June 2018 Prayer Letter

 

Dear Pastor and Friends,

The weather is changing and it’s feeling more like winter. Our kids love this change as it means it’s time for rugby. Some of you might laugh at our calamity as we pull out the heaters in 50 degree weather. As I write that, it sounds kind of silly. However, it is taking a toll on many people in our churches and amongst the missionaries. Fortunately, our house has been blessed with only minor sicknesses: ear infections and bronchitis.


Last month we celebrated Mother’s Day. God blessed us with a great attendance, over 20 first time visitors. We had 35 moms in total come celebrate the day with us. Click here to see a short video .

Recently I read in my devotions in Psalm 41:1, the Lord says, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor.” One of the ways we have chosen to help the poor in our area is through hosting a soup kitchen at Soweto Baptist Church. This new ministry is made possible by Missionary Brent Bergey. Every Tuesday the ladies of Soweto prepare food for around 150 people. While they get ready to serve, a young man preparing for the ministry will get up and present the Gospel. This is a great opportunity for our guys to get experience preaching, while the church shows the love of Christ through filling their bellies. Pray the Lord uses this ministry to grow His church.


​We are about to get really busy with visitors from the states. Our first group arrives tomorrow; Newton Baptist Church from Covington, GA. We will have three more groups visiting after them, consecutively. The next two months are completely book with all kinds of exciting activities; tract drops, school assemblies, construction projects, special meetings, etc. Please remember these groups, their travels, and their time here in your prayers. Our desire is to see the Lord call some laborers from these groups.

Camp Rhino: My cousin, Mark Coffey, has signed a contract on property for Camp Rhino. This deal is contingent upon the sale of his house in the States. Please pray for the Lord’s will in this transaction. Soon, we expect to begin preparing and using the land for the furtherance of the Gospel.

Upcoming events for prayer:

  • Our Bible institute finishes the semester and takes their final exams tonight.
  • June 15 we will have a special youth service to celebrate Youth Day in South Africa.
  • June 17 we will have a special service to honor the fathers of Soweto.
  • July 3-6 we will have Vacation Bible School.

As always, thank you for your partnership with our ministry through financial contributions and prayer.

Sincerely,

Jeremy and Rebekah Hall

 

 

 

Support Address:
Macedonia World Baptist Missions
Att. Jeremy Hall
P.O. Box 519
Braselton, GA 30517

Home Church:
Whitfield Baptist Church
Pastor Wayne Cofield
2134 Dug Gap Rd.
Dalton, GA 30720

Personal Contact Info:
jhsouthafrica@gmail.com
(770)573-9541
Website: www.projectsouthafrica.com 

March 2018 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Friend,

We have baptized 10 new believers since our last update! Eight teens and two young men. Sihle, Sekela, Olwethu, Ukuhle, Mandiluve, Asanda, Sanelisiwe, Mayza, Odwa, and Wandisile. Please pray for faithfulness and spiritual growth.

Normally, we use prayer letters to mention all the highlights and victories. This letter will be a little different. I will be more transparent and mention some of our struggles and failures as well.

Last month we tried a new ministry which did not fare so well, English Classes. These worked great in Peru, but do not seem to be near so desirous here. We passed out more flyers and invitations for these classes than we have anything else, with less participation. One new person showed up to class. My wife was trying to be encouraging the first night and said, “We’ll see next week!” At the next class, our one visitor must have decided she had enough in her first class, haha!

Break-in: Please pray for the men who live in the flat connected to Soweto Baptist Church, Matthew and Thami. They, along with two other young men from the church who were staying the night, were robbed. Last Thursday night at approximately 11:30 pm four men broke through the security gate, kicked in the door to the church, and held the guys at gun point. They stole all their valuable things; cells phones, a tablet, a computer, and tv. Praise the Lord, no one was harmed physically. The funny thing about the whole situation is the fools took all their time and effort to get out a car jack to pry open the gate when there was no lock on the gate. All they had to do was open it.

