Children just seem to naturally soak up languages, as Alan Hale can attest. Through a chain of circumstances he finds himself ministering through music in both English and Spanish — something that the young (and young at heart) enjoy. From VBS to Sunday School to camps to after school programs, Hale’s music is interactive and can help students learn guitar. Above all, it’s a way to worship on and praise on multiple levels.
Across the Nations
It was as if God was preparing Alan through earlier years spent in travel and cultural immersion. “I went on to work in 30 countries around the world, with people from over 70 different nations, on every continent except Antarctica,” says Alan. “I worked in Latin America for nearly four years total during about 20 visits to Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, and Chile.”
Alan was in Cúcuta, Colombia, where we met his future wife, Stella, in 1985. He ended up staying over 11 months on a three-week pipeline construction contract, severely overstaying his visa and in effect becoming an illegal alien in a foreign land. “I started dreaming in Spanish!” he says. Leaving but returning a year later to bring Stella to the United States, he married her the next day in Utah. This Katy area couple have much to celebrate. Their 25th wedding anniversary occurred July 6, and at the age of 58 (he’s now 59) Alan cut their first music CD. But their music isn’t ordinary, nor is their ministry.
Following God’s Lead
With this rich background in the Spanish culture, it made sense to follow where God led him. Alan, after a lay off, began working in Health and Human Services but also focused on what he loves: composing lyrics in music in both Spanish and English. “It occurred to me that there is a huge need throughout America and other countries for music that rhymes in English and can be translated to many other languages.” In fact, language is a passion. He’s an English major who obtained his teaching certificate in ‘96. Targeting Christian music to children and adults who enjoy it, but also learn from it, is the mission. It seems that God took the combined talents and experiences of both Alan and Stella to launch a special project.
The International Bilingual Hymns Project
Stella helps Alan write and also assists with the International Bilingual Hymns Project, which is a collection of bilingual songs of praise in Spanish and English, praising God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Creation, with thanksgiving, love, hope and faith in the eternal salvation through the gospel of Christ and His sacrifice. “Our new bilingual album, Somos Hijos De Dios / We Are Children of God, is truly a dream come true, combining Scriptural themes with melodies, rhymes, rhythms, and repetition. We have seen children who don’t speak Spanish singing along in Spanish before they get to the end of the first song, the very first time they hear it. Their mothers have turned to me in wide-eyed amazement, joyously saying, ‘What??!!’” says Alan. “Adults have done the same thing.”
A Method That Works
When Alan and Stella sing El Padre Que Tengo Ahora / The Father I Have Now at their Friday night Spanish prayer service, and everyone sings the chorus in both languages, so the Hales know their method works well. “We put 16 tracks on this CD – eight songs with the band followed by the same 8 songs as unplugged versions – so kids who are learning to play the guitar can hear the unplugged versions and think, “I can do that by myself!” says Alan. “This is the first time our music publisher has made an album like this. I explained the idea to our producer, Don Johnson, who has also produced albums by Emmylou Harris, and he agreed because, as he told me, my acoustic guitar rhythms were driving his arrangements anyway, so the songs can stand alone as solo/acoustic works.” The Hales believe the music is a great resource for the summer camp music programs, school programs, Sunday School, youth groups and home schoolers.
Free Downloads
People can download all the lyrics and listen to some streaming audios of complete songs at www.wearchildrenofgod.com and www.somoshijosdedios.com. Alan relies on www.biblegateway.com for scriptures and is tackling his 365 days of praise songs – a song a day, every day, for a year. “It’s part of the great commission,” he says. “Bringing God’s word into our nation and other nations is a blessing.”
