Dear Pastor and Friends, 

June 24th, 2014 at 7:20pm, Rebekah gave birth to our fifth child, Ezekiel Michael Hall. Though, he was too small to survive the birthing process, weighing only 2 pounds, immediately he went on to be with our Lord. We are grateful for the 6 months the Lord allowed us to carry him. We want to begin this update by saying thank you to everyone who sent cards, who prayed, and the dozens of you who gave financial donations to help with the expenses of burying little Ezekiel. It definitely made a tough situation much easier.

On a lighter note, we had two supporting churches come over for a visit over the last month; Newton Baptist Church, led by Pastor Tony Howeth, and Calvary Baptist Church, led by Youth Pastor Lance Kelly. Both groups were a tremendous blessing. The group from Calvary, along with two interns who arrived and will be with us until August, hosted a Children’s Crusade at the three churches. We spent two days at each church and were able to see over 600 children come and participate. All heard the Gospel, and 30+ kids made professions of faith in Christ as Savior. Please pray for Pastor Ntobeko, Tamsanqa, and Lubabalo and their churches as they follow up with these children and their families.

Eager to start the new church plant in Kwadwesi, Pastor Sipho Bonga decided to host a week long youth conference last week at the local community center. Throughout the week there were more than 20 people who made decisions to trust Christ as Savior.  Dozens of new contacts were made and will hopefully soon become a part of New Life Baptist Church. I want to thank Orangeburg Baptist Tabernacle for their generous donation to the building fund for this new work. With their donation, that brings our total need down to $7,500! If you would be interested in contributing please send any donation to Macedonia World Baptist Missions, Att. Jeremy Hall (KBF).

Events and Prayer Requests:

• Bekah has made a full physical recovery and is anticipating a visit to the states to attend her brother’s wedding. 
• Her going to the States leaves me home alone with three of our four kids for two weeks!?!? 
• Language studies were halted for the last month due to the groups and unexpected circumstances, but we are now back at it full throttle.
• Continue to pray for Matthew and Bathembesile and their spiritual growth as we work with them.

Thanks again for all you do to help us share the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Sincerely, 

Jeremy and Rebekah Hall 

I had the privilege a couple of days ago to give a short devotional to the group that is here visiting. What I spoke about in the devotion was Joshua chapter 1 and how Joshua was beginning a new chapter in his life. For those of you who don’t remember the story, the Lord instructed Joshua, since Moses had passed away, that the children of Israel would now be looking to him to lead them into the promised land. That enormous task brought about all sorts of emotions and fears, undoubtedly, since God told him three separate times to “be strong and of good courage.” I talked with the group about how to face their fears and how they too were going to need to be strong to go through life and be used of God. 

Though I must say, the challenge to be strong is not much of a help when you feel terribly weak, and when the situation is bigger than you are. If you think about it,  the words “be strong and of good courage” are just another challenge to live up to. They don’t really tell you how to do that? They don’t add comfort to any situation. But what does, and what I shared with the guys, is the only way to do that is to remember the promise God gave to Joshua right before he told him to be strong. God told Joshua “as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee:” That was where Joshua would receive the  comfort. That is what would give him the courage and strength he needed to go through any situation. The presence of the omnipotent, omniscient, sovereign God was going to be with Him every step of the way.

Well, today I am made to eat my words. I have to trust in that same God’s sovereign plan over my life and those around me. My wife and I began a new chapter last night. At 7:20 last night Bekah gave birth to Ezekiel Michael Hall. He weighed just over 2 pound. Though he was too small to make it physically here on earth, he was way too big to ever be forgotten. I must say, some chapters in life you love, others are confusing and you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.

I honestly don’t know how people handle death without the hope that comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We take comfort in the fact that our God is still with us, that He has never left us nor forsaken us. Our hope and peace comes from Jesus. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Thanks for your prayers!

Dear Pastor and Friends, 

It has been a very emotional month and a half. As some of you may have heard, my grandmother went home to be with the Lord last month. Because of that, my bother and cousin returned to the states to perform the ceremony. I chose to stay back to assist a missionary family, the Bergey’s, who were coming over for their survey trip. As the Lord would have it, in Kevin’s absence, I also was called upon to perform my first South African funeral; many firsts this month in our new South African life!

Staying back also lead to the most exciting thing since our arrival; the salvation of a young man named Matthew Olwethu. Missionary Brent Bergey, while here on his survey trip, shared some scripture with him and he decided to trust Christ. Through Matthew, the Lord has opened many new doors and answered some specific personal prayer requests. One of which was a few young men with whom I could practice my Xhosa. Since his decision, I have had the opportunity to spend dozens of hours with him. On top of that, Matthew introduced me to three of his roommates, Bathembesile, Thamsanqa, and Mabeka. Two weeks after Matthew’s decision, his roommate Thamsanqa made a decision to trust Christ after a sunday morning church service. Please remember these young men in your prayers. Pray for growth, and salvation for the two who have yet to trust Christ.

Language Update: On the 15th of this month Bekah and I will have been in language school for 4 months. We praise the Lord for the progress that has been made, but there is still a long road ahead. On occasion, I am now sharing a 2-3 minute message in Xhosa with the church we are currently attending; very slow, but steady progress. Please continue to pray with us that we will stay focused, not get overwhelmed and continue in the right direction.

It’s official, land has been purchased for a new church plant! New Life Baptist Church will soon be started in the area of Kwadwesi. We are needing approximately $8,000 to build the building. The building will be 1615 square feet. That will include a 615 square foot prophets chamber. If you are interested in giving toward this need please contact me at jhsouthafrica@gmail.com, or simply send any donation to Macedonia World Baptist Missions, Att. Jeremy Hall (KBF). If you would like to see a rough draft sketch of the building, it can be accessed at Project South Africa on Facebook.

Other news:

• We found out our new addition will be a BOY!
• Supporting Pastor Tony Howeth and family with be coming over for a visit next month.
• Missionary Stephen Underwood and family are coming over for their survey trip.
• Please Pray for the Our Generation Camp, June 9-13. There is still time to sign up at Visionbaptist.com

Thanks again for your prayers and support for our ministry.

Sincerely, 

Jeremy and Rebekah Hall