We are currently going through four different studies at Soweto; Thursday nights is “Getting to Know Major Bible Characters.” On Sunday morning we are looking at “Overcoming Addiction.” I prayerfully decided on this topic because we had one teen from the church overdose on meth last month and spend several weeks in the hospital. Unfortunately, he was not the only one using, several other older teens have fallen away as well. The temptation is literally on every other street corner. Though some are gone for now, our prayer is that God will use whatever is necessary to draw them back to repentance.

On a more positive note, we also started Sunday School last month with two different classes; a children’s church (pictured below) and one adult class. With the adults, I have been teaching on “The Church” in preparation for our formal organization of the church (no set date for that at the present, but sometime within the next few months). My wife, along with several other ladies, are doing a great job teaching through the OT in children’s church. These classes have opened up opportunities for some of our men to begin teaching too. We also continue with an informal Sunday evening Bible Study. The men and the women are separated, and Bekah and I teach on basic foundations of the Christian life.

Other Prayer Requests:

  • Next week we will have a special combined service with New Life Baptist Church of KwaDwesi on Friday and Saturday, celebrating Easter. We will be back in Soweto for our Sunday Easter Service.
  • My cousin, Mark Coffey, has signed a contract on 21 acres of land for Camp Rhino. We are waiting on the perk test to come back to finalize the purchase and continue on with the plans. Click here to see a video of the property.
  • Next month we will host the African Regional Conference here in Port Elizabeth. There will be 8 missionary families attending. Several are visitors from other countries in Africa and the US, including my mentor, Austin Gardner, and good friend Jeffrey Bush.

Thank you for your continued prayer and faithful support.

Sincerely,
Jeremy and Rebekah Hall

Support Address:
Macedonia World Baptist Missions
Att. Jeremy Hall
P.O. Box 519
Braselton, GA 30517

Home Church:
Whitfield Baptist Church
Pastor Wayne Cofield
2134 Dug Gap Rd.
Dalton, GA 30720

Personal Contact Info:
jhsouthafrica@gmail.com
(770)573-9541
Website: www.projectsouthafrica.com 

January 2017 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Friend,

After 4 days of traveling (due to changes made to our flight schedule) Bekah, the kids, and I all arrived home on January 6th. We have picked up right where we left off almost 5 months ago. Our short furlough was nice, seeing friends and family and getting to give reports of what the Lord is doing here was fun, but getting back into the work is what we are really passionate about.

I am starting to get back into the hang of preaching in isiXhosa. Bekah too, is back at it. Yesterday afternoon she met with 5 teenage girls, and 2 twelve year old girls who have recently made professions of faith in Christ. They discussed salvation and baptism for a couple of hours and all have chosen to obey the Lord through believer’s baptism. These girls have all been faithfully attending our youth meeting held by Mxolisi Dama, our untitled youth pastor. We rejoice with a joy that is unspeakable to see how the Lord is using his life!

Tuesday night we started a new semester of Bible Institute. We currently have 13 people enrolled, one of which is from Soweto Baptist Church; Matthew Olwethu. He continues strong and is over half way finished with the curriculum. He continues to serve as the children’s church teacher.

On January 31st we will have new interns arriving. We are excited to have the Kelley family, Timmy and his wife Destiny. They are part of the Our Generation Training Center and will be with us for the next 6 months. Please remember them in your prayers as they travel and get settled in here.

Until today, we have been hosting the Coffey family in our basement while they were looking for their own house to rent. They also have just returned from furlough. Pray for Mark and Amy as they get back into their ministry and also as Mark continues searching for property for Camp Rhino.

Extras:

  • Next month we will start having Sunday School, and full out children’s church at Soweto.
  • We may have found land for Camp Rhino. We meet with our lawyer this week to discuss setting up the non-profit organization.
  • Please pray that we continue to learn and adapt to the Xhosa Culture and Language. We have come a long ways, but there is still much room for improvement.
  • On February 14th we will start a new outreach ministry at Soweto, English Classes. This was a very productive outreach in Peru and we are expecting the same results here. It will be a great opportunity for our interns to serve and have an impact in our congregation though they do not speak the language.

Your prayers and donations are vitally important to all the work the Lord is doing in South Africa. We cannot thank you enough for your partnership with our ministry.

