May 12, 2005

Dear Friends,

Carol and I want to update you on some exciting things that are happening with our ministry.

For several years now our partner, the Church of Christ in Thailand, has been requesting some changes in the ministry with which we work. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has recently made a very generous response to those requests. In a nutshell, the one-year “Young Adult Volunteer” program will be phased out and a renewed focus on seeking trained teachers who are willing and able to serve for a minimum of two years will be restored. While this may not cause goose bumps to race up and down your spine, it does have some very welcome, important, and practical implications for those of us working with the partner here in Thailand.

The timing of these changes coincides with the Halleads’ request for reassignment to Africa. While nothing is yet official on this, there is a possibility that that change could take place as soon as this July or August.

We have decided it is necessary for use to stay put in Chiang Mai for the next couple of months to transition out the last of the one-year volunteers, to help coordinate work with the partner to make the transition back to the two-year program, and to be available to pack up and sell our goods should the decision be made to reassign us. While no decision has been made yet regarding the reassignment, we felt that it would be inappropriate to leave Thailand (for this short interpretation assignment) without knowing our future, particularly because it wouldn’t leave the children with any chance to say goodbye to their friends should the decision be made to reassign us while we were Stateside.

It is with great regret that we share the news that we will not have the chance to meet with you this summer. It was going to be one of those great summers of travel with delightful opportunities to meet many of you for the first time. Everything seemed to be falling in to place. (That should have been our first clue.) We do appreciate your support and encouragement and the wonderful response we received to our offers. However, at this point we will need to cancel all of our plans.

It is with great enthusiasm that we look forward to more exciting news over the course of the next few months and we hope that you will share with us in that excitement

Please hold us in prayer as we continue to work for the cause of Christ amidst ever-changing agenda, foci, and methods. It is an exciting journey, not without its frustrations, but always an honor to be involved in this work on your behalf.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you have. We’d love the chance to communicate more personally with you.

In His Grace,

Rev. Glen Hallead and Family