MISSIONARY PROFILE
Mike
& Cindy
Haley
Missionary Information
Name:
Mike Haley
Age: 53
Spouse:
Cindy Haley
Age: 56
Child: Brock Haley
Age: 30
Child: Emily Haley
Age: 28
Mission Field: Africa
Home Church: Grace Baptist Church
New Castle, Indiana
Missions Agency: Baptist International Missions
Harrison, Tennessee
Our Missionary for 8 years
Missionary Update 06/05/2017
June 5, 2017 – At the end of the service yesterday, a young college graduate named Phenyo received Christ as His Saviour. He along with many others will be baptized this coming Lord’s Day on BAPTISM SUNDAY. As I write this I am watching out my office door as a large tanker truck fills the pool where several precious believers will express their identification with our Lord Jesus in baptism. The pool was in disrepair, and we were struggling for a place to baptize. Our landlord, who has had some difficult financial setbacks lately, stepped up and allowed us to use this month's rent to have the pool repairs made. All last week the men worked hard to get it done. As the clean sparkling water splashed into the pool tears of joy filled my eyes as I thought of the great grace of God that has been experienced in the lives of these precious souls. Next week, after the morning service, we will gather at our home for lunch and the baptism service. We are preparing to feed 100 people. We have encouraged those being baptized to invite lost family members and friends and many are being prayed for this week. We are asking God to greatly use this service to speak the hearts of those who still need to be saved. My heart is full to overflowing and so is our plate getting ready this week. Please pray all will go well this week as there is much to do. Two weeks ago, we were at the University of Botswana distributing New Testaments and I met a professor from the mathematics department. He asked if we could sit together and allow me to answer questions he had about the scriptures. We sat for almost two hours, and he has been at church two Sundays in a row now. I’m confident that he’ll be saved soon. Please pray for “Prof” a polite way of addressing a professor. I have begun preaching / teaching on how to have a Godly marriage and a Christian home. It is much needed here and already we are seeing the great hunger that folks have for it. Of course, Satan will fight in every way to hinder that which will help so many. Please pray with us that God’s Word will prevail in the lives of the people. As always – it takes a commitment to faithfulness to grow and there are always those who linger in the valley of decision. Cindy and I are blessed beyond measure and our health is good. We love all of you and appreciate your faithfulness to pray and give. We have an expensive month ahead of us with a lot of “extras” but as always God overwhelmingly blessed and our support was beyond normal this month. I mean what I say. I really believe we have some of the greatest churches in the world standing with us and not a day goes by that I do not thank the Lord for it. Heaven will be so sweet as we all gather around the throne together and sing of God’s amazing grace. Hallelujah!!! What a day that will be!!! Together in the harvest, Mike and Cindy Haley
Missionary Update 04/24/2017
April 2017 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. - II Corinthians 2: 14-17 We are faithful to preach and present the gospel of Christ at every opportunity, and we live in a day and hour in Botswana where opportunities abound. But we have no control over how people will respond. We preach and teach the truth of God’s Word in a place and amongst a people that are inundated (like a plague) by false doctrines. The Charismatic false prophets corrupt the Word of God (if they mention it at all) and deceive many with their “show.” Cultural traditions mixed with animistic beliefs blind the minds of so many. The Thursday before Easter I arrived at the police station for our weekly meeting to find that it was cancelled as most of the officers were dispatched to extra duties for the Easter holiday – a four-day weekend. I had with me a box of 72 New Testaments and decided to distribute them to those who were there including many civilians. I approached one officer at his desk and offered the New Testament as a special gift to celebrate Easter. His eyes were piercing and full of hatred as he said, “No! I am a dingaka” (witchdoctor). Only twice in my lifetime have I personally experienced what I would call a demonic rejection of Christ, the last time being a year ago in Bellingham, Washington when I happened upon a Jewish Rabbi on a Saturday while we were out passing out invitations to an Easter service. As I spoke to him of Jesus Christ being God and to the rabbi of Christ being the Messiah they both had the same look in their eyes – one of intense hatred and rejection for the truth. Were he not a police officer in a police station, at another time and place, I am convinced that the dingaka would have done me bodily harm such was the expression on his face as I told him that Jesus Christ was the risen, and living Son of God. He reluctantly took the scripture – but after thumbing through a few pages laid it aside and refused to acknowledge me when I left. Conversely, while out knocking doors the Saturday before Easter, I stopped in to check on Melanie who came to Christ three weeks back. She had to work two Sundays in a row but has stayed in good contact with us. Her sister Sondra, who visited the church with Melanie the Sunday after she was saved, was there visiting. As I spoke to Sondra concerning Christ and His resurrection she said she desired to be saved and to convert to Christianity but had a problem. She had converted to Islam several years ago, and had taken a vow that she would never leave Islam. Sondra works for the Debeers diamond mining corporation and is a very serious and responsible individual. “Would God relieve her of that vow,” she asked? She said Islam had left her empty but as she heard the preaching that Sunday at church, she felt that God was speaking to her and she hungered for something that was real. I explained that she took a vow to a dead god and consequently it was not binding and had no power upon her and then, from the Word of God, showed her how the real God wanted to save her soul and live in her heart. Much like her sister before her she expressed abundant joy as she humbly bowed and prayed to personally receive our living Lord as her Savior! She and Melanie both had Easter Sunday lunch at our home, and we had great fellowship together. We ate ham! Sondra loved it! Praise God!!! We are experiencing a season of great harvest. Folks are being saved on a weekly basis. The church is growing numerically and more importantly – in their personal commitments to faithful attendance and discipleship. In May we’ll have our first baptism service. The work is endless. PLEASE pray that God will send us laborers! At times, we become very overwhelmed in heart as we witness the great need and opportunity and yet we can only do so much. “And who is sufficient for these things?” Paul wrote. Yet we rest in the Lord. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.” – II Corinthians 3:5 Mike & Cindy Haley, Your Missionaries to Gaborone, Botswana in AFRICA
