Charles Miller Blog

I was at the Minnesota Dental Convention in the spring of 2009 talking with different vendors at the convention. Tom Brice, a sales rep from GenDex, and I were talking about my recent purchase of an x-ray machine from GenDex. Our conversation changed and we started to talk about my recent mission trips to Africa and India. Tom informed me about a service technician from Henry Schein who makes portable dental equipment for mission trips. I decided to stop by Henry Schein to find this technician. I met him and talked with him about his portable dental equipment. He started to talk about a dentist from Annandale Minnesota, Dr. Mark Johnson. Dr. Johnson has opened a dental clinic in Belize, Central America.

I connected with Dr. Johnson about his dental clinic in Belize, Central America. Six months later I left Minneapolis, heading to Belize to volunteer at the Smile Center of San Pedro. I was going to meet Dr. Johnson and his wife along with another dentist and his son visiting from Arizona for a week in San Pedro Island

 The Smile Center is on the island of Ambergris Caye, just off the coast of Belize, in a community known as San Mateo. This community of approximately 1,500 lives in shacks on swampland surrounded by sewage and garbage, many without running water or electricity.

    

 In 2004 two American missionaries, Francis and Vernon Wilson, decided to work with the Belize government and volunteers to build a school that would benefit the community of San Mateo. In 2006 the doors of the Holy Cross Anglican Primary School opened and today provide education, food and healthcare to approximately 500 children between the ages of 4 and 12.

      

The Smile Center is located at the Holy Cross Anglican School. Over the past few years, Dr. Johnson and his wife Joan, a dental hygienist, have been organizing and coordinating efforts to have the fully-equipped dental clinics up and running so that volunteer dentists could come to San Mateo to provide effective and efficient services to the students. The clinic has been fully equipped with modern dental equipment and supplies, all generously donated by health care professionals who care about the dental health of students at Holy Cross and all the children on the island.  (San Pedro Smile Center Website:http://www.sanpedrosmilecenter.com)

        

 This is my first dental mission trip. I was stretched by going to another country, to a different clinic, to work with different doctors to practice dentistry. I was outside my comfort area. I did enjoy spending time with Dr. Johnson and his wife. They have given an enormous amount of time and money to the Smile Center, the local dentists and the people of Belize. They have a great heart to help the cause of dental health in the San Pedro Island. I was blessed to spend time with them.

 Volunteering at the Smile Center was hard emotionally; most of the young kids had extensive decay in their mouth. It was like a dental culture shock–overwhelming! There was so much work with little time and very nervous young kids which made it more difficult. In the states we have nitrous oxide which is an inhalation sedation of relaxing the individual for dental work. Dr. Johnson kept on saying, “Do what you can and that’s all you can do.”  I made it through the week but it was hard.

San Pedro Island is a beautiful place. The white sand beaches and the clear ocean water rushing over the coral reef were so calming and peaceful. The local restaurants were proud of their local cuisine, which was incredible food. The San Pedro island is a tourist destination with the snorkeling the coral reefs, scuba diving the Black Hole, fishing and many more other activities by the ocean. But, San Pedro has some not-so-beautiful places, like the San Mateo area. San Mateo is like a third world country with living conditions hard to fathom. The tourist industry and the building of condos are pushing more local families into the area of swampland and sewage to build their homes.

   

When I arrived at San Pedro, I knew I had another purpose beside volunteer dentistry. I didn’t know what, where or why!  But I knew something would change my life.

On the Island of San Pedro the mode of transportation is walking, all terrain golf cart or water taxi. I rented a golf cart. I started to explore the island on the golf cart. I had a thought to give rides to the locals who were walking. It was a blessing watching their face when I asked them if they need a ride. Another blessing was that the locals were wondering why they was riding in my golf cart. I remember I picked up this young lady with her infant child. She didn’t speak English, but she pointed in the direction she wanted to go in the rain. We traveled over a mile to her destination of a church. I was glad I give her a ride. She and her infant child would’ve been soaked walking in the rain. The golf cart was a small reason to be in San Pedro.

         

 The second night, I was lead to an open park area in the heart of the island. In this park there were food vendors and live music. There were a lot of locals having a good time, eating, talking, singing and dancing. As I was sitting on a cement bench, an older man named David start talking to me. About 5 minutes into our conversation, another older male came over and joined our conversation. His name was Mario. Mario is a street vendor who makes and sells wooden bowls to the tourists. He informed me that he has been dealing with issues of alcohol and drugs throughout his life, but he has a faith in God. Mario asked, “What are you doing here?” I told him I was there to work at the Smile Center and to bless people with food and clothing. Mario asked if he could help with me delivering the food and clothing to the people who needed them. At the end of the conversation, Mario and I had a plan to go to the slums of San Mateo. We were going bless people with food and clothing which I brought over from the staff of Distinctive Dental.
 
