Hand In Hand With The Hallahans

Hand in Hand with the Hallahans Spreading the light of Christ in Uganda, and beyond.

Josh and Kelly Hallahan [email protected] www.wgm.org/hallahan www.thehallahans.blogspot.com 26 Westerly Drive Sicklerville NJ 08081

Our WGM Schedule ∗ Jan. 10– Olivet UMC, New Jersey ∗ Jan. 17– Lord of Lords, New Jersey ∗ Jan 30-31, Mapleton Depot, Pennsylvania ∗ Jan. 31-Feb. 6: Orientation at WGM, Indiana ∗ Feb. 7– S. Ashland UMC, Kentucky ∗ Feb. 14– Trinity UMC, Mullica Hill New Jersey ∗ March 29-April 30 Training in Colorado?

How are you letting your light shine in your sphere of influence? Can people see the light of missions in your daily life?

Volume 1, Issue 4 December 1, 2009

Christmas Lights “For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6 %IV) Driving by a house beautifully decorated for the holidays, I seldom think about the life of the family that dwells within. Seeing the candles flickering in the windows of Mark and Joanne Settelen’s home, you would never know that someone is up around the clock caring for newborn twins and their four-year-old son, all of whom are adopted. Mark and Joanne are dear friends and ardent champions of missions! They have been on a short-term trip to Uganda with us, give financially, and pray fervently for us– but that is just a portion of their involvement. They are in the spotlight because they are advancing the cause of missions in their own sphere of influence. They got us connected to a friend of theirs at their son’s birthday party and those friends are now monthly supporters. They shared our story with his parents, and they are now monthly supporters, and his mom invited us to speak at her United Methodist Women’s group. But it isn’t all about us. Mark and Joanne are also passionate about a local crisis pregnancy center. They support Choices of the Heart. They bring friends to the Choices of the Heart annual gala. But what is most challenging to me is that they have adopted three children. They are so invested in this mission that they not only give to a crisis pregnancy center, they are providing a home and family to three children who began life as “crisis pregnancies.” Yeah, I’m going to Africa. But Mark and Joanne have invited the orphaned into their family forever. They are raising up little men and a little woman to love Jesus, follow Him, and serve Him. That sounds like something our Savior would do! How are you letting your light shine in your sphere of influence? Do your friends know that you are passionate about missions? Are you challenging them to get involved? An easy way to start the conversation could be to share this newsletter with them! Or maybe you need to have a missions Christmas party where everyone brings $10 and you share about the different causes you are passionate about and then draw a cause (charity, missionary, etc) out of a hat and donate the funds raised. Much greater impact than a Pollyanna! Let your light shine!

You Can Do It! There are so many ways you can let your light shine this holiday season so that His glory will be seen around the world! We’ll just mention a few, and let your imagination take it from there! You can invite an international student to your home for Christmas dinner or to your church for Christmas Eve service. People who are away from home during the holidays can be so lonely– could God be calling you to

share His love?

cheaper, and have a better chance of arriving intact. And right at home you can partner with your church for their Christmas outreach.

You can send a care package to an international school like Heritage International School P.O. Box 7899 Kampala, Uganda They need construction paper, stickers, neon copy paper, and children’s/ youth magazines. Mail items in a Scotch Upperclassmen from Heritage envelope: it will be

For more ideas, visit www.wgm.org/call. Chime in on our blog and let us know how you are shining! www.thehallahans.blogspot.com

Prayer Requests: •

Pray that God will continue to provide for each of our needs.

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Pray for health and safety as we travel during flu season.

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Pray that God will order our days and fill our schedule and make us sensitive to His promptings in our daily lives.

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Pray for missionaries around the world who are away from

What’s Up Next? We are currently filling our schedule for January– March. If you would like us to share with your church, small group, or Sunday School we would be happy to! We will be heading to Headquarters for Orientation at the end of January. Pray that God teaches us what we need to know! We hope to be at Mission Training Institute in April– but we will need to be at 50% by January (we’re at 38%) in order to register. Pray that we meet that goal so that we are not delayed WGM Headquarters in leaving for Uganda!

home during the holidays.

Watch Us Grow!

We are excited about the holidays and spending them at home with our families one last time before we head to Uganda. It is a bittersweet time, as we think about all we will miss next year, but we are treasuring every moment this year! One of the big ways we are growing as a family is in spending daily quiet time with Jesus. Usually before a little TV time, Caleb and I (Seth plays beside us) open up the Jesus Story Bible and read, and then get out our MK prayer book we made and pray (for a tutorial on making your own MK Prayer Book, see our blog). It has been a sweet time! He’s also memorizing Bible verses: stay tuned to our blog for video! How are you going to carve out some time to pray for the world this holiday season? Perhaps you could say a prayer for a missionary every time you see Christmas lights! In these busy days and hectic holidays Josh and I struggle to pray together daily, but it’s one of our goals as a couple this holiday season. How are you keeping Christ at the center this Christmas? How are you enlarging your heart to love the world this year? Drop us a line and let us know how you are letting your light shine! 3783 East State Road 18, P.O. Box 948, Marion, IN 46952