Missionary Update 04/17/2017
We pray all of you had a blessed Easter. We were able to watch some livestream services from the States and video chat with our kids and family. Technology is such an incredible blessing! I've enjoyed reading Twitter feeds from different pastors and hearing how God blessed with attendance records and souls saved. Easter is celebrated a bit differently in Botswana. It is a national holiday celebrated from Good Friday through what they call Easter Monday, in effect - a four-day weekend. Gabarone, the capital, where we live, literally becomes a ghost town. On Thursday afternoon as people get off of work a phenomenon takes place as people hit the bus stops and crowd the highways to leave the city and head back to their home villages to celebrate. As it is in the States, it's becoming more about the holiday than the reason for it. We've been told that Christmas is even more so. With no idea what to expect for our first Easter Sunday services, I thought the attendance would certainly be way down. Nevertheless, we went soul-winning on Saturday and Sondra, a Muslim, was saved (her testimony is featured in our April prayer letter coming out later this week). Hoping for the best we planned and prepared for a "big day" and on Sunday morning...God truly blessed. At the start of Sunday School, we had about 7 or eight people. But within a half hour we had 56 in attendance, five first time visitors, and an incredible spirit in the worship service. During an impromptu testimony time some of the new converts gave precious testimonies of what Easter meant to them now that they have Christ in their life. One dear lady, a teacher at a public school who just received Christ two weeks ago, spoke of how she had become a horrible alcoholic and last year spent the entire four days of Easter on a drinking binge. She said the Lord has taken away any desire for alcohol and she was overjoyed that for the first time in her adult life she was in church instead of being out in the world drinking away the weekend. I have an appointment with her "husband" (partner as many live together outside of marriage) on Wednesday. Please pray for his salvation as well. Praise God that our living Lord blesses beyond expectation and still saves and transforms lives for His glory!! Have a great week!!! Bro. Mike and Mrs. Cindy Botswana, Africa
Missionary Update 04/03/2017
We had our first "down" day on Sunday with 57 in attendance. Folks here are paid monthly at the end of the month and that usually means many are out traveling or in the "shops" on payday weekend. However, we had FTV's (first time visitors) including the PE teacher from a local school who joyously received Christ at the end of the service. PTL! Had to share this one with you...hope it's a blessing and that you can get a good laugh as well. I was out knocking doors Saturday in an apartment complex and in the very first building a mob of children latched on to me (literally - I had a couple of three-year-olds on each leg) with kids from 3-10 and older tagging along. At one point as I knocked on doors the kids would just march right in whether it was their place or not. Just as I was getting frustrated with some "unruly kids" and trying to figure out what to do with this "distraction" the Lord spoke to my heart. Understand folks, by nature, I am OCD on overload!! But this is Africa!! We found a stairwell, and all sat down, and I took out a kid's tract with a lot of pictures that tells about a small African boy who is trying to get to Heaven, and we had an impromptu neighborhood Bible club going on. They enjoyed learning the songs and the seeds of the gospel were sown into precious little hearts. As I walked away to start on another building apart from the kids, I saw two teen boys sitting on a curb. I sat down next to them and soon we began to speak of the gospel. The older boy was already saved and had a clear testimony but his friend, Calvin, was not. It was amazing to see Calvin, listening with unusual and great consternation, come to the realization that we're all sinners and in need of a Savior. In the end he decided to accept Christ as HIS Savior. I didn't knock many doors Saturday but I'm glad the Lord led us to the prepared heart. UPDATE: We had our first meeting with the Moaka school principal and school board and beginning May 2nd - right after Easter break - will start a weekly Bible class rotation ministering to 700 students. We're quite certain that the teacher who was saved Sunday will be a point person to help us get started at the Marulamantsi school which is literally right next door to the church and home to several hundred more students. Many have been praying for the need of increased support so that we can add a ministry assistant to facilitate the religious education classes in the schools. Thank you!!! God is meeting the need. A Christian businessman and dear personal friend gave a gift of $500 BEFORE he knew of the need. A 100-year-old widow woman gave a $1000 offering BEFORE we made the need public. A Pastor had already met with his deacons BEFORE he knew of the need, and they will vote next month to support the ministry. These gifts will buy us the time that's needed to raise the monthly support necessary to underwrite this ministry. - Matthew 6:8...for your Father knoweth what things he have need of, BEFORE ye ask him. Praise God! Where God guides, HE provides!!
