Jim's Blog­

In Memory of Rob Hall - Mar 11, 2011

This is a letter I never wanted to write.

As many of you know, my family has suffered an incredible loss.  Just a few weeks ago, my son-in-law Rob Hall was killed in an accident while serving in Zambia.

My daughter Kate has been left a widow.  My three grandchildren, Kathryn, Simeon, and Cameron, are now fatherless.  The thousands of people whose lives were impacted by Rob are left with a painful hole in their hearts.

Rob was a hands-on father and husband to his family.  Even more, he was a faithful servant of God.

Since last October, Rob, Kate and the kids have been serving in sub-Saharan Africa.  Rob was a gifted teacher and an expert in agriculture.  Connecting with the Trans-Africa Theological College in Kitwe, Rob was training students in both pastoral ministry and agriculture.

Putting his gifts to use and following the leading of God, Rob transformed the college in the few short months he was there.  Barren fields came to life under his careful hand.  Students were empowered to serve their communities, both spiritually and practically.  Even at the moment he died, Rob was building a prayer tower to benefit the students and community around the College.

Rob gave his life in service to God and the Church.

His presence will be sorely missed in the communities where he worked in Zambia and Malawi.  Rob was instrumental in several Visionledd and WOW projects, bringing his passion and dedication to projects like income-generating piggeries and church planting initiatives.

I ask you to hold us up in your prayers over the coming weeks and months.  Rob lived what he believed, and our lives will never be the same without him.  For more than ten years Kathy and I have given everything we have to fight for children who are orphaned - today we have three lovely young grandchildren who have lost their father.  They are living with us...it's our "new normal".

At this point, we move forward only by the strength of the Lord.

If you feel led, please also consider offering a gift to support the projects that Rob was so committed to.  A key project is the 125-acre farm we're prayerfully planning to purchase in the Kabwe area.  Rob was our "go-to-guy" as an agriculturalist.  We need to grow food to help feed the 5,000 orphans we're caring for with our strategic partner, Kabwe Home Based Care.  The purchase price is $30,000.  I want to call it "Rob's Farm".  Your support will honour his legacy and continue the compassionate service he gave his life for.

Thank you for your support of Visionledd and my family.  Your thoughts and prayers are a great source of strength to us in this time of grief.

Jim

Millennium Development Goals - Sep 22, 2010

This has been an exciting week for international development. Over the past three days, leaders from around the world have gathered in New York City to assess the progress that has been made on the Millennium Development Goals. These eight goals, established by the United Nations in 2000, aim to move us toward a world without poverty, hunger and disease.

Although the goals are ambitious, their potential is encouraging. In the la­st ten years, great improvements have been made in the number of children attending school and receiving immunizations. More people have access to ARV medication to treat HIV and AIDS than ever before.

Sadly, it’s not all good news. Many areas of the world, sub-Saharan Africa in particular, will not meet the MDGs by 2015 at their current rate. Extreme poverty and lack of employment continue to trap people in a life of need. Mortality rates among children and mothers are still unacceptable high. Although ARVs are available to many, over half of the almost 9 million people affected by HIV and AIDS cannot access them. There is much to be done.

As you know, Visionledd is committed to securing justice for orphans and widows in sub-Saharan Africa. While the response from UN countries has been insufficient, we are dedicated to mobilizing churches and transforming communities. With your support, we are empowering Christians across sub-Saharan Africa to accomplish all that the MDGs stand for.

Please pray for me and the Visionledd/WOW team as we prepare to head over to Africa for the annual Youth Conference. Knowing they have the support of churches here in North America is a source of great encouragement to young people in Africa!­

For more on the progress of the MDGs, read the full report.

Pastor's Conference Update - Aug 24, 2010

Just a few months ago, hundreds of pastors assembled in two Zambian cities, Kabwe and Kitwe, for a time of refreshing, teaching and encouragement. These pastor’s conferences are an essential step in mobilizing churches in sub-Saharan Africa to go out and transform their communities.

