BARAKA HALL FAMILY

SERVING IN GHANA

ABOUT

Baraka Birthday 10/18
Melanie Birthday 09/12
Baraka & Melanie Wedding Anniversary 07/22
Baraka, Jr. Birthday 12/17
Malachi Birthday 08/25
Tyler Birthday 06/30
Marissa Birthday 01/10

Baraka Hall
I was born hearing in Chicago, Illinois. At the age of 3½, I contracted spinal meningitis and from that became Deaf. I lost all communication with my family and felt very isolated. As a result, my behavior, as you can imagine, was horrible. At the age of 11, my friend was talking about church. I wanted to go to this Deaf church to be with my friends. So I gave him my address, which he then gave to his bus captain. That Sunday I was on my way to the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana.

After misbehaving on the bus ride home, a lady worker called me to the front of the bus and shared the Gospel with me. I remember that day receiving hope as I accepted Christ as my Saviour. During camp at the age of 12, I felt God was calling me to preach. I surrendered to His will and went forward. It wasn’t until high school that I really struggled with this decision. You see, I played football all four years. I was an all-star captain at a 6A school. I had many college scholarship offers. The University of Florida, the Gators, came to my school to recruit me. I really wrestled with this decision. A godly man came to me and offered his advice. He said if I went to play for the Gators, I might end up messing up my life; who knows? He continued by saying that if I went to Bible college, I could serve God. That struck me—serving God! I put aside all my scholarships and decided to go to Hyles-Anderson College.

It was my second year at college, during a Missions-Emphasis Week, that God began tugging on my heart to be a missionary. I really didn’t want to leave the comforts that I had here in America. However, I told God I would go. I knew God wanted me to go to Africa, but it wasn’t until we had our annual Pastors’
School when the Ghana Team was launched that God revealed it to me. He struck my heart and said, “That’s where I want you to go.”

On my survey trip to Ghana, He confirmed that calling. I traveled with a veteran international missionary to the Deaf. He told me to pray that God would show us some Deaf, because not always do you get to meet them while traveling. On my two-week survey trip, I met over 700 Deaf people. I met Deaf people every day. God showed me His ministry for me.

Melanie Hall
I started attending church at the age of four as a bus kid. I recall hearing the Gospel multiple times in Sunday school, Junior Church, and Vacation Bible School. Each time it was presented, I raised my hand and prayed to make sure I had a home in Heaven. Finally, in third grade my Sunday school teacher at Community Baptist Church of Andalusia, Illinois, made it clear to me that I could never be good enough to earn salvation and I could never do anything to lose it. I understood that gift was Jesus, and He alone had the power to save me. That day I put my faith in Him, and it has been settled in my heart ever since.

I grew up in a very dysfunctional family. My parents are Deaf and Hard of Hearing and were, at that time, very heavy drug addicts. My sisters and I were left to our own doings and were never disciplined. We were our teachers’ worst nightmares. Oftentimes, after sharing my testimony, people have accused me of being the poster child for “Jesus saves.” However, it was different at church. It was a place of refuge. I remember going to church to feel loved and accepted. I thank God for a youth pastor and his family who invested in me. I started going soul winning at the age of 13. My youth pastor and his family would invite me to their home every weekend so that I would be able to work on the bus route with them. They took time to disciple me and show me what a Christian family looked like. They would bring me into their home to eat and fellowship with the missionary family they were hosting. It was at our missions conference that I surrendered to be a missionary. I laugh now, because I told God, “Anywhere but Africa!”

In high school I had a strong desire to attend our Christian school. However, because of my parents’ addictions, they could not afford food, much less a Christian education. At the age of 15, I moved in with my aunt and got a job cleaning empty apartments and the complexes to pay for school. I am so thankful that God gave me this opportunity. I know, without a doubt, that had I not made this change, I would have never attended Hyles-Anderson College.

