February Prayer Letter

February 2013

Dear Praying Friends,

The road is potholed and rough, the shoulders strewn with rock and debris.  Heavy traffic complicates driving and then that day there was the erratic bicyclist weaving back and forth on the edge of the road.  Each one of the cars in front of me took its turn speeding up and swerving around the man. Then it was my turn. 

As I started to step on the gas and swerve around the pedaling menace, the Holy Spirit told me to slow down and not try to pass him.  Just as I stepped on the brake, the bicyclist hit a pothole, his front tire went sideways, he went off the bike to the right and landed on the shoulder, but the small boy riding unseen on his handlebars flew to the left onto the road directly in front of my car.  I stood on my brakes as the little boy disappeared under my front bumper.

Screeching to a halt, I jumped out expecting the worst.  Kneeling down, I saw a frightened little boy, eyes wide with fear, hiding his face with his skinned hands.  I gently pulled him out and realized his body was jammed up against the engine and transmission housing.  Just a few more inches and he would have been crushed under my car. 

Hugging his boy, the father put him back on his handlebars and drove away without saying a word.  Hands shaking with adrenaline, I pulled off onto the shoulder and prayed, thanking the Lord with tears for His protection of me and the small boy.  

Thank you for your faithful prayers for us and praise the Lord for His protection of us!

Safe in His hands,

Mark Hale 

January Prayer Letter

January 2013

Dear Praying Friends,

By the time you receive this letter, many New Year’s resolutions will have gone the way of 2012.  Good intentions once again bite the dust.  We all want to be better husbands, or better wives, or better parents.  We resolve to lose weight, save money, to pay off debts, be kinder, or to work harder.  Yet we seem to fail over and over again.  Why? Because we cannot trust our flesh to do what is right. 

Instead of trusting in ourselves to make the necessary changes, let us instead seek God and allow Him to change us!  The Lord knows what we need to stop and what we need to start.  He knows all the areas we need to change and He knows how to change them.  He knows how to make us better spouses, better parents and better church members.  He knows how to help us save money, pay off debts and be kinder to those around us.  The Creator knows how to help us lose weight and be healthy.  Yet, it seems He is the last one we turn to. 

So, instead of reading yet another self help article or jumping onto the bandwagon of the latest fad, let us seek God in 2013.  Let us surrender to Him and to His leading.  Let us allow Him to change us into the image of His dear Son!  God can change us when we cannot change ourselves.  God can create in us a clean heart and a right spirit.  Let us seek the Lord God Almighty and allow Him to do what we could never do in 2013!

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”  Jeremiah 29:13

Seeking Him,

Mark Hale

December Prayer Letter

December 2012

Dear Praying Friends,

I had been working hard for days to finish the construction before the next rain front moved in.  I had one more day of good weather and was confident that I could finish.  My body, however, decided to protest and I woke up that morning with horrendous lower back pain.  Barely able to move, I consoled myself with the thought that I could at least get some work done on the computer.  That is when the electricity went out.  That same day, my wife needed to go to the grocery store but discovered another problem, the car wouldn't start.  Muttering under my breath, I was not in a thankful mood. 

Our son, Joshua, however, saw things from a different perspective.  Instead of seeing all the problems and wondering what was going to go wrong next, like his murmuring father, he saw all the things that were still working, all the things we still had and all the blessings we still enjoyed.  He said, “Dad, don’t be discouraged, we still have lots to be thankful for!”

Sometimes our children teach us.  Sometimes the young instruct the old.  My son was right.  We all have so much to be thankful for and so many blessings that we still enjoy.  With Thanksgiving past and Christmas coming soon, we all should stop and thank our God for the many blessings He has given us and most importantly, thank Him for the coming of the Savior so many years ago.

Thanking the Father for His Son and for mine,

Mark Hale

November Prayer Letter

November 2012

Dear Praying Friends,

The enemy soldiers had occupied her country for her entire short life; but that was about to change.  Sometime after midnight, gunfire could be heard from many directions and with the coming of dawn their world erupted.  Great, earth shaking explosions were heard and felt coming from the nearby shore and when they looked, the sea was filled with ships all the way to the horizon.  She and her family hid in their small home until the battle was over.  The date was June 6, 1944.

