Dear Partners in Ministry,

Much water has passed under the proverbial bridge since we last wrote. So much evidence of the grace of God. So much evidence of faith in believers’ lives. So many challenges to the way we view ourselves here in Thailand.

Walking to work one afternoon, I (Glen) had just crossed the bridge and was daydreaming about my youth when I noticed, off to my left, a great little "fort." The kind we used to build with scrap lumber and used nails when we were kids. Only this one was obviously nicer, neater, better cared-for. About 8-foot square, it was the kind of fort that we, as kids, would have loved, almost as if someone’s father had built it. Except it wasn’t made out of the mismatched pieces of lumber like we often begged from the homebuilders in our neighborhood. It was planned. It had a couple of shuttered (not shattered) windows, a decent door, and a corrugated steel roof. It brought back all those wonderful memories of the summers we spent together as kids. And then I startled from my daydream, as I stumbled up a curb, and remembered I was looking at someone’s house…. You never get used to these experiences, thank God. The realization of just how blessed we are as a family, even so far from what we have always considered home is always striking. And we now dare to believe that God is radically changing our idea of what and where home is these days.

And then there is the experience of dealing with our first major medical situation here in Thailand. Many of you are now aware of our daughter Natalie’s bout with dengue fever. Throughout her illness and hospitalization the hand of God was so wonderfully obvious. She was saved from the extensive pain, which is so often associated with dengue. She never developed the internal bleeding that can lead to a first and last experience with dengue. Her rash (another frequent occurrence) was short-lived. Numerous supportive activities further testified to God’s hand in all of this—the timely and caring phone calls and work done by the denominational offices in Louisville; their ability to make all the necessary insurance connections overseas in spite of numerous telephone difficulties here, and the sense of our being totally out of control and yet in the hands of a caring God and a caring community. We’re beginning to understand what it means to let go of our constant need to be in control of our lives and believe that God is continuing to show us how much more wonderful it is when he is in control of all aspects of our lives. This was a particularly poignant lesson—as just two weeks later our youngest son Caleb went through the same experience.

Finally, we want to share with you some of the more public aspects of our work here. While we continue to wrestle with language learning (making the most progress, of course, when we stumble through the market place or visit with non-English speakers), we also continue to busy ourselves with working with many groups who come through Chiang Mai. Several times now we have had the opportunity to welcome visiting groups of Americans—touring Chiang Mai with Grand Circle tours. We have had the honor of a visit from both Carol’s parents and Glen’s father, the moderator of the Pittsburgh Presbytery, and our newly appointed South and Southeast Asia Area Coordinator, Les Sauer, and his wife, Sharon (returning from a mission appointment in India). Glen has almost completed his tour of the 24 schools in Thailand, most recently on his own without guide or interpreter. God continues to astound us by placing us in situations where we need to stretch ourselves and to trust in his goodness and that of those in whom he is working here in Thailand. God also continues to encourage us to let go of the cultural and emotional baggage that seems to be so much a part of our lives as Americans. In all of this we could not function if it were not for the prayers of so many of you who are purposeful and regular in your prayers and support for us.

Thank God! And thank you!

The Halleads

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 171