Well, we have finally arrived home, following our time in Malawi, after spending some time with Carol's folks in Sanford, NC, where we also got to enjoy fellowship and worship with our newest supporting congregation, the Shallow Well Church (named after the well from which the horses drank in the 1800's and no reference to the source of the deep well of ministry the church does).
Aside from all of the work which we were able to do, some of which you have previously read about, we also enjoyed great beauty and witnessed God working in exciting ways:
Black faced Vervet monkeys came at our beckoning call to enjoy bananas and fresh produce, adding a bit of excitement when the neighbor's dogs would rush into the yard chasing them and raising the chatter...
And hedgehogs...everywhere...which one of the same neighbor's dogs, (shout out to Charles and Nancy Cranford) would diligently pursue and carry them carefully, as if they were a puppy to us, yet never giving us the ability to get close. Of course hedgehogs bundle up and can stay that way for a long time, like a possum on the roadside so all we had to do was wait for "Nyala" to get tired of playing and leave, and Glen was able to pick up the prickly bear...
We were blessed to witness the arrival and unpacking of a container of used hospital equipment for the new emergency room facilities as ABC's 40 bed hospital/clinic. And we're still praying for the provision of a portable xray unit for the emergency ward.
And the great heartache (just kidding) that the hospital director's pet project of a coffee shop wasn't quite ready to open before we left. Dr. Mwera is a creative child of God with a faith the size of a mountain. The coffee shop will continue to increase the hospital's care for the family's of those hospitalized and others who may just stop in for a cuppa.
All of this is to say, things are really starting to move forward in demonstrable ways and we are privileged to be a small part of that work, because our supporter make it possible.
The bottom line, statistically, is that we had the following engagements:
73 informal/short engagements with ABC Malawian students and staff
13 informal/short engagements with ABC Mission students and staff
7 informal/short engagements with other ABC related persons
54 formal engagements (counseling, Bible Study, meetings) with ABC Malawian students and staff
64 formal engagements (counseling, Bible Study, meetings) with ABC Mission students and staff
7 formal/engagements (counseling, Bible Study, meetings) with other ABC related persons
* Informal engagements are contacts made of an introductory or less formal and shorter nature.
**Formal engagements are scheduled visits, counseling sessions, bible studies, etc of 30 minutes or more.
***Numbers reflect the total number of members/per engagment (i.e. a Bible Study with 2 persons is 2 engagements).
Preaching, devotional, and larger group sessions are not included in these numbers.
As a follow up, over the next couple of weeks Glen will be having conversations with ABC leadership regarding moving forward on this work. It is likely that we will look at extending our next trip to a two month visit in the fall with a side trip to begin such work on the Liberia campus as well, for which we will need your support. But all of that is in God's hands.
In addition to your prayers, if you'd like to be apart of this work, or continue to support us in these endeavors, you can make donations as follows:
Tax Deductible Donations for Travel and Accommodation Expenses Only:
Holliday Alliance Church
(Memo: Special Mission – Halleads)
33 Oakwood Dr.
Middlebury Center, PA 16935
EIN: 23-7240825
Non Tax Deductible Donations for Personal Expenses:
Glen and/or Carol Hallead
12 Monks Hill Rd.
Middlebury Center, PA 16935
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