St Barnabas Church

Robinsons news - from:  26 April 2010

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

To look at the photos that they have send us , look at the link here:  Robinsons Photo Album

Sorry to have been so long in emailing this time. Life has been very busy with major issues and so it has been difficult.

First some good news: last time we asked for prayer we asked you to pray for Natalie who had been ill for a week; when we sent that email she got better amazingly quickly, so thankyou so much for praying for her.

We have had major decisions to make since the last email. It has been so difficult living in the house we are in that we have been praying hard about what to do, and exploring whether to move. Not sleeping every single night and constant noise day and night has been so very wearing, and as well as other problems it has really been difficult enough adjusting to life here without that. So we have been exploring the option of moving house, but that in itself is a big task. The area we live in is in the centre but very expensive, and areas further out are cheaper but more difficult to get into the centre with, especially with no car. It is also difficult to look at houses and make decisions when you are new to a country. So we would very much appreciate your prayers for God's wisdom for where we should live and for the emotional energy we need to think about moving yet again.

We have had some encouragements in being here in terms of ministry. But the political situation seems to be deteriorating further. Today the government declared a state of emergency throughout Bangkok as the thousands of protestors stormed the parliament building whilst parliament was in session. They have also been protesting en masse in some of the main commercial districts, with shopping centres closed now for 4 days. One of these areas is a few minutes walk from us. The situation seems to be coming to a head at the moment. Next week is the buddhist festival of songkran where the streets are apparently wild anyway, with water and flour thrown and much drink consumed. The main songkran focus will be in the same street at the end of our road where statues of the buddha are revered in the street. Obviously with the present situation getting more desperate for both sides, it would be very dangerous to add the festivities into the mix. The girls have a school holiday for the week of songkran and most people get out of the city, but we are unable to do that.

So we are once more asking for you to pray urgently with us:.
- Please pray for these next few crucial days.
-The girls are at school a long distance from us, and we are aware that if things did become dangerous during the day then we would find it hard to get to them. Please pray that this would not happen, and for wisdom for the schools in knowing when to shut. One international school has just announced it is shutting tomorrow.
-Please can you pray for much wisdom from God about housing, when we are feeling too tired to make major decisions. We know God has all the answers.
-Can you please cover us particularly in prayer for the celebrations of songkran. They are officially from Tuesday to Thursday next week, but unofficially go on from Saturday to Saturday. The roads are apparently very dangerous during this time too, and we know we need extra prayer.

Thankyou so much for praying for us. It is at least reassuring to know that we have our christian family at home standing with us as we face so many issues. We have still only been here two months, but in many ways it seems like it has been years!

Thankyou for your emails, we love to hear from you, and to hear how you are doing and what is going on in our link churches as it helps us to feel connected to you as well as to normal life.
If you haven't yet received our link letter with some pictures on then you should be receiving it very soon.

Thankyou, we appreciate you so much.

With much love,
John, Gillian, Leah, Natalie and Joel

To look at the photos that they have send us , look at the link here:  Robinsons Photo Album

16 March 2010
Subject: please keep praying

Thank you so much for praying for the situation In Thailand over the weekend. We ask that you would continue to pray as the situation remains at crisis point. The protestors are trying to force the government to stand down and the government is refusing, and no one knows what will happen next. The schools have closed because of the dangers and there is talk of curfews. The protestors are likely to try to bring the city to a standstill by blocking major roads.

Please pray that the situation doesn't become violent on either side and for a peaceful solution, and for us to keep in the perfect peace of God. Please can you also pray for Natalie who has hand, foot and mouth disease and has been really poorly since Wednesday and is struggling to get better. She can't eat as she has so many ulcers in her mouth and down her throat

Thank you so much for your support

Bless you,

John and Gillian, Leah, Natalie and Joel

 

From John - 11 March: ICS is a international school with students from all round the world so we prayed and felt it was right to explore. The schooling is now sorted God is good our prayers were answered and we sooooooo thank you all for your love prayers and support.
The girls are loving school very hard for me to get a photo of them , teenagers umm...
We get the up at 5.30 am for a 6.30 start one hour trip if traffic is ok. They are so happy to be at school.
It is Joels birthday today, one year old strange for us celebrating his birthday in Thailand but exciting for Joel and the Thai people adore him to the point of just walking off with him in shops , he is not in danger its a thai thing.

