Prayer Letter
December 2007
Dear Praying Friends,
His first attempts were disastrous: the wobbles, then the spills,
accompanied by the pain and last of all, the fear of trying again. Yet
somehow in the midst of his stumbles and spills, he finally learned!
Because of a wonderful church in Indianapolis, our son got an early
Christmas present - a bicycle, and he has conquered it!!
Watching my son master his bicycle, I thought of myself. 15 years ago, I
began learning the Lithuanian language and after many years of brain
busting study, was able to preach, teach and win souls in that difficult
tongue. Then, last year, God moved us here and I am back to language
wobbles and spills.
It's like having an operation. Once you have gone through that pain, you
never want to again - yet sometimes it is necessary. So, I strap on my
helmet, grab the handlebars and pedal for all I am worth. Sometimes I
talk for paragraphs, other times I wobble and fall after a few words.
Yet, as I prepare my first sermon in Portuguese, I am determined to
conquer this language and communicate the gospel clearly to the 11
million Portuguese God has called us to, no matter how many Band-Aids I
end up wearing!
Wobbly, but still pedaling,
Mark Hale
"Praying
always ... for all
saints and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my
mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the Gospel."
Ephesians 6:18-19
