Peter and Ineke Cook
Christ Church, 11 Convent
Road, Bangkok, 10500,
Thailand
+66 22343634
[email protected]
Monnth and Year
January 2014
Dear Friends,
Hello from America. We are halfway through our sabbatical and we are very grateful for this time and
the opportunities the Lord had given us.
We began in Perth, Australia, visiting our youngest son Paul and Monique, relaxing with them at a great
place on the coast called Peaceful Bay for a few days followed by a couple of days in their home. We
popped back home to Bangkok for one night to collect our winter suitcases and then flew to the UK. A
three day 'debrief' with John and Sue Belstead of Le Rucher ministries (while enjoying their wonderful
hospitality) was an excellent time of reflection on the last seven plus years. This gave us opportunity to
identify issues to deal with both individually and as a couple, and an environment for prayer. We then
spent time with eldest son Dan and Emma and then middle son David. David had us all over on
Christmas Day and did a fabulous dinner. Time resting and reading and being with family and friends in
an unhurried way has been a great tonic and set us up for our USA adventure.
In the US so far we have explored
Washington DC and from there moved
on to York and some of the 'historical'
areas of the US. Here we visited with the
Pastor and his wife of the Evangelical
Church of Bangkok who are great
friends and were on vacation at home.
This also gave us first hand insight into
the church and community life of small
town US where 80 percent attend
church and churches of every type are
everywhere. It was also a shock to the
system as one of the worst cold spells for
a long time hit the east coast area.
Snow and temperatures down to minus
15,
We then moved on to New York where we stayed with some leaders of Redeemer Presbyterian Church,
a large city centre 'teaching' church (Tim Keller the lead pastor). Over our four days there we were able
to spend some very useful time with some pastors of the church (and take in some sights too).
From there we flew across to the west coast, first to
San Francisco where we stayed in the inner city
YWAM base and experienced something of their
incredible ministry and city. Then we drove up to
Redding CA which is where we are now. The
weather is beautiful and hot which we are enjoying
very much, however they are in drought and praying
for rain. We spent eleven days here based around
the ministry of Bethel Church. It has quite a
remarkable ministry and marvellous worship which is
impacting us greatly. There may be some questions
to ask over aspects of their ministry and theology,
however their passion for Jesus, vision for the
kingdom of God and faith to see the Holy Spirit at
work is inspiring indeed. We are making the most of
it.
We end our time in the US visiting friends (ex Christ
Church Bangkok) in Tulsa Oklahoma and then San
Antonio Texas, and then arriving back to the UK on
4th Feb.
Here is the plan for the final part of sabbatical which focuses around retreat and reflection.
SABBATICAL ITINERARY
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February
4th to 9th - Lee Abbey Retreat Centre - on retreat
10th to 18th - Ridley Hall Cambridge Theological College - study and reflection (Ineke will
also visit family in Holland during some of this time)
20th - 24th - Away in country cottage with Dan, Emma and David
26th - Arrive back in Bangkok, settle back into home and warm up!
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March
1st - first Sunday back to Church
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PRAYER POINTS
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Please pray that the lessons learned and the experiences gained and the God encounters
had would deepen our relationship with him, our lives, our marriage and ministry.
Please pray that the Lord would lead us in our reflections and prayers, and re-envision us.
Please pray for Christ Church Bangkok and our next stage of ministry. If the Lord places
anything on your heart please share it with us.
Please pray for Thailand as it is once again in political turmoil. While we are away we also
care very much for this nation and feel very far from those God called us to.
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