Prayer Letter - October 2012

Greetings from the little town of Ixtapa, Chiapas, where my husband and I lived for five years back in the 70’s. I’m spending a few days here with my son in law, Ulises Martínez, and my daughter, Elizabeth and their three children. I was blessed last night, as he took me on a tour of the land just outside of town. We walked through the church building and fellowship hall, and he showed me where their orphanage is already under construction. What big, big plans he has for the future! There are two pastors in training, who will soon take over two of the three churches he started.

What an exciting month August was for me, traveling to El Salvador, and speaking in a ladies’ conference there. Ladies from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala attended this meeting. It goes without saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this special time spent with my niece, Tammie González, and Henry and their four precious children. Three days after my return to Chiapas, I flew to Ukraine. What a wonderful time I had speaking at the Single Ladies’ Conference in Bro. Mark Priem’s church in the city of Odessa! Miss Polly Irvin was the perfect hostess. My son, David and I enjoyed such sweet fellowship with her and missionaries John and Dawn Spillman, and Bro. and Mrs. Christian. And of course, I made precious memories with David and Jolene, and my four grandchildren. In Simferopol, where they work with Bro. Bob and Judy Van Sant, it was my honor to speak at their ladies’ Banquet, where about one-third of the ladies present were deaf. Ever “heard” a ladies’ deaf ensemble sing? Nothing like it!

While I was away, on August 17, which would have been my husband’s 71st birthday, Compassion Radio was dedicated, under the ministry of my son, Tommy. Several pastors from near and far were present. There was preaching, tearful testimonies, and just a sweet time of revival, so I’m told. Their first broadcast took place September 4. Almost every day, Tommy receives text messages from people in remote villages, as well as in neighboring cities, commenting on the programs. Several programs are in the different Indian dialects. Tommy invited me to have a 30-minute ladies’ program every Friday…a little scary at first; but I really look forward now to this new ministry.

On August 31, the day after my return, Emily Ruth was born to Ulises and Elizabeth. What a delight my 36th grandbaby is!

I’m enclosing a prayer request list for our 14th annual Christmas Banquet, and ask that you please take it very seriously as part of your daily prayer time.

Your friend,
Billie Sloan
Nahum 1:7

"There is a Time"

“To everything there is a season, and a time…”

Ecclesiastes 3:1

(Written August 25, 2012, Ukraine)

There I lay on the bathroom floor. Had I had a cardiac arrest? Had I slipped and fallen and broken my leg? No and no. In a fit of despair, I realized I didn’t have time to do everything involved with leaving home, and traveling across two countries, across the ocean; preparing 11 lessons; and all the other things on my “to do” list. I lay there in utter despair. Nothing comforted me…well; almost nothing, except a 30-hour day would be a good start. I lay there, and looked up at the Lord Who was probably shaking His head and saying, “Billie, Billie!” much the same way He said to Martha.

One of the hardest things that women cope with, at least for this woman, is finding time to do everything on my “to do” list. In fact, I often tell myself, as my daughter in law once told me, “There is no way one human being can accomplish everything you have written down on that list.” And I respond, “That’s true…but it gives me a sense of direction and purpose.” And what is it in human nature that makes us feel so good about crossing off items on a list?

This may not be the most spiritual lesson I’ve ever written, and it probably won’t speak to your heart like I would love my lessons to do. But in the past few weeks I’ve learned a great truth that has changed my life, and even my moods and my attitude. And it’s this:

“There is a perfect time for everything God wants me to do.” And I base that truth on the Word of God in Ecclesiastes 3:1.

A few minutes ago I wrote an article for my blog. I’ve never posted a blog without the aid of my daughter in law, Jolene. Since I’ve been staying in their home, she’s been able to give me some tips that will upgrade my no-technology mind. Yesterday, I took detailed notes (see first paragraph…I’m a list-making addict) as she “walked” me through the process of posting a blog. Since she is very busy this morning, I thought, “Why not? You can do it, Sloan!” I wrote my blog post, but when I went to the web page for blogging, I discovered to my dismay that I could not connect to the Internet.

Remembering my new-found truth, I thought, “This is not the time for posting that blog. God will provide a perfect time.”

So here I am, writing this truth to you, simply because I can’t get online. Some things in life you just learn from the obvious.

Normally, I would have become irritated and annoyed. Have you ever made wrong decisions because you tried to do something that was not in God’s perfect time? I have…silly, silly decisions that cost me lots and lots of money.

