A little piece of big news...

Once again it feels like time is flying by, this school seems to be going so much faster than my DTS (Discipleship Training School) did earlier this year.

I wanted to take a minute to give an update on the "big news" I mentioned in my previous post. I have decided to make a 5 year commitment to the YWAM base here in Cape Town. It was not a decision I took lightly, a lot of prayer and thought went into this. I feel called to stay here and work with the DTS department for the next few years. How that will actually look as time progresses is something I'm unsure of but I know I'm where I'm supposed to be. South Africa is now home for the next 5 years...that's a scary thought sometimes! I'll leave this news as it is and will refrain from expanding on it anymore than I already have. If you have questions or want to know more please send me an email and we can talk about it.

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Our speaker in class this week has had many thought provoking statements and testimonies to share. Today he shared a song with some spoken lyrics read in the middle of it. The entire thing was incredible but there was one line that hit closer to home for me than the rest. The speaker said this about the current Christian generation that is rising up: they pray as if it all depends on God and they live as if it all depends on them.

When I first heard this a rebellious thought rose up in me. We aren't supposed to live as if everything we do depends on us, we aren't saved by the things we do. I'm not even debating that, I know it's true, but follow me with this here.

A new generation is being established and a new revival is breaking out in front of our eyes. People today are buying into the idea that they can change the world. Our speaker, Jeff, put it like this. People are buying shoes (like TOMS) that make their feet stink only because a new pair of shoes is being sent to Africa to help children in need. People go to fair-trade coffee shops (because it supports third world farmers) even though the coffee might be horrible compared to the shop next door.

This generation is looking for something to believe in and live out fully. They aren't happy with the folks who speak out on various issues but don't actually live it. If we don't live our lives as if we believe in God on more than just Sunday morning then who are we going to influence?

I think some of us need to start living our lives as if it all depends on our actions. We need to stop standing around waiting for God to tell us to move and actually start moving.

I met a man this week who sold his business in the US, packed his family onto an airplane, and moved to Africa. Do you think God will punish him if he wasn't supposed to move? He's taking a step to do what he believes is right. If a child brings you a drawing do you yell at them for coloring outside the lines? Of course not! If we know to not punish someone who is trying their hardest to please us then how much more does God know about this? He is desperately seeking those who are willing to take a step of action!

These are the forerunners of a new revival, are we running with them or are we running scared because they are doing something different?

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In other news, I'm leaving for India in 5 weeks! My co-leader and I are meeting regularly to figure out details for helping the students with ministry options during the 11 weeks we'll be there. I'm excited to be reconnecting with 2 cities I was in earlier this year and working with established missionaries to help continue their work there.

I still need help to make all of this happen though. I'm praying for $1,500 to come in soon so I can cover my share of the food and housing while we are there. I also need $300 within 48 hours to be able to pay for the plane ticket that we have booked right now. If you are interested in making a single donation or you want to help with continuing monthly support you can find a link at the upper left corner of this page labeled "How to Donate". I would love it if you would stand with me in prayer for this need.

September Updates

I know this is a bit overdue, sorry for the delay. Life has been hectic lately, you'll see why momentarily.

Before the update though, I need to make a few administrative details known.

I have two addresses for my blog, www.beardedramblings.com and www.beardedramblings.blogspot.com. Please bookmark the second one and use that as it will always work. The first address simply redirects back to the other site and apparently it quit working temporarily a month or two ago. I'm not sure why it happened but I was able to get it corrected. In case it happens again it would be handy to have www.beardedramblings.blogspot.com saved.

I've started sending out monthly updates via email. My intention is to gradually shift my blog to a space more for thoughts on what is going on around me and have the email updates focused on the actual work I'm doing. If you would like to receive these updates please send me an email at kennyhall1985@gmail.com or contact me via Facebook.

I think that's about everything I needed to cover so here's the juicy updates you've all been waiting for...

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After a request from my school leader and much prayer I've decided to lead a team of students back to India for 12 weeks. We will be leaving about a week before Christmas and there's not much else I know at the moment. The students will start praying about whether they feel led to go to India or not next week, please stand in prayer with them as they decide their outreach locations.

I've been in contact with a great woman of God whom I met back in August. She lives in my hometown but her parents live in India. Her and her husband will be in India during Christmas and we are looking at ways my team can partner with the ministry her parents work with. It will be an exciting time if everything works out.

