A More Effective Disciple
Now That He Can Read and Write, Earl Mills Can Do More for His Church
Earl Mills and his wife had found a church they liked. It was a congregation on the move, led by an energetic pastor. One night, the couple joined the pastor and eight or 10 other members for Bible study. Halfway through a 14-session course, the Rev. P.O. Rodgers asked each member of the group to read a passage.
It was an uncomfortable moment for Mills. For six weeks he had successfully avoided reading out loud by pretending he couldn't find the chapter or verse. But that night, he ran out of excuses.
"Fear gripped my heart," Mills recalls. "I stumbled through it, with my wife sitting beside me, but I was so embarrassed. That was a turning point. I knew I needed help."
Today, the New Bern, N.C. resident is able to read well enough to finish a simplified version of the Bible and write well enough to produce a business report. Rev. Rodgers has noticed how Mills' life has changed since he learned to read.
"He's certainly become a lot more confident and outgoing," Rodgers says. "He's able to take on more tasks."
Mills never lacked confidence in his math skills. He's good at calculating percentages and taking precise measurements from mechanical drawings. He earned high grades in vocational courses in high school and did manage to graduate—even though he barely passed English. Later, his mechanical ability—and strong people skills—enabled him to find and keep his job as a mechanic for a yacht manufacturer.
Soon after the embarrassing Bible study, a fellow parishioner told Mills about the Craven Literacy Council, a ProLiteracy America affiliate in New Bern. While it wasn't easy for Mills to reveal his long-held secret to strangers at the council, his desire to read helped him overcome his fear. A test showed he was reading at the second-grade level. He met his tutor and the two men went to work.
But a wife, children, grandchildren, a full-time job, church work, and a house kept Mills occupied and limited his progress. Time to practice reading had to be carved out of his busy schedule. It took three years before he began to make real headway.
"One particular night," he recalls, "my tutor gave me a 112-page book, Along the Gold Rush Trail. He said, 'I want you to read this for our next class.' He could see the look on my face. So he said, 'Well, try half of it.' I said okay, and I took the book home that night.
"I started to read. I read the first line, then the first paragraph, then three paragraphs, then the first page. I said to myself, 'I'm reading!' All that hard work, all those phonics, were clicking. I finished that book that Saturday morning, at the age of 48. It was the first book I ever read. I just had to tell my wife and my pastor. I felt like someone had given me a million bucks!"
Today, Mills is enjoying applying his literacy skills. He purchases materials and supplies for his church and negotiates complex transactions with outside vendors. The church board recently authorized Mills to check the business references of several contractors and submit a written report on their credentials.
He also reads to his grandchildren. "You can't put a price tag on that," he says.
Brimming with new confidence, Mills continues to improve his skills. He joined the Craven Literacy Council book club, and the members have read To Kill a Mockingbird, A Lesson Before Dying, and Anne Frank's Diary. He's branched out into writing poems and found a publisher willing to publish them. He's even dreaming of taking a college course some day.
"That's what I see in my future," he says. "I can see myself getting there from here."
To hear Earl Mills read his poem "Diploma in Hand," click on the link under his photo.
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