Friday, November 23, 2007

A special Thanksgiving

Dinah and I spend 15-19 Nov with Hope NA pastors and spouses. Hope Chicago church is the host for this pastors' retreat. This is our second visit to Hope Chicago church. Our flights to and from Chicago are full because of the Thanksgiving celebration on 22 Nov. Here is a photo with the Hope Chicago church. One lady's face is covered and one more was not in the picture. We arrive back in Singapore on Wednesday.

Next I spend Thursday with Methodist pastors and church leaders in Singapore at their Trinity Annual Conference. It's my time speaking in a Methodist environment. After addressing the conference, I have lunch with several pastors. It's quite an eye-opener to be part of this.

Whilst I imagine our American friends having turkey on Thursday night, I am with our church leaders on Thursday night. Some stay back to ask questions making this a full day indeed.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

In Phuket

It is our first time in Phuket. We arrive in Phuket on Sun night with our twins. We stay at a hotel overseeing Kata beach.

The next day we take a speed boat to Hay Island. The Andaman Sea is beautiful. We snorkel for the first time.

The next day Cara and I present papers at the leadership meetings while the twins enjoy story books. Here is a picture by my wife. Seated next to me is Pastor Mark and Pastor Ian both from Hope Melbourne.

The Leaders Conference start the next day. My wife and I lead workshops. We catch up with friends. We spend time with our team from Johannesburg. It is so great to see Henry, Lerato, Mpho and Elvis. On the final night we get to enjoy a barbeque on the famous Patong beach.