I'm also looking at returning to two of the previous locations that I was at earlier this year. The goal would be to continue to build relationships with established Christians in southern India. Both locations have relatively small ministries and our work there last time was a great help to them.

Please pray for wisdom in determining the ministry options we are being presented with. Also direction for the students when they choose their outreach locations (they get to pick between Kenya, Johannesburg, and India), and for the finances to come in for everybody. Our outreach will be the most expensive because of it's location, we're budgeting approximately $2,500 per person.

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Things have been quite chaotic as I mentioned earlier. My main focus at the moment is staffing the current Discipleship Training School (DTS). My duties include sitting through lectures each day, mentoring two of the students in a one on one setting each week, helping to facilitate a small group of students (seven to be exact) to further their understanding of the lectures each week. I'm also taking a financial planning class two afternoons a week, planning for the India outreach, attending the numerous staff meetings at the base, and working to establish a local ministry within Cape Town.

The ministry in Cape Town is something that has been on my heart for quite awhile now. You can read about my first experience there by clicking here. Since that time I've had a desire to return and start ministering to the people that frequent the area. I was able to do that for the first time on Friday night.

I took one other staff member and 5 students to Long Street and we had an amazing time. This is what one of the students had to say about the evening on Facebook the next morning.

"Long street in Cape Town was amazing! Talking to different people,

praying for them! it was a great experience!

It was quite a night to say the least. We were able to talk with a man selling marijuana on the street, a prostitute who had had all of her clothes stolen the night before, and a man who owned a nightclub nearby. Our goal is to establish connections and build relationships with local people in order to share our passions and their burdens.

It's taken time to get to the point of taking a team into Cape Town. I know it's only been one night but this was a huge step and I'm eager to see what the next couple months bring. I have three students who will be going with me on a regular basis and a handful of others who have expressed an interest in going when they are not busy with other ministries.

Please pray for our safety during these times. The best time for us to go is during the weekend nights when the most people are out, it's not exactly the safest time to be out on the street. We would also appreciate prayer for finances to come in for this specific ministry. It costs money to cover the gas and parking fees while we are there. We'd also like to be able to meet some of the practical needs of the people (buying food for the hungry, etc).

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Thank you for all your prayers already. I feel so incredibly loved over here. Life is still a struggle but God is moving in big ways. I have one other announcement, it's quite a big step for me personally. You're going to have to wait for my October newsletter at the end of the month though. :D

Much love,

Kenny

This is your life!

I've been rearranging my blog again. On the left side you'll notice a couple quick links for various topics. I'm still working on one or two but the others are up and ready for review. Check them out and see how you can help support the work I'm doing. These will be updated often to give a better idea of what is needed.

The past couple weeks have been hectic and relaxing at the same time. I've spent quite a bit of time visiting with friends and working on getting my paperwork finalized in order to get back to South Africa. The visa process is long and frustrating but will hopefully be shipped off for approval towards the end of next week. Stay tuned for further updates but in the meantime I've written down some thoughts from a few days ago.

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I was driving around town recently when a song I've heard hundreds of times came on the radio. I actually heard the words and the depth of them this time, I'd encourage you to listen to it right quick if you're able to.

The line that really struck me was "this is your life, are you who you want to be?". As it repeated over and over it resonated within me. I realized that I am who I want to be. I'm finally at a point in life where I enjoy what I do and know that I'm working for a cause bigger than myself. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed every job I've had for various reasons but I'm doing something that I believe in now.

I know some people who do mission's or humanitarian work simply for the praise of others. While that's nice, it's certainly not the reason I'm returning to Africa. I've been criticized by loved ones and have unfortunately seen distance grow in certain relationships. South Africa was the last place I wanted to go originally; it's on the other side of the world and I didn't know a single person when I arrived. It was impossible for me to step back onto a plane and just turn around, I had to figure out what I was doing and why.

I've seen the kids who ask for a dime so they can buy a piece of bread for dinner, the parents who want to talk about their unemployment and alcohol problems, the grandparents who have become a burden on their children because they are too old to work. The men on the street who wake up every morning wanting to be a "good man" but have to sell drugs in order to make a living, the women who sell their bodies for money, the blind, paralyzed, limbless bodies that seem to clutter the streets asking for food. I've become broken for a broken world. I can no longer sit back and watch life's atrocities pass by while sipping a coke. Something has to be done.

