May Prayer Letter

May 2016

Dear Praying Friends,

The deep chest pain was a harbinger of what was coming.  She fearfully posted on Facebook that Tuesday morning, “I need a miracle!”  Later that day, the heart attack hit with such pain that she collapsed, unable to move.  Her husband called for an ambulance and held her while they waited for help to arrive.

Last year, this couple began attending services at our church in Lagos.  He was thrilled with our verse by verse studies of God’s word, she was less than enthusiastic.  He was growing spiritually and reaching others, while his wife sat impatiently through the services, fidgeting with her phone and looking out the window in the auditorium.  Eventually, she quit coming and then began inventing things for them both to do during service times. Two months ago, he stopped attending church.  Then we got the news. 

At her funeral, he wept as I hugged him.  He was haunted by the nightmare of watching his 46 year old wife slip out into eternity in his arms.  He looked at us, with tears welling up in his eyes and said, “She died with fear in her eyes.” He paused to gain control of his voice and then continued. “Christians don’t die with fear, do they?”  What is so heartbreaking about these kinds of funerals is that we don’t know if she is with the Lord. 

In the past month, we have lost four people whom we have loved and prayed for.  Two are with the Lord, two are not.  This is why you keep us here:  to stand between the living and the dead and proclaim Christ. 

Thankful for the saved, grieving for the lost,

Mark Hale

March/April Prayer Letter

March/April 2016 

Dear Praying Friends,

It was shaping up to be one of “those” days.  Right from the start, everything seemed to fall apart around me.  Car problems, road construction delays, bureaucratic run arounds and not enough time to get it all done.  I had to be up at the church two hours early for the piano tuner to get his job finished before Bible Institute classes began.  He assured me it would take no longer than an hour…I should have known better…

Two hours later, he still had the piano in pieces and was not even close to being done.  Students had begun arriving and I knew this day was going to end the way it had unfolded– as a disaster.  He piled all the pieces together and told me he would return the next day to finish the job.  As I laid the last pieces carefully down and turned around to face the class, I was pleasantly surprised.

Three new students were there for the Bible Institute and we enjoyed one of the best classes we have ever had.  With nine students present and another 61 tuning in live via UStream, we had a total of 70 students from Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Guinea Bissau.  We have students from all Portuguese speaking countries except for Goa, India and Macao, China.  The Bible Institute has grown and is now reaching into five countries.  We are humbled and thrilled to see what God is doing to reach this generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ!!  Thank you for making this possible!!!

Reflecting His light to the world,

Mark Hale

February Prayer Letter

February 2016

Dear Praying Friends,

She came in the back of the auditorium and sat in the chair next to the door.  Her drug addicted son came in a few minutes later and sat uneasily beside her in the last row.  It was clear they were uncomfortable and ready for a quick escape.  The adult son claims to be a “Christian” but believes he must self reform in order to earn salvation.  He and his mother have had years of conflict over his drug addiction.  He listened politely as I preached, but his mother intently hung on every word. 

Normally,  I pastor two congregations - our Portuguese speaking church in Lagos and an English speaking congregation in a city an hour and a half away.  But for the past six weeks, I had been pastoring a third congregation (Portuguese) while the pastor was out of the country. We were weary from the extra hours of travel, the added services, additional time and effort, but God had something special for us.

After the service, the back row lady asked to speak with me.  She wanted me to pray for her and her son to have peace.  When I explained that without Christ no one could ever have real peace, she asked, “Then how do I have Christ in my life?”  I opened the Bible and showed her God’s simple plan of salvation.  With tears in her eyes, she lifted her eyes toward heaven and prayed, “God, I don’t know how to pray, but I sure need you in my life!  I am a sinner and realize I cannot go to heaven this way.  So, please forgive my sin and save me….amen.”   When she lowered her eyes, she was a new woman.  For the first time in her life, she had true forgiveness and real peace.  This is why you have sacrificed to keep us here, for moments just like this!  Thank you for your faithfulness in keeping us here.  This is fruit to your account!