Sincerely,
Jeremy and Rebekah Hall

Support Address:
Macedonia World Baptist Missions
Att. Jeremy Hall
P.O. Box 519
Braselton, GA 30517

Home Church:
Whitfield Baptist Church
Pastor Wayne Cofield
2134 Dug Gap Rd.
Dalton, GA 30720

Personal Contact Info:
jhsouthafrica@gmail.com
(770)573-9541
Website: www.projectsouthafrica.com 

December 2017 Prayer Letter

 

Dear Pastor and Friend,

As we are sitting here state-side on a short furlough, it is a bitter sweet feeling to see reports of how God continues to bless in our absence. There really is “no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” On Sunday, at Soweto Baptist Church, they celebrated their 2nd anniversary. Since the church’s beginning, there have been 40 people who have been saved and baptized. God has begun a tremendous work in the lives of dozens of individuals through this work. We are super excited to return next month and witness how he will continue to mature His children. We are also very grateful to the Underwood family for all of their hard work in our absence.

One of our first priorities upon returning to South Africa will be to officially organize this work. This will be a lengthy process, as I still have much to teach on before it takes place. I am busy now preparing lessons on church polity and membership responsibility. This will be something you will hear more of in upcoming prayer letters. But for now please make this process a matter of prayer.

Last month, Bekah and I had the opportunity to visit our old church in Arequipa, Peru; Iglesia Bautista Omega. It has been over five years since we were last there. Words cannot express how proud I felt to see many continuing to serve and grow in grace. This was probably the most encouraging trip I have ever been on. Everyone was so sweet to us. They had a special service to honor us and then I had the opportunity to preach there once again. Also, before leaving Arequipa, Missionary David Gardner invited me back to preach the annual Youth Conference. Lord willing, I will be returning in July to participate.

Next week, December 11-15, our team in South Africa will host our 3rd annual Youth Camp. With us, and several others being gone, the work load is going to be spread amongst many new leaders. This will be a great time for service and growth. Pray the Lord uses this time, not only in the lives of the youth who will attend, but also in the hearts and lives of the workers. Please pray that they see much fruit for their labor. Also, thank you to all who have donated to send campers to camp!

Other Prayer Requests and Praises:

  • Our students in South Africa are in their final week of Bible Institute, pray they end strong and continue to put into practice all that they are learning
  • Camp Rhino: My cousin Mark Coffey has been raising funds to purchase property for our youth camp and training center. He has done an incredible job over the last year raising $95,000 of the $100,000 needed to purchase the property. Please go to our website and see how you can get more involved. ProjectSouthAfrica.com and CampRhino.org
  • God’s been good as we have been traveling. We only need 4 more churches who will partner with our ministry to meet our goal of 10 new churches before returning January 3rd.
  • There’s still time to sign-up for the OurGenerationSummit, Dec 28-30; hope to see you there!

Thank you for your faithfulness to pray and give. You mean more to us than you know. We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Jeremy and Rebekah Hall

Support Address:
Macedonia World Baptist Missions
Att. Jeremy Hall
P.O. Box 519
Braselton, GA 30517

Home Church:
Whitfield Baptist Church
Pastor Wayne Cofield
2134 Dug Gap Rd.
Dalton, GA 30720

Personal Contact Info:
jhsouthafrica@gmail.com
(770)573-9541
Website: www.projectsouthafrica.com 

October 2017 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Friends,

This week I will be giving an update to a church who has faithfully supported me for more than 10 years, Liberty Baptist Church in Timmonsville, SC. I will also be in two new churches. This is what we have been doing steadily for the past two months. We are really enjoying traveling and seeing many who have been so good to us for so many years. In October, we visited 10 churches, two of which decided to partner with our ministry as new supporters.

New Support: We have had four new churches promise to partner with our ministry since we have been back. We are praying for 10 new churches before January. We need a miracle. This support already has a specific purpose; We have to get more materials translated into isiXhosa. There are little to no Bible study helps or books for personal growth in this language. I am currently employing three people from our churches who translate materials. I want to continue to employ them and begin to get some of these materials printed and distributed to our local pastors and others.

