Sept 2011 Update

Dear Friends,

I pray that everyone had a joyous summer wherever you were. We have had quite an eventful summer. As most of you knew, my father was diagnosed with Lymphoma in January. He and my mother moved into an assisted living facility back in May and were enjoying their time together. My Dad had been experiencing good health and was able to spend time with family and friends. His appetite was pretty good and he enjoyed eating tomatoes this summer.

He turned 81 on July 26th and about 4 days later he started feeling “yucky” as he called it. He would occasionally experience this for a couple of days and then everything would be fine. After 2 days of “yuckiness” he said that he felt a little worse. They started him back on his morphine that evening and the next day he required 4 doses. He experienced some breathing issues on the evening of Aug 3rd. When the hospice nurse came out to check on him he was stable. He passed away quietly on the morning of Aug 4th. It is tough to realize that he is gone from here but we are so thankful that his passing was easy and that he is rejoicing in his salvation with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

The month of August brought new challenges with setting up caregivers for my Mother. She didn’t want to stay at the assisted living facility without my Father. We were blessed with volunteers and paid people who have stepped up to help with this. Also in August, it became obvious that my sister’s husband’s health was declining. He entered the hospital on Aug 29th with several problems. He turned 57 on Aug 31st while in the hospital. The family was able to visit with him during this time however, on the morning of Friday Sept 2nd, the doctors told my sister that his liver and kidneys were not responding and recommended moving him to the Palliative Care Unit in the hospital. He passed away around 9:00 PM that evening with his family present. We take comfort in knowing that he accepted the Lord and that he is now disease free in heaven with Christ!

All of the above helps us understand why the Lord had not allowed us to move out of the country yet. We have been quite busy with funerals, insurance, Social Security, and all of the other things that come along with a death. We know that the Lord wanted us here to support my Mother and my Sister during this time and to help them transition into the new chapters in their lives.

Since our last update, we have been able to get our hardwood floors refinished in July (including camping out in our backyard while they were being done) and have completed painting in all but one room. We plan to do that next week and then schedule to have our carpet replaced and then the house will be going on the market! Please pray for the Lord to provide a buyer for our home.

Prayer Requests

• Please pray for a buyer for our home. I know that this is not the best market for selling but it is a great market for buying and the Lord has a buyer for us.

• Pray for our fundraising efforts. We are in need of monthly support. Currently, we have about 1/3 of our monthly support. This is wonderful but it is not enough for us to be able to move forward with our plans. We know that there are people who are planning to give but they have not yet committed. The commitment is necessary so that we know where we stand with our budget. If you have decided to join us in this ministry, please let us know so we can put it in our budget. We have people giving on a monthly basis currently and it is a huge blessing as it allows us to buy some of the things that we need before we go like storage containers and even our 40 ft shipping container. Some give monthly and some give annually. No amount is too small. As long as we know your commitment, we can make our plans.

• Pray for our visas. We will be submitting our paperwork after we leave for Portugal. You can’t submit it too soon because the visas must be used within 30 days of issue.

• Please pray about how God is calling you to join our ministry. We would love to come and speak with any group or just have dinner with you to tell you about how the Lord is using us.

Thank you for your prayers, support, and friendship. We could not do this without you.

In His Grip,

Danny for all the Halls

Support Address:

AGA Inc.

25 Maple St

Addison, NY 14801

Account - 01016

May 2011 Update

Hello Friends!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Easter celebration and rejoice in the new life that we all receive through Christ resurrection!

In our last update 2 months ago, I mentioned to you about my father’s illness. His transition to Hospice has gone well and he has continued to gain strength and a renewed spirit during his time there. The nurses and staff at Beacon Place are wonderful and we could not ask for a nicer place for my Dad.

However, they are kicking him out. It is a good thing though. They are kicking him out because he has improved so much. In my last update I told you that the Oncologist prognosis was for weeks to months remaining. The hospice doctor told us yesterday that even though he still has lymphoma, his overall health is so good that they need to free up the bed for someone who is terminal. He said the average stay for someone at Hospice is about a week. My father has been there almost 10 weeks now and amazes the nurses every day with his improvement. A definite answer to prayer!

The plan is to move him and my Mom into an assisted living facility where they can be together and they can also get the care that they need. What a blessing for them to be able to be together again! We are truly thankful for the Lord’s provision in this situation.

I have been spending more time with my father and mother during the past 10 weeks. Given the prognosis in January we felt like our time with him was very limited. I didn’t want to spend all of my time with preparations with Angola and regret time lost with my Dad after he passed. However, with his latest diagnosis and with a special one-on-one conversation I had with my Dad this past Sunday, we are back into preparing to move.

Sunday afternoon, my father and I were watching an NBA game on TV and the topic of Angola came up. He wanted to know how our board meeting had gone on Sunday. I told him a bit about it and how things were moving forward with the different ministries there. He then looked me in the eye and said, “If God has called you to go to Angola, and I believe He has, then you need to keep going. Don’t let what is going on with me keep you from following what He has called you to do.” WOW! What a HUGE affirmation. Both my heavenly father and my earthly father are telling me that I need to move forward!

Please pray for us over the next couple of weeks as we get my parents settled into their new lifestyle. This is not one that they would have chosen but they are accepting it and making the best of this change all the while giving thanks for my Dad’s new lease on life. We still don’t know how long he has but none of us know the timeframe that we have. James 4:14 says, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” None of us have the promise of tomorrow and we are learning that we must move forward.

In Him,

Danny & April

Support address

AGA Inc.

25 Maple St

Addison, NY 14801

Account: 01016 or “Danny & April”