Halls

Halls
July 2015

Sunday, November 26, 2006

A Baby Girl

Early Tuesday morning the 21st, just after 3 am, a beautiful little baby girl joined the Hall family. 6 lbs 14 oz, and 19”. Mother and child are doing very well.Her name is Naomi, see her in the attached photo.She was born in our home with only Lyle acting as midwife (he did a wonderful job!), while our doctor and midwife were at the hospital getting a room ready for us!! They arrived shortly after to help.

The big sisters are very excited and want to hold her constantly. We look forward to Jette’s mom coming to visit from Denmark Thursday.
And happy thanksgiving!
With much love from the 6 Halls in Kigoma!


Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Prayer Update

-Praise that the Doctor and his wife have arrived
-God’s wisdom in important meetings end of November and beginning of December
-Pray for safe delivery for Jette around Dec.1st

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Summer Newsletter 2006 Hall’s Happenings

Prayerwalk

If you remember I had gone on a prayer walk, the original prayer walk down south never happened due to some major problems so we went north to Burundi and walked down to Kigoma. The long report mixed with many cultural things is soon to be on our web site.

Ministry

There have been various ministry trips out on the lake in different villages with visiting teams. There will be about 11 teams this year from abroad. Sleeping in huts or tents. I have been asked to speak in many different churches and have been teaching in a bible college here, which I have truly enjoyed. I have never actually written an exam before, I have taken many; now I write the exams and score them, imagine that. We will start to minister in a special camp for those who are blind, crippled, leprosy etc. With no families, they are left here, so we will step in and bring a spark of joy and a smile to their lives. Different ministry opportunities with kids have opened up as well as working with a Muslim family that has become Christians and are now being persecuted for it. They lost their jobs. The wife even had her sewing machine taken away. So we are helping out where we can. I have been in 7 different debates with Muslim leaders by personal invitation. It has been challenging but I have truly presented the gospel starting from Gen. to Rev. Some of you may have heard of my time at this mosque some years ago. The crowds are at least 1000 people and even up to 2000. Pray for us, the battles here are spiritual, yes they mostly come in the form of man but spiritual they are. Life is spiritual here more than just truth, as we westerners think. We must reach them in spirit. We often just give them truth but the spirit is not there to reveal this truth so it mostly just becomes head knowledge. A hard bridge to cross.

Family Highlights

RACHEL: Rachel is in home school and always has her mind on having fun. She is growing lots. A great thinker, taking piano and wants to be tough like the boys.

ACACIA: She wants to be a girl, she’s also is in school, loves her life but finds it hard to be the middle kid. Some moments are hard, but there is always a smile behind her big beautiful eyes.

MIKAELA: Who she wants to be like is hard to say, she is all her own. Tough but likes to look pretty with mom’s lipstick generally smeared around the face. Loves all types of animals.

BABY: Ok yes, they say that real missionary families have 4 kids so we thought we would try to qualify.. Jette is 4 months now. Hope for a boy. I need a boy in this house.Animal life: So far 9 rabbits, 1 dog, 3 snakes, 2 chameleons, 1 cat, and 10 birds.

YWAM UZIMA

We are still on the look out for a ship, some good possibilities but. The hangar for the helicopter will be built starting next month so progress is coming. Another nurse plus the doctor and his wife will join us in two months or so. Look at the Uzima report soon to be sent out.


Family Prayer Points
- safe pregnancy for Jette
- for the three teams coming out soon
- pray for a person/teacher to come out and give a hand in home schooling
- Gods favor on the work here, there have been some tough times here for us

Tuesday, February 7, 2006

The Package

Dear friends and family,

We are doing fine here in Kigoma, it is quite hot at the moment, right around 85 F most days, but no complaints. We just pray for rain to come soon. Many parts of Tanzania have had no rain at all and there are even reports of people dying from starvation in some places. In one area called Tabora people are said to be selling their cattle at only $4 a head compared to 200$ here in Kigoma, because they are unable to provide food and water for them. Please help pray.