Raised as a Catholic, she grew up in Normandy, but as an adult, the urge to travel took her all over Europe.  Now in her seventies, she has lived for a number of years here in Portugal.  She signed up for our English class and began coming to our church services with a Christian friend.  She has been attending faithfully for the past two months even when her friend cannot come due to work.

She listens intently to my messages and has many questions about the Bible, salvation and the world from a biblical perspective.  She is getting closer and closer to salvation and we are anxiously praying for her to come to Christ before it is eternally too late.  Please remember Gabrielle in your prayers. 

Praying for souls,

Mark Hale

October Prayer Letter

October 2012

Dear Praying Friends,

A year and a half ago, when Pastor Mark Pereira asked me to help him restart the Bible institute in the city of Albufeira, it was a small beginning.  We had two men who consistently studied with us and we are thankful for their faithfulness.  Last semester, we had four who began studying at the institute and this year, we have seven adults who meet with us each week. 

Pastor Pereira has also set up a live streaming video feed on Ustream where others, who cannot be there in person, can tune in and study with us.  At any given time, we have five or six students in other locations tuning in to our classes.  If their schedules prohibit them from watching the sessions live, they can watch them later as all of our classes are recorded and saved.  We have students from other parts of Portugal studying with us as well as the African nation of Cape Verde and hopefully soon, Brazil.

Pastor Pereira and I have a great burden to see faithful men and women properly trained and able to minister to the almost 300 million Portuguese speakers on our planet.  Technology is a great tool that we are using to try to evangelize the lost.   Please continue to pray for this growing and vital Bible institute ministry.  It is our hope and prayer that in the coming years, we will see hundreds trained and serving all over the Portuguese speaking world and reaching people we could never hope to meet.

Thank you for making this possible!

Mark Hale

September Prayer Letter

September 2012

Dear Praying Friends,

I first met him over two and a half years ago and at that time he let me know that he would NOT be attending services at our church.  He was polite, but very firm on that fact.  I prayed for him but never expected to see him at our church.  Yet the first Sunday of this month, he walked in to services and brought with him a 71 year old friend! They are both lost but seemed to enjoy the services and promised to return this next Sunday.  It is amazing to see the power of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of sinners and how only He can draw them to Christ when we are powerless to effect any change!  Praise the Lord!

As another way to get involved in our city and open up more opportunities for personal evangelism, we are offering free English classes at our church building during the week.  We used this method of evangelism in Lithuania years ago and it seems to be bearing fruit already.  Many have called inquiring about the classes and two are coming this Sunday to register. 

Thank you, in advance, for your faithful prayers for this new ministry, for the new visitors and for the city of Lagos.  It is our honor to represent you here in southern Portugal.

Sowing the seed,

Mark Hale 

The flyers advertising the English classes (front and back).  

August Prayer Letter

August 2012

Dear Praying Friends,

After months of planning and preparation, we held our first Vacation Bible School in our city, Lagos.  With the help of our sister church in the city of Albufeira, we had between 10 and 15 in attendance each day!  Monday through Friday,  it was a whirlwind of activities, games, lessons, and meals and it was a blessing to see the children and young people so interested and involved.

When the week was over and the last of the children had gone home, one boy stayed behind talking with our son, Joshua.  Cris has been coming to our church for the past two years, hearing the gospel and coming closer and closer to the truth.  As they talked Cris stated, “I want to be saved.”  Joshua said, “Let’s go talk to my dad.”  “No, I’ll wait until Sunday to talk to him” Cris stalled.  Joshua, sensing the urgency of the moment, warned “But what if you die between now and then?”  Cris agreed it was too important to wait and came inside the church where he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior!!!  PRAISE THE LORD!!!! 

After we tearfully welcomed the newest member of God’s family, Joshua, as has been his habit for the last two years, accompanied Cris to his apartment.  Just minutes old in the Lord, Cris turned to Joshua and said, “I don’t think my mom is saved.”  He already has a burden for the lost in his family!  “We’ll keep praying for her like we have for you” Joshua informed him.  When they arrived at his door, Cris looked at Joshua and with a sly grin said, “You don’t have to walk me home anymore to make sure I am safe.”  “Why not?” our son asked.  Cris answered with assurance, “Because now I am saved!”

Blessed assurance,

Mark Hale


Click on this link to view a photo album of this year's VBS:
https://picasaweb.google.com/110727062749843624493/VBS2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCOfO_PKg9OHCWw