A couple of months ago, before I learned this truth, I was at the airport in Mexico City. I had been there for seven hours. My flight for Chicago was a late one, and I knew the lady who picks me up every year would be driving an hour from home, leaving her three small children with her husband. My flight usually arrives in the early evening, but this one would land at 10:00 p.m. Imagine my dismay, when I heard the words every frequent flyer dreads hearing: “Your flight has been delayed,” and she added to this recurring nightmare the words, “indefinitely!” I panicked. I didn’t mind so much waiting, or even arriving late, but my friend, Julie, would be on the freeway alone at midnight in Chicago! I called my son in Chiapas. What on earth could my son in Chiapas do for me? He finally reached the pastor, who was able to get a married couple to pick me up instead of my young friend.

I felt quite proud of myself, until I got off the plane. The pastor had already asked the young couple if they could pick me up instead of Julie, since he knew it would be a late flight. See? I should have just waited on the Lord. I was tired and weary, but another verse that is very, very related to the one in Ecclesiastes is found in Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;”

Have you ever put a…let’s say…stew into the crock pot…too late? It’s dinner time, and your potatoes are still crunchy? So you quickly dump them into a pot and put them on the stove to finish cooking…hurriedly. Doesn’t taste the same, does it? When we don’t do things on time, we must suffer the consequences. While we should never get ahead of God’s timing in our lives, neither should we lag behind.

Have you ever flown to another time zone? If you have ever made an over-seas trip, you know what Jet Lag is. Having experienced this phenomenon 6 times in my life, my personal definition would be: “Being out of synch with your world.” Your body tells you it’s beddy-bye time; but the world around you is up and at ‘em.   I have actually gotten up at 3:00 in the morning while suffering Jet Lag, dressed for the day, made coffee and had finished my devotions by the time the rest of the household got up. BUT at 11:00 that morning, I was looking for anything flat where I could go back to sleep.

Have you ever suffered spiritual Jet Lag?  My definition for spiritual jet lag would be, “Being out of synch with God,” and you don’t know suffering until you’ve experienced that kind of jet lag.

Here are some principles I’ve learned from this truth.

1. When I don’t wait on God’s perfect timing, I don’t have peace. I don’t have joy, and I don’t enjoy life. I’m frustrated, and I don’t feel the Holy Spirit’s presence.

2. When I’m not in synch with God, other people annoy me. They get in my way and interfere with MY timing.

3. I miss golden opportunities when I arrange my timetable. My schedule says “Write for one hour,” but God’s says, “Micah, go pull on your Mimi’s skirt until she stops what she’s doing and plays with you.” If I refuse to be flexible, I’m missing an opportunity I’m afraid will come to haunt me when my grandbaby is thousands of miles away, and my arms ache to hold him.

4. I miss out on experiencing firsthand the all-things-working-for-good truth of Romans 8:28.

5. Doing things in MY time and in MY strength is exhausting. I become a worry wart, and a doubter, and I worry others. How do my children feel when I call them or talk with them about all my fears and doubts?

6. When I do things in God’s time, I’m more effective, and do my work more efficiently. I don’t have to rush or hurry when God Himself has provided the perfect time for a project.

7. I don’t make wrong decisions by trying to force perfect times, which actually aren’t perfect.

8. When I wait for God’s timing, I have His provision, and His guidance.

So ladies, let’s get in synch with the Lord today!

Did I Say 10,000 Miles?

Do you ever go to bed at night, and lie there thinking of all the bad things you did and said during the day? I hate falling asleep like that, don’t you?

Last night, I lay down, and instead of thinking of all my sins, I “re-read”  in my mind Chapter 16 of my book, My Kids and Me that I posted. For some reason, the phrase “10,000 miles” shot through my mind. “Did I say that?” Now if I may justify myself a bit, I got that figure seven years ago, while visiting a park in Kiev that shows the distance from where we were standing to most major cities in the world. I immediately checked how far I was standing from Mexico City, and the figure 10,000 stayed in my mind. But what I forgot to change was kilometers to miles. There are about 1.8 miles in every kilometer. So if your hubby was looking over your shoulder while you were reading my latest chapter and started laughing, it’s because the author should have said “about 5,000 miles,” which I have already corrected in the original.

Another reason for this post? It will be the first one I’ve ever done without Jolene, who either posts them for me, or is here to hold my hand. This is Sunday morning, and I don’t even need to tell you why she doesn’t have time to help me!

You’re probably a busy Mom, and you know, don’t you?

Chapter 16 - "Leaving Home"

It was 1:30 a.m. In a few hours we would be traveling from southern to northern Mexico to renew our visas. I walked down the long hall leading from my bedroom where my husband was sleeping, past the three bedrooms where our eight children had finally gone to sleep. The ten suitcases lining each side of the hallway were a sure indication that someone would soon be leaving home. Passing my at-last-clean kitchen, I stepped down into our living room, walked around the coffee table, touching my piano for the last time until we returned. Tears flooded my eyes. We were indeed leaving home.