I've come to accept that I'll never be rich, but I can help enrich the lives of others. Helping families find work, playing with children who crave attention, just sitting and talking with people; these are skills that I have and can pass on. My desire is to help others learn to listen, speak with compassion, and share their heart.

The greatest Biblical commandment is to love. Love is not silent or passive, it takes action. You can't love your spouse, friend, neighbor, or stranger without performing some action to show them the feelings inside you. Love gets up and moves.

I understand the predicament that most people are in. They are tied down for various reasons whether financially, for work, friends, family, ailments, love, or anything else. It makes sense to me, but not doing something at all doesn't make sense. You don't have to travel the world to make an impact, your home is your world. Volunteer at a soup kitchen, give a buck to a homeless man (even if you think he might spend it on booze), watch the bratty kids of a single parent for an evening and let them have some time alone, smile at a stranger for no reason other than to possibly brighten their day.

We all are citizens of the same world and we all have certain gifts that others don't. Everyone has a talent; baking, cleaning, singing, painting, writing, etc. Each of those talents can be used to help change the world around you. Like an earthquake, that change will create a ripple effect and affect a greater number than you'll ever realize.

I recently heard of a man in New York who loves to draw and figured out a way to use his passion for change. He's offered to send an original drawing to anyone who sends money for a certain charity he supports. The charity gets money, the people get a picture, and he gets to draw. His passion is inspiring change within his sphere of influence.

This last video was presented to us on our DTS by a man from the US. He moved to Afghanistan when he was 18 to do missionary work and has been there for over 10 years now. He currently helps hundreds of students get a better education because he wasn't afraid to get out of his comfort zone and move to one of the most dangerous places in the world. The creator of this video made it as part of an inspirational contest about what matters to him in life. I hope you're as invigorated by it as I am.

What the future holds now...(possibly my longest post ever)

I apologize for the lack of communication lately. It's been well over two months since I last wrote and while I can justifiably blame that on the busyness of my life, there have been times when I had the time to update everyone but didn't. For that, I apologize. So now, without further ado, an update for your reading pleasure.

India:

Our final 3 weeks in India were spent in the northern part above Delhi. We worked in 3 different towns that are all linked together by the missionaries who work there. They formed a network in order to provide moral support as well as technical support for the many issues that they face on a daily basis. The 4 families we had the privilege of staying with blessed us immensely with their hearts and passion. They truly live out what it means to lay your own life aside and work to improve the lives of others.

If it seems like I'm being vague about the specifics of who we visited, where we were, and what we did, it's meant to be like that. The area we were in is a heavily unreached area but the government fights Christianity as they see it. There were many words we weren't allowed to say (such as missionary and anything related to YWAM) in case someone was listening. In order to have Bible studies in the evenings we would shut the doors to our house, close the windows and draw the curtains shut. Everything had the be a secret.

These are some of my favorite pictures that were taken during our time up there. We did many things and this will give you a better picture of what was involved.

At one of our first stops we had the opportunity to improve the quality of a local school. We spent a week painting an ocean scene on some of the walls of the school. We also told stories to the children, performed skits, colored, sang songs, and played games like "Duck, Duck, Goat". One of the boys heard me wrong when I was explaining the game and he heard "goat" instead of "goose". It provided quite a few laughs for those involved. This photo is showing my extreme painting skills. As my ability to draw anything more complex than a smiley face is somewhat limited all I did was paint between the lines of what was drawn on the wall. :)

At a separate school we spent 2 days working with the students who were learning English. We even had a debate set up where we discussed the differences between many things (coffee vs tea, rural life vs city life, baseball vs cricket).

This is the start of our five day hike at the foot of the Himalaya's. We were joined by two Norwegian guys on vacation and spent our mornings and evenings involved in worship and prayer for the local people.

Dinnertime after our first day. We had a beautiful view from this wall where we ate.

The morning of day 4 was spent on this hilltop with an amazing look at some of the Himalaya's. This is the majority of our team immersed in prayer.

The last four days of our time in India were spent in Delhi. We took time to debrief the previous nine weeks and then spent a day in Agra at the Taj Mahal.

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After India the team returned to South Africa where we were reunited with the rest of our school. It was exciting to see everybody else and hear the stories of how their outreaches were spent (the other teams went to Thailand, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines). The 10 days back in SA were quite amazing but I was happy for the opportunity to head back to sunny California.