The next morning we headed to the San Mateo area. We stopped at a grocery store to buy groceries. I asked Mario, “What should I buy?”  He said, “Be led by the Spirit”. I started to laugh and knew he was man for the job. We blessed and prayed for many people but one family had a special meeting. Mario led me on planks to get to this family home. I had grocery in both hands walking on planks above the sewage water and garbage, praying to God for solid planks and good balance. I was nervous!

                                                                                                                          

Mario spoke highly about Everett and Laverne and their family. They had a major impact on Mario’s life. Pastor Everett is a pastor at Faith Bible Church. Their church had been destroyed by a hurricane. Pastor Everett has been supporting his family and paying a loan by making sea weed juice. Pastor Everett sells the juice to the locals. He has been fathering Mario for many years. We talked about the father/son relationship. Pastor Everett received it and was encouraged. Just like others pastors, they were tired and worn down dealing with the issues of Belize. Their home was the meeting place for Faith Bible Church. At the end of the conversation we had plans to go out for dinner later in the week.

  
 
We had a great time during dinner. We shared our faith journeys and we were all were encouraged and blessed. We talked about rebuilding Faith Bible.

      

I don’t know where God is leading but I feel a calling to return to Belize to help them rebuild the walls of Faith Bible Church. They started Faith Bible in that brown tent; Pastor Everett commented that during a service they could have 30-40 people in the tent.
 
I have contacted Hosanna Church, a couple of general contractors, and others about sending a team to San Pedro to help with the rebuilding the church. We have scheduled a meeting in January 2010 to explore the possibility of sending a team.
 
I believe meeting Mario in the park was the true reason I was in Belize. I’m excited about the possibility of returning to the San Pedro area. If you have any interest in coming alongside Pastor Everett and his church members, please contact me on my web site. We need prayer, so when you feel led please lift the project in prayer.

 God bless,

Chuck Miller

I was able to travel back to India for another mission trip with Hosanna Church, Paul and Ahl Yado and their team from Destiny Ministries International in the Philippines, Jon and Swati Borde, and the local pastors of India. My first mission trip was incredible, between seeing miracles at the crusades, spiritual and personal growth and having a dream about dentistry in India.

This year we traveled to Jalna a small rural city of about two million people for the crusade. The people in Jalna are very poor. The locals have very few resources, especially compared to our resources in America. The last time the city had a crusade or a campaign was about 15 years ago. The locals were excited to have us in their city and were very welcoming.

I remember the first morning in Jalna, Tom Brustad and I rose early in the morning while other team members were sleeping or getting ready for the day. We started to walk in the neighborhood near our hotel. The morning was cool and crisp with the sun rising. The streets were peaceful with a handful of vendors preparing for the day. There were dogs running through the streets freely and able to do as they wish as Mother Nature called. The cows were roaming the streets looking for food or for someone to feed them. They were either very curious animals or very hungry. Kids were riding their bikes or getting rickshaw rides to school. It was amazing start of the day for the campaign which was starting that evening in Jalna.

Little did we know, everything was about to change. I would like to share through the words of Paul Yado, the pastor from Destiny Ministries International. (http://paulyadao.com/blog/)

Last January 2008, teams from Hosanna Lutheran Church in the US and from Destiny Ministries International in the Philippines, and the local Indian leaders and churches united together to conduct a four-night Evangelistic campaign and a three-day Leaders’ conference in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India. These events yielded tremendous fruits for the Kingdom of God in that city. There were awesome miracles that happened during the crusade- the lame walked, blind eyes were opened, oppressed people delivered from the demonic torments and thousands of souls received Jesus as the Gospel of the Kingdom was preached. The Kingdom of God came in power in every meeting. The news of these healings spread out to the neighboring villages, cities and districts even after the event. One pastor testified that a couple came for prayer for HIV during the crusade and the medical tests showed they are completely healed and now are committed workers of the church. Pastors and leaders from different denominations testified of the great impact of the events on their personal lives and ministries. Several church leaders experienced exponential growth in their membership because of the great harvest of souls during that period. Others testified of the increase in boldness, maturity, faith, revelation and wisdom in their leadership because of the revelations and impartations they received.

