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.
