What We Are Doing

Hey, it’s November already and we’re nearing the end of the year. We decided this would be a good time to fill you in on what we’re doing and what we plan to do going forward.

COVID shut down our speaking engagements for a year and a half or more. Our speaking engagements comprise a good portion of our ministry. Thanks be to God, they have picked up again. We did two Sunday morning services in August and two in October. This is one unsolicited comment we received from Dawn, who is running the Baptist Church in Waskish, in lieu of her father recovering from COVID:

Thank you, Lorraine! We all enjoy having you & George come! Your messages are so “spot-on” and your music is such a blessing.

At the beginning of the summer we traveled to Minneapolis to record a music CD. We finished about 70 percent of the album before the studio’s schedule filled up. Brad Johnson, who I have worked with for a couple decades, is so good at what he does that he has very few openings to record. The CD contains songs I have written and five traditional hymns.

I have been working on a book, Is This The End, Or Just The Beginning?, since last December. Yesterday, I sent the manuscript to the printer. It should be ready in two to three weeks.

The website has been doing well, steadily increasing in the number of visitors. About six months ago, we started getting hits from foreign countries, and continue to get visitors every week. These come from many countries and cities, including Ireland, England, Malaysia, Russia, China, Puerto Rico, Africa, Norway, Amsterdam and Batam. Many visitors have returned numerous times, and some have viewed up to a dozen pages in a visit.

You may be surprised at how much work a website is. It takes about eight hours to develop a new article and post it on the site. We endeavor to post a new article every week, although we don’t always make it. Lorraine puts a lot of work into designing and photographing our newsletter article image. Many times our images require the making of some of the props. Sometimes it can take a lot of time to find the materials needed to create the prop for the photo. When we are out and about she is always thinking of what might make a good stock photo for future articles. Lorraine is particular about creating our own images and not using photo stock that is available on the web. She believes that our photos should be unique to us.

A special surprise was an inquiry from Georgia. A fellow sent an email inquiring, “Did George do A Brand New Song?” I recorded A Brand New Song in 1971. When we said, “Yes,” he went on to explain that I had sang at a Baptist Church in Uvalde, Texas in 1971 . . . and he was there. He bought four CD’s of A Brand New Song, and we chatted a bit via email.

We have sold several copies of A Brand New Song recently, and I am amazed that people still buy it and like it. At another service recently a man came up and said he had heard me sing in the park at Waskish over 30 years ago. He teared up a bit when he said it. It is both rewarding and humbling.

In September I called several schools who had been interested in having an assembly with Jesse Smith, the Hip Hop dancer, before COVID hit. The answer was that they were on hold because of COVID, that I should call them again in December.

We do some tentmaking on the side as time permits. Lorraine sells things, some of which she repurposes or paints, on Facebook Marketplace. Recently, she expanded to Etsy and Pinterest. Etsy says that it may take a long time for your first sale on its website because there are about 2 million people selling their products on it. Lorraine sold two items right away within a week’s time. We pour a lot of prayer on everything we do, and others also consistently pray for us, which would explain the quick turnaround.

A homeowner asked me if I would replace two doors in her hobby shed with windows, put up shutters, and replace the existing door with a new one. I took on that project, and she was very pleased with the work.

Right now, I have a lot of paperwork, and bookkeeping to take care of, a necessary part of being in ministry, so that will be the next focus.

Along with that I will get back to a radio show I began producing some time ago. It is called Those Who’ve Gone Before and features two-minute spots of great Christians from our past. A 100,000 watt Christian station wanted to air the series when they heard the pilot spots, but I declined because I need to accumulate a large number of spots before we release the project. This is so that I will not be in a situation of “catch up” trying to keep up with the daily airings. Now, I will return to the project and hopefully get it on the air before long.

Lorraine is working on another book, wanting to finish amidst her many other responsibilities. It is a continual juggling act determining priorities. Tent making is good, but if it takes away from ministry projects, that is not good, which it sometimes does. We continually, prayerfully strive for balance.

Our dream is to again produce events. Will God open the door, and make it possible? Time will tell. We need to reach the young people of America, over 90 percent of whom don’t attend church. Young people are the future of the church, and unless we reach them for Christ, the church will continue to decline in numbers.

Prayer walking and location praying also is a good part of what we do. At one point this year we prayed at a landmark in the city each morning for 17 days as the Lord directed. The result was a marked difference in the atmosphere of a business housed in the building. I think the professionals call this “spiritual mapping.” We just go and pray in whatever manner the Lord directs us.

Made by George these stools were ordered
George and I in the recording studio
Our books are for sale in Bemidji, MN
Roosters George cut and I painted and sold
We replaced doors with windows in this shed
Preaching Sunday Morning in Waskish, MN

We also prayed at a bridge from which a man was lynched, over a 100 years ago. Breaking strongholds and redeeming the land makes a marked difference in the degree the Lord is able to bless a city.

In addition to these things. We do a lot of personal one-on-one ministry, some in person some on the phone. We pray for people, sometimes counsel them, and in general, try to encourage them. Lorraine does a lot of this via texting and phone conversations. She also gives gifts to a lot of people, which blesses and encourages them.

We spend a lot of time in prayer. On most days Lorraine spends two hours in prayer before she starts her day. On most days, God wakes me at 3 a.m. or around 4:30 a.m. to pray. We know that prayer is vital and a lack of prayer leads to problems. When we bathe everything in prayer we accomplish a lot more in a lot less time.

Please pray for us, and if you can support financially, it would be greatly appreciated. What we are able to do, is directly related to how much support comes in.

In His Service,

George and Lorraine Halama

All Contributions are tax deductible