Hailes on Mission

We praise God that we have the ability to be working under His name and for His fame.   As we come into this awesome season of being able to share the story about the birth of our Savior we remind you that there are still many who don’t know the story.   So when we sing songs like “Go Tell it on the mountains….. and everywhere” we must remember that people still need to hear the Good News.   We know that many of you live in the great U.S.A and we are so appreciative for all that you all do for us.   However, as we enter into this new season of Christmas and with an emphasis on missions giving (Lottie Moon) we ask that you not forget that there are still over a billion people who have yet to hear the story of Jesus.   As we continue on with the Lord’s work in Madagascar among the Antandroy people we recognize that we couldn’t continue to reach the unreached and unengaged of Madagascar unless you had already given and covered us with prayer.   Thus, as w...

Akory Abe (Hello to all).   We have had the privilege of starting Tandroy dialect language lessons.   You might be asking yourselves; don’t you guys already speak Malagasy?   Well yes, we do speak Malagasy (attempt to anyways) but we don’t know Tandroy yet.   This leads to the question above.   What is in a language?   Well what we are seeing is a quicker reception to the Gospel, quicker entry into people’s hearts and families, instant respect, and so much more.   It is no secret that the Tandroy dialect is the hardest on the Island.   We have found that there are words that one should only use with adults and other words to use with children.   We must learn when to use what and hopefully not offend anyone.   With that said we are finding the Tandroy dialect to only be between 30 and 40 percent compatible with official Malagasy.   However, we are so glad we know official and are able to communicate with the majority of Malagas...

This past month has been an amazing month of seeing the Lord’s Hand at work.   It has been busy and it has been full of activities, comings and goings but it has also been encouraging because we have been able to see the Lord’s hand at work.   At the beginning of the month we had the privilege to go through Tandroy land (The Dirty South) and visit several places.   We were able to stop and talk to people on the side of the road and explored several Tandroy cities.   Within this exploration we encountered several people who came up and said “tell me about Jesus” so we did.   When we went to visit the Chef du District offices they were more than ecstatic for us coming and were excited about us working in and around their areas.   We also got to explore through Fort Dauphin (Toalagnaro) and see what our final stopping place for this first term looks like.   We were excited about this and found many Tandroy within the city and now know what the city...

Living in a country where the average daily wage is less than $2.50 one encounters many needs and is constantly asked for money.   However, we are encountering a new petition to share the Good news of Jesus Christ.   People are coming and asking for Truth.   With this comes much excitement together with many prayers for wisdom and discernment.   As the Lord opens doors we want to be ready to move and share the good news however we also want to   be ready to disciple through following up and strong Biblical teaching.   People are ready to hear the good news and they hunger and thirst for Truth but the message of God though full of hope is also a difficult one to swallow as it does not promise a smooth easy going road.   On the contrary it promises persecution to His followers, it requires us to take up our crosses and die to ourselves, and it requires a heart change (moving from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh).   Yes, God offers us so muc...