That scene took place many, many years ago…probably even thirty, but I can still feel the emotion welling up inside me…just the thoughts of leaving my comfortable routine, if anything can possibly remotely be described as comfortable with a noisy household of eight children. But home was my comfort zone…MY old washer; MY worn carpet; MY faltering refrigerator.

Thirty years later, I struggle to hide my tears as I hug my children and grandchildren who have come to my house to tell me good bye…again. I had just flown in two days before, had unpacked and packed again, and now I was leaving everything I held dear…my children, my grandchildren, my home, my church.

I hate leaving home. If it weren’t for the fact that I think I might be a blessing to some lady who’s about to quit; a pastor’s wife who needs encouraging; a distraught young mother, I would never leave home.

In the past few days, I’ve carried in my purse four different kinds of currencies from four different countries; I’ve struggled through security, boarded and de-boarded eight different planes; and met an Olympic trainer in London.

Leaving home…even the sound of that phrase conjures up almost depressing emotions for me.

There’s the “did I get everything?” although I make and check meticulous lists; “am I taking too much?” “Will my luggage be overweight?” “Will someone be at the airport to meet me?” “Will I make all my connections?”

What is there about home? For me, it stands for security; comfort; routine; the familiar…everything that leaving home takes away from me.

I sit here this morning, thousands and thousands of miles from my home…another continent, another time zone, another culture. My thoughts have crossed the ocean this morning to what my loved ones are doing near my home. While I begin my day, theirs is ending. While I sleep they work and play and study.

Homesickness to me is a real sickness…one as real as the flu, or chicken pox, and almost as painful…at least emotionally.

My homesickness is cushioned, though. I’m here with my other children and my other grandchildren.

What is there in this story for you? Do I simply want a homesick mother to be able to finally find someone with whom she can identify? I think there’s something more here…something I’ve learned during the past two weeks since leaving home.

1.      I’ve learned to make different comfort zones, a different “normal.” I packed and brought with me certain things that make me feel secure, even though I’m in a different home, on a different continent; in a different culture. Things like my Bible, my prayer book, my journals, my brush and comb; my toothbrush and toothpaste; my pens and note paper…these go in my carry-on, so that if I have a canceled flight, there can still be a certain normal feeling, an area I can still control in my upside-down day. This provides security when I have 11-hour layovers in an airport; and on the plane, I pass the hours reading and writing.

2.      I take my routine with me. Does that sound strange? Maybe you’re leaving home to go on vacation, and you’re looking forward to it. To leave routines and schedules, can be dangerous. While there are times when I do have to leave my normal routines, it is usually because someone else has changed it. For example, in a few days I will be going to the hospital to await the birth of my granddaughter. I will leave my home very early in the morning, and will return late that night. I will be completely out of my routine. I didn’t ask for that change, but I accept it as a healthy change. I have a very comfortable routine for reading my Bible and praying in the morning. Unless I’m willing to get up at 3:00 in the morning the day my granddaughter comes into the world, and because I will be recovering from jet lag, I plan to take my comfortable routine with me, and settle for a quiet place in the corner of a coffee shop later in the day.

3.      Be flexible. I’m sitting at a desk about 10,000 miles away from my office this morning. I’m juggling interruptions, delightful though they be…my toddler grandson loves opening the drawers of his big brother’s desk I’m using these days. So I pull him onto my lap and enjoy a Mimi Moment. After my devotions and housework routine, I settle back down at my desk…at home or abroad…and write for one hour. If within that hour my grandson needs my attention, I must be flexible enough to either say, “Oh, well, there’s always tomorrow.” Or I can add a few minutes onto my hour. My prayer time at home includes a 36-minute walk up and down my hall, no matter how full my bedrooms are with guests. When I’m away from home, that isn’t possible, because my hosts have other routines. So instead of my prayer time being a very structured 36-minute prayer walk, my prayer time includes holding my normally active grandson early in the morning while looking out the window at village life; or waiting in the car while my son runs a 30-minute errand. Who cares that it’s 5:00 in the afternoon, and I’m just now praying for my grandchildren to do well in their studies today? Where they are, their school day is just beginning.

4.      Leaving home can bring an adventure dimension into your life. Don’t resist change. Look at leaving home as a learning experience. Try to maintain a positive attitude. If you’re a young mother, you probably can’t relate to this lesson, because you would leave home in a heartbeat, if it meant leaving the tiring routine of mothering and keeping house. But there are still lessons, little mother, in here that you can glean from what I’m telling you.

But there’s another kind of “leaving home” I’m thinking about this morning. I’m thinking of my husband who “left home” almost eight years ago from our bed in our home. What did it feel like? Was he tied to his earthly home? Was there a struggle to stay? Silly thought here: Is he homesick for his earthly home, for me this morning? Do saints in Heaven relate to a past?