This year, a small city south of Ahmednagar with approximately 2 million in population caught the fire. The last time the city of Jalna experienced a crusade was in 1994 leaving the churches deeply hungering for a fresh move of God for a long time. With very few believers in a land dominated by Hinduism, Islam, witchcraft and a crippling poverty, they found hope as they heard the testimonies of the mighty deeds of God last year in Ahmednagar. The leaders rose up in unity and rallied the Christians towards one goal – expanding the Kingdom of God in their city. Denominational barriers crumbled down as they begin to realize the beauty of the Family of God and the supremacy of the Kingdom of God as the only agenda. They poured out resources, prayers and labors to do the groundwork of preparation for another crusade to happen in April 2009.

The highlights of the events centered on the revelation of the Father’s Love, His Family here on earth, Kingdom Alignment for Kingdom Assignment and the Kingdom of God. As a whole, everything that happened during that period validated the prophetic promise of God in Malachi 4:5&6 that says, “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
When the Spirit of Elijah, the fathering spirit, comes there is a tremendous impartation that happens in the presence of “Elishas” these are sons who are hungry for the things of God and who would be willing to go through the process needed for them to lay hold of their inheritance. There is a release of a double-portion anointing that will give rise to transformation – the invasion of Heaven on Earth. We had no clue as to what we are about to witness in Jalna in the light of this revelation. Despite the concerns on our safety by the local police force and the possibility of threats from some fundamentalist groups and the sensitivity of time because of the upcoming national election, we saw the mighty hand of God orchestrating everything for His glory.

Everything that happened was indeed far more than what we have asked for or imagined.
The event started with a powerful meeting with the pastors and leaders of the city. Tim Hatt laid the foundation for the upcoming events. He shared a powerful message on the Family of God emphasizing the necessity of understanding the unity in the spirit despite our differences in the external things because we have One Father, One Holy Spirit and One Jesus, and that we belong to One Family and One Kingdom. After the Word we asked the local leaders to lay their hands on the whole team and asked them to release favor in their land so that we can freely minister to their people. It was a sight to behold – the unity of brethren of different color, race, age, gender and denomination.
The following day, because of the sensitive situation, we were advised to leave the city on the day of the campaign. Upon hearing this report, the team gathered and started declaring the will of God for the city of Jalna. As we were pressing in, I received a word from the Lord in Psalm 144 that says, “Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who teaches my hands for war, my fingers for battle.” I exhorted the whole team to make our stand in the spirit and we started to release declarations and decrees. At that juncture, I felt the atmosphere in the room changed and that I was supposed to pray for Jon, the Indian leader from Hosanna, who organized all of the events. As I did, he fell under the power of God and then I asked him to release prophetic declarations over Jalna and the current situation we are facing as I lay my hands on his back in a prophetic gesture of covering and support. Like a mighty Kingdom warrior, he stood up and boldly proclaimed prophetic decrees and prayers while the rest of us agreed in unity. Right at that moment, we felt a strong release in the spirit. Some of the team members saw visions of what was happening in the spiritual realm as Jon spoke prophetic declarations.

Few minutes after we received the word that we will be allowed to stay overnight and then later in the night we were allowed to be at crusade ground to witness the event from the sideline. The Indian local leaders stood at the platform and they took charge of the event. It was a sight to behold as they boldly stood up for their city, and it was a bold step of victory!

Despite the situation, God opened the doors for us to continue pouring into the pastors and the church leaders. A small group of around thirty pastors and Bible School students gathered to listen to Tim and me as we continued to exhort them to take their stand and dig the wells of revival for their city. I exhorted on the supremacy, the nature and the access we have in the Kingdom of God. I particularly emphasized that they can “pull” or put a demand on the Kingdom of God and that His Kingdom is very near. I encouraged them to get what they need from the Kingdom of God and receive the answers in their hearts by faith. In the same way, they are to receive from heaven and then release to the people around them especially during the crusade. They were so excited as they have learned to receive and then to release the Kingdom of God. The sessions ended with impartation. Once more we released the Father’s Blessing on them and like Elijah we released impartation specifically for signs and wonders for the crusade.
Simultaneously, in a separate meeting, my wife Ahl together with Swati, the wife of Jon, ministered to the women of Jalna. It was a powerful time of empowering the women to rise up and walk in their identity as daughters of the King and take their city for the Lord. More than 150 women came to the meeting and many testified of their experiences in the Lord in that meeting.

