15 minutes before VBS started. One of the 2 confirmed teachers for over a month up and left 15 minutes before on the first day with no explanation. (She returned the next day and did a tremendous job cleaning the rest of the week!) A fellow who previously had only wanted to help with music, stepped in and said that he would be willing to do it for the rest of the week.

Tuesday: food poisoning: Early Tuesday morning everyone who had eaten the lasagna for Monday lunch got pains and diarrhea. A couple people had fever! Everyone showed up feeling queasy. This happened to be the day selected to enter a whale’s mouth containing dead fish, seaweed, and opened cans of tuna on the sides to enhance the atmosphere.

Wednesday the Water Pump went out. No water for 130 people using the 4 toilets all day. This also happened to be the day selected for Jonah to be spit out of the whale, rolling onto the floor amidst seaweed and several dead fish. The poor fellow, Robinson, was a good sport about it though, even though he did smell like a fish for the rest of the day!

Thursday Air conditioner failure: Thursday, 4 of the 5 classrooms were without air-conditioning and both teachers and kids sweltered through it somehow. One class chose to sit on the cool floor!
Friday everything worked!

An hour before the closing activity on Sunday we arrive to find that the backdrop and props for the closing activity for VBS had all been mistakenly taken down!

Around 115-120 children ages 4-13 came expectantly every day. They brought their parents to church on Sunday, filling the sanctuary to overflowing. Several new Christians helped out for the first time. One of them, Amelyn, brought her in-laws one day to help, and they both accepted Christ as Savior during the closing activity on Sunday!

Peter was usually in and about helping in lots of areas as gofer, construction of props, repairman, transportation for the people who fixed the lunch for the workers, and snacks for VBS.

Sharon learned a lesson from Jonah. He was obstinate, hated the people that he ministered to, and was even outraged at the overwhelming results of his ministry, yet God used him anyway, even if he didn’t want to be used. It shows me how much God loves. It is his overpowering grace, combined with the power of His Word that brings about results, regardless of the attitude of the proclaimer.

Peter convened a small Christian Ed/ discipleship meeting at our church for 2 days. 7 were present from different churches. The purpose was to give exposure to several resources available, and categorize them. The 4 men from out of town stayed overnight at our apartment.
Even though October is several weeks away, Peter spends much time in planning, consulting, correspondence, and working out logistics for the International NDLL annual conference to be held in Venezuela. About 350 attendees are expected from South America.

In a couple of weeks our 12th grade daughter, Melissa will depart with her high school for a field trip…. to the Galapagos Islands! We are all excited about her new school and the opportunities it affords. She is taking 3 AP classes.

Thank you for your prayers,

Peter and Sharon McMillan