The most exciting event this month took place at our home church two weeks ago. I had the privilege of baptizing three of our four children; Olivia, Brayden, and Jackson. All three of them made professions of faith in Jesus some time ago and have been anxiously awaiting their opportunity to make those decisions public. All the grandparents were able to be present and it was a very special night.

Summer Camp in South Africa is right around the corner, December 11-15. With their finances, most teens cannot afford to go. We have dozens of young people who have been working on different projects (created by us) to earn money for camp. It’s going to cost around $30 per camper. If you would be interested in sponsoring a camper please send any donation to Macedonia World Baptist Missions (attn. Jeremy Hall Camp) P.O. Box 519 Braselton, GA 30517. Thank you very much to all of you who have already participated!

Other Prayer Requests:

  • Our Travels: we will be making a special trip to Peru this month (Nov.13-21). We will attend a Regional Conference and visit our old ministry and friends.
  • The Our Generation Summit: “Unashamed” is the theme for this year. Join us at Lake Lanier Islands Resort, in Buford, GA December 28-30.

Thanks again for your faithfulness to support our ministry through prayer and financial support. May God bless you richly for all that you do!

 

Sincerely,

Jeremy and Rebekah Hall

September 2017 Prayer Letter

 

Dear Pastor and Friends,

Today is the one month mark since we arrived on furlough. Busy is an understatement. I have already given updates and preached 16+ times. We just finished up with two great missions conferences. The first one was with a church that is very near and dear to us, Vision Baptist Church. This church is like a second home church to us. We were super encouraged to see how God is blessing them. Their faith promise missions commitments increased to over $222,000!

The second conference was with Connect/Oakland Heights Baptist Church. It was another great conference. They treated us better than we could ever deserve. One of the things they did that was really cool was that they honored the missionary wives as the “Unsung Heroes.” They gave them gifts and ask us husbands, before the conference, to write about our wife’s strengths, accomplishments and sacrifices, which was read in front of the congregation.That made me realize I do not praise my wife enough, so I decided I want to share with you all what I wrote.

Rebekah is the smart one in our family. She makes us all look better! She should have married a doctor, but instead she got me (inside joke :-). She went to school to be a nurse; graduated with a BS in Nursing. She speaks three languages. She has built a thriving women’s/children’s ministries in two foreign languages. She also works as my personal secretary (definitely the most over-qualified personal secretary in the world).

Rebekah has given birth to 5 children abroad, 3 totally naturally with no epidural. She had to deal with 3rd world circumstances surrounding those births that would have caused the average woman to break. Not Bekah! They just made her stronger and more prepared to serve. Not to mention, most women begin to look worn out after having kids, but I can honestly say she has gotten hotter with each kid. She really is more beautiful today than when I met her.

Rebekah is not fearless, but she is not controlled by her fears. She ministers in places that most men won’t enter. She trusts in the Lord and, as a result, she gets to experience things most will never experience. She has been used of God to lead dozens of women and children to the Lord. Many girls consider her to be their spiritual mother. Just recently, one young lady who she led to the Lord while in Peru (now an assistant pastor’s wife) called to let us know that she named their daughter after her.

Bekah is an incredible mother and wife. She takes care of everything we need, not only in our home, but also in the church. She is not my assistant pastor, she is my wife, but she probably does twice as much as him. The last ten years of my life with her have been the best years of my life. Only Heaven will reveal how many lives Rebekah has impacted for God’s kingdom. — I am one blessed man!

Other Prayer Requests: 

  • Remember to sign up for the 2017 Our Generation Summit. We get to attended and participate this year. We hope to see you there!
  • While we are in on furlough, we are hoping to raise some additional personal and ministry support.
  • Remember our people back in South Africa as they lead the church; Mxolisi and Milisa Dama, Matthew Olwethu, Aphiwe Mabomba, and Missionaries Stephen and Ashlee Underwood who are all doing an incredible job in our absence.