In the afternoon the team again gathered to pray for the second night of campaign. It was a powerful time, the whole team united in the spirit to intercede in behalf of the city. We sensed a powerful release of the Spirit of God and there was a clear Word on the Breaker Anointing and Turn-around Anointing that we are to witness in the crusade.

There was a sense of openness in the crusade that night. Around 5,000 people showed up on the second night. Even during the worship time the Spirit of the Lord moved powerfully. Several people started to demonstrate demonic manifestations and they were set free. Another Indian pastor delivered the Word powerfully. The sick people and those who received Jesus as their Lord and Savior came forward for prayer. At that point, I sensed in the spirit that I had to pray for an Indian pastor who will in turn release prophetic decrees and declarations over the people. I saw Pastor Sanjay – he is a Methodist pastor from Mumbai who has been our faithful interpreter since last year in Ahmednagar. I called him to come to me where we were seated. Then I prayed for him and released impartation as the Holy Spirit was leading. I instructed him to release the prayers for sick people and deliverance over the microphone. Up on the stage, the introvert Ptr. Sanjay spoke with authority and passion and commanded healing and deliverance. The atmosphere was charged and we sensed an open heaven above us. There were breakthroughs everywhere as healings spontaneously happened even outside the prayer lines. People started to come for testimonies and all of us shouted in celebration as we heard the first healing was that of a blind woman who received her sight. Almost every minute someone testifies on the platform to mention the great things that God did. We went back to the hotel with hearts rejoicing for the great deeds that He had done.
On the third night the crowd swelled to about 9,000 because of the testimonies of the mighty things that happened the night before. Ptr Sanjay preached the Word of God with all boldness declaring that Jesus is the Answer to whatever situation they are in. Thousands received the invitation to surrender their lives to Jesus. Once more the Lord moved powerfully that night in mighty signs and miracles.

The officials become agitated because of some incidences that happened in the crusade. I sensed though that we have already accomplished our assignment in Jalna of releasing the Kingdom of God, standing shoulder to shoulder with the locals, and releasing impartation, anointing and revelation to them (standing as Elijahs to Elishas) and we are ready to completely entrust the rest of the crusade to the Indian pastors.

We left Jalna the following day filled with great joy and celebration. We heard from one of the local leaders who joined us in our bus to Aurangabad the mighty deeds of God that happened during the crusade. He testified that almost a hundred people received healing from different levels of blindness and many released from demonic oppression. Later in the night, we heard that the crowd swelled to almost 12,000 and again the Lord performed mighty miracles and healings. The good thing is we were not there to do it but the Elishas, the local leaders, were the ones who stepped out expanding the Kingdom of God in their land by force and experiencing its supremacy in confronting the works of the darkness around them. The seeds of transformation have been sown in that region and the Kingdom of God is mightily advancing!

This recent trip to India has been the high watermark to Destiny Family in the spirit with regards to the Kingdom of God demonstrated and released to the nations. The revelations of the New Wineskin (the Family), spiritual inheritance, Elijah-Elisha model and the increase in the measures of the anointing from generation to another were demonstrated and experienced in flesh and blood in this trip. We will never be the same again. There’s a new missionary movement rising and it’s not through organizations, not agencies but through spiritual families who are connected to one Purpose-the Kingdom of God, growing together in love and hosting the Presence of God and the reality of Heaven in the darkest of regions, among the poorest of the poor. We deeply praise and worship Daddy God for allowing us to take part in His Global, or shall I say His Cosmic Agenda! All glory, honor, praise, power and dominion to Him forever and ever!
“I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me,
“You are My Son; today I have become your Father.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
The ends of the earth your possession.”
Ps 2:7&8

Little did I know that I was going to have a moving experience visiting local neighborhood which have been benefitting from micro-loans. The micro-loans are small, low-interest loans that help the lower caste families to start a business. When we visited the families and their businesses, I was able to speak about business. No matter how big or how small, business is business and it formed an instant connection between us. It stirred my spirit; I feel that God has a plan for me with business opportunities.

Nevertheless, I do not fully understand everything that happened on this mission trip. I trust there were reasons why I went but it was not fully revealed to me. I believe it will be revealed in time, just like when I started this journey, reading When Heavens Invades Earth and attending the Randy Clark Healing and Impartation Conference. At that time, I didn’t know why I was doing it, and it took me two years to fully understand where God was leading me. I’m still on the journey, and God will reveal His purpose to me at His right time.