Nov 5, 2014 | Millie's Missionary Stories
Are you a prima donna or a team player?
I like to think of myself as a team player. However, God has been placing situations and Bible verses in my path that have lead me to examine the true condition of my heart.
Do I REALLY believe in the importance of teamwork? What do my actions say? Do I sincerely seek to be a part of the team, or do I try to outshine the others as I pretend it only matters that our group does well? How insistent am I that my ideas are used? What are my actions toward the freeloader on my team?
God used Moses’ life to guide my thinking. Moses became caught up in his leadership role to the extent that he was putting himself under much stress and compromising his effectiveness in serving the people. Moses’ father-in-law Jethro firmly informed Moses that what he was doing was not good. Then Jethro provided Moses with a plan to improve the situation. Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and followed his suggestion.
Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. Exodus 18:24-25
Millie is standing with Foster, Lori, and Susan in Susan’s office at OMS Headquarters.
Moses quit trying to do it all. He created a team to help handle the governance of the Israelites. After meditating on Exodus 18, I started thinking about teams of people whose work blesses me.
I am thankful for the people in the communications department at One Mission Society. When I visited their offices, it was obvious that they function as a team joyfully serving God as they spread the good news of the gospel. Thank you Susan, Lori, Foster, and the rest of the staff for working together to make Millie’s book a reality.
Nov 3, 2014 | Millie's Missionary Stories
So much excitement! Seeing a book you spent many hours writing in hardcopy is … well it is … I do not know how to express the emotion. Millie and I have worked for months preparing the stories and compiling all the information needed. We sent it to the editor and haven’t looked at it for what seems like ages. Waiting for others to do their part was our role. Patience was required.
It takes time to get a book in print. Lori McFall at One Mission Society (OMS) carefully edited the book and formatted it for printing. Foster Pilcher inserted the photographs and designed the cover. Susan Loobie oversaw the preparation. When all was completed, it went to the printer.
With excited hearts, Millie and I traveled to OMS Headquarters last Wednesday. We presented “teaser” speeches at a chapel and sold over 200 books that morning. In the afternoon, I loaded my car with boxes of books, and we headed back to Kansas with joyful, thankful hearts.
Millie and I are available to speak to groups and sign books. If you are responsible for securing a program speaker, contact me. Use my email address of [email protected]
Contacting me through email is one way you can order a book. Also books may be purchased through Amazon. Here is the link. http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Treasures-Milllie-Young/dp/1880338505/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414698678&sr=1-1&keywords=Hidden+Treasures+One+Mission+Society
We pray you will find the book inspiring and encouraging in your walk with our Lord. Let us know how Millie’s story affects you. I know it has had a profound affect on me.
Jul 16, 2014 | Millie's Missionary Stories
If you had the opportunity to spend a week with a person that you admire who is not a relative, who would it be? My living hero is Millie Young. She and I were traveling mates this past week.
I wondered what we would talk about during the day and a half we would spend in the car traveling to the OMS (One Mission Society) National Convention. I had loaded a audio book on my phone to entertain me during the hours of driving interstate highway. After all, I reasoned, Millie had already told me all of her good stories while I was helping her write her book.
I had hours of interesting listening, but it was not my audio book. Millie had more stories. She related her experiences in a humble, yet engaging, manner. The core of each story was the glory of God and his work in the lives of people. My selfish complaints became glaring sins as I listened to how Millie handled difficult times.
Petite Millie visiting with friends.
The next two and a half days were spent witnessing Millie’s interact with her missionary friends. In between warm embraces and the reminiscing, Millie would tell me how important each person was to her and how she had maintained contact with them. Millie cares deeply about people and their spiritual condition. She demonstrates true, lasting friendship.
The drive home was far from anticlimactic. I had to work hard at not sounding like I was conducting an interrogation because I needed to drink in as much wisdom from her as I could before our adventure ended.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom. Psalm 37:30a
Who would enrich your life if you would spend a few hours just listening to them?
Jun 16, 2014 | Millie's Missionary Stories
Millie is with Jaime, the principal of a large Christian high school in Colombia. (January 2014)
Who is your hero? Who has influenced you in a positive manner?
