Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dear Family and Friends,

Another year has passed and we stand amazed.  In January 2010, we will have completed our 5^th year as missionaries.  God’s grace abounds both in our lives and in our ministries.  He has proven His faithfulness to us many times over this year, and we are so thankful.

         We just finished the 6^th semester of NILI (Nazarene International Language Institute), which is the Spanish study-abroad program that Stan directs.  This past year we had 14 university students and 10 professional adult students.  Next semester we’ll have 14 students.  God continues to open doors and change lives through this program.

         Anyone we’ve talked to in the past year has probably heard the incredible story of how God healed a man Stan thought was dead and protected Stan from going to jail this past June.  If you haven’t heard the story, go to our blog at www.hallupdate.blogspot.com and read this incredible testimony of God’s mercy. This year we also faced landslides (from too much rain in the Spring) and three fires (from not enough rain in the Fall) on our property.  Again, God protected all of the buildings including our home on our property.

         Mary is 17 and is in her junior year.  She was in the school production of “Taming the Shrew” and is currently singing in the vocal ensemble and playing her flute in concert band.  She enjoys being the defensive lead on the girl’s varsity soccer team, and she is a mentor to 8^th grade girls in a weekly ministry through the school.  We know that her time here with us is short, so we are enjoying every minute we can.  We are also thankful that her health has been much better this year—we know as a result of a lot of prayers.

         Landon is 13 and is homeschooled this year.  This gives him more time to develop his musical talents and his video productions.  He recently performed one of his songs on guitar at a coffee-shop event and was well received.  By the way, Landon’s on his way to being taller than Stan—and he won’t let his dad forget it!

         Sherri continues with her writing projects, supervises Landon’s schooling, and tries to keep everyone organized.  Susie, a Seminary student that Sherri had mentored for several years, graduated this year.  This is part of the life of missionaries and students—many people come in and out of lives, and we just enjoy our friends while we can.

         This past year we were praying for direction from God as to where we should attend church as a family.  At the same time, Stan felt that God was challenging him to preach more.  Although he had done a lot of teaching in Spanish, he hadn’t done a lot of preaching in Spanish.  As soon as we returned to Quito this Fall, God has given Stan many opportunities to preach, and he also answered our prayers about a local church.  One of the churches near us has been in crisis, and the board asked Stan to sit in on meetings and serve as a mentor during this time.  Landon also plays his guitar with the praise team.  We thank God for answered prayers.

         We enjoyed meeting and reconnecting so many wonderful Nazarenes at the General Assembly and Conventions.  While on Home Assignment we literally crisscrossed the states, enjoying the hospitality of many churches.  We also served at the South Florida teen camp.

God takes care of even the little things.  When Sherri’s computer battery died, we were able to get one delivered to us in about 3 days.  That’s unheard of when living in a developing country!  This week, we coordinated a team of former NILI students who returned to work on the construction of a house for the Seminary rector.  We travel frequently throughout the year with students and visitors, and God always protects us—even when we don’t know it!  Every un-eventful driving experience in Ecuador is a sign of God’s protection.

         We will be back in the States from June 30-August 19, 2010, and we are currently scheduling services.  We are open to all kinds of events:  faith promises, weekly services, zone rallies, teen/children rallies, camps, etc.  Please contact us at stanleyrhall@gmail.com if you’d like to schedule an event with us.  We’d love to share with you what God is doing in Ecuador and beyond!

         Our prayer during this season was penned by Robert Louis Stevenson:  “Loving God, Help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and worship of the wise men.”

         Merry Christmas to you and yours,

Stan, Sherri, Mary and Landon Hall

Family blog:  www.hallupdate.blogspot.com

Mission blog:  www.andeanadventure.blogspot.com