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
ourcrossroads.org
5811 Hoffmans Ln
Bailey’s Crossroads, VA 22041
(703)845-0017
FIELD
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Baraka and Melanie Hall Prayer Letter: His Ways Are Higher
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) In July, our church experienced a scare. One of our members, Abubakari Rashid, was sent to the hospital near death. He was away at the Deaf Residential School when he became violently ill with malaria. His fellow classmate rode with him on public transportation for six hours to assure his safe arrival. The classmate stayed with him in the hospital instead of returning to school. It was here in the hospital room that our staff man, Ali Rashid, who is also Abubakari’s older brother, shared the Gospel with this classmate. We are so very thankful that Abubakari was physically saved. We are thankful for his classmate’s soul being saved. We are also thankful for members of our church who are soul-conscious despite their own troubles.
The first week of August, we hosted our second Deaf Conference on the topic of marriage. We learned in July that our guest speakers were not able to come. This time was a bit crazy for us. We thank God for Bro. Richmond Acheampong from Fundamental Baptist Church International; he taught several sessions on how to honor God in a Ghanaian marriage. I taught 13 sessions total, and my wife taught the ladies in 7 split sessions. While we are grateful to have guest speakers when we can, we can’t help but thank God for how He used our church members in the preparations, the serving, the clean-up, and so many other ways, thus allowing my wife and me to prepare and teach. We had about 30 Deaf in attendance; several of whom were visitors. Afterward, we had many Deaf approach us, requesting another conference next year.
God has opened another door for my staff and me to preach. We began visiting a local vocational training center for the Deaf several months ago in the hope of sharing the Gospel with new Deaf. While they were open to preaching, we never had a warm reception until I was able to share the Gospel with one of the lead teachers. He believed in Christ, but he was placing his faith in his good works for salvation. After showing him from the Bible his need to put his faith in Christ alone, he got saved. He invited us to return each month to preach the Gospel to the Deaf.
I am pleased to report that every week for several months, we have had Deaf and hearing people getting saved. In our last prayer letter, I stated that we are emphasizing soul winning every Sunday afternoon in our split classes. My wife was overjoyed when Elizabeth, one of our newest converts, messaged my wife about sharing the Gospel with three of her students. All three, who previously believed that their good works would save them, have now trusted Christ as their personal Saviour.
Please pray for our family’s upcoming furlough, beginning the first week of October. Praise God, our roundtrip tickets have been purchased; and, thanks to Pastor Dean Noonan and Faith Baptist Church in Milwaukee, we have secured a vehicle. Our schedule is jam-packed. We will be in 38 different churches in the 15 weeks we will be Stateside. We appreciate your prayers for our safety and for problem-free traveling. Please keep our church members and staff in your prayers during our absence.
Your co-laborers for Christ,
Rocky, Melanie, Rocky II, Malachi, Tyler, and Marissa Hall
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