Over these five years and several volunteer work crews, the members of Grace Baptist Church have toiled alongside the volunteers and the pastor.  The men have given their hands and their backs to the hard building work and the women have worked diligently in our kitchen area.  Since there has never been a sink or running water to the area designated as “the kitchen”, literally tens of gallons of water have been hand carried from sinks of the restrooms to the kitchen for cooking and cleaning.  Food preparation has gone on from very early in the morning to quite late in the evening, depending on when the last meal was served and preparations for breakfast began.  We have served for as many as 25 and as few as two and were called by one group the “Feed’em Baptist Church”.  It was all carried out as a labor of love to the Lord and gratefulness to these gracious volunteers.  For at least two of these volunteer groups, Brother Bill Foster gave us the use of his automobile for Mrs. Miller’s transportation back and forth between home and the church, carrying food, cooking equipment and guests.  It was quite a notable member of the team.

Each time we would see one of these fine groups off to return home, it was with tears of overwhelming joy at what had been accomplished and in awe of the love and selfless manner in which it had been done.  Always, we were blessed beyond measure and beyond the temporal gifts.

There are many others, friends and members of the Grace Baptist Church who have given of their time, energy and personal resources, most sacrificially.  We will not endeavor to name these individuals and take away from their eternal reward, but suffice it to say, we are so grateful for their contributions.  These dear ones would include the extended family and friends of our members and of the body of Christ at large.  Most often their gifts came at  unexpected times humanly speaking, but they were always very timely in the economy of God’s purposes.  One such gift came in during the summer and fall of 2003 enabling Pastor to purchase the counter tops for the kitchen in the new building.  He had already made and installed cabinets.  Another unexpected $1,000 came in May of 2004 to purchase restroom fixtures.  Two used dishwashers would join the other appliances given to the church ( two stoves and three refrigerators).  In addition, the generosity extended to help with the installation of the four new furnaces.

The last week in September, after Craftsmen for Christ had left, Evangelist Bobby Brown arrived to carry out meetings as scheduled.  Hearing an update and seeing for himself all that  the Lord had been doing he declared it “Operation Completion” and continued among our band of prayer warriors to see the matter done.  He even put a note about our need in his own prayer letter.  It was Brother Brown’s suggestion years earlier that the direction of the seating be changed in the new auditorium from a standard aisle of pews down the length of the building, to turning those one quarter turn to the left and distributing the seating across the length to face the north windows.  This arrangement has brought the worshipper closer to the pulpiteer.  Brother Bobby and his wife Gretchen have been a great source of encouragement to the church and to the Millers over the past fifteen years and beyond.

Of course, it is the “finger prints of the Lord’ which Pastor Miller desires for all to see, that everyone might know He is the Mighty God.  But there is another set of finger prints left behind as well by the one who has staid the course, investing hours of thought and physical labor, literally sweat, blood and tears, leading on into the overwhelming storm, those of us who followed his faithfulness.  He often returned home laden with the remains of paint, putty, spackle, covered with dust and fatigue and yes, even discouragement, knowing that there was oh, so much more to be done.  “But thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  May there be a great spot of thankfulness in each of our hearts for the investment of one man’s life to see the work done.

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