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So, many people have been asking what is next on my agenda of life. After much prayer and thought I've decided to join the staff of the YWAM base in Muizenberg, South Africa and assist with the Discipleship Training department.

I'll be leaving California sometime in mid-September and have committed to 9 months at the base in Muizenberg. I'll be working directly with the students, helping with the local ministry in the township, and filling various roles as needed. I'm incredibly excited about the opportunity to continue with YWAM and am getting ready for an onslaught of preparation in the next few weeks. It's going to be very hectic but I'm confident it will be just as rewarding at the same time.

If I haven't had an opportunity to visit with you in person yet and you'd like that to happen, let me know. I've been traveling between California and Oregon for the last 6 weeks and still have a bit of time before I leave. I can't see everyone, but I'd love to make an effort to catch up face to face and enjoy some laughter and fellowship.

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I still need help from friends and family. YWAM is an unpaid ministry, none of their staff receive payment for their time involved so I'll still be needing financial and prayer support on a regular basis. If you feel lead to give you can contact me directly at kennyhall1985@gmail.com or you can use the handy Paypal link in the upper left corner of this page. No donation is too small, I truly appreciate everything. For those that are interested in tax deductible donations, I'll be completing the requirements to get that setup in the next few days and can give information on that when it's ready.

On a final note, if you know of an individual, church, or group of people who might be interested in hearing about what I'm doing please don't hesitate to let me know. I've given a few presentations at various events and would love to spread the news even more.

To all those who have stood by me in love and faith so far, thank you.

Updates from Southern India

Well, we recently finished our time in Southern India and have now arrived in the north. What an amazing time we had down there, I'm so blessed! As with many India towns, it had two names. I thought the English name was long (Trivandrum) however the local's called it Thiruvananthapuram. Ugh, there's no way I even tried pronouncing it properly. Our team was quite restricted on our actions because of the government in Kerala State, it was actually a bit confusing. Technically we were in a closed state that was not open to Christians preaching the Gospel however, there were so many churches and open Christians that we found in the area. I came to the conclussion that Christianity was allowed as long as you weren't trying to convert other people. So, we did a lot of praying under the guise of visiting tourist locations, tried to build local relationships with Christians and non-Christians, and preached in churches and Christian related events during most of our time there. We had a lot of fun and built some amazing friendships in just a few short weeks. Here's some of my favorite highlights from that time:

• Getting on the Sleeper Train for our 10 hour ride to Trivandrum and realizing that we only had 4 beds for the 7 of us (but then quickly being blessed by the conductor with the 3 extra beds that we were told weren't avaliable).


• Meeting Communism face to face. The Communist party is one of the major ruling political organizations in Kerala, their logo is everywhere. We even were stopped in traffic because a Communist parade was marching across the street!


• Hearing wild lions roaring from across a lake before speaking and singing at a youth rally.


• Teaching 30 teenagers from a church how to share the Gospel message with other people.


• Getting asked numerous times if I'm Muslim (and once an American Jew). Maybe my beard it getting too long now?


• Walking inside the first church that Thomas/Didymus built in India! It's now run by the Indian Orthodox Church, it was so amazing to see!


• Seeing 3 different oceans come together at Cape Comorin (the most southern tip of India).

In the last post I made about Coimbatore I mentioned food poisoning. In Trivandrum it was all about heat rashes (I counted 4 different rashes on my body at one time) and getting Giardia on the last day. The temperature in our new town is cooler and so the rashes are disappearing and I was able to get some medicine to counteract the Giardia so life is peachy again. Again, I had such an amazing time in Trivandrum but I think my favorite memories from the whole trip were those with one of our hosts and his family. He was such a blessing to our whole team and he laughed at all my jokes. I look forward to the day when we can meet again.

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And now, a request for help. Due to the cost of living being higher than we had expected in both Coimbatore and Trivandrum, my team is running low on finances. We have a small stop for 3 days in another town next week before embarking on a 5 day prayer trek through remote villages near Nepal. We have about half the money that we need for the prayer trek, and then we're broke (we also have 3 days in Delhi after the trek and before our flight back to South Africa that we need to have money for). I feel bad asking for money again, but the truth of the matter is that I don't have many options. All of the 7 people on the team each pulled their own weight on this trip and raise their percentage of the group finances that we needed. We haven't spent money on anything extravagant or run off for any trips to the day spa. There was no mismanagement of funds, lost or stolen money, or anything else along those lines, we just miscalculated and ran into things that cost more than had been originally planned on. Asking for money is always hard and never fun (some things are hard but fun, this is neither).

