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CMS (Church Mission Society) (20% of our planned mission support) Our former mission partners Ross and Sonia Wilson and their three children have now returned to England and are living in Bristol where Ross is training for the ordained ministry.  John and Gillian Robinson, with their children Leah, Natalie and baby Joel, are now in Bangkok. John wrote an inspiring book entitled “Nobody’s Child” based on his difficult early life and testifying to the saving grace of God. It was translated into 8 languages and John was asked to speak to prisoners in Thailand. He was invited to return to work in Prison Ministry among those on the very fringes of society. Gillian is ordained and has experience of youth work. The family visited St Peter’s in December 2009 and inspired us with their quiet faith and gracious thankfulness for all that the Lord has done. 

St. Peter's  Contact: Caroline Curtis 

November 24th - From Ross and Sonia Wilson

Hi all,

Hope you are all enjoying life as things speed up towards Christmas (at least it does in our house!)

Some of you have been asking - and we haven’t been very good at giving frequent updates - so here is the latest on our situation:

Fostering

We are now official foster-carers – but with no child as yet! We have had a couple of false-starts with social services finding another family more suitable for the child’s situation after initial discussion, but we are expecting them to find a fit before too long. We continue to value your prayers for us to be able to be of help to a family in difficulty at the right time.

Our next move

We are still exploring an option for Ross’s curacy from next June. This weekend he will be meeting the Bishop and preaching at the church, so do pray that the Bishop will have discernment and that Ross’s preach would go well and that next steps of sorting out timings, house, school etc. would go smoothly! And if it’s not of God, please pray we’ll find the right place soon!

Our house in Oxford

We realise we never gave an update on the ‘renting out of our house’. Three 20-something year old men have moved in (yes, I know, what about the state of the kitchen?) - but they are paying their rent regularly. We are hoping some of it will soon come to us after paying off all the agents’ requirements!! Praise God that we have been able to get all the work needed done, and that these look like regular tenants, and pray for protection and good care of the house, and good relationship with our agents.

Thanks guys. If we get some clarity on work, we hope to get a proper newsletter out for Christmas/New Year, but until then, enjoy the rest of this term and have a great Christmas!

Love, Ross and Sonia

November 2011 - From John and Gillian Robinson

Hi,

Thanks for your prayers for the Place of Grace opening, it went well, and we will update more soon- has been a busy few weeks, with Leah's 16th birthday and all the place of grace things to attend to. john just reminded me that there are photos on our website if you would like to see some www.tearstoyoureyes.com

but we would like to ask for your prayers for Thailand and bangkok over this next week as we cope with the highest flood levels for 50 years.

The prime minister Yingluck made an announcement on thai TV on Friday evening, saying that the government is nearly at its wits end trying to know how to deal with the flood water, and has set up an emergency committee at the second airport to try to coordinate flood efforts.

Big areas of Northern Thailand are suffering from flood water, and the reservoirs are now all full. Flood water is already a problem in bangkok with the rivers and canals all full, and the rainy season a few weeks to run yet, and there is major concern about the flood water coming down river to bangkok over this next week. The danger zone is 15-18th, when it is also high tide, which will hinder the current efforts in bangkok to divert floodwaters into the sea. There is real concern in Bangkok about what will happen here, as well as for those upcountry, where there have been hundreds of deaths and thousands affected by water shortages and water borne diseases.

As for us, we live in a low lying area, bang na, but we don't live in a single storey house, so we will be fine, but we have major concern for those around us, and obviously for practical things if the water levels are very high. Around the place of grace, the ywam leader has already asked if he could take local slum families who would have no protection from floods in their flimsy shacks into temporary accommodation there if they need it, so we are pleased to be able to help if necessary.

So please can you pray that the flood waters coming down river manage to pass bangkok by. This is a city of 18 million people so this would be just disastrous. And can you pray also for those in the central plains and Ayyuthia, just north of bangkok, already severely affected?

