Threads: Unexpected Adventures in Business, Missions and Family

When newlyweds Steve and Arlene Richardson arrived in Southeast Asia, they were full of hopes and dreams of befriending their neighbors and sharing the gospel in a Muslim-majority country of nearly 175 million and very few believers. From learning a new language to making a home in a crowded city neighborhood, the cultural barriers seemed enormous. The Richardsons were often overwhelmed with the economic needs of their new neighbors, as they observed their friends struggling to provide for their families in the face of crushing poverty. Even greater were the spiritual strongholds that held them in the grip of religious tradition. How could they even begin to help? The unexpected answer came in the form of a cardboard box of quilts from North Carolina and a tiny village woman who became a treasured member of the family. Arlene, who had never sewed a quilt in her life, launched a business venture that brought Muslim and Christian employees under one roof, designing, cutting and sewing quilts for beds 7,000 miles away in America. Threads recounts the Richardsons' journey—the sorrow, joy and unbelievable answers to prayer that sustained them in their labors and drew their family into a story that only God could write.