Thank God!
Those two words above say it all. We just want to take a little of your time and brag on how good God is. He is the one that led us to South Africa. We came with the wrong mindset. We came thinking we were going to do something great for God. But God, in His goodness, has since shown us that He led us here to do a work THROUGH US that only He could do! There is a huge difference! Whew!!! Thank God He didn’t leave it up to us. It’s all Him. Take just a few moments and read what God has been doing in South Africa.
Wells Estate Baptist Church
You may have read in last month’s prayer letter that we had begun another church plant. This plant is under the leadership of Siphosethu Bonga. God has been preparing Sipho since 2005 for this work. He is hungry and knows that the key to this church’s growth and life is found in Galatians 2:20, allowing Christ to live through himself and teaching others to let Christ do the same inside of them.
The church has had a fabulous start. The very first service they had over 100 people and about 16 saved. I believe almost every service has seen someone to know Christ as Savior. I have been up there for one service and we saw three come to Christ that night. Sipho utilizes Sunday morning, after the service, to follow up on those that have made professions. In the next couple of weeks we look forward to seeing some of these dear people follow the Lord in Baptism.
Our goal is to see another church planted before our next furlough. That means a lot of work and more importantly prayer. Two important things have to take place. One, someone has to be ready to take over at Madiba Bay in my absence. Two, another young man has to be prepared to go out and start another work. It may look easy on your screen but that has “God we need a miracle” written all over it! Please pray with us about these goals. Take time today and lift this young man, Siphosethu Bonga, up in prayer.
Madiba Bay Baptist Church
Just a couple of Sundays ago, we held a Matthew’s Banquet at the church. We had several visitors and had two come to Christ. We also have rejuvenated our follow-up/discipleship. We have about 5 people, who have volunteered and committed themselves to helping nurture these new converts. It has been encouraging to see the people take this God-given responsibility. We hope to see growth, real growth, as these new believers become rooted and grounded in the love of Christ and become strengthened in the inner man as Paul prayed. Last Sunday we had worker’s appreciation day. It was a blessing to be able to honor those people that have served faithfully in different areas of the church.
Unfortunately, we are still experiencing hang-ups with our building purchase. This has been constant problem for us. Each and every building we pursue has had serious problems on the seller’s side. We will continue to try and work things out but ultimately it is in the Lord’s hands. We are confident that these problems are for a reason and that we will ultimately prevail with the right building.
On a side note, we have filed paperwork for our NPO status. This will give us the ability to purchase property from the government that is designated for religious purposes. We ask that you would pray for our paperwork, that it would be processed speedily and successfully. Without this status we are left to buy from only private owners at much higher prices. Thank you for your prayers.
Final Thoughts
After I finish up this letter, I will spend a little time in message preparation and then I head off to a meeting with a gentleman from Cape Town who has an entire course designed for preachers/pastors and it is written in Xhosa. This is an answer to prayer. We find little information written in Xhosa. I am told that is because there is very little interest in reading the Xhosa language. But our preachers must preach in Xhosa therefore they need to know and be able to explain Bible doctrines in Xhosa. Pray that we would be able to develop more materials such as CDs, DVDs, and books for the Xhosa people in their mother tongue.
God has blessed us with a DVD/CD duplicator that can burn up to 11 CD/DVDs at a time. We have had it for a few months now and have used it to distribute literally thousands of CD’s with gospel preaching on them. We are just getting started. We need to get better in the media area and begin producing video of Bible teaching, and preaching. We would like to have discussions and time for answering important questions concerning the Bible. Please keep us in your prayers concerning these things. Also, if you are gifted in these areas and want to use your gifts on the field and help us improve in these areas please contact me.
One last thing, please be praying for our next group coming over at the end of this month. They actually arrive on the 2nd of March and will leave out on the 11th. We are putting in a lot of planning and preparation for the trip. We hope that it will one of the greatest experiences of their lives. Would you pray for this group? They are spending a lot of money and I know that they all want to have an impact and be impacted by the trip.
Our family is doing well. Clark has started school. Hudson feels lonely now that brother is gone. Corli is as wonderful as ever and somehow seems to grow in beauty everyday. We appreciate all that you do for us – financially, prayerfully, and just as friends and family. You are the most precious people in our lives. Our prayer is that God would strengthen each and everyone of you in your spirit.
Doing Our Reasonable Service,
Kevin, Corli, Clark, and Hudson Hall
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