Postcard to the Parish

Hello from Hua Hin, Thailand

We have spent February visiting our son and family in Hua Hin, a seaside town on the Gulf of Thailand, 200 km south of Bangkok. Members of the Thai royal family often spent summer holidays here from around the 1920s. The late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) lived here from 2004 until 2006 when health issues forced his return to Bangkok. There is a lot to do and see - food is delicious and the markets lively. Traffic can be challenging - having been bikers in the past, we elected to hire a scooter!

Not to be missed is Monsoon Valley Vineyard which is about an hour’s drive and established on a former elephant corral - there are still some elephants there. Thailand is not generally renowned for its wines, but we were quite impressed with the ones we tasted. We also managed to play some bridge and of course sample a wide range of Thai food. It’s been a lovely, varied holiday.

Sue and Roger Davis

Hello everyone! We have been super busy at First Steps this last couple of months. We broke our record with 46 children attending! The church is all always buzzing with lots of excited children. We have been offering the Den’s room as a baby/toddler sensory space. A quiet place for the children to have some calming time with the bubble machine and to enjoy a more relaxing space, or if the parents need some space to feed etc.

Its nice to feel that First Steps has a good reputation in the community for a place to come feel welcomed. There is always a helper to offer company and support. This ministry is so important with all the life pressures families have today. We like them to feel First Steps is a happy place for everyone.

Birthday at First Steps

We love celebrating Birthdays– everyone receives some good fussing on their birthdays. Victoria celebrated her 40th and was overwhelmed with all the decorations, cards, gifts and lots of cake. WE LOVE CAKE!

The children have enjoyed learning about Jesus getting lost in the temple, Jesus calming the storm and lots of other stories leading us up to Easter. We are very lucky as the children have the option of outside play and we are all waiting for the warmer weather to have more garden time. The children do have the chance to do two crafts (Rita and Ruth are our craft queens!) The crafts are Christian themed and we continue the Christian theme in circle time usually by acting out or showing them a story, singing lots of songs, playing musical instruments, and lots of crazy fun!

Victoria and I are very thankful to have an amazing, committed team of helpers and without them it wouldn’t happen.

First Steps is the place to be on a Monday morning!