Going to Higher Places
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”
Matthew 25:21
Jean Claude Mille Oct. 11, 1945 — Sept. 2, 2015
On Wednesday, I received the news that my dear friend, Jean Claude Mille, had passed away in his sleep in Alaska while serving at Operation Heal Our Patriots with Samaritan’s Purse.
He was cooking for US servicemen and their spouses who suffered physically and spiritually while serving in our armed forces. He told me many times how much he loved this special ministry in Alaska each year. He passed away doing something he dearly loved.
I would like to take a few moments to remember and honor this man who was a good friend to our church family and the world.
When I first met Jean Claude, he was serving as Executive Chef at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. His food was beyond delicious and his presence in the dining hall at the cove was legendary. His testimony of how he came to the Lord is incredible. Click on this link to read about it.Testimony
When our church was tiny, made up of just a few people, Jean Claude started to come to the meetings in our living room. He would cook for us from time to time as a church. Needless to say our early potluck meals were unbelievable.
His smile could light up a room, and his passion for Jesus and for people was contagious. I remember watching him cook one time at the Cove when he invited me to see what he did every day. It was like watching a master artist at their craft. He poured all that he had into making delicious and beautiful presentations of food for God’s people.
Just last fall, he and I were enjoying some sushi (his favorite food!) at a Japanese restaurant in town and talking about his plans to touch the lives of many orphans in Haiti. He started an orphanage there and had kids there that he called his children. They were very near and dear to his heart.
We discussed all kinds of possibilities to help them and bring them the gospel and helpful practical support. I would love to somehow support his work there if we could. Although he will no longer be able to serve them on this earth, I know that he made an eternal impact in their lives.
The following link Jean Claude will tell us more about his recent work with Samaritan’s Purse. There were so many lives and hearts he touched around the world.
For the past few years he was a personal chef and assistant to Franklin Graham and Samaritan’s Purse. Franklin would call upon him and he would fly anywhere in the world to cook for missions teams, dignitaries and church leaders. Even as he approached his seventies, he continued to pour out his life for others.
I will miss this one-of-a-kind servant of the Lord. His example of living passionately until his last breath is an example that will remain with me all of my earthly journey.
May we offer to the Lord the gifts and passions He has given us, as Jean Claude did. May we answer the call to go beyond our own limits and see God touch the world through us. That is what he did.
A simple chef from France. A mighty man of God. A humble servant of the Lord. I can hear the Lord saying, “Well done, Jean Claude! Enter into your Master’s Joy!” We will miss you, dear friend!