Thankyou so much,

God's blessings to you all,

John, Gillian, Leah, Natalie and Joel

Website - www.tearstoyoureyes.com  (warning_ There is no link back so you will have to use the back arrow at the top of your browser. )  

 31^st October 2011

Thankyou so much for your prayers for us and messages of support. This has been a really stressful time in Bangkok as it has been going on so long, with the warnings and the lack of clear information.
We are still in Hua Hin to the south of Bangkok, and are trying to work out when we should go back. We are still under flood watch, and when the waters come they can come very fast, but the biggest problem is the lack of clean drinking water. The water started to taste funny early last week, and there has been debates in the Thai media about how much truth the government has been telling the people. After the children all had bad stomachs, we put them on bottled water and they all got better, but you can't find any bottled water in shops now. Now the governement has admitted the drinking water has been contaminated and there has been reports from politicians this week saying, don't worry, the water might be brown and have a bad odour but it is now safe to drink !!! needless to say this has been our biggest problem. here, even three hours south of Bangkok the food shortages are now a concern, as well as the fact there is no bottled water to buy even here (though the tap water when filtered is safe here).
 It is so strange seeing row after row of empty food shelves and so little to buy. Rice,, tins and all the staples are about out everywhere, and now shampoo and nappies and everything is running low.
I think we will never take water for granted again. But God showed us the verse from Habbakuk 3:17-18 today and we will keep on praising him. Joel is much better since being out of the city, praise God, and the girls have looked much less stressed, we realised when we heard them laugh in the pool here that we hadn't heard them laugh for a time.
So please keep praying for us, and for the people here, especially for the water situation which is making us reluctant to return home, even though we desperately want to start normal life again. I think most of the people in bangkok are the same as us, please just release the water and get it done, rather than the endless waiting and warnings and arguments!
God bless you all, thankyou so much for your prayers.
With love, John Gillian, Leah, Natalie and Joel xx

27^th October 2011

Hi,
just a quick update for your prayers. The news for bangkok is not good just at the moment, with northern parts of the city already flooded, and the prime minister advising everyone who can leave Bangkok to do so. Today the British embassy changed their advice to advise against all but essential travel to bangkok for the second time in less than two years!
The problem is that they are struggling to manage the mass of water that needs to get to the sea, and they are saying that if the flood barriers hold, then flooding will be minimised, but the chances of them holding are not high. And this weekend there are high tides which stop the water from the rivers flowing out.
There are also significant food and water shortages now. Joel has been really quite unwell this week, so this made us make the decision, if the floods don't come tonight, to go down south for the weekend. we were able to hold our clubs for the slum children and teenagers today and pray for these precious children, and now God has opened up a place where we can stay, so long as the river is still crossable tomorrow.
Please keep praying for Thailand, this is just an awful situation, the information is always contradictory and confusing, and it has been a waiting game where the outcome seems to look worse with time. Our hearts remain here with the communities who are so vulnerable because of their housing. Hopefully we will come back after the weekend to a city which avoided any more flooding.
Thankyou so much for your support and prayers,
Blessings, John and Gillian

John writes:-

Hi  (Nov. 4th)

We are well its been very quiet for a while, just a few Bombings near government buildings.

Flooding has been a major issue with 700.000 people affected.

The books are being very well received in the schools prisons and colleges. see pictures.

We as a family are good and learning more Thai everyday. Seeing awesome response in prisons and schools as well as Gillians friends and the girls friends Joel loves the Thai people and is growing fast.  We still miss fish n chips

 Please let me know how things are.

God Bless you all

Hello, (Oct 2010)

Thank you for your prayers, as you know I went to korat 3 hours north of Bangkok.

God did some awesome things I have attached some photos.

Just to give you a taste of the prisons in thailand they range from armed guards to low key prisons.  Food is simple-  rice and pig fat, accommodation 100 to a dorm and a fan and open toilets, a mattress on the floor that's it.

Sentences from 5 to 50 years normal, young girls and babies -a sad situation, very little pre release for the young people.

The book nobodyschild has gone down well in the prisons and as its really hard to get into the prisons the book has been a great door opener, usually you need passport and lots of vetting but with the book I am welcome into most of the prisons,

I spoke about hope and God’s grace as well as sharing my story.  30 young people made a commitment to christ.

I was moved to tears.  Some of these young people may never leave prison but are free in Christ.  What an awesome God we have, I am very humbled.

Gillain and Natts Leah and Joel are doing well and send their love and thanks.

The photos show flooding in the prison and outside, also pictures of the young people and the army officials and the book in thai and a comic in thai re nobodyschild and four other testimonies done by Paul Senior from cops and robbers uk.

God Bless you all for your prayers love and support. We need it.

 Sincerely  John Robinson

Website - www.tearstoyoureyes.com  (warning_ There is no link back so you will have to use the back arrow at the top of your browser. )         

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