I was inspired and encouraged as I sat with pastors and leaders and felt their passion for reaching their communities for Christ. We were all challenged to go out into the world embodying the justice and righteousness of God and bringing it into the dark places of the world.
We are already receiving reports of the transformation taking place as these pastors return to their communities renewed and empowered. Follow-up seminars were held in both cities this month for those pastors and leaders committed to promoting change in their communities. We will continue to offer training and support in the coming months.

I am looking forward to returning to Africa in just a few weeks to encourage and challenge these pastors to continue ministering the justice and righteousness of God to their communities. Please continue to pray for Visionledd and the communities where we serve.
God is moving among the churches of Africa!  

Blog Entry - May 10, 2010

My friend and colleague Richard Brown has written down some reflections on our first few days visiting Africa. I'd like to share them with you and ask that you continue to pray for Visionledd and the people of sub-Saharan Africa.

"On Thursday, I went to see Kennedy with Pastors Lawrence & Willie. I asked Kennedy what God had been saying to him. He said that God was saying He was going to be healed. I prayed with him for that healing. I told the Cantelons, the McPhails & John Kerr at dinner that night.

On Saturday afternoon, Jim asked the women in the conference audience how many of them believed in healing prayer. He went and picked up Kennedy & asked the women to come down to the front to pray for Kennedy. Hundreds streamed down. Jim said he felt prompted by the Spirit to do this. He was disappointed that Kennedy didn't run back & forth at the front of the church. He instructed the crowd that God doesn't always heal instantly & sometimes not at all, but what was important is the obedience to the Spirit.

After the service I went back to Pastor Willie & asked if I recalled correctly Kennedy's sense of what God was saying to him. Willie affirmed this. I asked Willie to go back to Kennedy & tell him to stretch his legs as much as he could everyday and say, "Jesus, I want to walk!"

We need to continue to pray for his healing.

On a more sobering note, Eric said from the podium that there is an expression in Bemba that translates, "Women are like goat feces!" It certainly helps to explain the low view there is of women & particularly widows & young girls. It helps you understand the shame of the widows & the abuse of young girls and any woman for that matter. There is rejoicing at the birth of a son, but disappointment at the birth of a daughter. I wept inside. This demands that we continue to do what we are doing: to reverse the tide of this injustice.

It certainly supports the need for teaching on the biblical view of women, marriage & the vulnerable. It makes the ministry of WOW absolutely essential!

I have Zambian TV on in the background at Chreso. They just had a cholera alert. Nasty thing."

Blog Entry - Feb 23, 2010

The two tragic deaths marking the Olympics this year, in the context of the ongoing challenges facing Haiti put a lot of things in perspective. The death of the Georgian luger, hours before the games begun, left a blanket of fear, despair and loss for many athletes. While watching the Georgian ice-dance team compete, I found myself thinking, "I wonder if the young luger who died was a close friend? Are they in mourning? Do they feel their hard-earned moment in the Olympic spotlight is empty?"

As I write, we have yet to watch figure skater, Joannie Rochette compete. But what rollercoaster will she be on? Her Mom, who died of a massive heart attack just a few days ago, was her greatest inspiration and dearest friend. How will she be able to perform? And if she should win, how will she cope with the compound emotion of hearing the anthem, the roar of the crowd and the brokenness of her heart? Surely the glory is overwhelming, for a moment. But the relationships lost forever, the love gone, trump the short-term magnificence of victory.

Blog Entry - Jan 26, 2010

The recent earthquake in Haiti is a profound reminder to us all of our vulnerability, humanity and interdependence. The fact is we NEED each other. Any and every "life-accident" can literally "turn our world upside-down". We have no guarantee of tomorrow. Jesus put it well when he said,"…do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34).

In other words seize the day.