If you have a desire to help there's two different ways. The first is financially obviously. Every little bit helps and no donation is too small. The second is through prayer, James 5:16 says that the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective and I believe that. We need the money asap.

If you are able to use the Paypal link (it's safe, simple, and secure!) in the upper left corner then please do so. It's the fastest way to get money to us. Any help is appreciated, as always. Also, in roughly 1 month I will be landing in sunny San Francisco with many pictures, stories, and friends/family that need visiting (hopefully some of them have a couch I can sleep on for a few nights haha). I'm enjoying my time here immensly but I'm also looking forward to June 13th.

A few brief updates from India

I haven't posted anything since I arrived in India. Internet cafes are plentiful but they are usually slow and frustrating beyond belief. Plus, finding time to sit and write a proper blog gets harder and harder. So, with that being said, here are a few updates of what I've been doing with my team. Someday I hope to post pictures, but not right now unfortunately.

We arrived in Mumbai (Bombay), and stopped for a day before heading south to Coimbatore. These are the Coimbatore highlights.

• Out of 7 team members, 3 of us arrived in Mumbai without any luggage. I was one of those lucky folks, so I spent the next 3 days in the only pair of clothes I had with me before the airlines figured out where our stuff was.
• Watching India win the Cricket World Cup while in India.
• Taking showers from either a bucket of water or using a broken pipe sticking out of the wall.
• Learning to preach and share stories through the use of a translator.
• Great Indian food = sketchy bowel movements. I'll leave it at that.
• Picking up garbage at a Leper colony, preparing medical bandages, and then being able to sing worship songs and pray with the Leprosy victims.
• Spending time with a group of widowed women, listening to their stories, giving them some clothing, and sharing a meal with them.
• Food poisoning goes right along with sketchy bowel movements.
• Waking up to the sound of wild peacocks in the forest of coconut trees outside your window.
• Serving almost 100 people who gathered at a week-long seminar for healthcare in Southern India.
• Being blessed by our host family with a pizza from Dominoes in India was an amazing cure for my cravings for American food.

We had an amazing time in Coimbatore but we've moved on. We're in a more restricted area right now where Christians are under a lot of persecution. We had to register with the local police so they can watch us and we have to be careful with who we talk to and what we say. We're here for another week and a half as ''tourists'' before we fly north. More updates will follow, but I don't know when.

Rememories

Tomorrow will be my last full day in Africa for a couple months. It's one of those happy/sad moments when you realize you're about to embark on a new journey but are stepping away from some wonderful friends and memories.

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I've been remembering some great (and not so great) memories from my last few months here in Africa. I remember hiking to the top of St. Elsie's Peak with the rest of the DTS students when we first got to Muizenberg, playing games with the kids in the township, going to watch a soccer match in Cape Town (and getting stuck in town at midnight because of bad information after the game), spending a day wandering around with an old friend from California, and swimming with penguins. I also remember the simpler times. Walking to the beach at night, sitting on a couch sipping tea and watching people go about their business, the half hour walk (and therefore half hour conversations) to the township and back every week, the different speakers who took time out of their busy schedules to come minister to us each week, Thursday night worship at the various buildings we occupied, piling couches and mattresses into the classroom and watching movies at night on the weekends, praying and worshiping on the roof, the trips around the block that my accountability group would make every Wednesday morning. It's been an incredible 3 months and I wouldn't trade one moment for anything. I've learned so much and have so much to learn. I can safely say that these past few months have opened my eyes, but did they change my life? I'd like to say yes but only a mixture of time and my actions will show the truth.

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Something I've been realizing lately is how other countries feel about the Gospel. I think there's this stigma in America that is there's resistance then a country must be ''closed'' or against Christianity. Since I've been here in Africa I've met some incredible people that have been opening my eyes. I met a man who left his home almost 2 decades ago and had been serving as a full-time missionary in China. I met a guy not much older than myself who has been serving God in Afghanistan for 8 years. I even met someone who has led teams of young adults into N Korea. All of this goes against what I'd heard while living my sheltered American life.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..."

-Jesus