Spreading God's word

By Kristen Wasik / Special to The Citizen

Sunday, November 30, 2008 11:18 PM EST

Angela Miller packed up her life in central New York to take a trip that will send her across the world to teach English in South Korea.
Photo provided

During a Wednesday afternoon English Bible study conducted by missionaries from Faith Chapel of Syracuse visiting South Korea are, from left standing, Angela Miller, a teacher with the Jordan-Elbridge School District; her husband, Dale Miller, and Amber Messina; sitting are members of the class. Angela said, normally about eight to 10 members of the Korean church attend, but at the recent meeting, it was very cold and many stayed home because they typically walk to class.
“We have always known that we were called to be missionaries,” Miller said about her and her husband's decision to travel to a province of South Korea outside of Seoul. “When the first group came back, they were so excited about how welcoming the people were and how they wanted to learn English that we knew that we were supposed to go.”

The Millers, Angela and her husband Dale, left Nov. 3 for an almost five-month journey that will take them to the SungEun Church in a province of South Korea outside of Seoul, she said.

While there, the couple will teach conversational English classes at the church that are open to any of the community members who are interested in learning.

A relationship between SungEun Church and Faith Chapel on West Seneca Turnpike gave the Millers the opportunity to travel abroad as missionaries.

The couple will make up team gamma, the fourth group that the church has sent to do work at the Korean church.

Including the couple, 10 members of Faith Chapel will have made the journey, she said.

“I don't know if we can put our feelings into words really,” she said. “Wow - that's about all we can say. There are so many emotions running through our heads right now.”

Not a lot of people get the opportunity to pack up their life and live in another country.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said.

A lot of factors came together to show the Millers that this was the right opportunity for them.

The first was the timing. The Millers' lease ended on Halloween, giving them the opportunity to pack up their lives for the next four months and go without having to worry about any bills at home.

The next was the work that they would be doing: teaching English. Angela Miller already works as a teacher's aide in the Jordan-Elbridge school district, so she felt confident that she could help make a difference.

“I love the idea that I can take the love of Jesus to these people,” she said.

The other factor standing in the Millers' way was getting almost five months off from work to make the journey.

Dale Miller works in construction and his boss is head deacon at Faith Chapel. His boss was willing to give him the time he needed.

The school district considered this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Angela and allowed her to take the unpaid personal leave.

With everything else out of the way, the Millers only have to look forward to the work that they will be doing.

Angela looks forward to having the chance to share the love and joy of Jesus with the people of South Korea, she said. Her husband, Dale, said he is looking forward to something else.

“He said the food,” Miller said after asking him what he looks forward to the most. “He loves Korean food.”

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