Dear Friends,

This week sees our fourth service at All Saints, Chiang Mai!

For the next two weeks, we will continue to meet at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday evenings, at the home of Ivan Hall.  (Email for exact directions!)  We will again share a meal following the service.  However, on 3rd August, the Chase family will arrive from Egypt, so from 7th August we will meet at their new home.  More details later!  Many thanks to Ivan for hosting us for the first month of our life together.

 Thank you to those who are now following my new Twitter feed, @rev_iainbaxter.  I don’t tweet much, but if you are on twitter it’s the quickest way of getting my news.  The audio of last week’s sermon is now available on the  Audio-Visual page.  In it I reflect on the story of the Good Samaritan and look at how neighbourliness can go wrong!  …………………………………………………………………………   Emily and Ken Chase

Is Wednesday evening good for you or would you prefer Sunday or another day?  Let me know, things are still flexible in these early days.

Finally, let me again emphasise that our worship is open to all. Most people will probably find us by word of mouth, so please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested.

I look forward to seeing you soon,

God bless,

Iain

Dear Friends,

This week saw our first service of worship at All Saints, Chiang Mai.

We were few in number – only two in fact!  But it was a very good time of worship as we celebrated and received communion together.  I know there were lots of people who would have liked to have been there, but were out of town on the night.  You can see my first sermon at All Saints by clicking here.  Ivan’s apartment is small, but we look out over the lights of Chiang Mai as we worship, so it doesn’t feel enclosed – quite the opposite.

As I said in my sermon, we want to be a community that not only worships together, but also reaches out to the world with God’s love.  All the candles and crosses, cassocks and surplices, mean nothing, if we are not truly worshipping God together and then going out to be the people of God – a people who love one another and share love in practical ways with others around us.

We will continue to proclaim the gospel message that ALL are welcome in God’s kingdom!

Next Wednesday, 10th July, we will again meet in the home of Ivan Hall, but this time at the EARLIER TIME of 6:00 p.m.  This will make it easier for us to share a meal together following the service, which should last around an hour.  This week we ate at West.

Meanwhile, I would ask you to pray for my second country, Egypt.  You will be aware of huge protests which led to the ousting of President Morsi.  While I, and many people in Egypt, are hopeful about the situation, much prayer is needed for a peaceful and fair outcome.  You can read more in this letter from a friend of mine, Ramez Attalah, the General Director of the Bible Society of Egypt.

Finally, let me emphasise that our worship is open to all. Most people will probably find us by word of mouth, so please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested.

I look forward to seeing you soon,

God bless,
Iain

For a number of reason, this building is not going to happen!

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Obviously I am disappointed, but taking the building would have probably cost at least THB 100,000 (£2,000 / $3,000), which I would only have got back had the church been a success!  I am currently living on THB 16,000 (£320 / $550) per month, including accommodation, food and everything else, so this would have been a major step of faith!

Well, God has probably got other plans for me next year in addition to my studies!

I will be in Egypt in just over two weeks, and then back in the UK, where I will be doing a placement with Rev. Graham Wassel, the minister of my parents’ church.    I will be back in Egypt in May for my ordination, so I have much for which to look forward.

Meanwhile, I have my Hebrew exam on Friday for which your prayers would be greatly valued!

More news soon,

 This afternoon, I met with the owner of the building we have been looking at for All Saints, Chiang Mai.  We provisionally agreed a contract starting in March.  We will pay THB 12,000 (£240/$400) per month for March, April and May, and then THB 15,000 (£300/$500) per month once we start using the building.

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Please pray that all these things work out!
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More news soon,

McCormick Hospital Chapel
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We have just received the following email from McCormick Hospital:

“Dear Aj Dobson and Aj Baxter,

I have forwarded your request to use the Edwin McDaniels Chapel for the weekly worship service to the Chairman of the Board of Directors for consideration.

His advice for me was McCormick Hospital had rejected other requests from other international christian groups in Chiang Mai in the past and he would like the hospital to take the neutral position.

The Edwin McDaniels Chapel will be used only for the hospital morning worship service.

I am so sorry that I could not serve your request.

Sincerely,
Somchai Sirisujin”

Please pray that we would have wisdom about what to do next.  It is only just over four weeks until I leave for the UK, and I would like to go knowing we have a place.  This also effects our ability to produce publicity.

Ken, a friend and retired Presbyterian minister, who is also involved in the project, wants to appeal.  He has been in Thailand many years and knows how things work here.   However, this will certainly take time and maybe McCormick is not the right place anyway.

The director had already indicated that they would probably charge around THB 1,000 (£20/$30) per week, which is a lot in my opinion. This would have been about BHT4,000 (£80/$120) each month, compared with the BHT 15,000 (£300/$450) per month for the whole building I wrote about in my email of 5th February, The One that Got Away!

That building could provide a flat for me to live in, a chapel, church office, and other space.  We would have the building for 24 hours a day / seven days a week, and could perhaps produce other income from letting others use the place.   We would then have a permanent presence.
Offsetting the THB 6,000 (£120 / $180) which I pay for my current room, the difference for the community would  only be THB 5,000 (£100 / $150).  There would have been some other set-up costs like chairs and an air-conditioner for the main-room, but these would be small in the long run.

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Should this be our new chapel?
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So, please pray that we will make the right decision.  In the end, I will be the one who has to decide!

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!