I wish I could list all of those who have been a blessing to us since our arrival, but space won’t allow. I hope you know how grateful we are for your partnership in the Gospel with our ministry. We pray God blesses you richly for all that you do!

Sincerely,

Jeremy and Rebekah Hall

 

 

 

 

Support Address:
Macedonia World Baptist Missions
Att. Jeremy Hall
P.O. Box 519
Braselton, GA 30517

Home Church:
Whitfield Baptist Church
Pastor Wayne Cofield
2134 Dug Gap Rd.
Dalton, GA 30720

Personal Contact Info:
jhsouthafrica@gmail.com
(770)573-9541
Website: www.projectsouthafrica.com 

August 2017 Prayer Letter

 

Dear Pastor and Friends,

Much has happened since our last update. Thank you so much for your prayers for us and the work here in South Africa. One prayer request from our last letter was for our youth conference. We had a great turn out. The Lord blessed and we saw two people make professions of faith after hearing the gospel.

  

We held our fist Vacation Bible School at Soweto Baptist Church last month. It was a mad house, but it was a lot of fun! We had a high attendance of 130 kids. There were about 25+ workers who were involved. The youth worked hard to put on a skit every day and some of the mamas and young ladies served snacks. Several of our young men had the opportunity to preach the gospel. It was exciting to see our people serve.

       

One of my favorite times of the week is Sunday afternoon. We do not have an evening service, but we do have a small informal Bible study. My wife teaches the ladies while I teach the men (and teens). My wife is going through the book of Galatians at the moment with the ladies and I am teaching the men on hermeneutics. (Below is my classroom setting)

Other Prayer Requests:

  • Furlough: We will leave for the states in just a couple of weeks, on Aug 21. We do still have a few spots available on our calendar. If you or your church would like for us to come and present our ministry or give an update, please email me at jhsouthafrica@gmail.com
  • Bible Institute: It will start up the day after we leave, on August 22. Please pray for all those who will be attending; for faithfulness and application
  • Soweto Baptist Church: The church is still very new (only 1 1/2 years old). Our guys are still very young in the faith. Pray the Lord uses this time to grow them. Also pray for the Underwood family, who will be helping to fill the gaps.

Thanks again for all you do and may God bless you!

Sincerely,

Jeremy and Rebekah Hall

Support Address:
Macedonia World Baptist Missions
Att. Jeremy Hall
P.O. Box 519
Braselton, GA 30517
Home Church:
Whitfield Baptist Church
Pastor Wayne Cofield
2134 Dug Gap Rd.
Dalton, GA 30720
Personal Contact Info:
jhsouthafrica@gmail.com
(770)573-9541
Website: www.projectsouthafrica.com 

 

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June 2017 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Friend, 

Mother’s Day at Soweto Baptist Church was great. There were 31 mamas present, 15 of which were first time visitors. One of them, Mama Thandiswa, made a profession of faith. Three of visiting mamas have faithfully attended our services since that special day. Thank you to all who prayed! 

On the 27th of last month, we had our first Preacher’s Fellowship. There were more than 25 men who came from the churches here in Port Elizabeth who are being prepared to share the Word. We had an awesome time of fellowship and training. God is raising up a generation of laborers who are committed to faithfully proclaiming the Gospel. 

Bekah and I celebrated 9 years of marriage on the 30th of May. Many talk about how good their wives are, but mine has demonstrated it over and over again through the years. She has followed me to 3 countries, learned 2 languages, birthed 5 kids, and helped start 2 churches; and done all of that while putting up with me. I am a blessed man! 

Please continue to pray for several families on our team who are trying to obtain the papers necessary to work here in South Africa. The Kings, the Bergeys, and the Coffeys, all are having serious issues getting their visas approved. The system here has changed and is not near as conducive for missionaries and volunteers to stay long term. This has already cost them thousands of dollars and much time. Please pray for wisdom and peace for these families as they face these issues. 

