Dear all,

Please pray for Thailand at the moment – many of you will have seen news reports on what is happening (and in fact most of our information comes from BBC World and CNN too!) For those who don’t know - for the last few days, Thailand government house has been besieged by protestors calling for the Prime Minister (Mr Samak)’s resignation, and dissolution of the government. The protests are being led by a conservative group called the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD). They say Mr Samak is a puppet of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in 2006 and is now in exile to avoid facing trial over corruption charges. Mr Samak said this weekend that he would deal gently with protestors and would tough it out, but his situation is looking more precarious, as the protestors seem to be gaining support. Protests have spread to other parts of the country with some local airports being brought to a standstill for the time being. Mr Samak has now said he might declare a state of emergency if the situation worsens.

If you want to know more, a good web-site is http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7584005.stm

Please pray for a wise and peaceful solution. The situation is complex – this government was democratically elected (though with many stories of vote-buying). The government have put their cronies into influential positions, and PAD leaders say that the government’s efforts have gone into changing the constitution so that their interests are protected, rather than running the country! However, there is no obvious leadership alternative and if this government is ousted – what will replace it? One solution for this monarchy-respectful society may be for the King to appoint an interim leadership until another election, but then what? Please pray for wisdom, patience and integrity for all those involved.

On a more personal note, we have just finished the latest small Alpha group and were very encouraged by the feedback. One participant said that ‘This is the best step I’ve ever taken’ - another (though professing Christianity throughout the course) said that she had found a personal relationship with God through Jesus because of the course. That’s why we do it!! Please pray that each of us who has gone through the course would grow in faith and draw closer to Jesus and others in the church community.

Our autumn Alpha course is due to start with an intro supper on Friday 12th September. Praise God that we have a good team in place this term – we are running a training day this coming week (Friday or Saturday) so pray that is a great time, that we unite in prayer as a team and God equips us.

Please also pray for the intro supper – that lots of people would come, and that the right mix of people would keep going with the course – we would love to have 2 groups this time, but it is still a fairly uphill struggle to get Alpha (and especially praying for and inviting people to it) in the consciousness of the wider church. Pray that people would see the opportunities that God is giving them to invite others, and also that people on the church fringe would overcome fear, apathy and busy-ness to take the plunge and check the course out.

LOTS of other things going on in September and October - we have various preaching and leading slots at church, mens’ breakfast, ladies’ brunch, newcomers’ evening, living in Bangkok exhibition, new mums and tots group starting, a missions conference , our colleague John is retiring as well as normal day to day stuff at work, and we have various visitors at home, and are trying to organise a short holiday during the girls’ half term. Pray that we will be able to juggle home and work stuff in a good way, maintaining good relationships everywhere and being able to bless others as well as do the tasks!

Sorry for the rather long e-mail – hope you can print it out at some point and read it prayerfully over a nice cuppa rather than just having a quick scan (yep, we know what it’s like!!!)

Thanks for your prayers, e-mails, love and news, all of which we appreciate. Hope to speak again soon.

Much love, Ross and Sonia