So - today is the time to be thankful, engaged, proactive and gracious. Now is the time to "redeem" our world's brokenness - and do it with a smile. Remember, the day may come when we'll need help from Haiti!

Blog Entry - Dec 21, 2009

As our families gather to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, I cannot help but be humbled by the spirit of Jesus. As Visionledd moves into a new year of ministry and partnerships, I am so grateful for everything the Lord has done for us. He has walked with us every step of the way. He is there when we bring food relief to orphans or build a Life Centre in a community devastated by poverty and disease. He leads us as we provide vocational training to widows and discipleship training to young leaders. But above all, He is with us when we share the news of what His birth over two thousand years ago did for our world.

This Christmas I want to challenge you to give a gift of meaning. Our heavenly father has given us the ultimate gift - the gift of eternal life. He has blessed us with so much. I pray that you will turn to Him this Christmas with an open heart.Whether you serve at a local soup kitchen, sing carols at a nursing home or give a gift in support of Visionledd's ministry, each of these will provide just a little hope to someone in need this Christmas.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and much joy in the New Year.

Jim

Blog Entry - Dec 04, 2009

As I was searching for direction for the New Year, I was encouraged by the passage found in Ephesians 1: 11-14 which says:

"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory."

Through the ministry of Visionledd, God has given us the incredible opportunity to offer an Inheritance of hope and peace to orphans and widows devastated by HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. God has entrusted us with His children. We have been called to be a father to the fatherless and a defender of the weak. We have also been marked by His life - His spirit is forever guiding our plans.

Give a legacy of hope to a child, mother or widow in need. As we follow in the footsteps of Christ we know that "in Him all things work out for the good, for those who love him and have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

Blog Entry - Nov 17, 2009

I recently received an email from my friend and colleague, Richard Brown. I pray that his words will inspire you the way they have inspired me.

In Bemba, umwanyantaJesu means, "where Jesus went through." If God truly lives with the broken-hearted and if the angels of the little ones are ever before Him, then Jesus was in Naikoli today.

I wept inside, while a little tear rolled down my cheek as I held three-year-old Grace Mulenga. Mulenga in Bemba means God or Creator. Maybe you could say I was holding the Grace of God? Grace is a pretty, huggable little girl you just want to love. Grace is also HIV positive. Her mother and father are both dead. She's sick and living with her five-year-old sister and 50-year-old epileptic and deaf grandmother. Her grandmother sells charcoal, making barely enough to feed her family. Because of her illness she sometimes falls asleep and wakes up to find someone has stolen her charcoal.

Today we took this broken family a 50 kg bag of maize and a 2 kg bag of sugar.

It will last one month - then what?

Jesus wants us to be His hands and feet to seek out and help the vulnerable in His name!

There were several other real life opportunities that we had to bring hope to the desperate. People with names and a story: Peter Mupeta - 56-year-old widower, suffering from the after effects of a stroke, 30-year- old Bernadette Mwandu dying from AIDS, Faless Banda - HIV positive with Tuberculosis, Jonathan Soko, just skin and bones from AIDS.

The good news is that all each of these men, women and children were prayed with today and all were left with some food and hope in Jesus name.

Blog Entry - Oct 21, 2009

I recently received an email from Rita Prins, the Executive Director of Visionledd’s ministry, WOW that reminded me of the warmth and closeness I feel to God when I am caring for and ministering to communities across sub-Saharan Africa.

Rita’s report brings both stories of celebration and great need. Her team of dedicated men and women from The People’s Church in Toronto, Ontario are experiencing African culture for the first time.

Since their departure, the reports from the field have been refreshing. So many lives have been transformed since our last visit to these communities. The orphans and widows they are caring for have introduced them to a new kind of faith – one outside the comfort we know in Canada.  One of complete dependence on God – without government support and without the comfort of a job, home or family.

Yet even though they have nothing, these widows are hopeful for the future. Their faith in God – their trust in Him in all l things, is a testimony to the work Visionledd is carrying out in these communities of need.