September Prayer Letter

 September 2024

 

Dear Praying Friends,

 

“I love my mother-in-law” I tell people with a big grin, “because she lives on

another continent!” But the truth is, I really do love my mother-in-law and highly

respect her. For the past 60 years, Deloris McClure has been a missionary to Brazil

with her husband, Dean McClure. After a long illness, God recently called Dean

home and Deloris was there every single day, caring for him for better or for worse.

Deloris has spent the last few months in Brazil sorting through all of her possessions. She gave away the majority of her things to church folks, neighbors and friends. She sold the rest and moved back to the US. She is 81, in good health and plans to continue ministering to Portuguese speaking people through video classes and missions trips.

 

Now, she is facing life without her best friend, husband and partner. When asked

how she is doing, she will reply with a smile on her face but tears in her eyes, “I am

doing alright, God has been so good to me!” No self-pity, no anger nor frustration.

How can she have this godly attitude after suffering the loss of her husband? She

embodies 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of

God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Yes, she mourns the loss of her husband, but

she rejoices in the hope of a heavenly reunion. Yes, she is sad at the prospect of a

solitary life, but she rejoices in the presence of her Savior. She is thankful for what

God gave her and still is giving her.

 

No one may know what you are suffering, no one may even care. But you can

rejoice in knowing that God cares and is with you every step, in storm and in calm,

in prosperity or in poverty, in sickness and in health. Our Savior will never leave us

nor forsake us and is one day coming back to take us home to be with Him! May

each of us have a heart of gratitude for all God has done and is doing for us! No

matter what comes, we know God is in control and we can be thankful to Him!

 

Giving thanks,

 

Mark Hale

August Prayer Letter

August 2024

 

Dear Praying Friends,

 

He has five mouths to feed and things are tight. He knew tithing was biblical,

but he had to make this decision himself. If he paid his tithe, it didn’t look like

he would have enough to pay their bills and he was struggling to find work. It

was a real test of his faith in God’s promise. He made the decision to trust the

Lord and paid his tithe at church. What happened next was breath taking!

 

The next day, his work van broke down and the repair bill was going to be

almost $2000. They did not have that kind of money and he immediately

wondered if he had made a mistake in paying his tithe. Instead of doubting, he

simply prayed and surrendered the whole impossible situation to God. This is

when God began to do the miraculous. He found a used part for much less and

the labor took a fraction of the time they expected, so his van repair bill was

only $200!

 

But God wasn’t finished yet! A man had his car in the shop at the same time

and saw J’s advertisement on the side of his van. He called him up and had

him come and give an estimate for a large job. Within one week of paying his

tithe, this young father had his van repaired for 1/10 of the original cost and

now has a contract for work for the next nine months! He said with a huge grin

on his face that they received more than their tithe and he has more work than

he can handle! God ALWAYS keeps His promises!!!!

 

Pressed down, shaken together and running over,

 

Mark Hale

July Prayer Letter

July 2024

 

Dear Praying Friends,

 

He gravitated to the “bad kids” group, was constantly testing the camp rules, got called down for talking during services and was not receptive to the word of God in our daily lessons together. He scowled at everyone and complained about everything. Ten year old, L. was doing his best to be “bad” but God was working in spite of the boy’s plans.

 

As the week progressed, he got in trouble a few more times but he became more serious as he heard the Word of God taught and preached each day. Finally the last night of camp arrived and God worked in a miraculous way. After a powerful message was preached, the invitation was given and 20 children and teens came forward. L. was among them. 

 

I took him aside and asked why he came forward and he said, “Because I want to be saved, I don’t want to go to hell!” I went through the Scriptures with him and asked if he wanted to confess his sin and trust in Christ alone to save him. By this time, tears were rolling down his cheeks and he just nodded. For five minutes in prayer, this repentant boy listed every sin he could remember and asked God to forgive him of those and any he forgot. Then he said, “I sure hope you keep your word, Lord, because I am trusting you to save me.” God saved that boy that night. The next day, instead of a scowl, there was a huge smile. He ran over and gave me a hug as he prepared to leave. “Thank you for telling me about Jesus!” he whispered. 

 

In total, 17 precious souls were saved at camp this year! Praise God!!!

 

Rejoicing in the Harvest,

 

Mark Hale

Morning service.

Evening service.

Working the camp store.

Mark holding Michele's coffee.  🤣

The campers' tents.

 

June Prayer Letter

June 2024

 

Dear Praying Friends,

 

He had worked hard all day and was looking forward to getting home to his

wife and children. His thoughts drifted to the warmth and comfort of home,

that is, until the flashing lights got his attention. Why was the police officer

pulling him over? He had not been speeding, nor driving erratically, what had

he done to be stopped?