Life is very very hectic understanding the thai language not easy, but enjoying;  teacher will not speak english only thai. Traffic very scary five people on a bike  and near missies every time you go out as we can only use taxi cheap but interesting. Think alton towers but 10 times more scary am not kidding! I drove a work friends car the other day through Bangkok.
I started learning thai at collage this  monday for eight months five days a week , Gillian is home tutored with Joel so not easy for her.
Please pray for wisdom and discernment for our health and cockroaches and mozzie bites.
Also would you pray for our finances, setting up costs have been hard on our budget.
Please would you pray urgent for political situation this weekend - (see the letter from Gillian written on the 9th March)
God is good and is our rock on which we stand here in Thailand and we know God is doing amazing things already.
Will update you again. soon

Love to you all John and the family
9 March: Hi,

Just a quick email to ask if you would pray particularly this weekend for Thailand and Bangkok. There are major demonstrations planned especially in Bangkok, but the government has now invoked emergency laws and advised against travel as many people travel to Bangkok with the apparent aim of forcing a change of government. A state of emergency has been declared from 11-23 March. Please pray that violence would be avoided and for the Holy spirit to hover over this city this weekend. Sometimes the rumors are worse than the event, and there are many rumors circulating- please pray these would remain as rumors. Please pray for the girls-they started school last week and already they have practiced lockdown in school for emergencies, and the Thai teacher tells them every rumor she has heard! Pray that they are able to focus their eyes on Jesus. We know we serve a mighty God and he answers prayers, and there are many political issues here but the people are a peace loving people and don't want violence.

Please pray that we are able to celebrate Joel's first birthday tomorrow in peace too!

Thank you once more for standing with us in prayer, we value you so much

With love

John, Gillian. Leah, Natalie and Joel

February news

We arrived just over a week ago into a whole different world (or it felt like it!)

We stayed at the halfway house of the prison ministry for a few days and then moved into the house we will be living in. We don't have much furniture yet, just two beds and a fridge, and we are really looking forward to getting a cooker soon and something to sit on as the wooden floors are hard, and the neighbours lent us a wobbly table which sits at a precarious angle!

The place we are living is nice but 10 foot from a 44 storey building under construction which means almost 24 hour noise. We will get used to it though! We are trying hard to learn the language already so that we can communicate. The American pastor took us out for a meal last night and Joel managed to communicate with a Thai one year old he befriended who was called James Bond!! The rest of us are trying our best! We are picking up phrases already and have built some good friendships with the former prisoners staying at the House of Blessing. John was blessed by praying with some of them,knowing that God is a good translator!

Last week we went to a worship event at the prison ministry all in Thai and it was very moving. We just hummed or sang along in English when we knew the tune, but it is amazing how you can worship God so powerfully without the words.

John has spent most of this week at the airport trying to get our shipping cleared through customs. Please God, that should be arriving today so that we can go and visit some schools tomorrow, which the girls are desperate to do.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We would really appreciate you continuing to pray for us: for settling in, for good health, for sleep, for language learning, and for a continuing sense of being carried by God in this time of adjustment.

Thank you, we appreciate you so much.

If you would like to communicate with us, we would love to hear from you, either by email or by our address which is:

433/1 Suan Phlu Soi 8
South Sathorn Road
Tungmahamek, Sathorn
Bangkok 1021
Thailand

Bless you,

John, Gillian, Leah, Natalie and Joel Robinson

31 January 2010

Hello,

Sorry it has taken us a few days to get emailing but we have only had email yesterday when we moved into our house!

Whew! A week tomorrow we set off on this journey with God!

It was very difficult at the airport as we said goodbye to family and friends, and we were all distressed, but God was good - we had a lovely smooth flight, and Joel slept most of the way. We eventually managed to pick up all the cases ok, and were immediately struck at the airport by how many people spoke to Joel!

We then traveled at breakneck speed to the halfway house/church of the prison ministry. The traffic and driving is certainly different! We stayed there for a few days whilst we tried to sort out some basic furniture for the house. It was hard to live from suitcases when we knew we would need to pack them again shortly, and Leah and I had a cold to cope with too. Joel stayed firmly on English time for the time there, and was wide-awake many hours every night, which was hard.

Then we moved to the house yesterday. It stands less than 10 meters from a 44-storey tower block under construction, which brings all the noises from the big city straight to our doorstep. It is good to be able to have a place to put our things though.

So we are in the process of adjusting. Getting used to Bangkok, with all its interesting life, both the small things that scamper across the wall and the cockroach on my bed tonight and the noises and smells around us, as well as the heat. Today was hot! I had a nasty bite the second day when I forgot to put repellent on which is a lesson!

We went to church today -it was really very different and yet strangely Anglican!

The prison ministry wants John to start language school on Thursday this week, but we need to visit schools and find other furniture yet, as well as still get used to finding our way around, so we would appreciate your prayers for God's timing. We have a meeting tomorrow with the CMS Asia manager who is visiting Thailand, and John is going to the airport tomorrow afternoon to try and get our shipping released from customs. Please pray for good outcomes for both, and for a good understanding of a healthy work-family balance from the beginning. Please pray that we are able to find food we can eat whilst we have no cooker this week, and the shops are so different. And please pray that we can know the presence of God as we adjust as a family to a life, which is so different. The girls are doing remarkably well but they have moments when it feels very hard just now, and Joel just doesn't understand why so many people poke him!

Our new address is:

433/1 Suan Phlu Soi 8
South Sathorn Road,
Tungmahamek, Sathorn
Bangkok 10210
Thailand

Thank you so much for your prayers, we really, really value them.

Until next time,

Lots of love and God's blessings,

John, Gillian, Leah, Natalie and Joel xx

Last Updated ( Monday, 26 April 2010 21:27 )