Elijah and Moira Hall TRIBAL MISSIONS - Reaching the unreached Meet Our Family
Elijah and Moira Hall
Elijah was born to Christian parents, second of seven children. At age seven he realized his need for the salvation Christ offers and became a believer. His parents worked in Papua New Guinea with New Tribes Mission among an unreached tribal group during Elijah’s early teens, and it was there that the pressing call to spread the Gospel to those with no access to it first gripped him. After a serious medical emergency removed the Halls from PNG, Elijah worked for six years helping his family establish a home for abused and handicapped children in the Bahamas.
He enjoys studying the Scripture, visiting with others, and spending time with his growing family. His hobbies are: any type of outdoor adventure (spearfishing is a favorite), singing, and discussing big ideas.
Moira became a believer at age four and grew up in a Christian family, the eldest of six in a homesteading lifestyle. At sixteen she volunteered at the children’s home in the Bahamas (where Elijah was working at the time). She was baptized there, committing her life to the Lord’s will, and two years later she and Elijah were married.
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Tags: Family
Cocido and Talking Parrots
Lucho is surrounded by an ash cloud as charcoal carmelizes sugar with yerba mate to make cocido, one of the most popular drinks in Paraguay.
Smoke rose from the little charcoal brazier as we were led into the backyard of our host, Lucho. He and his wife had waited out on the street to greet us: “Hola, hola!” shaking Elijah’s hand and doing the beso with Moira (kissing on both cheeks, the traditional Paraguayan greeting). Lucho and his wife Abelina are a Christian couple who speak not a word of English, but their welcome was full and warm. Developing strong relationships with Paraguayan believers is one of our desires during our time here in Asuncion; we want to learn from them how to model Christ in their culture and at the same time, help and encourage them where we can. Spending time with others in their environment is a basic way to begin showing the love of Christ to them (Luke 19:1-10).
Water was heating on the brazier. Our hosts were making for us one of the many drinks using yerba mate (pronounced “jare-buh mah-tay”). Lucho mixed two spoonfuls of yerba and one spoonful of sugar, then carefully added a few glowing coals from the fire. Ash billowed in the air and the smoke had a delicious aroma of caramelizing tea and sugar…Lucho dumped the blend into the water (coals included!), waited a few minutes, and strained it. We were served mugs of hot, delicious cocido with milk. Did Moira want extra sugar? They wanted to know. “Si, yes,” she replied, and spooned out a small amount into her cup.
Lucho’s daughter Carolina shook her head slightly and smiled. “Mas azucar,” she said and poured three more heaping tablespoonfuls into Moira’s mug. It seems that mild and sweet – very, very sweet – are preferred flavors in Paraguay.
Lucho and Avelina live in a cement house they built 25 years ago, entirely by hand. Lucho is a truck driver, and several of their six grown children still live with them (not uncommon in Paraguay). Several of them gathered around to play with the children and smile at us. Suddenly a screeching but intelligible noise overshadowed the conversation. None of the family seemed to take any notice. Could it really be?
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Tags: accepting help, cocido, talking parrot, yerba mate
How To Learn a Noun, CLA style
Today you are learning the names of different fruits. You are sitting down with your language helper; you pick an item (an orange for example), and point to it.
Moira learning kitchen items with Sara
“La naranja,” says your helper. You add a couple more items (a passionfruit and an apple) and your helper says, “El mburucuya. La manzana.” Repeat this step until you think you know the names of all 12 fruits on the table.
- “Vos decis y yo temuestro (You speak and I’ll show you),” you tell the helper.
“La naranja,” she replies, and you point to the orange. Repeat as necessary (this normally takes up to an hour!).
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Everyday Blunders
Moira tries her hand - literally - at making one of the most popular foods in Paraguay.
“Beautiful hair! Cavallo celinda!” I said, pointing to the curly brown hair of our tiny neighbor Camila.
Her mother looked so confused that I touched my own hair and said, “Cavallo?”
“No, no,” said Camila’s mother. “Cavello!”
It was then I realized what I had said. “Beautiful horse!” No wonder they didn’t understand! Cristian sat in the corner of the pawn shop. He wouldn’t look, but he was shaking in silent laughter. That same day I told someone that Elisha was a “fire boy” when I meant to say he was a “strong boy”. The list of blunders could go on…but you get the picture.
At the grocery store
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Tags: blunders, helplessness
Tickets and a lost laptop
“He has no ticket, he can’t get on the plane.”
We had just arrived in the Miami airport and were checking in…Israel is under two, a lap infant, and we had no idea that internationally every infant must have a ticket. The airline workers couldn’t help us, so Elijah went to a pay phone to call the travel agency.
“You must buy a last-minute ticket for your baby…that will be one thousand dollars,” said the travel agent. “But the plane is already full, so we cannot sell you one anyway.”
We were praying, needless to say, as Elijah asked the agent to talk to the supervisor.
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“I’ll never see you again”
Moira, her Grammie and the kids
Last week we visited my (Moira’s) grandmother in the hospital. She was sleeping soundly when we entered, still wheezing a bit from her pneumonia; I leaned over the bed and gently shook her. “Grammie, it’s Moira!”
Her eyes popped open.
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Three days and counting…
Three days until our departure to Florida – eight days until we arrive in Paraguay! Luggage and tickets are such a part of our daily vocabulary these days that when someone asked Elisha (age 5) if he needed a ticket to go to Paraguay he replied, “Yes, because I am over two years old. Israel doesn’t need a ticket, because he’s just a carry-on!”
Almost 500 pounds
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A Question of Origins
An aerial view of the Kanuka village Elijah lived in while in Papua New Guinea
A Question of Origins
Where did you come from?
The village elders had asked this question of the missionary team who were newly arrived in a remote tribal village in Papua New Guinea, and now the team was discussing how to answer it. They could not communicate well yet and no translation had been done in the Kanuka* language, so Elijah’s father finally gave this reply: “Well, a lot of people in our country believe we came from monkeys. We don’t believe that, but it’s too hard to explain now how we came to be here. You must wait until we can tell you God’s Talk.”
The Kanuka leaders were incredulous. “What? They think we came from monkeys? That’s crazy! Everyone knows we came from birds. Which bird did you come from?”
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Glimpse of a tribal funeral
Elijah (second from L) and Kanuka friends, 1992
Loud wailing greeted the boy as he neared the village – screaming sobs that announced the death of a Kanuka man. Elijah had hiked for hours with his father, who was a missionary to the this tribe in the dense interior of Papua New Guinea, to observe the funeral. They were hoping to see deeper into the minds of the Kanuka* people in order to better communicate the Gospel with them.
The ceremonial wailing continued long into the night. Part of the weeping was genuine sorrow for the dead; part of it was driven by fear, because the Kanuka believed that the spirit of the dead man was still lingering in the village. They were hoping to to appease the spirit so it would leave. Elijah wondered what else they believed… many of the rituals performed by the tribal people were motivated by the fear of spirits…but he was only thirteen years old, and fatigue was beginning to overtake him…
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Tags: funeral, Kanuka, Papua New Guinea
Eight tiny feet
Six small feet – a pair of wide ones, a pair of narrow ones, and one set of chubby soft feet – peeked out at me from under the covers. Elijah worked late again tonight, helping a friend move in, so the kids and I made it a “special time”. Soft classical music played, three candles burned and three bright sippy cups with peppermint tea were busily slurped as I gave each of the kids a foot rub.
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