Rachel Helen Miller

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Rachel Helen Miller (born June 6, 1974, and died February 22, 2025 in Malaysia).  Though her death was tragic, her life was not.  Rachel was preceded in death by her parents, Francis M., and Martha L. Burke (2014, and 2011) who were ranchers and pecan and apple growers in the Mesilla Valley (Las Cruces) of New Mexico.  She was the youngest of three daughters, and grew up in a loving—though at times raucous—Christian family.  As a child, she often read with her father on the couch, and helped on the farm:  picking apples, and grading pecans.

          Her parents often extended a helping hand to people that came across their way, and Rachel did much the same throughout her life:  excitedly sharing with whomsoever came across her way whatever she believed would help them, especially about the love of God realized in Jesus.  School-wise, Rachel attended MVCS, where she played basketball, was honored with the Founder’s Award, came to love good books, and fostered lasting friendships.  She traveled with groups throughout Latin America and India during her high school summers, performing dramas to help people understand the good news of God’s love.  She later attended ORU, graduating with a BA in International Community Development (1997).

          In part because her family hosted people passing through Las Cruces, she became interested in serving people that had yet to experience the Bible in their own—often minority—language which became her life’s work after college.  She joined Wycliffe Bible Translators, studied linguistics (earning a Master’s degree from GIAL, now DIU) and served for two years in Kenya, preparing pastors there to receive the Scriptures which had been recently translated.  Rachel was preparing to work in Indonesia when she met Mark Miller of Spokane, Washington who was a PhD candidate analyzing a minority language. They married in December, 2005, and two years later they moved to Malaysia with their three-month old son, Abraham. 

          In the (seventeen!) years that followed, Rachel and Mark were blessed with three more beloved sons, all of whom were homeschooled for some of their early years overseas. We will miss Rachel's loving care for people—especially for children, in whatever she was involved in. We will miss her hospitable nature, always wanting to include others in her circle. We will miss her lovely voice, often leading others in worship to the living God. Rachel believed in the power of God to bring redemption and renewal to a hurting world, and we trust it will bring redemption to her also. 

          Rachel is survived by her husband, Mark Miller, sons: Abraham (17), Samuel (15), Ezekiel (11), and Jedediah (9); her oldest sister, LuAnne, her middle sister, Esther; her aunts, Mary Ann (Burke) Wheeler, Ondina Landsman; her in-laws, Ray and Christie Miller of Spokane; many cousins, and countless dear friends across many states and countries. She was laid to rest in Sabah, Malaysia, where she and Mark labored for most of their years together. RIP RHM. 

          There will be a memorial service for Rachel on June 28th at 11 am at New Covenant Fellowship, 20 Holy Cross Rd in Las Cruces, New Mexico.