Missionary Update 03/27/2017
We landed in Botswana ten weeks ago and are finally starting to feel “settled in”. The pace of everyday life and ministry has been relentless but God has given grace every step of the way. We are so blessed that when we’re tempted to complain, we quickly remind ourselves to not take for granted what He is doing before our eyes. In addition to our monthly prayer letter, each week we send out a “Sunday Safari” email update often with pics and videos. If you are not on the list to receive it, please write my wife at emailmrscindy@gmail.com to be added. Church attendance has grown from an average in the 20’s to an average in the mid 70’s in just six weeks. One month back we relaunched the church on Kick Off Sunday with a new name, Grace Bible Baptist Church, a new location, and a new pastor. But we’ still preaching the same ole gospel message! Since then, we’ve had 67 first time visitors with repeat visitors starting to bring visitors of their own. Many have been saved and soon we’ll schedule a baptism service. Africa is plagued with Charismatic doctrine and people are literally starving for the truth found in God’s Word. Truly, there is a famine in the land, not of bread nor of water, but of hearing the Word of the Lord! Recently I was out knocking doors and training my partner, Brother Reflex, one of the older and more faithful men of our church. Six doors into an apartment complex we met a 23 yr. old hair stylist named Melanie. She is Motswana (from Botswana) and was raised by her father, a German born atheist. Melanie readily heard the gospel and was gloriously saved. Man did she rejoice! I wish you could have been there. She had to work the following Sunday so that evening we took her a Bible. She met me at the door, all smiles, and said, “Today I asked my boss if I could be off on Sundays to go to church and she said YES! This past Sunday in she walked with TWO OTHERS - her older sister and her male cousin. Earlier that day Cindy and Amantle and I had the blessed privilege to lead Mrs. Magowe to Christ. She has been coming now for 3 weeks, is 51 years old and gave the testimony that she has attended a church since she was a little girl and had never been presented with the gospel before. She felt that she had “wasted her whole life not knowing and understanding God’s truth.” Brother she’s in now! Praise God! A GREAT OPPORTUNITY - PLEASE PRAY WITH US! Some years ago, the President of Botswana issued an initiative to promote the free exercise of religion in all government institutions and schools calling for one hour a week to be given to religious activities. This has created a wide-open door of opportunity. We have been asked to teach religious education (Bible classes) in both public and private schools with access to literal hundreds of students each week. These schools offer an opportunity to reach a younger generation with the gospel before they are adulterated with false doctrine. From the very beginning, reaching an entire generation has been our vision for the ministry here. But we must have help! I am already preaching each week in two different police departments to over 60 officers and other departments have requested us to come. Recently I spoke at a school to over 600 students – many of whom are Muslim and Hindu. All of them gladly received a copy of John and Romans. In coming weeks we’ll begin the campus ministry witnessing and distributing scriptures to the 10k students and faculty of the University of Botswana. Of necessity, I am weekly having to turn down invitations to preach in these places. We simply cannot get to all of them. However, to seize the opportunity in the schools we have decided to add a ministry assistant to our team who will work with Cindy. Together, they will set up an itinerant weekday Bible school class that she’ll teach in three or four schools each week. Cindy will be the heart and soul of this ministry and we have been praying much about adding the assistant specifically to help her. In separate circumstances God has worked in the heart and life of a specific young woman whom we had been considering and I believe now is the time to act. When I am at liberty, I’ll introduce her through our prayer letter. To sponsor an assistant for Cindy and underwrite this work, we need to increase our support by $400-$500 a month. We have five “potential” new supporting churches that, if they choose to partner with us, would completely meet this need. Please pray with us that the Lord will provide as HE sees fit. As we’ve always done, we are going to step out on faith and commit to the task and I know that, as He has always done, God will provide. We never cease to love you and to be thankful for your love, prayers, and partnership with us. Brother Mike and Mrs. Cindy Mike & Cindy Haley Your Missionaries To Gaborone, Botswana in AFRICA
Missionary Update 03/06/2017