 

The police officer stood at his window and asked for the typical identifications

and documents. Then the policeman informed him that the rear lights on his

van were not “functioning properly” and it would be a 300 Euro fine. Money

was tight with four mouths to feed and this was not welcome news, the pain

was evident on his face. The police officer paused and then said, “Look, I will

write this down as something else and it will only cost you 50 Euros, you just

have to sign this ticket.

 

He paused for a moment, it was tempting, all he had to do was sign the

officer’s paper and save 250 Euros. But then he shook his head, “No, officer, I

cannot do that, it would be lying. I am a Christian and I cannot lie, even if it

costs me the 300 Euros.” The policeman was stunned, he had never

encountered this before. Finally, he looked at this strange man and said,

“Never mind, just go on home, no ticket today.”

 

Thanking God for a young Christian’s honesty and testimony,

 

Mark Hale

May Prayer Letter

 May 2024

 

Dear Praying Friends,

 

I had been invited to speak at a church that we had helped to establish 35 years

ago and as I preached, the congregation listened closely. I could tell there were

some there that day who were not saved and whispered a prayer that the Holy

Spirit would draw them to Christ. As I ended my sermon and gave the

invitation, a lady came forward and received Christ as her personal Savior!

Two others were saved and we rejoiced for what God had done in their lives!

 

Only the Lord knows the future and whether a person will ever have another

opportunity to accept Christ or not. This young wife and mother who had

come forward and was gloriously saved found out just a month later that the

cancer she had fought off years before had returned and spread into her bones.

The doctors are not optimistic about her chances of survival, but we thank God

that whether she survives this battle or not, she will be with Christ for eternity!

 

Thank you for making it possible for us to minister on your behalf and see God

work His miracle of salvation in so many lives! Please join us in prayer for this

young woman, that whether in life or death, the Lord Jesus Christ would be

glorified!

 

Thankful for God’s salvation!

 

Mark Hale

April Prayer Letter

 April 2024

 

Dear Praying Friends,

 

He was faced with a very difficult choice. If he took the job they offered, his financial worries would be a thing of the past, but he would be out of church every Sunday. If he didn’t take the job, his wife and small children could go hungry.

 

He is a young husband and father and hasn’t been saved very long. He and his wife are soon to be baptized and become members of our church here in Lagos. Because of their faith in Christ, they have endured hostility from lost family members, suffered the rejection of former friends and now are facing financial trials. He took a big step of faith in the Lord and turned down the job for a large chain of stores because he said, “It would not honor the Lord for me to miss church just for money.” I was amazed at the spiritual growth and maturity he was showing. Four days went by while he wondered if he had made a mistake.

 

The fifth day came and three new job offers came in and none of these jobs require him to miss church! For the foreseeable future, he will be busy working and providing for his growing family (they have another child on the way) but he will be in church and still studying with me in the Bible Institute. His example has spurred others in our church to take that same step of faith and ask God for a job that doesn’t take them out of church.

 

Praising God for growing faith,

 

Mark Hale

March Prayer Letter

March 2024 

Dear Praying Friends,

 

He was a volunteer. While many (including myself) waited uneasily for the call, he followed Isaiah’s example and simply said, “Here am I, Lord, send me.” My father-in-law, Dean McClure, spent the past 60 years serving God; first in the US and then for the last 58 years as a missionary to Brazil.

 

Dean learned the Portuguese language fluently and spoke like a Brazilian. He immersed himself in the history, culture, sports, food, music and mindset of the Brazilians. As a result, he was very effective in his ministry to that nation. The McClures established 20 Baptist churches which are all under national leadership and financing and still faithfully preaching the gospel. They established a Bible Institute where many pastors, preachers, Christian workers and their wives have been trained. They won thousands to Christ and what is absolute proof of the value of their ministry, while the first generation they won and trained are passing off the scene, the children and grandchildren of those pastors and their wives are now leading those churches and establishing more!

 

God called Dean McClure home to be with Him April 4, 2024. We are sad for us but rejoice for him! He was faithful to Christ all the way to the end. In the hospital, he witnessed to doctors and nurses, at home from his wheelchair, he made sure that the pastors and their churches had thousands of tracts for evangelization. His burden for the Brazilian people and his love for the Lord Jesus Christ were clearly evident in his life. Our world is still in great need but the laborers are few. What about you? Would you be a volunteer? Would you trust the Lord and say, “Here am I Lord, send me.”?

 

Thankful for the volunteer,

 

Mark Hale

Dean and Deloris McClure in 1966, just before leaving for Brazil

The McClures in 1982

Dean McClure preaching in 2001

Deloris and Dean in May 2023

February 2024