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Greetings From Charlotte

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 01:04:28 GMT

Greetings Family & Friends,

We hope you all had wonderful holidays and a fantastic New Year!

Much has happened since our last up date. Desiree is working hard at The Christian Research Institute (CRI – www.equip.org). We have settled into our new home in South Charlotte. David and Andrew are both doing well in school. Patrick was laid off in late January. It is a tough job market out there, but God has shown his grace and provision. Patrick has been on five interviews in three weeks and two companies indicated they will most likely come back with offers.

We enjoyed a Holiday with family – Desiree’s sister Laura and her children came from New Orleans for Thanksgiving and we have been blessed to have her Mom Martha with us for several months. Grandma Martha has been such a blessing. She has been cooking often for the family and all the food is both healthy and delicious.

We have been attending a fantastic church – Calvary Church Charlotte - http://www.calvarychurch.com/site/index.cfm

The church has awesome teaching from scripture, is growing and providing tremendous impact to the local community and missions across the world. David is attending youth meetings and Andrew has joined Awana’s and has begun memorizing scripture.

We have been attending an adult Bible study group – Faith Builders – comprised of about 20 couples many who have children. We have been doing a number of activities and ministry outings as a group. The group has many fantastic families and we are looking forward to making new friends.

Patrick has volunteered as a small group facilitator for a new ministry the church is starting called Crossroads Career Ministry - http://www.crossroadscareer.org/index.php. It is a job and careers website set up as a Christ centered program. We ran down through a list of family and friends we know around the country – it is amazing how many people have been affected by the declining economy. Our church has over 200 members who have been adversely affected by the poor economy. The ministry is doing an awesome job of helping people to know that God has not abandoned them and that He has a specific set of skills and work that we are each designed to do. Small groups are meeting weekly, praying for and supporting each other. Members are also being provided with various workshops and practical tools to help them with their career search. Please pray for this very timely ministry and for those who are seeking Gods will in their employment.

Our oldest son Jonathan married his high school sweetheart on October 5. The wedding was at the Norfolk Botanical Garden and was a blessed event. Jonathan & Lauren are moving from Virginia Beach to Fredericksburg VA for new work opportunities. Lauren will be managing a clothing store at Potomac Mills Mall and Jonathan is working with his father Randy in his construction business. We are thanking God for opening both opportunities to them at the same time.

We think of so many of you very often. We love you and pray for you. Please see the links above for the latest pictures and videos. Please continue to pray for Patrick’s job search, Desiree’s ministry and for our country and communities.

Wrapped in His Grace – Patrick & Desiree

After ten years in Virginia Beach, we are moving to Charlotte North Carolina

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:53:34 GMT

Greeting Family & Friends,

It has been many weeks since our last blog update. We have much to report and thank God for.

The last several weeks have been bitter sweet; what I would describe as Fire & Ice. Before I provide updates on events with us, please allow me to bring an important prayer request.

Friday the 19^th was an especially sad day. Patrick’s niece Jennifer suddenly passed away early Friday morning after being airlifted to a hospital in Palm Springs California with very poor vital signs. Her passing is a mystery; she was found in bed barely breathing and non-responsive. It was very sudden. Jennifer was only twenty-four and is the youngest of my Brother Eric’s three children. Eric and his wife Linda are suffering with enormous grief as they try to cope with their loss. Patrick will travel to California to be with family members. Please pray that God use Patrick to help bring comfort and hope to Eric and our family. We pray God bring them his peace that passes our human understanding.

On our home front; we have received answers to many of our prayers. As you know we have been seeking God for our next assignment in ministry. During times of prayer and seeking direction we specifically have asked God to direct our next steps by slamming shut any door that He would not want us to go through; to open the door he would have us use for the next season in our lives. We needed to find a new professional employment opportunity for Patrick as Cox Auto Trader was moving from Norfolk VA to Atlanta and he was laid off. We also were seeking a new ministry opportunity for Desiree and a good buyer for our home. One answer came in July as I began a new job with Randall & Richards, selling services and developing new clients. Patrick is working from home and off to a good start.

God has shown His provision and grace and has taken care of all the other details. Monday September 8 we received a fair offer on our home. Three days later Desiree received a terrific offer to work with The Christian Research Institute (CRI) in Charlotte NC. By Saturday we had visited three neighborhoods with great schools on the south side of Charlotte and have secured a beautiful home to lease so we can move soon. Our home in Virginia Beach has passed all its inspections; we had a smooth process of coming to agreement with the buyers about a few items to repair. Everything seems to be proceeding nicely.

Scripture tells us that God will give us the desires of our heart. Some of the desires Desiree and I have include being in or close to the Blue Ridge Mountains. We love spending time in the Blue Ridge and have been volunteering with Shelter Rock (Shelter Rock) a ministry in the Boone area of NC that feeds and clothes to poorest of Appalachia and leads them to Christ. We also wish to find a good local church that is having a positive impact in the community including the Hispanic community. Our new home in Charlotte is only two hours from Boone in the Blue Ridge. We will no longer have to drive over six hours to get there and can visit and volunteer more frequently. We have identified some churches in Charlotte, one in particular that has a large outreach to the Hispanic community. Please pray with us that we will find a great local church for our family. The local church is ‘where it’s at’!