My hero is, Millie Young. She works harder as an octogenarian than may twenty-year-olds. She is patient and genuinely humble. Millie cares deeply about others. She will not mention challenges she is facing unless asked directly. Even though she has immense biblical knowledge, she is slow to speak in Bible study groups. She listens and generally only contributes if asked, which allows others to discover God’s message.
Millie Young is devoted to serving God. Millie spent her adult life shepherding children and adults. She was instrumental in training many of the evangelical protestant leaders in Colombia. She is in regular contact with Colombian friends and is planning her next short-term mission trip.
A little over two years ago, Millie asked me to help her write her memoir as a missionary in Colombia. Millie would tell me a story in a matter-of-fact manner. I often had to stop her to make sure I was hearing correctly. Some of her experiences and accomplishments would be unbelievable coming from someone who does not have her humility. She may only weigh a hundred pounds, but she is a lady of steel. She is totally focused on God and stands firm in her faith.
I urge you, then, be imitators of me. 1 Corinthians 4:16
Paul challenged his followers to imitate him. Anyone who knows Millie should imitate her.
Who is your hero?
Mar 1, 2014 | Millie's Missionary Stories
Millie may be a retired missionary, but she is not retired in the hearts of her Colombian acquaintances and friends. During the forty years Millie was on the mission field, innumerable impoverished children received an education because of Millie’s dedication, strong will, and determination to make the love of Jesus known to rural Colombian people. Millie worked primarily in the area of training teachers, establishing Christian schools, and educating children in a Christian setting, so her influence lives on in a growing legacy as those for whom she made an education possible are now educating children.
Millie and Jamie January 2014
Millie’s efforts to ensure a quality Christian education for elementary children is evident in Bogotá as two of the elementary schools have plaques recognizing her contribution.
Millie was skillful at seeing potential in young adults. Before she left Bogatá, Millie recognized a young teacher’s administrative skills, ability to motivate teens, and love for the Lord so she encouraged Jaime to apply for the position of principal of the Interamerican Christian School in Bogotá. Jamie has proven to be an effective hands-on type of administrator. This Christian high school of about eight hundred students is one of the highest achieving schools in the city of Bogatá.
Here in Kansas, Millie is known as a sweet lady who loves the Lord. Most people have no idea the love and respect she receives from Christians in Colombia. People who are connected with the National Church and OMS mission activities in that country hold this petite grandmother in high esteem for they know how her work has benefitted them and the children of Colombia.
Feb 22, 2014 | Millie's Missionary Stories
Many people know Millie as a retired missionary. Very few people have an opportunity to witness Millie at work in her beloved Colombia. Those who do are amazed.
Millie sponsors short-term mission trips to Colombia every year during the time Colombian schools are out for their summer break. Her goal is to lead work teams to meet the maintenance needs of the Christian schools in Colombia. Her visits are a source of joy for the Colombians working in Christian education. Pastor John and Melinda Martyn met Millie in Colombia during the first week of January to assist her in painting the school, to deliver dresses made for the Colombian girls, and to spread the love of Jesus.
Millie enjoys fellowship with Colombian nationals who are serving God in their communities.
John and Melinda knew Millie as a humble, godly senior citizen who attends their church and is a retired missionary. In Colombia, they were a bit surprised when it seemed that everybody knew Millie. During the years she served as a missionary there, Millie obviously had touched the lives of thousands of people. They began to grasp the influence for Jesus that Millie has had.
Meeting local pastors and church workers was a highlight of the trip for John and Melinda. They visited with Freddy in Juan Rey. He is planting a church there. Gloria assisted in Christian work in the area. Both have connections with Compassion International.
In a rural church in Guachetá even though they sang in Spanish, the church leaders used hymns commonly sung in the United States so they could heartily sing along. However, in the other churches, praise songs were used and were unfamiliar. In one location, Melinda was able to use her beautiful voice to sing praises to God for the congregation.
Pastor John Martyn and Millie presenting a sermon in a small Colombian church.
Pastor John and Millie were invited to speak. Neither one of them ever let a chance to tell of their love for Jesus and about the plan of salvation. John considered it a joy to share a podium with Millie. Of course Millie had to translate what he said.
Both John and Melinda state that working along side a spiritual giant such as Millie is a special blessing from God.
