1:Connecting the World

'Dubai Airport: Connecting the World'. These next three weeks as I meet people in West Malaysia, Singapore and Kuching are all about Connections - making them, building on them and reviewing them. In a busy restaurant in downtown Malacca I share a meal with Bishop Batumalai, eating the rice and curries on banana leaves. He did his Ph.D. in Birmingham and he is delighted to receive greetings from friends at Lickey Parish where he was based over 15 years ago - people he remembers well. He is concerned about the impact that hasty decisions about homosexuality in the parts of the Anglican Communion are having in South East Asia. 'Here we take teaching of the Bible very seriously. I do respect Archbishop Rowan, but we must not act in haste. Your church in England can benefit from the emphasis we have on mission......'

'Eat,Pray,Love', is the title of One Women's (Elizabeth Gilbert's) Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia. I reckon that's a pretty good summary of Jesus' message. There's certainly been plenty of eating so far as we relax, laugh, share and talk together. This was a meal with Revd Canon Fred David (centre) and Yoke Fong who lived in the same College house when I was training for ministry at St John's, Nottingham back in 1986. He has played a key role in developing an evangelistic ministry in the villages.