Hailes on Mission

As everyone else on this planet we have been impacted by Covid-19 and the restrictions it has put into place.  This past month to say the least has been weird.  It is hard to imagine that April has come and gone, and we really didn’t leave the house (besides essential trips).  Before all of this you would have told us, we are lazy and we are not doing our job, and we probably would be close to trouble in the IMB or at least on a trip to see a counselor for why we aren’t leaving the house.  Today, we are praised and all of us that have been sheltering in place are looking like heroes.  Perspective changes so much. Now to be fair, we have not just sat around eating chips and doing nothing but binge-watching useless TV shows and movies.  We have done some of that to be honest with you, but we have done our best to use this extra time wisely.  We have attempted to keep a routine to how our day looks (homeschool, stud...

We have to say that how this past month started and how it ended was unexpected.    We never imagined what would take place.    We were aware of the happenings around the world but the progression of how things took place and at the pace was unprecedented.    Needless to say, we are in the same boat as the rest of the world.    Our month started with ministry events and was supposed to end with ministry events and lots of trips.    However, not everything went as planned.    The good news is that seems to be daily missionary life. Ha-ha.    We were so blessed to be able to share the Word of God in the South of Madagascar and be a part of a training in Antananarivo with some good friends.    We had family come (taking a lot of precautions on the trip) and visit and in the middle of their visit life changed greatly. To put things into perspective, are family arrived to visit us and life was normal.  ...

Many times, in our lives we find ourselves having to make difficult, unexpected decisions. This past month has been really good for us and at the same time extremely difficult. At the end of January, we held our Madagascar team prayer retreat. This time of prayer and seeking the father was very fruitful and unifying.  However, as we were hearing from the Lord, He began to open doors to new opportunities. We were recommended for a new position within the IMB and at first glance thought “no”. Then, Suzie and I began to seek the Lord. As we began to pray the Lord did not tell us “no” and He said that we  should  follow after this new position. Honestly, this made us very uncomfortable. We love Madagascar and the work that the Lord allows us to do here. So, when the Lord did not say no immediately to this request, we became scared and we're asking questions as to why now, why leave?  It became clear to us that the Lord was leading us away. Logistically and mini...

Let’s be honest!   There are days we are not full of pure joy.   Some days are just hard and you get hit with one thing after another. The longer we’ve been in ministry, and particularly on the foreign mission field, the more we’ve become aware of the potential patterns of spiritual warfare.   “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”   (1 Pet. 5:8 ESV) We just finished up an amazing time of prayer at our Madagascar Prayer Retreat.   Thank you to so many who were praying for the details of the trip to come together.   We prayed, we worshipped, we fellowshipped, we learned more about Malagasy culture and we played.   God more deeply knit our hearts together and united our vision with his vision.   The kids had a blast as they spent time worshipping, studying Bible stories, praying and playing.   It truly was a sweet, sweet time! We had a few hiccups prior to the retreat.   One family was...

Well here we are at another new year.  We want to take a moment and just reflect on God’s goodness here in the Antandroy and Antanosy regions over this past year.  We have seen a lot of growth and development take place among our Malagasy Brothers and Sisters in Christ.  God is doing great things.  See below some numbers for all of you numbers people.  (These numbers only reflect where the IMB missionary has directly been involved.  Much more has been done by Malagasy leaders). Gospel Witness:  1915 New Believers in Christ:  626 Baptized:  72 (Water is an issue) Total in Weekly Bible Studies:  3000 Leaders Trained in Biblical Theology:  80 Churches or groups close to church meeting:  53 We just want to give God all the glory for all that He is doing!  On top of that we have also provided seed for planting for over 4500 people, school supp...

We’ve been given even more to be thankful for in November! Backpacks Thanks to BGR (Baptist Global Relief) funds, we were able to assemble and distribute 1,000 backpacks filled with various school supplies to churches in the Androy and Anosy regions. Leader’s Meeting It has been a struggle to get around and specifically out to the bush due to the deteriorating condition of our vehicle.   Wear and tear has taken its toll on the Cruiser.   As most of you that follow us on Facebook know, the car has been in the shop at least weekly and is still not reliable enough to get very far out into the bush (country-side).   A new-to-us vehicle is being outfitted in Tana and should be ready in early January, but Adam was able to make one trip to Ambovombe to meet with our first- generation leaders from the Androy and Anosy regions.   Twenty men gathered to discuss strategy, issues they are facing as they lead their flocks and make disciple making disciples and...