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OCTOBER
2009
Dear Friend,
Colleen turned 15yrs in September and Jefferson
also celebrated his 11th birthday. Here they are with the two
puppies we decided to keep from the litter of ten. The black
one is Mya and the little brown one is Judah. The others have
all gone to good homes. |
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Praise God for many answers to prayer. Almost
immediately our September newsletter came out, the request for
a new web designer was answered. Dana Bratton has done a wonderful
job of giving every page a new fresh look. Dana was a hospital
chaplain and pastor in Southern California USA. He first came
to Thailand right after the tsunami to see what he could do to
help. About three years ago he and his wife Cindy moved permanently
to Thailand. They taught English at Step Ahead in Khao Lak, on
the coast of Phang Nga, and then went to Perth, Australia for
three month of Discipleship Training with YWAM. |
Rommel
helped the Brattons move to Bangkok for Thai language study soon
after. For the last year and a half Dana has pastored Calvary
Chapel at the Bridge in Thachatchai which is a small village
on the north end of Phuket Island that was hard hit by the tsunami.
Dana enjoys web design as a side hobby and especially enjoys
helping Christian ministries with their sites.
I encourage anyone who has not visited the Eaglesrest site: eagles-rest.info
recently to do so as soon as you can, there are many additional
photos and up to date information. You can even find a current
building proposal which will continue to be updated as we move
onto the land in the coming year. I am sure you will be pleasantly
surprised at what has been accomplished on the web site in the
past four weeks.
VISAS
AND WORK PERMITS
These are almost always a trial for people seeking to serve overseas,
and in our case the experience was once again no different. Right
to the last minute we were praying for papers to be passed. As
it was, our visas expired before the necessary work permit was
granted and so we were given a penalty for overstaying. We thank
God for providing the extra funds to cover the fine.
Rommel now has a work permit through another foundation to allow
him (and us) another two years in Thailand. I (Janene) will be
applying for mine through the newly registered EAGLESREST FOUNDATION.
However, that cannot be done quickly as there are many papers
to be prepared by the board chairman. |
AN INTRODUCTION- FROM OUR CURRENT VOLUNTEERS
God has brought
us to Phang Nga, Thailand, at this time to help the Ala family
through to the end of 2009 school year. What a privilege to be
a part of the work they are doing here at Eaglesrest, giving
support to Asian pastors when in need of rest. Grace will be
giving Janene a break and over-seeing the children with their
school work while I, Kingsley, will help Rommel with some maintenance
work that is needed around 'the nest.'
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Kingsley helps with making security grills
for the windows of the guest house.
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| Father
God has been doing a work in our lives since we were in Thailand
for seven months back in 1997. Our focus over the years has always
been to return, but either we haven't been in a place for God
to use us, or it just wasn't God's time. |
Grace settles into the teachers' desk. |
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Praise God, He is faithful and has opened the
door and allowed us to come now.
My background is retail hardware and Grace retired as a registered
nurse June 2008. When in Australia, I usually drive a school
bus morning and afternoon. We have a small acreage in a little
town called Proston, 45 minutes west by car of the PEANUT town
of Kingaroy, Queensland, Australia.
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After
our three months at Phang Nga we will travel to central Thailand
to catch up with friends; those we were involved with previously
at a home for children. We are looking to the Spirit of God to
show us Father's will for our lives here in Thailand. We have
a sense that this will not be a one-off visit but an ongoing
work. - KINGSLEY DICKINS
NO COMPARISON!
The following is taken
from a web site which seeks to attract tourists to Phuket. It
refers to a huge Buddha statue now almost completed on top of
a mountain on the island:
When the project is complete, there will in fact be two Buddha
images. A smaller one, 12 metres high, made of 22 tons of brass
and costing 8 million baht...
This will be dwarfed by the giant Buddha image, which will face
eastward toward Chalong Bay and Phang Nga Bay beyond. When finished,
(it) will be 45 meters high and 25 meters across at the base. |
It is expected to cost about 30 million baht
to complete the giant image. "So far we have received donations
of more than 20 million baht. The money has come from everywhere,
from locals, from Thais in other provinces and from foreign tourists.
With our website and the help we have had from the press, we
have even received donations from overseas."
The work is going well...the next step - covering the entire
structure with 135 tons of Burmese white marble, another donation
from devout Buddhists.
www.phuket.com/magazine/big-buddha.htm |
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Cash in hand now around $US15,600
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Over
30 million baht (642,508 EURO) raised from the devout Thais and
foreign tourists. We serve a risen, glorified God who can, and
does, hear and provide. Are we so fervent in our giving?
Until next month... |
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