At the Hong Kong Alpha Conference we have witnessed God's protection, blessing and favour. Starting with the weather, Hong Kong had experienced some very un-seasonal weather just days before the Conference and the weather forecast was rain and storm for Friday, the first day of our Conference. Yet on Friday the sky was clear and beautiful. The most glorious weather stayed on throughout the two-day Conference. At the Conference site, going from the Sanctuary to the Fellowship Hall and other function rooms are all open air and uncovered. Isn't God good?

It's the shark joke again. A Laughter P H A Praising God, saying : "Glory to God" Enjoying a cup of coffee & fellowship during break. Speaker Paul Cowley, Translator Ms. May Tsui. Speaker Paul Cowley, Translator Prof. Agatha Chan. Jez Barnes giving Small Group Talk. What a glorious day. What a glorious smile.

The U.K. Team The Alpha International team: (Rev. Jez Barnes, Rev. Paul Cowley, Ms. Rosalyn Dehaan and Ms. Kathryn Elsmore) and the other volunteers: Ms. Patricia Taylor, Mr. William Balantyne, Mr. Karl Davies, and Mr. Michael Emmett are just great people to work with. They are fun, professional and helpful. Mr. Chris Darnell from New Zealand Alpha office also gave a brilliant presentation at the Youth Alpha seminar. We are so thankful to Rev. Ray Muller from the Alpha New Zealand office for allowing Chris to come and help us, we are also very thankful to Singapore Alpha for sharing the bulk of Chris' air ticket.

Our beloved friends from London and New Zealand. Rev. Jez Barnes giving an animated talk.

Youth Alpha Since the Conference, the Newly Revised Youth Alpha resources are now available for sale. The Leader's Guide is completed with CD-ROM which consists of PowerPoint presentation on each talk.

Chris Darnell, Speaker of the Youth Seminar.

Alpha starting in Taiwan We had over 300 persons representing 110 churches in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Indonesia. 30 brothers and sisters came from Taiwan. We first introduced Alpha to Taiwan in July 2002 when we invited two pastors from Taiwan to attend the International Alpha Conference in London. They only had sketchy information about Alpha at that time. Fast-forwarding to November 2002, saw us welcoming 30 brothers and sisters from Taiwan. Praise God! Though the Conference was intense in terms of timetable, people generally came away feeling refreshed, recharged and renewed in the Spirit. God is good.

Our brothers & sisters from Taiwan. We love you! Our Taiwan delegates listening through the earphone for Mandarin translation.

Alpha in Ma Po Ping Prison The second prison visit was on Monday (4th November). We went to meet with the inmates in Ma Po Ping Prison who have completed the first Alpha for Prison in Hong Kong. When the Welfare Officer took pictures of the inmates accepting the Certificate from Rev. Cowley, none of them (there were 13 there that day) wanted to hide his face but chose to face the camera directly as they were joyful and excited.

Our brothers proudly holding up their certificates of the first Alpha for Prison at Ma Po Ping. Singing praise songs together. Meeting at the Ma Po Ping Prison (L - R) Mr. Victor Kwan, Mr. Wong Chi Wah, Mr. Tsang Kwok Keung, Mrs. Hannah Miller, Rev. John Pun, Mr. Michael Emmett, Rev Paul Cowley, Mr. Lee Hak Kiu Alpha Course in session at Ma Po Ping Prison.

Visit to the Assistant Commissioner of Correctional Services: We went to see the Asst. Commissioner of the Correctional Services on 4th November. He was very receptive to Rev. Cowley's presentation and Mr. Michael Emmett's testimony. We believe the statistics from prisons running Alpha in the U.K., South Africa and other parts of the world helped proved that Alpha was not just a good idea but has a proven track record. We sensed that the Lord is indeed preparing the path for us.

Meeting with the Asst Commissioner of Correctional Services Mr. Kelvin Pang (L - R) Mrs. Hannah Miller, Rev. John Pun, Mr. Kelvin Pang, Rev Paul Cowley & Mr. Michael Emmett

Calling Volunteers to Alpha for Prison: There are 24 prisons (including 3 prisons for women) in Hong Kong and after the Conference where we had a seminar on "Alpha for Prison", we believe that the Lord is moving, motivating and equipping leaders to use Alpha as their evangelistic tool. Our prayer is for all English and Chinese-speaking brothers and sisters, who have a burden to see the captives set free and to bring light to those who are sitting in dungeons, to come forward to offer help as volunteers to take Alpha into prisons. Please contact the Hong Kong Alpha office if you hear from the Lord that you should serve in this way. This is a commitment, we do not think it a good idea for people to commit for two weeks and drop out. There will be a total of 13-15 sessions. But we believe it is a very worthwhile service to the Lord and His people.

Prayer and Worship Prayer Ministry/ Team We know that everything about Alpha is centred around prayer. We are thankful for brothers and sisters from St. Stephen's Society covering us in prayer when they took turns to intercede for us in prayer walks around the sanctuary while the meeting was going on inside. There were several sessions when people were prayed for and ministered to. Our thanks also goes to the Prayer Ministry Team, the Worship Team, the translators, the volunteers at the book table, kitchen, the task force, the drivers, the photographers, the videographer, and other at random help offered us when needed. The Alpha office staff also worked tirelessly but joyfully as we focus our mind on the ONE whom we are serving. Indeed God has intended this to be a team work for HE alone shall receive the Glory, Honour and Praise.

Intercessory group taking a break from their prayer walk around the Sanctuary	Waiting patiently, waiting expectantly "Jesus, O Jesus, Come and fill your lambs"	Rev. Paul Kenchington, National Alpha Adviser.	Rev. Eddie Ma Kin Ming leading worship.
Mixed fruits for dessert. Yum……	"You like another 50 copies?"	Alpha office staff (L-R) Hannah Miller, Ursula Lai, Matthew Yuen

FOLLOW-UP TO THE ALPHA CONFERENCE As a follow-up to the Conference, we will be holding Alpha Advisers/Administrators Meetings when we discuss the ways forward for Alpha in Hong Kong. At the meeting we will discuss ways to pool resources together and for churches to help one another. * There will be three terms of Alpha for the year 2003 keeping to the model suggestion from Alpha International. * Churches interested in running Alpha to keep to the suggested term periods. * Churches to start Alpha within the same week, i.e. Methodist Church on Monday, Baptist Church on Tuesday and the Reliance Church on Wednesday....etc. Allowing potential attendees flexibility of dates to attend Alpha. * To run Training days AND the Alpha weekend jointly. Allowing churches with experience to help those who do not and pooling manpower and resources. * Joint promotion - cost effective and higher impact. * Alpha Suppers will be held in individual churches.

Brett shared his vision in encouraging all churches in Hong Kong to pool resources in training, promotion & running Alpha weekends jointly. Q & A session Kathryn Elsmore of Alpha International explaining about Alpha Initiative.

Is your church currently running the Alpha Course or are you interested to participate in the joint training and Weekend in 2003?

We want to call all churches who are currently running the Alpha Course or those who are planning to get started to let us know of your interest in joining us or if you have any queries, please contact us via e-mail: hkalpha@alpha.org.hk or fax: 2869 1313.

The Lord's blessings with you all as we move forward in One Spirit, One Accord and serving our One Lord and God. May we take this opportunity to wish you all a VERY BLESSED AND FRUITFUL 2004 as we move on in the Spirit of God to do His bidding.