Other Prayer Requests:  

  • Friday, June 23 we will host a Youth Conference at Soweto Baptist Church. All of the churches established by Project South Africa Missionaries will be invited.
  • In just over two months, we will be taking a short 4 month furlough. Our calendar is almost completely full and we are excited to see many of you very soon. 
  • The OGTC Camp 2017, June 19th-23rd at Sand Mountain Bible Camp; This is for any high school / college age student interested in missions. This camp is where I surrendered my life to become a missionary in 2004. All campers will have exposure to young missionaries, missions training, plus all the fun and excitement expected in a summer camp. There will be over a dozen missionaries attending as keynote speakers and counselors. I highly recommend this event! 

Thanks again to all of you for your faithfulness to lift up our ministry in prayer, and for the financial support that allows us to do what we do. May God bless you richly for all that you do! 

Sincerely, 

Jeremy and Rebekah Hall

May 2017 Prayer Letter

God continues to grow his Church. Soweto Baptist Church is a year and five  months old now. It is unbelievable how quickly time has passed. There is still so much work to be done. We have seen several saved since our  last letter; one of the more exciting decisions for me was a 19 year old young man who has been faithfully attending our church for over 8 months now, Aphelele Nyodi. Several of you have been praying with us for him since he began  coming. Just last week, Sunday April 30th, he made his decision public and followed the Lord in baptism. Also baptized in April was 15 year old Likamva Teyisa, and 17 year old Yolisa Banda (on the right).

Easter weekend was really exciting at Soweto. Our guys worked very hard and their work paid off. There were 20 first time visitors for our special service and we had over 150 in attendance. Also that day, we had 7 of our young men stand up and give 2-3 messages. All of them did an incredible job and are showing great potential.

Also, last month we received a shipment of 100,000 tracts from Chick Tract Publications. These are now being distributed between the churches here. Soweto Baptist Church has already passed out several thousand and seen several visitors come as a result of their work. Thank you to all those who made this possible.

Other Prayer Requests:

  • This month at Soweto there will be two special services, Mother’s Day Service on 14th, and on the 21st we will have a Family Day (Picture Day).
  • There are only three weeks left in our Bible Institute, pray that all our students finish strong.
  • Our calendar is almost completely full for our upcoming furlough. We only have a few Wednesday nights available, and 2 Sundays in November. If you are interested in us coming by your church, please contact me asap.

Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers!

Sincerely,

Jeremy and Rebekah Hall

March 2017 Prayer Letter

It is hard to believe that the first quarter of 2017 is almost over. February was a productive month. We had a few hick-ups getting our Bible institute started. Immigration did not want to release our materials. After a two week delay, classes were finally able to commence on February 7th. This semester the students are studying an overview of the Poetic Books, the OT Books of History, and James. Classes will continue through May 14th. 

Last month, at Soweto Baptist Church, we had a special movie night. We showed the “Jesus Film.” There were more than two dozen visitors. At the end, we gave a simple Gospel presentation and four people stayed longer to receive more information and make professions of faith.

We also had a very unexpected trip to Johannesburg last month. My sister-in-law’s brother, Gavin Theron, passed away from a brain aneurysm. He was only 33 years old. He was a good friend, and we were actually invited to go up this month for his wedding. As you can imagine, this has been very hard on everyone. Please remember Corli (my sister-in-law), Corne (his fiancé), Thersia (his mother), and all the family in your prayers. 

Our furlough plans are coming along well. We still have several services available. If you would like for us to come by and give an update, please contact us. Again, this is going to be a very short furlough (4 months), Aug 23-Jan 3.  Our main purpose is to raise some additional funds, so if you know of any churches interested in supporting church planting in South Africa, we would appreciate your recommendations.

This month at Soweto Baptist Church:

  • We continue with our weekly homiletics class. There are currently six guys participating. Several of them will be preaching in a special midweek service at the end of the month.
  • Youth meetings have begun again on Friday night. Missionary Stephen Underwood and Thamsanqa Olifant are lead this meeting.
  • 10,000 new tracks have been ordered and shipped and we will soon begin distribution.
  • Rebekah continues to meet every Tuesday with several “mamas” for basic discipleship.

We praise the Lord for you and your participation in our work. Your faithfulness to pray and give means more than you know.


Thanks again,


Jeremy and Rebekah Hall