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| OM's new International Director elect |
Last week I got back from my first ever trip to Bangkok, Thailand. The purpose of the trip was the OM annual International Leaders meeting (ILM). The ILM includes some official 'business' meetings, but also daily bible studies, worship, and plenty of times for arranged or spontaneous meetings with other attendees. It was a great time to make new acquaintances and renew old ones.
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| Our gleaming hotel |
What were my impressions of the city of Bangkok? Well, it was VERY hot - at least outside; I (and several others) actually felt a cold in the hotel and had to wear a fleece at some of the meetings because the air conditioning was so severe. We spent the majority of our time inside the hotel, but did manage a few brief outings. As the internet in the hotel was very expensive, most of us ventured out to buy sim cards for our mobile phones in order to get internet connections. The shopping mall we used for this, had one floor almost entirely dedicated to mobile phones and associated technology. I had been expecting prices to be very low, but was surprised when this was not the case.
Bangkok is clearly a city with wealth: there are many gleaming hotels and office buildings, and plenty of expensive cars. But intermingled with this, under viaducts, down smelly side-streets, behind the elegant facades, there were ramshackle shacks and filthy grey apartment buildings. It saddened me (although I knew about slums and poverty in the city), and made me feel so thankful for the daily luxuries that I take for granted. One one of the evenings we had a presentation from Dr Ash Barker, who is involved with the International Society for Urban Mission (ISUM). I would encourage you to check out their website here for more information.
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| Sunset from the Logos Hope |
Apart from the ILM itself, we also had the opportunity to visit the Logos Hope, which was docked in Bangkok at the time. This was significant for me, both because our visit to Logos Hope in London in 2010 had been a positive influence on our joining OM in the first place, and also because I got to be reunited with some of the students who had come through the training school back in Brazil over the last couple of years.
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| Engine Room on board |
So a great trip, and I'm very thankful for the experience.
