Rose Marie Miller^[1]

The Seeds Planted in Heart

In 1979, when the bloody dictator Idi Amin was driven out of Uganda, my late husband Jack Miller and I went to the country with an invitation from a Ugandan pastor, Jack’s former student at Westminster Seminary. He asked Jack to come and help them because there had been so much death and so many young people who were homeless. When we arrived there, I was devastated. All the shops were vacant, and there were no clothes, no shoes, nothing. The only food that we could buy was from the fruits and vegetables stall. While we were staying at the only safe hotel which was filled with a lot of returning exiles, Asians, and Indians, we made friends with them as we endured the hardships of life together for several months. It was then that the Holy Spirit planted the seeds in my heart and made me feel so natural with the Asians and Indians.

The Vision of London Mission

Jack had always thought of London, a home to three hundred different ethnic groups, as the best place to do a cross-cultural mission. In Southall alone, where we are based, there are sixty-five thousand Asian immigrants coming from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and other Asian countries. In fact, Southall is almost totally Indian: Indian clothes, Indian shops, Indian jewelry, Indian food, etc.

As an implementation of Jack’s vision, my daughter Keren and her husband Bob went to London in 1994 in a desire to minister to the Asians in Southall. As we were all set to go, Jack’s heart kept getting weaker, and eventually he died of heart failure in the US in 1996. After Jack’s passing away, I still could not join Keren and Bob because I had a very needy mother and a disabled sister here in Jenkintown to care for. Thus, for a long period of time, I could only fly back and forth, spending some time in London and then back to the United States. The Lord took both my mother and sister home about ten years ago, and I was finally able to get a proper visa to move to London.

Starting with Friendship

After I moved to London, I lived with Keren and Bob who were already there, planting churches among the Asians. Then I started to get to know the Indians and soon found out an interesting phenomenon. Many of them came from South India, which is a more Christian area, but they never wanted to share their faith. They were kind of jaded, hovering in their own bubbles, and did not want to move out from them. No English church was making a concerted effort to reach these Asians. Bob, realizing what was going on, expressed his frustration: “I can't work with it. I can't build a church on people who don't care.”

How do you reach people that aren't interested? I really did not know anything about cross cultural evangelism, but I do like friendship and I like to make friends. India's dominant religion is obviously Hinduism. When some people get tired of that, they would go to worship their ancient gurus, who lived three hundred years ago. If some even get tired of that, they would meet together in groups and listen to their present-day guru through reading some of their writings. Bob said to me, “Bring your book along. Maybe you could read part of that to them.” So, I took my book From Fear to Freedom along. As one Indian lady sitting next to me was reading about the sentences from the back page, “when you are tired of duty, feeling guilty…”, she almost shouted out, “Oh! That's me! Really!” I said, “Well! Would you like to know more?” And she said yes. Then we made a lunch date, and after that we became close friends. She was a lonely widow. Over time, I helped her organize her bills and pictures, spent time with her, and shared the truth with her. Friendship is important. And sometimes that is where you start with— friendship.

Likewise, for our team, we opened a charity shop as a way of outreach. We fondly call it, "mashup," which means hope and handy. The shop served as more than just a store; it became points of connection, drawing women in. Our humble initiative slowly grew from one shop to five—two in London, two in the suburbs and one up north. Now, we also have a moms-and-tots program, serving a community of women, mostly Muslim, who work and do not have time with their babies. When they brought their babies in, we served tea and had story time. The children have a place to play around until they reach three years old and go to daycare. Community services like these do not just create spaces for shared experiences but weave an intricate fabric of relationship.

Trusting the Holy Spirit to Open Hearts

After building up relationships, the next step is to trust the Holy Spirit to open their hearts. With this lady I first met at the reading group, later on, I asked her: “Swami, does the guru really help you?” She said: “Well! We have to do a certain amount of reading like this every day.” However, I could tell that she was not satisfied with it; instead, she was so satisfied with her friendship with me. So, I told her about the books I had written, and the book about my daughter’s journey as a prodigal child of God, “Come back, Barbara!” She wanted me to read the book to her. She really sat at my feet and listened to me reading the whole book! That’s how she heard the Gospel! Once her heart was opened, we started a Bible study.

When you trust in the Holy Spirit, He will give you the right words to say. There are many instances like this. When I was in the hospital one time, I was in a room with another woman and the curtains were drawn between us most of the day. One morning, I asked the Lord to have the curtains opened so that I could talk to her. Not long after, the aide came in, singing a joyful Gospel song, and I told myself: “This is a great way to start today!” When she opened the curtains, I took the walker and walked over to the other patient’s bed and said: “I almost died, but I know where I'm going to. Do you know?” That’s a great opening for me. Another time is with my Bengali neighbor in London. The man was from Bangladesh and he liked our home because my grandson Ethan was married to a Bengali. It was a nice but still cold day, and I was walking down the street. He motioned me over and he wanted to talk to me. He brought out a piano stool that swiveled. When I sat down on it, it swiveled me right off to the ground. It was such a small fall, but he was horrified. Then I asked him the same question as I did to my roommate at the hospital. That was another great opening moment.