We would like to share with you some things happened in the last few days.
Yesterday (Wednesday) we received a package from some good friends in Denmark. We received it the day after Mikaela’s birthday, so it was perfect timing. Lyle got it at the post office in the afternoon, so it was in the car still when we drove to the weekly missionary fellowship meeting that evening. We were so excited about receiving it that we opened it on the way over there. But we left the package in the car since there were other kids there who hadn’t been so lucky.

When we got in the car to go back home, the package was NOT there! The car had been locked, but the windows had been left with a little crack open because of the heat. We have no idea how anyone could get that package out. Everyone was asking around and searching under our car and the other cars, but the package was GONE!

Naturally, we were all very upset and sad and all three girls were crying, but we had to leave without the gifts. When we tucked the girls in their beds we thanked the Lord for the package and prayed that it would be recovered, and if it was not found that Jesus would comfort us some other way. We know that a number of the other missionaries also prayed that the gifts would be located. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep because I began thinking about theat incident. I was sad, also on behalf of our friends, for what should I write and tell them? “Thank you so much for the presents, so sorry to tell you they were stolen from us.” And I was upset. Upset at those who had stolen from my girls. Mad at myself for not leaving the package at home or brought it from the car, or I should have closed the windows all the way and triple checked that all doors were locket. (We have central locks so we know the doors were locked, but in the middle of the night you don’t reason that way) To escape all those thoughts, I decided to pray. Quite frankly I didn’t feel like it but I prayed a while for whoever did this. I prayed for my children that they wouldn’t be too sad and upset at the loss; and for myself that God would give me His love for people here in spite of this situation. And I prayed for our friends who sent the package. After that I slept well till morning.

This morning a young couple from the fellowship night came over with three little gifts for the girls to encourage them. Around noon we received a phone call from the bible school where we had been last night, that someone had come across the package under a tree in a corn field behind the campus and our neighbour would bring it back to us later. But obviously no one knew if everything was still in there. Rachel was so over the moon to hear that, but I was worried that she might be disappointed, so I tried to explain to her that there was a possibility that some of the things had disappeared.

This evening we were given the package. Imagine our joy when the only thing missing was one sheet of stickers, everything else was there! Socks, nightgowns, marshmallows as well as two sheets of stickers. We are all praising the Lord for an amazing answer to prayer! Why the package had been left out there in the field we don’t know. Whether the perpetrator put it there to return later and pick it up unseen or whether they realized that they couldn’t get away with it and left it there to be found without being found out themselves we will probably never know. But that really makes no difference; the main thing is that God heard our prayers! What a great God he is, to think that he cares for us in such practical and tangible ways!

Remember that he cares for you and your loved ones just the same!
With love and blessings from Rachel, Miriam Acacia, Mikaela, Lyle and Jette

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Christmas Newsletter 2005

Today is the first day of December and most of you are probably already surrounded by various reminders that Christmas is near. Not so here in Kigoma. Except that the red flowers on the flame trees are blooming more and more each day and will continue to increase during this month. We have made a rope with 25 knots on it for the girls, and each day until Christmas they will untie a knot and receive a small surprise and each day we will read a chapter from the gospel of Luke as our Advent calendar. We look forward to spending Christmas here with Jette’s parents who live in Dar es Salaam.

Highlights
There is a Danish hymn; I cannot count them all, the signs of God’s goodness that I have received. I saw them fall as dew drops, before my wondering eyes. This very accurately expresses how we feel when we look back on this past year. God has been so good and faithful to us, through the good as well as the hard times.

It is definitely a highlight that we have now finally arrived in Kigoma and are in a house with a great view of Lake Tanganyika. A view that daily reminds us why we are here. There are many people out there along this lake who have yet to hear the good news that “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9)

Birthdays are always a highlight and this year we have celebrated in Florida, Montana, Denmark and here in Kigoma. Lyle cut a corner and Rachel is now a big 7 year-old. The girls are doing great, making new friends, picking up some Swahili every day and enjoy having a real home, as do we.

