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It has been 22 years now since we got the
call to full-time missionary work. I say we because to give
up secular work and bring up our three young children could
not be the decision of one parent.
For the previous three years we had travelled
in Eastern Europe and experienced the pain and restriction
of the Body of Christ. During this time God gave us a compassion
for those held at that time behind the Iron Curtain. We used
our spare time to share in churches and schools the ministry
God was clearly laying on our hearts.
On 1st January 1980 we put our faith and
calling in God to the test and committed ourselves to ministry.
We can say with all honesty that we have been tested, even
separated at one stage by prison walls, but never alone and
never in need.
Separation has been part of our lives from the start of our
ministry. We knew also that we were in a spiritual battle.
As a wife and mother, I was soon coming to terms with inexplicable
illnesses and pain soon after my husband left for a trip.
In a way this was a confirmation to us that we were where
God wanted us to be.
Twice I have had to move house when my husband
was away on the mission field but at no time should we complain
that when God has a different timetable to us otherwise we
miss the blessing of what God wants to do.
During the first house move my husband was in Central Asia,
then under Soviet control, at the very beginning of a ministry
that has grown to vast proportions today.
We have spent most of our time around Bible
distribution and leadership training in some of the most restricted
areas of the world. In all this time it would not have been
right if the Word had not affected our lives too.
Change comes by having ours minds renewed daily through the
Word of God. Continuous contact with the Word has helped us
to think differently, talk differently and act differently.
One area we have been tested in is that
of contentment.
Paul, in his letter to Timothy says 'Godliness
with contentment is great gain'.
1 Tim.6:6
Here we have had to understand that real
contentment does not come from possessions but from knowing
our walk is in God's will.
We have learned that part of this process
is bringing God into our circumstances or better still - providing
circumstances into which God can come.
In 1987 we were put the put to the test.
Would we answer a further call on our life to relocate to
Holland and take up the mantle of leading our work into the
Soviet Union and Eastern Europe? Our eldest son was living
and working from our home in England, our second son was at
university and our daughter had just finished A levels prior
to university.
Parents leaving home were not on our agenda.
Our house and supportive local church provided a haven for
our children and with our trust in God we made our move. I
remember one time returning to Holland after Christmas and
the New Year and my husband especially feeling the wrench
from the family. Due to preach on Sunday in our local fellowship
he was feeling pretty low until he read this:
" Assuredly, I say to you, there is
no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father
or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the
gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this
time - houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children
and lands, with persecutions -and in the age to come eternal
life" Mark 10:29 - 30 NKJV
I remember seeing the change. Three times
the Lord asked him to read this passage and on the third time
he got the answer - with persecutions.
The Lord told us quite clearly that there
would be difficulties and challenges ahead but if we were
faithful He was able to take care of our family. Our joy was
complete when one year later both our sons were baptised and
my husband brought the message. Two years later my father
died suddenly when my husband was in the Philippines and time
does not allow me to tell you the way God engineered to get
us together in time for the burial.
Earlier I mentioned that prison walls separated us. Two years
into our ministry my husband was arrested in an East European
country because of his work. We were there with our three
young children. Taken away to 'help with
their inquiries' my husband was placed in a prison cell, without
charge, with three local criminals. Lying on his bunk the
Lord spoke very clearly to him one word 'Joseph' and brought
to him a psalm - "He sent a man before them - Joseph
who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters,
he was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to
pass, the word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released
him, the ruler of the people let him go free." Ps. 105:17
- 20
My husband told me later that total peace
filled his soul despite the separation although he did not
feel like a 'Joseph'.
Within several hours he was released. We
lost a lot of our possessions including our vehicle but after
a very long train journey back to our base in Holland something
remarkable happened. We arrived on a Saturday evening late
and on Sunday morning we went to church. We went to a church
that we had not been to before to hear a speaker visiting
the church for the first time. Through an interpreter we were
directed to - Genesis 49:22 - "Joseph is a fruitful
bow, a fruitful bow by a wall; His branches run over a wall…"
His introduction went like this - "Joseph
is a fruitful bow, his branches go over a wall, they cross
borders, they enter prison cells, they set the prisoner free…"
We cannot put into words what that meant to us then and what
it continues
to do for us now.
I was questioned for several hours on my husband's activities
and proved conclusively that the Holy Spirit will give you
in that hour what you should say. My interrogators stumbled
over two issues. Firstly they said, "Did you know your
husband has broken the laws of our country" to which
I replied "If you tell me all the laws of your country
I will tell you whether he has broken any or not".
Then they said, "Your husband has broken
the laws of our country and will be punished to which I responded
"If he has broken the laws of your country he should
be punished."
My husband still travels extensively on
international assignments and it does not get any easier.
We are still trusting God and His Word and
will continue to re-examine our priorities to avoid pursuing
things that leave Him out of our lives.
"But you, O man of God, flee these
things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience,
gentleness." 1 Tim.6:11
© Kathleen Hall
Kathleen is the wife
of Alan Hall, Vice President - Open Doors International responsible
for Development world-wide. As part of his duties Alan worked
very closely with Anneke Companjen on the publishing of her
book.
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