Building up a Good Christian Community

Cross cultural mission means that I am walking from my American culture into a totally different Indian culture, which is very strong, with thousands of years of baggage. Honor and respect – these are the two big things for Indian culture. If somebody from a very strict Hindu family becomes Christian, there is a price to pay — her whole family would ostracize her, which is a big thing to be outside of the community. Obviously, I cannot just move in and change anything. It takes the Holy Spirit to prepare their hearts for whether they are willing to risk their reputation. That is why it is so important to have a Christian community who love one another, who share with one another, and who reach out to one another on a personal level.

Building up a good Christian community must start with preaching from the pulpit. Bob, my son-in-law, preaches in Southall all the time. Preaching the Gospel is important, but it needs to be set in the ambience of hospitality and sharing of our lives. Indians are so used to their own community, that embracing a totally different community is really a huge step. Thus, with Bob's mantra, “belonging and believing”, we opened our home to them. Along with Keren and Bob, I have intentionally taken Indians to stay with me. We include them into our family and celebrate our birthdays and holidays together. Before COVID, we used to invite the whole church, over one hundred people, coming for Thanksgivings. People broke stuff, and that is how they became part of our community. Having an open home reminds us that we need a clear heart to reach out, because we must constantly watch for pride, not regarding that we are better than anybody else. It also means that you are available when you are called in the middle of the night to birth a baby. My daughter, Keren, is incredible. She will just drop everything to help somebody.

Not only our family opens their home, but also our team. The team has a home for those in need in Southall, such as people who have been kicked onto the streets. Now, a Muslim couple and one of the elders of the church are staying there. It is like a house with a revolving door where people come and go. There are book tables in the house, and people hear the Gospel and respond, often producing very fruitful discussions. People coming to the house have formed a community, but they belong to the bigger community of the church.

Being Aware of the Warfare in the Mission Field

Do not forget that the mission field is a battlefield. The evil one always tries to use this or other ways to hinder God’s work. One of his tactics is to destroy the unity of the mission team. There was a leader at the church we planted in Southall. His wife became a good friend of mine, and she loved to share her heart with me. We used to meet for coffee all the time and pray together. But all of a sudden, they turned against Bob and blasted his reputation, making accusation upon accusation. Bob went to them and tried to figure out what the problem was, but there was nothing he could do. The other members of the team were also involved. At the end, our company, Serge, had to come over and step in. Eventually they left and our relationship was cut off completely. I was so sad because the wife was my friend, and I treasured her friendship. Disunity often occurs when there is pride— personal pride, territorial pride, family pride, and all kinds of pride. A good leader must deal with the issue of pride, realize that being a Christian is being repentant, and come to know Christ in His suffering and glory. Some Christians may still go to church and even do ministry, but they have lost the focus of their life. I would encourage them to pick a book of the Bible and read it twenty-five times until the Word of God becomes embedded into their hearts. We should keep in mind that warfare is not with flesh and blood. The more you are in God’s Word, the more the Holy Spirit can use the Word to fight against the enemy.

Another tactic of Satan is to blind the hearts and minds of people from the works of the Holy Spirit. One time, we had an outreach dinner and invited a group of seventeen senior Punjabi women to come. It was a wonderful meal. However, after those women sat down at the table, all they talked about was jinns (minor demons in the Muslim culture). Sitting beside them, I quietly prayed: “Lord, please give me a small window to speak to them!” He did. When I raised my voice, “Wait a minute, ladies! I want to tell you a story!” All that kind of talking stopped. So, I told them the story of Jesus casting out demons, and the event ended in prayers. But later that midnight, one woman called us and said: “I was at the dinner meeting this evening, and my daughter is demon possessed. Please come to our house!” See, there was far more there than we realized. At that time, there was a big team of about one hundred people coming from all over the United States to attend our annual event, which was called “Live-in London Evangelism and Prayers”. The next day, I mentioned the mother’s request for help to the group, and told them: “I'm going. Will anybody come with me?” Eventually, four people and I went there and found a young woman comatose on her bed. We prayed to cast out the demon, but nothing seemed to happen. Then I asked the mother: “What have you got in this house?” She brought out a whole bag full of stuff about jinns. So, we took it out and trashed it. Not long after that, there was a change in this young woman. One of our team members began to befriend her and took her to church and worked with her. She even came to live with us for a while. Just six or seven months ago, I saw her at church and sat next to her. She still has multiple problems, but she is in her right mind now.

Humility—the Key to Win the Battle

As indicated in Ephesians 6, you cannot fight the spiritual battle on your own, and must stand with the armor of God. That means it does not work if you try to fight the demons with a lot of rules. You have to start with humility, saying to the Lord: “This is what I want to do, but I do not have the knowledge, wisdom, or strength. If this is your call, make it possible.” And indeed, He will. Being able to admit you are weak—that’s the first step in humility. That’s what Jack and I have learned to do all these years.

