Hey all! Here’s what’s been going on since you last heard from us in December, and another look ahead! We pray you see your prayers being answered as you read.

FAMILY

Christmas with both the Dionne and Millican sides of the family was very sweet. While Michael and Vanessa Dionne (and their children) weren’t able to join us, it was a great time.

The Millican family was in full swing for Christmas though! Corey and Laura Millican (and their children) were able to visit home from CA. With my brothers Caleb, Keegan, and Ethan and their families, that gave us 13 adults and 11 kids! It was great!

Of course, we also had to have a college staff Christmas party where we played our traditional game of ‘Christmas Snowball.’ Around this time also we took advantage of an incredible gift the College Staff blessed us with, to get away to Coeur d’Alene Resort for the weekend. It was a much-needed refreshment!

Claire decided for her birthday in January that she wanted to find out the sex of our baby. We are excited to announce there will be another Millican boy in May! His name remains a secret for now…

Claire’s pregnancy is going great, considering the typical ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ that come with it all. Bennett and Millie are convinced we should name the baby ‘Paw Patrol’ or ‘Frinklin.’ Yes, ‘Frinklin’ not ‘Franklin.’ We’ll see about that…

Bennett (Bubby) and Millie (Milwy) are becoming best friends. They’re playing well together… usually. Bennett is happy to be Millie’s ‘encourager’ as she potty trains, since it means he gets a treat too if she ‘goes.’

We’ve also been thankful for the handful of opportunities we’ve had to keep getting quality time with Jared’s siblings. Jared is playing volleyball with one of them every other Friday, and we are trying to have monthly hangouts as well. The first one was a ‘Skate Night.’ Next up: Bowling.

MINISTRY

In December and January, Jared took Faith Bible Church’s college ministry through a 7-week dating series. This proved to be very helpful for the students. We even came up with some fun hangout nights in light of this series to help encourage students to keep engaging with one another.

Jared continues to be encouraged by our volunteer college staff. Each of them are so gifted for service and eager to love these students. We are all growing in openness with one another, and it’s easy for us to enjoy God’s word together, as well as share our very lives with one another.

The college ministry has 3 campus Bible Studies (EWU, GU, and the ‘Spokane Group’ which includes the community colleges, Whitworth, and Moody Aviation). Claire and I have the joy of leading the Gonzaga Bible study with a few of the other staff. It continues to grow both in depth and breadth after 10+ years of stagnation. The other groups are thriving as well! Students from all campuses are seeing the significance of church membership, discipleship, baptism, and evangelism. Pray this only increases!

We are also seeking to get the College Ministry involved with ‘International Students Incorporated’ as our primary mode of evangelistic outreach. This Friday (March 3) we will be joining a meeting with 100+ international students, with the aim of befriending them for evangelistic relationships!

Jared is currently taking the students through a series on the Armor of God (Eph. 6) and Spiritual Warfare, called ‘Walking and Warring.’ This has been eye-opening to students as we learn what it means to truly ‘Fight the good fight!’ (1 Tim. 6:12).

We eagerly await the day when our family will get to be with the Czech People again! Fortunately, while it won’t be the whole family this time, Jared gets to go for the first 10 days of July to help teach at BSKK’s Family Retreat. This will be a crucial time for continued relationship building as well. Please pray for this time.

What’s Been In The Works

Jared has been working with several of Faith Bible Church’s elders, as well as Marcus and Amie Denny, and Missionary Financial Services (MFS) to determine what our financial needs will be. We’ve broken it down to ‘Initial Costs’ (getting there), ‘Annual Needs’ (normal income), and ‘Ministry Expenses’ (things which are necessary for serving the church). It was a tedious process, but it was worth the attention to detail it received.

If you are interested in knowing some of the specific details for these categories/totals, feel free to reach out to Jared personally at millicansinczech@gmail.com (or in person for those in Spokane). He would be happy to answer any questions.

At this point our support is at about 20% – that being Faith Bible Church’s rough contribution. Please pray about several conversations Jared has had with friends from seminary about potential support from their families or churches. He will also be going to Shepherds Conference March 7th-11th in California. This could be a good time to inform people of our plans and ask them to pray about supporting. He will also have the chance to share our plans and preach at another local Spokane church in March.

If you desire to support financially, a giving avenue is now available through fbchurch.org/give ! The ‘dropdown’ box option will say ‘Missions: Millican’s Czech.’ (Funds submitted here will be transferred monthly to Missionary Financial Services.)

Current Plans

At this point, the goal is still to be in the Czech Republic by the summer of 2024. If God provides for this to happen sooner, we are open to that; but at this point this seems like a reasonable timeline.

When we arrive, our primary roles/responsibilities will be:

• Learn the language. This will mean 4 lessons a week total (Claire x2, Jared x2).

• Begin building relationships, especially with those in the church who speak English. Conveniently, the majority of those who do speak English are young families and couples!

• Jared will begin relieving Marcus once a month or so with preaching through translation. We’ll also put plans into place for how Jared will be useful in teaching equipping classes for the church members.

Until Then: Spokane and Czech At The Same Time

We continue to cherish where we are at, here at Faith Bible Church. Multiple times a week there is a surreal moment where we take pause to soak in how sweet it is to be here for now. Moments like these do not cause heartache, but rather thankfulness.

Nevertheless, a ‘phase out’ plan is in place. With ‘bench marks’ of June 2023, September 2023 and January 2024, it will be necessary that we continue to shift our efforts from ministry ‘here’ to ministry ‘there.’ By September of 2023, we expect to be something like 40% ‘Spokane’ and 60% ‘Czech.’ Thankfully this does not mean abandonment of ministry here! Jared and the elders are prayerfully processing what it will look like for the College Ministry to be sustained in a healthy way, even amidst transition. We are confident God will provide during this time, and even strengthen the ministry.

HOW YOU CAN PRAY

• Family:
  • Baby boy is due in May. We will officially be ‘outnumbered’ 🙂 Pray for health for momma and baby. Pray for our adjustment.
  • We desire to shepherd and train our children well. Pray for great patience and genuine loving sacrifice so our children see the light of Christ in this household.
  • We want to make the most of our time here, with family and friends and ministry. There are also unsaved people in our life we want to minister well to.
• Ministry:
  • We desire for the College Ministry to thrive during this transition period, which has already begun.
  • Pray the students would grow in their passion for holiness and evangelism.
  • We’re eager to see how our College Staff is increasingly fortified in holiness, knowledge of the word, exemplary relationships/marriages/families, and effectiveness for gospel ministry.
• Czech:
  • Pray for Jared to balance being ‘in two places at once’ in his mind (Czech and Spokane). This will become increasingly necessary.
  • Pray for the church in Kladno CZ (BSKK). Pray for salvation of regular visitors, pray for an evangelistic mindset, pray for the health of marriages and families among the church’s members.
  • Pray for financial provision for the three categories mentioned before (Initial, Living, Ministry).
  • Pray our ‘journey’ would be a blessing for those in our life to observe, and that others would be moved toward a passionate commitment to missions and the church because of it.

Thank you so much for caring about our life and ministry. We love our friends and families dearly. You are a gift and an incredible joy in our life.

We look forward to updating you again in a month or two!