"As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country."
(Proverbs 25:25)
Like a lively collection of letters from a familiar friend, Georgene
Shalm's book "Allan Was Away" perfectly captures the personal side of
missionary life, through the eyes of an ordinary wife and mother serving an
extraordinary God.

Allan & Georgene Shalm have been dear friends and outstanding missionaries for nearly
forty years, but I've never heard their story quite like this. It's all here ... the mundane and
the miraculous, accidents and adversity, severe sickness and supernatural healing, tearful
memories and fearful moments, ministry frustrations and family celebrations, opposition and
terrorism, spine-tingling angelic interventions and side-splitting hilarious misadventures.
As you read along, caught up in the whirlwind of activity that is a missionary's life and calling,
you'll gradually come to one very important realisation: We all live out our lives at this junction
of the everyday and the extraordinary, at the intersection of answered prayers and unanswered
questions, at the crossroads of our human pursuits and God's higher purpose. And it's in that
territory of the ordinary that God does His best work.
Thanks to our missionary friend Georgene Shalm for inviting us all to join her on this ordinary,
extraordinary journey of faith. You will be better for making the trip.

Raymond Woodward
Pastor
Capital Community Church