January - Februray 2004 News

Youth Group

Our youth group continues to be active.  On the 24^th of January the group was invited to attend a quiz night in Stokesley, North Yorkshire.  Everyone had a great time and on the 14^th of February we invited the group from Stokesley to a Murder Mystery night.  This night was totally organised by members of the youth group.  Heather Thomas and Nicola Inness rewrote the script in order to add additional characters and to remove certain more colourful aspects.  It made for a very interesting evening and we even had a couple of visitors from Durham.

On the 21^st of February, the youth group went to an Ice Hockey match in Newcastle.  Tickets were donated by Northumbria police courtesy of our own Andrew Richardson.  Most of those who went on the evening enjoyed the match, but Nicola was more than a bit shocked by the levels of violence on the ice.

For April the youth group is planning a trip to Norway.  All of the flurry of activity in the youth group has come about as part of an initiative to grow leadership from within the youth group.  Thus far, it has proven to be extraordinarily successful as they have worked shown themselves to be very capable and innovative in their approach.  We look forward to continued growth in the youth group both of numbers and in depth of spirituality.

Asylum Project

Work with the Asylum Seekers continues to be both a challenge and a great blessing.  On the 26^th of January, we began a program called Fortress Europe.  This program is intended to give those participating in it a taste of what it is like to be an Asylum Seeker.  It consists of a series of rooms that are designed to replicate the journey that an Asylum Seeker would undergo in order to arrive in England.  While going through the various rooms the participants listen to a taped recording that tells the true story of 2 Asylum Seekers.  They then watch a video that gives further information from actual Asylum Seekers. 

At the conclusion of the exhibition, participants are asked how they felt during their experience.  Most have expressed that they experienced fear, uncertainty, and disorientation.  We have had a group from the Youth Offending Team, children that have been excluded from school, City Councilmen, teachers, Social Workers, workers from Sunderland Housing Group, teen-age mothers, drug addicts, school children, and other members of the general public.  We will be running the program at various schools across the City up until Easter.  It is hoped that this will help reduce racial attacks and prejudice across the city.  Funding for this venture has been provided by the City of Sunderland and by a government funded organisation called Connexions.

On the 12^th of February I was interviewed as part of a documentary on Asylum Seekers being composed by the BBC.  It is to be aired sometime in March.  On the 24^th of February Michele was interviewed by a film crew from BBC News 24.  The interview went out across the whole of the UK.  She did a great job.

Visit

On the 6^th of February Stu Childre came to visit us for the weekend.  His visit was truly a blessing to us and to the church here.  Our family and the church always look forward to his visits.

Baptisms

On Sunday the 8^th of February Michael Dunn was baptised into Christ at the church building.  He has been attending church here for a great many years and has become a dear friend to all who know him.  It was truly an honour and a privilege to witness his birth into the kingdom of our Lord.

Click on the small photos to see larger photos, but be aware that these photos are high resolution photos and may take considerable time to upload.

Gathered to Witness	the New Birth	of Michael Dunn	into the Kingdom
of our Lord	into the Family	of Jesus	the Christ

On Saturday the 28^th of February Nicola Inness was baptised in the River Wear in front of Finchale Abbey.  There was snow on the ground and snow still falling at the time of her baptism.  Needless to say it was cold.  Her commitment to Christ and to her decision were apparent for all to see as she went into the icy waters of the River Wear on this cold winters day.

Winter's Day in England	Nicola wants to be baptised	In a natural setting	In spite of the Cold	Nicola Confesses her faith in Christ
Into the icy river	I baptise, you in the Name of the Father	the Son	and the Holy Spirit	Joy, despite the cold
Jared helps make sure the water is cold enough	Finchale Abbey, County Durham	We ascend the hill out of the valley	The beauty of God's creation	Trevor climbs the steps back to the cars

Family News

On the 15^th of February Rodney was admitted to the Queen Elisabeth Hospital in Gateshead, suffering from abdominal pains.  He was released on the afternoon of the 19^th of February and diagnosed as having a large Gall Stone and a Gall bladder with thickened walls.  He is due to return to the hospital on the 26^th of May for an Endoscopy.  In the interim, he is to maintain a low fat diet, and take pain killers in order to manage the pain.

Jonathan graduates from Marine boot camp on the 5^th of March.  He will then be coming to Lubbock for his leave before he returns for additional training.  We are very proud of him, but we miss him a great deal.

Joshua is still working as a waiter at Lumley Castle.  Heather is still working hard on her As level exams.  Jared is learning to play the Cello and continuing to work hard learning his spellings and to write stories.

Michele continues to work harder than anyone and keep everyone going.  She and Joshua have been taking a First-Aid course that being is taught at the church building each Thursday night.

We want to thank all of you who continue to support us with your prayers, your calls and your letters.  God continues to bless your prayers and your concerns in our lives.  We hope and pray that God will continue to bless of all of you as we all journey toward our heavenly home.

The Thomas family