School has finally some to an end for the year and we are all sighing a big sigh and wondering what to do with all the time that we have available. There is a fair amount of mooching about the house and lolling about. We will get in the swing of it eventually.

The girls dressed up yesterday for the graduation do (Mollie had a new dress and had her hair done) and we all scrubbed up and went to the Empress hotel for the do that I will not describe again but is a great way to end the year, even though by British standards it is a bit of a drawn-out hoo-har.

We had a really inspiring day today her in Hong Kong and I am still processing much of the material that was presented. There is so much that challenged the way that we do things at school that I do not know where to begin. I went to an optional workshop session today by the British Professor Stephen Heppell, who got European innovative teacher of the year in 2006. he had such a lot to say that I do not know what to do with it or how to pass it on. I think that the session was videod to have asked for a copy if possible.
Everybody here has an i-phone or apple mac. I have never seen so many apple laptops in one place. The vice president for apple education gave a talk this afternoon. He was excellent, and threw in three clues that led to us concluding that he was a Christian. I just looked him up and his testimony is worth reading. See http://members.cox.net/transparentleader/Contributors/John_Couch/john_couch.html if you are interested. It is short and heartwarming.
Andrew

We are here with a small group from the small to attend the Apple Education Leadership Summit to devise a vision and goals for the use of ICT at GIS in the months and years to come. That is the plan anyway.
My first impression is of a people obsessed with shopping, which I am not, so feel rather like a fish out of water. The prices are high (compared to Thailand) and it would be a really expensive place to bring the children…I cannot bear the thought of it as I would have to say no to everything! I have managed to get a few luxuries, at a price, but cannot really get marmite as it is about 6GBP…worse than Chiang Mai…my hopes are dashed (sorry Isaac). This is the cheapest hotel of the ones on offer and is xxxGBP/per night. Lunch each day costs about 10GBP and a twix bar is about 70pence. water is 60p/bottle. I am trying to spend nothing if possible but have had to buy a beer or two to be sociable…I had a half as it was about 4.50GBP per pint. The others here seem to be obsessed with shopping. I went out with Lael to a pub this evening and then came back here alone as they were going on to a computer/camera shop and then a market to browse. The market is called.

I was looking on the internet a moment ago to see where the walled city was where jackie Pullinger served as I would love to see the location. I have found that it was pulled down in 1998 just before the handover to the Chinese and is now the site of the Kowloon Walled City Park. For a brief history see http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=4122551
Well, that enough for now…back soon

Andrew

We are enjoying the second week of our break as we gear up for the final push before graduation on the 29th May, the earliest finish yet. Please pray for the students, particularly those who are leaving for university overseas. We want them to finish well, with a solid foundation to launch them into fruitfulness and Godly faithfulness and perseverance as they glorify you around the world, inspiring others to join them in the worship of the one who can pull them from the deepest pit, lift them to the greatest heights, and to whom all praise is due.

Please pray for the authorities here as, with the King old and with failing health, things could easily disintegrate into a mad power struggle. It seems that Thaksin, the ousted prime minister, is at the root of the trouble even now. He has considerable wealth and is antagonistic to Christians in the country, as well as having communist leanings. His power and influence is considerable, although some countries have taken the step of denying him entry.

Luke and Mollie are helping out with games and crafts this week at a Thai church camp.

We had arranged to spend our time there with our friends Jeff and Brigitte and their son Josh. We also had the pleasure of getting to know their Swiss-German friends Jürg and Anita and their two children. They have been in India for the last 13 years and are now also working with the Shan tribal group here in Thailand.

We left the resort on Easter Saturday heading for Bangkok as we wanted to attend the Easter morning service at ECB church (where the Wongs went). We were checked into a Youth Hostel (still young at heart…) in Sukhumvit Soi38 and bought some food from the stalls just down the street, before an early night. We all shared one room with bunk beds and it was snug and comfortable. We arrived at ECB at 8.30 and had a lovely complimentary breakfast with Samosas, fresh coffee, cinnamon rolls, pork satay and fruit. Knowing where to scrounge free food is so important. The meeting was great as always, and it was a pleasure to catch up with some folks we had not seen for some time, including WECs very own Georgina from FEBC, the Christian radio broadcast into Thailand and surrounding countries..an inspiring and fruitful ministry that reaches millions who cannot be contacted any other way.

From Koh Chang Trip April 2009

They want to reach out to the surrounding villages also, and so on the Saturday we went to a village with them in a truck loaded with equipment and asked the ‘Poo Yai’ (which means ‘man big’) if we could show a film there in the village that evening. Getting the required blessing we set up a large screen between two electricity poles and set up the projector and sound equipment.
When darkness fell, folk started sitting in the seats we had laid out. You need to understand that this was a break from the usual routine of watching chickens run around, picking toenails, watching some dreadful TV drama (they are all the same) or retiring to bed early after binging on cheap whisky. I do not know what they expected but they got 4 testimonies from Thais who found that Jesus was the answer to their fears of demons, suicidal depression, alcoholism and devastating paralysis after a car crash. All of these are very real and very common issues in this culture. Malcolm and his small team, including one Thai Christian, were able to chat with folk afterwards and it lays the ground for return door to door visits this coming week. One lady in the village had seen the TV advert for the ‘Power for Living’ book which these testimonies were from, and had phoned for a copy but never received it. She was delighted to find that there was a pile of them on the table. It is truly wonderful that, in a place wher there is no concept of a sovereign God, and no idea who Jesus is, God is working by his Spirit to prepare hearts to receive him. It was inspiring to be a small part of this while we passed through.
Please pray for this small team as they repeat this in other surrounding villages and return to chat with the folk who live there and build not only relationships but also work with God to build his Church.
We left this wonderful family the following morning having deposited supplied of cheese and butter with them, as they are unavailable where they live. These things are valuable currency. I return we were allowed to try some their marmite on our toast which was heavenly as we have run out until someone brings some to us….anybody?