Not fighting the battle alone also means to ask somebody else to pray with you and for you. Jesus promised that when two or three are praying together, there He is. In Serge, we have put strong emphasis on human inability to do what you have been called to do, so prayer meetings have become part of the DNA of this company. Everyone is willing to open to each other and ask for prayers. We also ask people to pray for us. That is how the Lord transforms our weakness into strength.

In the mission field, humility is particularly prominent. I was brought up in a German culture, which is tight in following rules and regulations. It was natural for me to feel comfortable with staying within the perimeters of the rules. As a result, for years, my relationship with Christ was superficial until God began to reveal my own sinful tendencies more deeply. Even with that realization, I was not able to change myself and desperately needed a rescue from above. My own saving experience constantly reminds me of asking God for sympathy whenever I wanted to talk to Muslims, whose culture is also strict in following rules. I am trying to relate to them for what they are going through and where they are, not regarding myself better than them.

Humility also enables us to be able to discover and appreciate the good parts in different cultures. What I loved about Indian culture was their emphasis on family and caring for one another. My family is the same way. We are a close family and always celebrate together. But we bring other people into the orbit of our friendship. My children were brought up with the experience of having all kinds of different people living in our home. A lot of things in our cultures are good, and you do not want to throw away the baby with the bathwater.

The Blessings of Being a Missionary

Being a missionary makes me so wealthy. I have friends from different cultures. I do not even think of them as being different. Colors and cultures are not a problem to me at all. There were times when my life got really hard in London, as I could not get around and was confined to my place. Then I would always call two special ladies and ask them: “Will you pray for me?” They would offer up the sweetest prayers for me right away.

I am also rich in my family. I have twenty-four grandchildren and fifty-eight great-grandchildren. When my daughter threw a party for me when I came back to the United States in 2023, seventy-four of them showed up. Four of my grandchildren are doing missions in London and one in Calcutta. Three of them are married interracially, and we have an international family.

There are a lot of challenges, but I am really rich. The fact that I am still serving in the mission field of London at ninety-nine years old testifies how rich I am. Sometimes when I feel low, I would say to myself, “Maybe this is it.” But the Lord always said “Go!” and never said quit. I will be a hundred in a few months. At this age, I often ask: “Am I still considered able to serve even though I cannot keep up with doing all I did before?” Recently when I raised this serious question to the former President of the Board of my organization, he replied: “Rose Marie, we are privileged that you still want to be with us. We love you.” It brought tears to my eyes. Thank you! My heavenly Father, for your encouragement!

A Special Note to Christians in China

To my friends at the house churches in China,

Abby and I have been in contact with one another. She has a burden and love for all of you, and invites me to join her in sharing those burdens. I understand from Abby that some of you desire to share your faith with people from another culture. That is wonderful.

From the above stories, you may get a glimpse of my life. I am 99 years old and still serve Christ in a limited way, but I am based in London among the South Asian community. So, I know a little about sharing my faith in another culture.
Having worked with Indians from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and others places, I found out that it was important to understand their culture. This took time. It means I humbled my heart. Also, because they are so different, I needed to trust in the Holy Spirit to open my heart first and then give divine appointments. I must leave pride at the door and humble myself to trust God to do what I cannot do. It is also important to know the Gospel firmly enough in your soul so that it will become easy to share — not as a duty, but as your desire to share Christ, who saves and redeems our broken lives.

Abby also informed me about your current suffering. Peter understood suffering when he wrote in his letter: “If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (I Peter 4:16, 19; ESV)

I faced death. Once when I was in Uganda, soldiers came to our door demanding entrance. My husband opened the door and invited them to pray with him. They did. Our lives were spared.

A few years later, in London, I faced death another time with a serious disease. I was 95 and the doctors refused to care for me. My daughter and granddaughter pleaded with them to save my life; they did.

I faced death when my husband did not survive a heart operation. God took him to glory.

I faced death when two of my grandchildren went to glory within 10 days of each other when cancer took over their bodies.

My book From Fear to Freedom has been translated into Chinese. It can be obtained from the Reformed Bible Institute in Taiwan. The book was about 10 years of suffering in my life, and what I learned about myself, and about God.
Love and blessings to a group of people I have never met, but will someday meet in glory.

Rose Marie Miller

---

1. Approaching her 100th birthday, Rose Marie Miller remains active in the mission field of London, serving with Serge's Southall team, building friendships and sharing her faith with Asian women in London. She is the author of two books: From Fear to Freedom (1994) and Nothing Is Impossible with God (2012). Rose Marie and her late husband Jack Miller worked together to plant the New Life Presbyterian Churches and founded World Harvest Mission organization, now called Serge. This article is based on an interview with Rose Marie Miller. She has proofread it and consented for its publication. ↩︎