New Tribes Classes

Above is a picture of our classroom at New Tribes. We take all of our classes in the same classroom, but luckily we get a little bit of a break between classes.

Ben is taking an 8:00 class that I'm not taking - Biblical Foundations. This is a class that does a quick overview of the Bible. Then we both have chapel at 9:00. At 10:00 we both have Bibliology which is a study of how the Bible came from God to us and how it has been preserved through the generations. We have enjoyed what we have learned in this class. At 11:00 we have Pentateuch where we are currently studying Genesis. This class will go almost all semester. We're on a block schedule, so we take classes everyday until we finish them. We are almost finished with Bibliology, and Ben is almost finished with Biblical Foundations which are both just 1 credit classes. Ben will then started Hermeneutics at 8:00, and we will have Evangelism at 10:00. Ben is also taking a Financial Management elective class right now.

We have enjoyed our time here so far and are making friends. Ben has joined a volleyball and basketball team that play other teams in the school, and so it's really nice he can do that. Thank you for your prayers, and we continue to ask for them. We're learning how to trust God in times that are different from our first two years of marriage. It's very different to have neither of us working full time.

Baby Miller is doing well, and we got to hear his/her heartbeat for the first time today! I'm 12 weeks, so for those wondering, we'll find out the baby's gender in about 8 weeks. :)

1 +1 = 3

We are the Millers. We were just Ben Miller and Alisha Miller. Now we are Ben, Alisha, and Baby Miller!!! Today I am 10.5 weeks pregnant, and while I have made this announcement on facebook, I thought it was time to announce it on our blog as well!

We are very excited to have a little one even though it means many unknowns! NTBI is a kid-friendly place as there are many staff as well as several student married couples here who have kids, so our little one will have plenty of playmates, and I (Alisha) will have other mothers to learn from.

Please pray for us that in the remaining 30 weeks that God would prepare us to be good and Godly parents.

We're Here :)

We're at New Tribes Bible Institute (NTBI)! We are all settled in, and we're had a chance to meet some people here and explore the town. We signed up for classes today (Ben will take a full load and I will take 11 credits... it costs us the same whether just he takes classes or whether we both do, so we're excited for the opportunity to learn together!)

On Monday and Tuesday we have orientation, and then on Wednesday we will start our first day of classes. At this point we are ready to be on a schedule, but I'm sure once we're into classes full-swing, we'll be wishing for a break again!

We're moving!!

Everything is packed, and we're heading out tomorrow morning! It's actually here! We're really going to Bible School and changing everything about our lives. As I was packing tonight, I pulled out the packet with our house blueprints, and I realized if God hadn't drastically changed the path our life was going, we could be in that house right now. While it was beautiful, and I was a teensy bit sad I wasn't sitting in that house as I looked at the blueprints, it's amazing the joy God puts in your heart and life when you know you're following his plan. I know telling others about Jesus will be far more fulfilling than living in a nice house in a nice neighborhood with a nice bathtub. Once we arrive at New Tribes Bible Institute, I will take pictures and post! I had the opportunity to go to NTBI the other week and see our apartment... it's little, but it'll be fun! {alisha}

Less Than a Month Away!

Well... I know I said "it's official" before, but now it's really official that we're going. We have money sent in, we've put in notices at our jobs (well, Ben didn't really have to), we have our move date planned (August 18), and I've been working on prayer cards! As we begin this stage of our lives, we'd appreciate lots of prayer as we consider our options for mission organizations/fields/opportunities. We really want to be open to God and what he wants for us. New Tribes is a great organization so we're excited to learn the Bible from them and to see if they're an organization we might want to serve with.

Ben and I have been talking to leaders of our church about our interest in missions and appreciate their prayers and wisdom as they help us consider our options. We are becoming members of our church next Sunday!

So prayer cards... Ben and I are different in our tastes, and I'm indecisive, so I posted three of the ones I made. We'll try to narrow it down to one ;) Feel free to print one of these off though!

We've Been Accepted!

We are now officially accepted to New Tribes Bible Institute and will be attending at their Jackson, MI campus starting in August. We are looking forward to going even though we are also nervous and anxious.

Now we just have paperwork and money to send in before we go. This summer will just be working relaxing and enjoying family and friends before we leave.

First Step...

I feel like we have officially made our first step toward being overseas missionaries. We have moved into the apartment above Ben's parent's garage. They built a garage in the fall which is something they have been wanting to do for awhile, and this is when we were talking seriously about missions and going to New Tribes in the fall. They decided to put an apartment above the garage because of this, and Ben did a lot of the work on the garage (drywall, trim, floor, etc) to make it a little cheaper. We are so thankful to them for allowing us to live there where we can save money... and then in the fall it'll give us a place to come home to once we start school.

So last week we packed up all of our things and moved into the apartment. It's smaller than where we were living, so we have quite a few things in boxes that will stay there until we go to school. It was a little sad to leave our first home (which we rented) because it was our own place and it was our first place... but I know this is just the first time of moving... we will be doing it many more times in the next few years.

We haven't received our official acceptance yet to New Tribes Bible Institute, but we have sent everything in, and we have received our "unofficial" acceptance. We are excited... nervous, but excited :)