Since leaving home a few weeks ago, a dear friend near my home left his home, and is in Heaven this morning. Was his an abrupt jerking away that took him to his Heavenly Home?

I’m enjoying my “home-away-from-home” feeling this morning, because after a while, you become familiar with your surroundings. Things that seemed strange to you upon your arrival away from home, now seem normal, and are becoming comfortable. In some ways, I will miss this “other home” where I’ve been the past days, when I return to my own home.

Of all the things I do, all the sacrifices I make, “leaving home” is by far the greatest and most painful.

But “This World is Not My Home” must be my theme. This holding on to things, and people, and surroundings must be held very lightly to my heart. Even as I do when preparing to leave home…making plans for that “other home,” I must also while I’m preparing to leave my earthly home for my Heavenly one, “lay up treasures in Heaven.”

Does what I do today have eternal value? Is that what makes dying so painful? Is it the dying that is so painful? Or is the leaving home that hurts so much? The “I’m going to miss you” is what I heard so much when Daddy was leaving home for Heaven. His greatest dread was waiting for Mother once he arrived.

“This world is not my home I'm just passing through,
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from Heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.”

Joshua's Going Home

After being reunited with David and Jolene after almost two years, I think the best news that was waiting for me was checking my e-mail, and finding out that our precious little Joshua Andrew Miller will soon be going home. Just like David and Jolene and their children made so many, many preparations for my welcome arrival, I can only imagine the preparations being made for Joshua by his six siblings. You're all our dreams come true, and our prayers answered. I love you, Baby Joshua!

Prayer Letter - August 2012

Dear Friends and family,

Greetings from the beautiful country of El Salvador, where I just finished speaking at a two-day conference upon the invitation of my niece, Tammie González. She and her husband, Henry, have a thriving work here, and I was very impressed.

I return home on August 7, and three days later, August 10, I fly to Ukraine to speak in a Single Ladies’ Conference, upon the invitation of Miss Polly Irvin. I plan to return home on August 30.

Vacation Bible School was a huge success, in that we saw 16 children, and a lady saved. I love working with children, because of their simplicity. One of the workers who dealt with the children, who raised their hand for salvation, came in before it was time to talk with them. He said, “This little boy said he can’t wait for me to talk to him. He said he needs to get saved now!” Another little 5-year old boy, whose parents are members of our church, came home from Bible School one day, and said, “I accepted Jesus as my Savior today.” His mom asked, “If I tell you something to do in a few minutes, and you disobey me, where will you go?” He said, “To Heaven, because the Bible says I have eternal life.”  “Out of the mouth of babes…”

I was honored once again this year to have attended the annual Spanish Family Conference in Pastor Elmer Fernández’ church in Bartlett, Illinois. I spoke 9 times, including teaching a ladies’ Sunday school class. I also have spoken 6 more times in different ladies’ meetings since I returned home.  On July 8 it was my joy to have led a lady doctor to the Lord, who has attended several of our ladies’ meetings. Her husband, who is also a doctor, is saved and attends our church faithfully. What a blessing to see a home complete, with both husband and wife being saved.

On June 24, my son, Philip preached his last sermon as pastor of the church here, and his brother, Tommy, officially took the pastorate. There has been time since he and Mona arrived on the field last November to have bonded with the people here. Although it was a very sad occasion, and we will miss Philip and Liz, I’m excited about all the things the Lord is already doing. Please pray for Philip and Liz, as they will be starting a new work in the state of Veracruz.

Another blessed event will take place in a few months: Andrés and Anna, my daughter, are expecting their 3rd baby…my 37th grandchild.

On July 21, I received the news that little Joshua Andrew Miller was born to Steve and Ruthie.  He is a little preemie, and weighed 4 pounds 8ounces. At this writing, he is out of the NICU, and improving. Thank the Lord for my 35th grandbaby!

Because of my trip to Ukraine, I will miss two exciting events: the dedication of the radio station, August 17, which would have been my husband’s 71st birthday; and the birth of my 36th grandbaby…Ulises and Elizabeth’s little girl due to arrive August 25. But this trip was planned before I knew about these events, so I know the Lord will give me joy as I do His will. That’s the best place to be, no matter where I am!

Your friend,
Billie Sloan
Nahum 1:7

Two weeks!

From my daughter Ruthie:

Here is our miracle baby :) He is doing absolutely wonderfully. The kids really enjoyed singing and praying for their little brother when they visited him. Thank you so much for loving and praying for us!  Have a great night, and a wonderful weekend! Love, Ruthie

Steve and Ruthie, we're rejoicing with you over the progress of little Joshua!