Hailes on Mission

As we start up a New Year we have found ourselves looking ahead while at the same time looking back.  This has been healthy, encouraging and discouraging, challenging, and full of hope for us.  We have been amazed at how the Lord has done so many amazing things among the people groups here in the South of Madagascar.  In particular how He has allowed us to be a part of His work among the Tandroy and Tanosy peoples.  As we see His hand at work we continuously find ourselves being humbled as we are so unworthy of the many blessings that He has poured out on us.  Not just with some of the fruits of ministry but with the love given, kindness shown and prayers prayed on our behalf.  We are most definitely unworthy of it all.  So as we close out this even year of 2016 and enter into an odd year of 2017 we say to you all that our job hasn't changed.  Our desire is to make much of Jesus Christ the King of Kings and to see His Kingdom come.  So a...

This past month has been one of many trainings.   We started off the month by doing trainings with our national partners and continued with some language training, and finished with a time of learning how to better work within our master strategy plans, while packing in time for Suzie to have surgery on her leg.   This has been a busy month and it has entailed a lot of traveling.   Praise the Lord we made all our flights and we have stayed relatively healthy through it all. As we have participated and led out in these trainings we have realized that we still have a lot of work in becoming native with our people.   We love the Malagasy people, we attempt to live life in a way that shows honor to their culture (food, lifestyle, business practices, greetings, etc…), work hand in hand with them and speak their language. However, we have also realized that it might be that we will always be outsiders in an insider community. What does this mean?   It means ...

As of Oct. 4th, we have been serving in Madagascar for FIVE YEARS!  In some ways, it seems like we’ve been here for FOREVER.  In other ways, it’s been no time at all.  What a great time to reflect and see all that God has done, is doing and still desires to do! As I write this, there are over 30 people being trained in the city of Tsihombe by a Malagasy pastor from Toliara.  He is teaching them how to train trainers.  The goal is reproducibility.  Even more than the reproducibility, the question remains, is the disciple REPRODUCING?  Men and women from around Androy have come together to be better equipped to share their faith.  They are hungry not only for Spiritual food, but for clarity on the best way to share that Spiritual food and tell the story of Jesus.  This weekend the training will continue but for another group meeting here in Fort Dauphin.  Many Antanosy people and other tribes will come together to receive the same training...

As we look over the past couple of months we have realized how precious time is.  Time is fleeting.  We have traveled back to the past and then to the future again.  We have lived/stayed in different time zones and visited multiple countries and States.  As we made all of these travels and events we learned that adjusting to time and all of its changes can be challenging. We enjoyed our time in the US but as we look back it was just a Texas tornado.  It came and it went and it was a wild ride for the entire time.  It was so nice to see some friends and family but we mixed in so many things that by the time it came to pack up to leave we were exhausted.  This is not to say that we wouldn’t do this again but it is to say that we have learned a little from this time spent in the US. Time teaches us things as well.  As we have been here in Madagascar we have realized that time has taught us many things about our Malagasy friends.  We ha...

We have had a great month of ministry and seeing the Lord at work.  It seems hard to believe that the Lord has done all that has been accomplished in just one month.  We are so thankful for how He is working and we desire to give Him all the glory and the honor for all the good things that are happening here in the South of Madagascar.  We have reached five years of service with the IMB and we are reminded many times of why we came here in the first place.  We have been reminded of the urgency to see the Lord do great things.  Thus, we do find ourselves living under pressure.  We feel it in many different ways but one of the issues we face is how much time do we really have to work here in Madagascar?  How long will the Lord wait until He comes again?  The answer is simply that we don't know.  We just seek to be faithful to the gift he gives us each day here on earth.  We also are people of vision, planning and strategy....

As we shared last month, the Lord is moving! It was a great time of celebration on May 16th as 15 people were baptized from 3 different locations.  The villages came together and worshipped as the men and women were baptized.  Praise God there was water and that His Spirit continues to move.  Pray for water so 30 more can be baptized soon. There are a number of preaching points that are very close to becoming church.  Pray for the leaders in these areas and for faithfulness on their part to step out and follow the leading of the Lord. As a family, we have been going with the flow.  Car trouble early in May left us without a car for over two weeks.  We were thankful for our national partner, Rado, and the team from Kentucky as they were able to go out and fulfill some of the trainings that Adam was going to do, as well as give us a much better idea of the individual needs of villages around Androy.  Further, Adam was able to rent a car for the ...

The Lord is at work in South Madagascar!  Here are a few things going on this month: 11 students are attending THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION BY EXTENSION courses here in Fort Dauphin 4 students are attending SEMINARY in other parts of the island and will be returning soon 3 Malagasy students are attending SOUTHWESTERN Seminary and will return to lead their fellow countrymen 80 Malagasy partners will be TRAINED by Southwestern Seminary this month 8 were BAPTIZED in Tsihombe 16 are awaiting TRAINING ON BAPTISM around Tranoroa 2 groups are ready to BECOME CHURCH PLANTS around Tranoroa 3 NEW MISSIONARIES are headed to serve alongside us from USA and Ecuador When we sit back and look at all the Lord is doing we are amazed!  We have been in Fort Dauphin for 3 years now and it blows our minds how much the Spirit has moved, how many have been saved and how many are serving the Lord whole-heartedly now.  Liv...