Our desire is to work with Fundamental Baptist Church International in Ghana, West Africa, to plant a Deaf church. We want to see Deaf people saved and train them to become soul winners. In addition, we have a strong burden to reach their hearing families for Christ. This will be most effective through the ministries of our Ghana Team. Our vision is to train the Deaf and either send them to plant a Deaf church or to work with regional pastors and establish Deaf Ministries to coincide with ministries of the regional pastors.

Crossroads Baptist Church
5811 Hoffmans Ln
Bailey’s Crossroads, VA 22041
(703)845-0017
ourcrossroads.org

CONTACT

Mailing Address
849 Indiana Street,
Hammond, IN 46320
Email Address
baraka.hall@fbmi.org

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You can financially support our family and ministry by giving here online, or you can mail checks to FBMI, 507 State Street, Hammond, IN 46320, and designate your giving to Missionary #6117.
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LATEST

  • Baraka and Melanie Hall Prayer Letter: Everything Beautiful in His Time“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) While I cannot speak on every region outside the United States, our experience in Ghana has felt as though there are two speeds at which things operate—slow and stop. However, the Bible calls us to trust God’s larger plan through life’s challenging seasons, finding peace in His sovereignty, rather than trying to understand every delay or outcome.

    Upon returning to Ghana after our furlough, we immediately contacted our architect to obtain the finalized blueprints necessary to apply for building permits. Although the designs were complete, there were delays related to their printing. Given that the architect was providing these services at no cost to our church, we patiently waited.

    On September 12, we received the call to come and collect the blueprints. Once in hand, we promptly set out to Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly Physical Planning Department to apply for the permits. Previously, we were quoted 80,000 Ghanaian cedis (pronounced like CDs) for the building permit fees. A couple of staff members at the KMA Physical Planning Department told us that if we “pled” to the director, their committee should be able to reduce the fees. Following their advice, we made our appeal to the director. The director referenced Luke 14:28 and told us we didn’t know our Bible. That stung. While there is wisdom in this verse, this is an analogy, not a command. In context, it talks about considering the cost of being a disciple of Christ. Although his response was not what we were seeking, it was what we needed. It prompted us to seek God’s forgiveness for our moments of doubt. Time and again, God has faithfully and miraculously provided at EVERY step of the way, and this experience reminded us to trust Him more. On November 5, we received the response for our permit application. Everything was approved, and all permit fees were waived!

    One Saturday in November, I was visiting a Muslim Deaf man named Mohammed. One of our regular church attendees told me that Mohammed had recently gotten remarried, and I should visit his new wife. I met Mohammed in 2018 and have repeatedly tried to share the Gospel with him. Many times, he declined, waving me away and clearly stating that he was a Muslim and did not want to hear what I had to say. On one occasion, while distributing church tracts at a sporting event for the Deaf, he threw it to the ground and said he didn’t need it. Later, unknowingly, I shared the Gospel with his then wife, and she trusted Christ as her Saviour. As I would visit again in his area, Mohammed would lead me to other Deaf with whom to share the Gospel, but his stance didn’t change. That Saturday in November when we went to visit his new wife, I asked him again if I could share the Gospel with him. He said, “You have been trying for a long time, and you still ask.” I asked him if he knew for sure he would go to Heaven when he died. He said he felt as if he would. I asked him how he knew. He said, “God will decide, but if you know how to go to Heaven, you should tell me.” As I shared the Gospel, Mohammed’s heart was opened. He was amazed to learn that he did not need to earn his way to Heaven. That day, Mohammed finally placed his trust in Christ as his Saviour. Everything is beautiful in His time!

    Please join us in prayer that we will be able to accomplish significant work on the new property during the next three months, which is the dry season. We still need to raise roughly $130,000 to complete the building project. However, as we have witnessed recently, while God may provide the necessary funds, He is also able to work through people’s hearts to offer services and support at no cost. Another prayer request is for an upcoming Deaf Revival and interpreting training with Missionary Miguel Triano and local pastors in Cape Coast in January 2026.

    Your co-laborers for Christ,

    Rocky, Melanie, Rocky II, Malachi, Tyler, and Marissa Hall

    Published On: December 20th, 2025Tags: ,

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