Hand in Hand
with the Hallahans
Josh and Kelly Hallahan
josh.hallahan@wgm.org
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?
Spreading the light of Christ Volume 1, Issue 4
in Uganda, and beyond. 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 share His love? cheaper, and have a better chance
let your light shine this holiday You can send a care package to of arriving intact.
season so that His glory will be an international And right at home you
seen around the world! We’ll just school like Heritage can partner with
mention a few, and let your International School your church for their
imagination take it from there! P.O. Box 7899 Christmas outreach.
You can invite an international Kampala, Uganda
student to your home for They need For more ideas, visit
construction paper, www.wgm.org/call.
Christmas dinner or to your
church for Christmas Eve service. stickers, neon copy
paper, and children’s/ Chime in on our blog
People who are away from home
youth magazines. Mail and let us know how
during the holidays can be so you are shining!
items in a Scotch Upperclassmen from Heritage
lonely– could God be calling you to
envelope: it will be
www.thehallahans.blogspot.com

Prayer Requests: What’s Up Next?

• Pray that God will continue to We are currently filling our schedule for January– March. If you
provide for each of our needs. would like us to share with your church, small group, or Sunday
• Pray for health and safety as School we would be happy to! We will be heading to Headquarters for
Orientation at the end of January. Pray
we travel during flu season.
that God teaches us what we need to
• Pray that God will order our
know! We hope to be at Mission
days and fill our schedule and Training Institute in April– but we will
make us sensitive to His need to be at 50% by January (we’re at
promptings in our daily lives. 38%) in order to register. Pray that we
• Pray for missionaries around WGM Headquarters
meet that goal so that we are not delayed
the world who are away from 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