Bringing the sheep to the Shepherd,

Mark Hale

January Prayer Letter

January 2016

Dear Praying Friends,

Recently our son, Joshua wrote a text to his friends about the New Year.  I was so blessed that I wanted to share his words with you:

“May we live each day for the Lord, live each day as our last, not in the sense of doing crazy stuff because it’s on our “bucket list” but in the sense of “How can I do more for Christ today?”  Let us always remember as we read our Bibles, as we witness, or even as we struggle with sins or trials, that no matter what, God is in control.  He is our Lord; we owe our lives to Him.  So, may we do more for Christ this year, not to simply make and break New Year’s resolutions, but to live each day with a different type of  resolution: to make Jesus the center of our joy, because there is no more happier place or more peaceful place than exactly where God wants us to be.  Never forget why God has us here, not to live for ourselves, or follow our hearts or our will, but to meditate on His perfect Word and follow His perfect will day by day.  When we do that, we will show Christ clearly to others.  People see more than we tend to think, the question is, what do people see in us?  Do they see us, or do they see Christ?  I hope and pray that this year, more than ever, I will show more of Christ and less of Joshua Hale.  We must die daily to ourselves and let Christ live through and control our lives as Paul the Apostle said.  May God bless you and may Jesus always be the center of our lives, because when He is the center of our lives, He will be the center of our joy.”

He turns 18 next month and, Lord willing, will graduate from high school in May.  Our little boy has grown into a godly young man. We are so thankful to every one of you who have faithfully prayed for him down through the years and ask that you continue to pray for him as he seeks God’s will for his life.  Most of all, we are thankful to the Lord for the 18 wonderful years we have enjoyed with our son.  May God use Joshua in His service for His glory and honor!

Thanking God for Joshua,

Mark Hale

December Prayer Letter

Dear Praying Friends,

We held our Sunday Christmas service on the 20^th and were blessed by one of the largest attendances we have ever had.  On top of that blessing, we had two first time visitors: 

M. is a very religious woman who has been attending our free English classes each week.  Although she has been invited to services numerous times, this was the first time she ever came.  She listened to the message and stayed for the time of fellowship after the services. Please pray for her.

N. is the lost husband of one of our very faithful ladies.  He suffers from a heart condition that could kill him at any time, yet he rejects the existence of Christ and denies the need to repent of one’s sins and be saved.  He is always friendly when we talk or visit but remains aloof and distant.  He listened to the message and also stayed for the fellowship time after the services. Please pray for him.

No matter where we are in the world, we are always blessed to thank God for His Son, Jesus Christ, and the greatest gift mankind has ever been privileged to receive – eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  We also thank the Lord for every one of you who make it possible for us to minister here on your behalf.  May God richly bless you dear friends!

Sharing His gift,

Mark Hale

October Prayer Letter

October 2015

Dear Praying Friends,

I remember starting our church with just two boys attending every Sunday.  When my wife took the boys to the Sunday School class room, I would sit in the empty auditorium and pray for their salvations and for the thousands of people in our city of Lagos that rejected Christ and His gospel.  It was a discouraging time and we labored for years with occasional visitors but only a few adults who came and went. We tried everything that had worked in the past but with no success.  We knew God had called us here and were determined to stay until He said it was enough.  All during this time, you faithfully kept praying and giving to keep us laboring here.

Until a year ago, space was not a problem.  Our small auditorium had plenty of seats to spare.  Now, with so many coming to services and four families taking our new members class, it has become a challenge to fit everyone in.  For two years, we have been praying for the storefront next to ours that is used as a paint warehouse.  It would make a great auditorium with enough room to triple our attendance and still have the original rooms for the children’s classes, for church fellowships and for activities.

During our VBS we got acquainted with the owner of this store front.  Please pray with us that we will be able to win him to Christ and if it is the will of God, that we will be able to purchase his store front to handle our expanding church.  Our Father knows our needs before we do and we are confident He will supply the need just as He always has.  But we also know that when you folks pray, God listens to your prayers; so we are asking that you join us in prayer for this situation. 

Thankful for space problems,

Mark Hale

September Prayer Letter

September 2015

Dear Praying Friends,

We were in the middle of our Vacation Bible School when the mailman showed up at the door of our church.  “I have a delivery” he announced while a shy 7 year old girl peeked out from behind his leg.  Visions of abandoned children being left on church doorsteps raced through my mind but then he announced, “Her father asked me to drop her off; she has been wanting to come all week but was too shy to come earlier.”  I breathed a sigh of relief and we welcomed her in.

Our Vacation Bible School ended last week and it was amazing what God did!  We had a total of 19 children attend during the week, many of them first time visitors!  We have many new contacts with families and children and are very excited by this level of interest from so many families here in Lagos.

We want to thank each one of you who prayed for this ministry and let you know that God is working as a result of your faithful labors in prayer.  Two children, G. and N., expressed interest in being saved, but neither wanted to take the final step and pray.  Please continue to pray for these two children and all the others who heard the gospel last week.  15 out of the 19 children confessed that they did not have Jesus as their Savior.  Our hearts are burdened that these precious children and their families would soon come to know Christ as their Savior and Lord. 

Bringing children to Jesus,

Mark Hale

To see the entire VBS 2015 album, please click HERE.