Life and Death
We just had a man at our door. He came to see us about a week ago received some help so he could take his wife to the hospital. Well, today he came to let us know that she had passed away and to thank us for helping him. A thing like that sure puts our own little problems into perspective. They have a little 4-year-old who is now left without a mother. Before leaving, he prayed a prayer of blessing on our family and of thanks for his wife and her life. Amazing, such inner strength God gives him at a time like this! But it is true; there is a bigger picture, a God who is always there for us.

Uzima
It has taken time getting set up as it always does here in Africa. Many important decisions to make every day about things in Uzima as we move forward. So many hurting people here in Kigoma that at times it can be overwhelming. We are planning a 260-mile prayer walk on a big portion of Lake Tanganyika visiting the villages on the way, introducing ourselves and doing a lot of research. This trip will be hard and long, about 25-30 days. But it will set a good stage for Uzima for the future. Lyle and a few others will take the journey and it will be on foot since there are no roads. Please keep this in prayer as we prepare to go in February. I encourage you to also step outside and take a walk, praying for your own communities.

Thank you, for praying for and with us throughout this year. Thank you for standing with us and dreaming with us to bring God’s heart for life, health and wholeness to people in need.
Have a Wonderful Christmas and a Blessed New Year.
Rachel, Miriam Acacia, Mikaela, Jette & Lyle Hall

Friday, December 9, 2005

Earthquake Update - We are fine

On Monday afternoon Dec 5th and earthquake hit Lake Tanganyika. The epicentre was approximately 80 miles south of Kigoma, but the effects were felt all over East Africa and as far as Angola to the Southwest. We first heard the rumble an then felt the shaking. Everything was moving, windows were rattling, a few things fell off the bookshelf. When it seemed to be getting more intense instead of letting up, we decided it might be safer to be outdoors, so we grabbed Mikaela out of her nap and ran outside. Even after we couldn’t feel the tremors anymore, we could see our hedge still shaking for several minutes. But we are all fine, we haven’t heard of great damage or casualties in our region, praise the Lord for that. Thank you to all who pray for our safety, God hears your prayers.

Rachel was very excited to experience a real earthquake, especially since we had just studied about the earth in school three days earlier, in particular we had studied earthquakes and tsunamis, so I couldn’t have given her a better hands-on lesson!!

Saturday, October 29, 2005

We Have Arrived

Kigoma. Our new home. Our new neighbors. Our new life.We have finally arrived and yet we are just beginning.

As we approached Kigoma last Monday, we stopped the car (check out the picture to see the car) on a hill that overlooks part of the city and thanked God for his faithfulness in getting us this far, in our physical as well as our spiritual journey. We are excited to see what God has in store for us and thrilled to be part of what He wants to do in Kigoma and beyond.

It was great to be received by our colleagues in Kigoma, Gabriel who is a Tanzanian and Harold and Coni in their new house. They had located a couple of houses that are for rent and we have just decided on one of those houses. (see the photo) There is a wonderful lake view, the house is secure, spacious and the big yard outside provides plenty of room for the girls to play. It needs some “tender love and care” so we probably won’t be able to move in for another two weeks. We have been busy today scraping paint off the floors and sweeping the walls and ceilings; not necessarily hard work - but in 104 degree heat (40°C) it was a bit draining. In themeantime, we are staying at a bible school’s guesthouse in town, where the girls are meeting some local kids.

What’s more, a couple of days ago I (Lyle) met with a landowner who has property for sale on the lake. It will be exciting to see what this may lead to.

Please Pray:
Please pray for us during the negotiations. We have no money to put down at the moment, but we have come this far so there is no reason to panic now. We are in no doubt that God will continue to be faithful. The rains are soon on their way and the ground is thirsty. It has not seen rain for many months. Everything will be green and lush again. The roads, however, will become a challenge, but for some reason I like this kind of stuff!!!

Please continue to pray for the safety of the two containers that are soon to be shipped out and for favor with the customs authorities when they arrive in the country. The containers that took the long grueling trip on the train have arrived safely, and some people from the UN brought a truck to take them to the house free of charge!! Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. Our new information has been placed on our website: www.lylejettehall.org, (A friend has offered to take care of the website starting next month which is wonderful news for us.)

God bless you all.
Love from Rachel, Miriam Acacia, Mikaela, Lyle and Jette