Wichita ? The congregation at Olivet Southern Baptist Church erupted into applause after Pastor Ron Pracht announced during Palm Sunday services that Army Pfc. Patrick Miller had been found alive.

“For the good news about Patrick … let there be great rejoicing,” Pracht told parishioners.

Pracht said Miller’s wife, Jessa, received a call from the military early Sunday confirming that her husband was among seven POWs recovered by Marines south of Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit.

Pacing the halls outside the church sanctuary was Cheryl Phipps, a cousin of Jessa’s.

“He is healthy. He is strong. He is fine. Praise the Lord,” Phipps said. “I’m just kind of numb.”

Phipps was still wearing a yellow ribbon, pinned by an American flag, on her lapel — something Miller family members plan to wear until all U.S. soldiers come home, she said.

“I’m praying some good will come out of this,” she said.

Miller talked with his wife Sunday on the phone and said he was going to be in Germany for a couple of days and that he would then fly to a base in Maryland, where they would be reunited.

“She was real excited she got to talk to him, and she is anxious to get him home,” Pracht said. “He was ready to come home.”

Miller’s mother, Mary Pickering, said she was elated at the images of her son she saw on television.

Miller

“I saw him transferring from the helicopter to the ambulance,” Pickering said from her home in Farmington, N.M. “This time I wasn’t mad at the TV.”

Miller’s half-brother, Thomas Hershberger of Derby, said their mother had spent the day crying “tears of joy.”

“I don’t think they can get him home soon enough,” he said.

Pracht married Patrick and Jessa Miller shortly before Miller’s deployment and has been acting as a spokesman for the family since Miller was captured. Jessa Miller has declined all interviews and is not yet ready to make a statement, Pracht said.

Jessa Miller and the couple’s two young children moved from Texas, where Patrick Miller was based at Fort Bliss, to Park City to be closer to family after he was sent overseas in December.

Pracht said Jessa Miller is now focused on when she can see her husband.

Miller, 23, was captured March 23 when his 507th Maintenance Company was ambushed near Nasiriyah. Unexpectedly released by Iraqi troops, the seven U.S. POWs were declared in good shape after their 22 days of imprisonment.

In Valley Center — the small south-central town of 5,000 people north of Wichita where Miller grew up — the news of his safe return spread quickly. Miller graduated from Valley Center High School in 1998.

At a Valley Center convenience store, clerk Rita Kerr told customers coming in early Sunday that Miller was safe.

“I’m just thrilled. That’s just fabulous. I couldn’t be happier,” she said.

The seven were taken by helicopter to a base near Kut and flown to a military airport south of Kuwait City.

They “are in good shape,” although two have gunshot wounds, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said.

After his capture, video footage on Iraqi TV showed Miller answering questions in a shaky voice, his eyes darting back and forth between an interviewer and another person who couldn’t be seen on camera.

Miller was with a convoy of the 507th Maintenance Company that was ambushed and was among five POWs later shown on Iraqi television.

Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who was rescued from an Iraqi hospital earlier this month and returned Saturday to the United States, was in the same convoy. Several others who had been with them were killed.

Miller’s brother, Shane Parker, said from his home in Valley Center, that he had been avoiding television since his brother was captured and that he was looking forward to seeing him in person.

“It really upsets me to see Pat on TV. I didn’t want to upset myself more than I already was,” Parker told CNN. “I just want to see him now. I can’t quit crying.”