God has once again shown that He is faithful. Pastor Steve Kelly (our awesome leader at Wave Church Wave Church) recently said that God’s delay is not God’s denial. Such is the case here. After eight months of prayer, seeking God and being faithful we are seeing God move.

For any of you who may be going through a tough time right now. We hope you find our story encouraging. After eight months of struggle, hard work and prayer, God has shown he is faithful and loving. We never stopped believing and remained faithful. We spent six months where at least one of us was unemployed and two month of that period where we were both unemployed. We did not back away from believing in God’s promise. We have talked and heard stories about people and families going through tough times during 2008. Whatever you may be going through, trust in God. Cling to Him and His promises. Press into God and press through; do not back away. Tithe to your church, continue to support others, and continue to volunteer and serve in whatever way you can. Never quit and never back down. The Bible says, ‘come near to God and He will come near to you’. - James 4:8

We learned many things in the last eight months. Some of the lessons were tough and others were very sweet. While there were definitely days when the pressures got to us and we didn’t always deal with it in the best way; Desiree and I firmly believe we are coming through this stronger personally, spiritually and professionally. Our marriage will be stronger and our children will be stronger.

The next several weeks will have some additional challenges. We are prepping our home to pack and move 370 miles to a new city and new adventure. Our oldest son Jonathan will marry his lovely fiancée Lauren on Oct 5. We are very excited about the upcoming wedding. In the days immediately after the wedding we will move to Charlotte NC after ten wonderful years in our Virginia Beach home. We cherish our seven years with our Wave Church family and Desiree’s eight years serving with CBN.

Please follow the links in our blog. We would love to hear from you; to receive your comments and updates. Let us know how you are, what you are doing and how we can pray for you, your family and friends. We only started our blog in July of this year. We are hoping it can be a platform for many of you to share what is on your heart, spread the word about important events, and share a few laughs. There is power in community. We hope many of you will stay connected with us.

Until we blog again; my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Patrick & Desiree Miller

Keep those cards and letters coming!

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:30:12 GMT

Updates from Patrick & Desiree Miller

Greetings Family & Friends,

God bless all of you and we hope you are having a fabulous summer.

Patrick Starting In a New Sales Career

As some of you already know, Patrick left Auto Trader Publishing and AutoExtra.com after over four fantastic years. Cox Enterprises, the new parent Company to Auto Trader, had decided to move all Norfolk VA operation to Atlanta GA. We have no desire to move to Atlanta nor do we feel called there nor have any family or ministry connections. So… Patrick has been seeking a new career opportunity.

As we shared on our earlier post; after a number of months praying and networking, Patrick gained employment with Randall & Richards. This was a huge answer to prayer as it will allow us to relocate to Boone, NC. Patrick can take the work with him, continue working from a home office and also have office space to work from in Boone, NC.

He returned Saturday August 26 after spending two weeks training with his new employer Randall & Richards in Tucson AZ. We have geared up a home office and Patrick spends most days on the phone and the internet.

Randall & Richards is one of the top national commercial collections firms (they collect from companies only, not from private consumer). Patrick will be working to gain new mid sized and large clients for them. If you know companies of any size that can use assistance with their accounts receivable, please refer them to Patrick at 877-654-1234 ext. 7569.

Here is the company website - http://www.rrcollections.com/

Ministry Update

Wave Church Espanol

We have been volunteering with Wave Church Espanol. Our church has started gathering a team of volunteers and inviting visitors to church services held in Spanish. Initially we are meeting in people’s homes, and expect to move into the church facility soon. We now have over 30 people attending each week.

At this point we have people attending who are from Peru, Columbia, Mexico, Honduras, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Our praise and worship is in Spanish. Pastor Teddy Allen preaches and teaches in English and we have live translation through two or three capable volunteers.

We are holding activities to reach out to the Hispanic community in Hampton Roads - Spreading the Gospel, build relationships and improve people’s lives.

You can visit Wave Church Espanol on Facebook at - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Virginia-Beach-VA/Wave-Church-Espanol/18423436764

Wave Church – Live on the Internet

Wave is now streaming our services live on the Internet via ‘SteamingFaith.com’

We have an amazing list of speakers lined up Sunday AM & PM services for the entire month of august. All of our services can now be watched live on Streaming Faith. All of our Streaming Faith broadcasts are in Eastern Standard Time – and they are worth viewing – we promise!

Follow this link for a schedule of speakers - Wave Events & Guest Speakers
We have launched our summer offensive – to bring 1,500 people to the Lord. As of today we are at over 900 since June 1. Please continue to pray that more people come to know Christ.

You can access Wave Church broadcasts on Streaming Faith – to set up a user account at the following link:

Pastor Steve Kelley on Steaming Faith – follow the link on this page titled ‘Add Speaker to Favorites’. You will be directed to set up an account with username and password.

