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Category Archives: Prayer Letter
October 2017 Prayer Letter
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October 2017 Coffey Family Prayer Letter
Prayer Request
- The sell of our house- When we left for the field the first time, we weren’t able to sell our house. With the improvements in the market, we are hoping to sell it and at least clear $30,000. Our plan is to use the money we clear toward the purchase of our camp property.
- Safety as we travel- This coming month we’ll be in Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, and Florida.
- Our oldest son Tyler- He will be staying back in the States for Bible College when we return to the field.
- Christmas offerings being designated for Camp Rhino- We are praying to meet and surpass our $100,000 by the end of December.
Quick Updates & Events:
- Volunteer visas for our children were approved. They are good through July 2019. Afterwards we hope to get a 5 year work visa which would allow us to one day obtain permanent residence.
- With the children’s visas in hand, we purchased our airline tickets for South Africa. We are booked to fly out January 10th.
- Our first children’s books that will promote missions principles and Camp Rhino will be shipped out on October 31st. Check them out and pre-order at CampRhino.org.
- Plan to attend the Our Generation Summit either at Lake Lanier Island Resort in Buford, Ga on December 28th-30th or in Boston, MA on January 4th-6th. For more information go to OGSummit.com
Through these past months on furlough, God has really taught us and grown our faith in an incredible way. When we started announcing our goal back in January to raise $100,000 to start Camp Rhino, to be honest, we were a little nervous. This is the first time we’ve personally tried to raise money like that. Month after month God, met or even surpassed our goals. From the first $5000 given to the last $1000 that came in last week, it’s been amazing to see.
Looking back and knowing the churches and individuals that have been involved is a bit overwhelming. God has placed us in the path of some incredible people that have been a great encouragement and help.
We now have over $87,000 towards the purchase of property to start our new camp. With around $13,000 to go, we’re not near as nervous as we were in January:). Thank you all again for your prayers and support.
September 2017 Prayer Letter
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August 2017 Prayer Letter
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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)
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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
Coffey Family April 2017 Prayer Letter
Prayer Request
- Camp Rhino- Currently, we have raised $29, 188 to purchase property for Camp Rhino. Praise the Lord! That’s almost 30% of our goal. We do hope to raise $4144 more during these last few days of April to put us at $33,332 to stay on pace to raise $100,000 by the end of the year. I believe it will come in.
- Churches in Port Elizabeth- Pray the Lord does a great work in all the 6 churches we are associated with in South Africa.
- 102,000 Gospel Tracts- These tracts donated to our ministry arrived at the end of March. Pray for souls to be saved through them.
- More Laborers- As I travel I’m praying the Lord would lead many others to work with us in Southern Africa. The need for workers is real.
- Our Family- We’re having a great time on furlough and are looking forward to the next 8 months, but we are a little sad about having to leave Tyler, our oldest, behind when we leave.
Someone asked this past month if we planned to change our focus from church planting to camp ministry when we return to South Africa. My answer to that is, “Absolutely not.”
I want to make sure it’s clear that our purpose with Camp Rhino is to accelerate our church planting efforts, not do away with them. Camp Rhino will offer traditional summer camp opportunities, but our main focus in what we are doing is to train young people for the work of local church ministry.
Camp Rhino will enable us to be in continual contact with young people through the several weeks of camp during the year, and also on the weekends with our mentoring programs. This won’t be the kind of camp where we see the teen once a summer and then look for them to come back next year. This is a year round camp that will assist all our churches at keeping their young people plugged into the things of God.
I’m looking forward to getting back to South Africa to start Camp Rhino, but I’m just as excited to getting back so we can start more churches.
I want to send a special thanks to Chick Publications for providing 102,000 Gospel tracts for our ministries in South Africa. We are excited that each of the churches will have plenty of literature to distribute over the next several months.
Coffey Family March 2017 Prayer Letter
Prayer Request
- New Life Baptist Church in Kwadwesi & Pastor Sipho Bonga and his wife Zukhanya. Pray that God will continue to bless them and the church while our family is traveling here in the States.
- Bible Institutes- Missionary Kevin Hall is leading the Bible institutes in 3 of the churches in PE. Pray for him and the students as they are trained in the word of God.
- Children Books- We are currently in the planing stages for a children book series that will promote Biblical principles dealing with world missions with an African safari theme.
- More Laborers- As I travel I’m praying the Lord would lead many others to work with us in Southern Africa. The need is great and the need for workers is real.
CAMP RHINO
I remember growing up and attending summer camp almost every year from the time I was 12 years old. Even after getting out of high school, I still attended camp as a worker.
The thoughts of starting our own camp next year brings a lot of those great memories back. I remember the fun times I had, the friends I met, and the powerful preaching that pointed me closer to Christ.
Summer camp plays a big part in the life of the average church youth group in America. It’s a time to unplug from the things of the world, and hopefully be more connected to the things of God. Many decisions for Christ have been made around a camp alter or camp fire.
With Camp Rhino, our hopes are that young people in South Africa will have those same opportunities and even more. Camp Rhino will be a refuge to South African youth who have little spiritual encouragement by their surroundings and community.
Currently, we are on pace to raise the $100,000 we need to purchase property for the camp. Please continue to pray the funds to come in. Soon we’ll be back in South Africa reaching more with the Gospel of Christ.
Would you like to invest in the future of Camp Rhino?
Possible Breakdown of Church Sponsors for a one-time donation between now & December.
- $8333- 9 Sponsors
- $4,166- 18 Sponsors
- $2083- 36 Sponsors
- $1041- 72 Sponsors
Maybe the Lord would have you commit to raising one of these amounts before the end of 2017. Let me know if you want to sign up to be one of our camp sponsors.