Man! What a week! Again this week we saw the Lord work mightily here in Botswana. Thank you, all of you for praying. Some years ago the current President of Botswana issued a mandate to all government organizations to set aside one hour a week (on the clock) for a time of religious observance to help foster a positive spirit, wellbeing, and encouragement from God for each government employee that chooses to participate in the voluntary meetings. Bottom line - we were invited this week to attend two of those meetings at two separate police headquarters. At the first in Tlokweng (near the South African border) about 15 or so officers met with us and at the second meeting, near the downtown area of our city, over 40 officers - including the police chief attended to hear the preaching of the Word of God and to receive a Bible. Several made professions of faith and asked us to come each week as they hunger for the Word of God. Every school here, public and private has a similar time each week for religious education classes. Remember when our "Christian" nation (the USA) promoted such things? We are now exploring these open doors and the possibility of an itinerant ministry where I will be scheduled to preach and Cindy to teach in various police, government offices, and schools each week. This coming Tuesday we will be preaching in the cells to the prisoners who are kept at the police station. KICK OFF SUNDAY - Wow! What a day! Today we officially launched Grace Bible Baptist Church in the community. All week folks were busy passing out over 1000 invitations. Today we had the highest day yet with 83 in attendance, TWENTY NINE first time visitors and...wait for it...15 adults and one child making professions of faith to receive Christ as their Savior! Praise the Lord!!! There is just no way to describe how God moved in this service from the very start and especially during the invitation. Yesterday, while out knocking doors, I met Anna an 80 something year old woman from the Ukraine. Right before the outbreak of WW2 she was in university when she met and married her husband, a fellow student from Botswana. He was the grandson of the first President of Botswana and held prominent positions in the government until his death. Anna - now a widow - lives with her son and daughter and desires to return to her roots in the Ukraine but due to the political upheavals there right now her visa was denied. Yesterday we sat for over an hour as she told me of watching Hitlers armies ravage Eastern Europe. We spoke of her Orthodox church beliefs and today she attended Bible study hour (Sunday school) and the worship service and heard the true gospel - probably for the first time. As she left today she whispered in my ear, "God sent you here - to show us the true way to God." We'll visit her again this week. Please pray for Anna, Gianna her adult daughter and son. I believe they'll be led to Christ this coming week. Well - it's Sunday night here and Monday's a comin! Tomorrow Mamma Cindy and I go back to school. Two old people walking onto the university campus with a bunch of young college students on the first day of the new school year to study African languages (Setswana). It ought to be fun! When we went to register this week the campus was a ghost town but as we sat in a common area to pray for the safety and well-being of the students and the effectiveness of our ministry there we were able to envision the ten thousand or so people who will be there starting on Monday and the opportunity we have to give each one a New Testament and a gospel witness. We love you all and appreciate your love, friendship, and faithful prayers for the work of God here in Botswana! Maruti and Ma-maruti Haley (Pastor and Pastor's wife Haley) P.S. - Last night I opened our gate and was confronted by two vicious pit bulls who had managed out of their owners gate and were standing, bristling outside of ours as our gate swung open. One ran off but the second one charged and almost got me as I stumbled back pedaling. I managed to kick it hard in the face and was quite relieved when it turned and ran out the gate. Needless to say it was harrowing but served as a great reminder of how the Lord protects us day by day. I think we need a lion for a watch-dog!
Missionary Update 02/27/2017
Dear Prayer Warriors, Family and Friends, We had another busy but blessed week here in Botswana. It has rained, and rained, and rained...and rained some more. Everything is lush. For the first time in ten years the water reservoir is completely full and overflow is going across the dam. On Friday evening Cindy and I paid the security guard the equivalent of $5 to get through the gate and get a personalized tour of the dam (read between the lines on that one). It was well worth it for the view and to see the abundance of water in a place that is normally so dry and desolate. We had gutters installed on the house this week and added an outside water tank (5000) liters to "catch" the rain. This enables us to store water so that it does not have to be bought when the dry season comes again. Attendance at church today was down with only 47 but we were still blessed with 9 first time visitors from the community. It's end of the month and everyone gets paid during this time of the month so there's a mass exodus of people traveling, etc. Yesterday a group from the church gathered and we passed out 400 invitations to our March 5th kick off Sunday. See attached flyer. Today we saw the fruits of our labors and we're excited to see what God will do next week. That's Sunday Safari for this week. We love you all and appreciate your prayers and support. Mike and Cindy Haley Missionaries to Botswana, Africa Acts 20:24