When it is time to tune into a live service; follow this link - Join Wave Church Live

Desiree & Ministry

Desiree has resumes and applications with a hand full of ministries that we have a passion for. We continue to seek God and pray that He show us His perfect will. We have been praying since last December; telling God we will go wherever and do whatever He asks of us. The destination is not crystal clear yet, but there continues to be doors opened in the Boone, NC area. Please pray about this:

God is moving for Desiree in the area of networking and support. Desiree has received phone calls and emails in the last two weeks from several senior leaders at CBN and other highly respected ministry professionals. They have provided her with encouragement and offered to be professional references in her ministry/career search. Praise God!

Opportunities exist with.

Grandfather Home for Children – they have contacted Desiree and advised they wish to talk with a couple of internal candidates before having her in. This organization provides Christian shelter, foster care and adoption into Christian homes for children who have been abandoned, neglected or abused in one way or another.

Luis Palau Association – spreads the Gospel across the world.

There are others she has applications with; these are two that we are very excited about.

Volunteer Work

Shelter Rock – the ministry we have been volunteering with. They share the Gospel; feed and clothe the poor of Appalachia. We plan to take another trip and volunteer with them for a weekend in later half of August. For more information on this ministry that we love, please visit their website at:

http://shelterrock.org/index.php?page=1

Sale of Our Home

Our house has been on the market for just under three months now. In that time we had one interested family, but the offer never came through. Yesterday we met with our agent and provided a list of ideas we wish to try in order to market and attract the right buyer for our home. Desiree has begun some researching and phone calls to professionals; gaining information on what it would take to rent out our home. Our initial research suggests we can rent it for more that the house payment. This is not our first choice, because we ultimately want to use proceeds to buy another home where we move. We are in a tough market, so we feel we should examine the possibilities.

Please Pray

God’s direction into the His perfect opportunity for Desiree
For the sale of our home – we believe there is a family that God has planned for our home
Wisdom for Desiree & I as we navigate this transition in our lives
Open doors for new clients in Patrick’s business
Protection over our finances as we have cut our expenses dramatically
We continue to see new decisions for Christ and live impacted for good through Wave Church and Wave Church Espanol
David (our 12 year old) will be going to summer camp this month – please pray he has an amazing time growing closer to God

New Photos & Videos

Please see link at the top of the page for ‘Albums’ & ‘Videos’ - We have added new stuff:

Pictures of Arizona – Coronado National Forrest where Patrick spent the afternoon while traveling in Arizona.
Andrew Learned to Swim – Andrew swam by himself for the first time without the assistance or a flotation devise or anyone else. We have the video to prove it!
Our friends Socorro and Michael – great couple – Socorro was baptized at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront last week. Praise God!

Enjoy our Picture & Video Archives as well.

We pray God’s blessing on each of you. Drop us a message or email!

Love – Patrick & Desiree Miller

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:28:34 GMT

Hi everyone! I'm just getting started on Xanga... Drop me a comment if you've got some ideas on what to do first - or just to say, "Hi!" :-)

Friday, July 11, 2008

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:23:05 GMT

Dear Friends,

Here’s a short note to bring you all up to speed with the latest. I traveled to North Carolina this last Wednesday and returned home late Sunday night. My son David came along and on Friday Patrick and Andrew met up with me. The purpose of my visit was to twofold, I interviewed for a couple of jobs and also traveled to West Virginia with Shelter Rock to minister to families in need. We had such an awesome time; it was very hard work but lots of fun. We had a good turnout of families, not sure how many at this time. We also had several people accept Christ! We had an awesome time with the Shelter Rock family. One of the families opened up their home to us which was a huge blessing.

As I said, I also had a couple of interviews, both of them were secular jobs, one was a non profit and the other was a call center. I prayed about these positions and do not feel drawn to either job. My heart is with ministry. I have included a link to a job that I have applied to with a ministry called Grandfather Home for Children. I definitely feel drawn to this organization because of their mission. Many, many years ago when I was 18, I dreamed of having an orphanage. This dream and desire has been tucked away in my heart. The only way that I have been able to be involved with orphanages and children’s homes has been to financially support them. The possibility to work with one of these organizations in a very direct way is very exciting to me. Could this be the open door? Could this be the work that God has for me? I hope so. Please pray that if this is God’s will, He would open this door for me.

Patrick has been offered a job that allows him to work from home. This is a big answer to prayer. Patrick working from home allows us the flexibility that we need in order for me to pursue ministry opportunities in the Boone area, the place where we feel God is leading us. Get this, the company that has hired him just happens to have an office in Boone. God is amazing!

My second prayer request is for you to continue praying that the house sells. We had an open house this last weekend and have a family that seems to be interested. Please believe with me that this house is sold in Jesus name.

Thank you all for your prayers and also thanks to those of you who donated clothing for the children. Your generosity meant a lot to me and also to the kids.

Love you guys,

Desiree & Patrick Miller

http://www.grandfatherhome.org/index

http://www.followersmedia.com/grandfather/2008_AprilNewsletter_Final.pdf