My goal for this post: Convey the important aspects of this trip in a concise and interesting manner.
We'll see if that happens.
This post is going to be a little different. Normally, I post a bunch of pictures and explain them. But this time, I'm posting a video that I made about the trip, and then I'll talk a little about the specifics. Also, for this post, I'm only doing the first country we visited. I will cover the second half of the journey at a later date.
(I realize the video takes up a lot of room. Click on it to go to YouTube and watch it there. Or settle for having my face cover half the frame.)
The song in the background comes from one of the morning worship times and is sung by the delegates from India.
Why was I in Thailand?
I don't know if I've shared this before, but part of my job is to act as an ECC advocate. I promote all of OMS in the Communications Department, but I work closely with ECC in particular on web stories, email marketing and fun stuff like that. (If you're wondering what ECC stands for, check out this post or go here.) From April 2-9, ECC held the Asia Regional Coordinator's Seminar in Bangkok, Thailand. Basically, the ECC national coordinator's from 11 countries gathered together to discuss strategy, learn about new procedures and encourage one another in the shared goal of planting multiplying churches. The theme for the seminar was "Coaching for a Greater Harvest."
What did I do?
I was part of a two-woman journalism team. My primary responsibility was to interview the participants and gather stories about the work of OMS and ECC around the world. My secondary responsibility was to document the event through pictures and video. I worked with my boss, Susan Loobie, and together we conducted over 20 interviews and heard some truly amazing stories about what God is doing in Asia.
Where can I read these stories?
We will be writing the stories from this event for the next few months. Some may end up in Outreach magazine, while others may be on the website. Others will probably be posted to Facebook or other venues. I will link to them on here when I can, and I may just post the story for you.
Did you see much of Thailand?
Not really. We had a little bit of free time before the seminar began, but used most of the time to adjust to the new time zone. We were able to slip away a couple mornings to do a bit of shopping and to get a Thai massage, but did not do any sightseeing. That's one thing I really need to do if I ever go back. What I did see of the country was quite nice, and I'm told that once you're outside of Bangkok, the scenery is quite beautiful. (Not that Bangkok wasn't nice, but cities don't change much from country to country.)
How was the weather?
Hot. And humid. Our conference room was air-conditioned, as was our room at night, but the short walk between the two left us drenched in sweat. Had we stayed another week, we could have participated in the water festival, which would have been lovely.
How was the food?
Very rice-like. We had rice with almost every meal, but we really didn't eat anything too weird. Some of the curry was quite spicy, so I steered away from that. But our cooks did an excellent job of changing things up, and we actually had ribs and potatoes one night. I was quite pleased with the variety.
What did God teach you in Thailand?
We talk a lot about the global church and how we are all connected as the Body of Christ. But to actually see it in action was truly awesome. All of these church leaders were united in a common purpose, and they are already seeing incredible results of church multiplication. Traditionally, Asian cultures have been hesitant about this approach to church planting. It is quite different from what they have done before. But it makes so much sense, and it really does work, and to hear about all the people coming to Christ is so amazing. I'm not really a joiner, but after listening to so many stories of God's faithfulness, I was proud to be part of a truly global Church. It certainly brings perspective to life in America.
Will you go back to Thailand?
I hope so. OMS has no official work in Thailand, but it's a central spot for many of our national partners, so that may be an option. I am absolutely ready to visit the countries represented at the seminar to see how God is using what they learned for His glory.
So, did I meet my goal? I have no idea. I will be sending out an update in paper form soon, and that will hopefully clear up any questions you have. But you can always ask me on here or on Facebook or email or by phone or whatever. It really was a good experience, and I did actually get to visit one of the countries...
But that is a topic for another day.
(By the way, if you followed all of the links I posted, you're awesome. I realize I went a little nuts.)
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
On Jet Lag
No, I'm not ready to write about my trip, yet. Today went a long way to help me process things, but I still need to read my journal one more time and comb through the 1000+ pictures I took for the best ones to share.
For this particular post, I would like to address the oft-referenced, but rarely examined, topic of jet lag.
Here is how dictionary.com defines the subject:
jet lag
–noun
a temporary disruption of the body's normal biological rhythms after high-speed air travel through several time zones.
Generally speaking, I have usually taken after my mother when it comes to jet lag. It rarely affects her, and she can often jump right back into things upon returning home. She frequently flies to the other side of the world, and more often than not, she just shrugs off the ill effects of completely reversing her body's clock.
My father, on the other hand, has not faired as well. He can handle being a few hours off, but last year, he was in Thailand. He did well while he was there, but it took him almost a month to fully recover when he arrived home.
On previous trips, I haven't really had to deal with jet lag. Traveling to Latin America doesn't really throw off normal rhythms, and I adjusted easily to the 5-6 hours difference in Europe. I attribute this partially to my youth, and partially to the fact that I have a rather fluid sleep cycle anyway. I can allow myself a day going and coming to adjust, and I'm right as rain. I have a general philosophy when it comes to travel - you have to immediately put yourself on the local rhythm. Otherwise, you adjust too gradually, and this equals a miserable trip. Jumping right in helps shock your body into a faster adjustment.
However, things change rather dramatically when you literally shift everything forward half a day. The trip there wasn't a problem. I arrived in Thailand just after midnight on a Saturday, went to bed around 1:30, woke up at 6:30 in the morning, and took the day to rest. I didn't take a nap, I just relaxed, then went to bed around 10. After that, I was fine.
On the return trip, I left South Asia early in the morning on Wednesday, spent 15 hours in an airport in India, slept four hours on the eight hour flight to London, and then was awake until I arrived home around 7 on Thursday evening. After two full days of travel, I was more than ready to get some shut-eye. I was determined to follow my policy, however, so I stayed up as late as possible. It wasn't until I realized I had fallen asleep sitting at my kitchen table that I relented.
That night was weird. I woke up a couple of times, not sure where I was, convinced I was still traveling, trying to find my bags. Within a few minutes each time, though, I was able to get back to sleep, not waking completely until after 9. I took Friday easy, didn't go out, which was good, because my brain was soaked in fog. Most of the time, I didn't know what day it was. I went to bed early again, and I felt quite rested on Saturday, though my body was aching from the travel and other things.
But there is a lingering weariness. I am seesawing on when I go to bed and when I wake up. This morning, I was up at 5. I felt rested, but I don't generally get up so early. Also, I am still having trouble figuring out where I am when I first wake. It is incredibly disconcerting, and I don't like how muddled my brain gets.
So, that's my state of mind right now. I didn't get anything done at work today because I was trying to figure out what from the trip needed to be done and then what regular stuff needed to be done. I also spent the entire afternoon debriefing with the rest of the group who went from HQ. That helped me stop drifting so much. It's still hard, though - my brain and my body feel like they are on two separate planes of existence. I'm just waiting for them to decide when and where to reconnect.
All that to say this:
I hate jet lag.
For this particular post, I would like to address the oft-referenced, but rarely examined, topic of jet lag.
Here is how dictionary.com defines the subject:
jet lag
–noun
a temporary disruption of the body's normal biological rhythms after high-speed air travel through several time zones.
Generally speaking, I have usually taken after my mother when it comes to jet lag. It rarely affects her, and she can often jump right back into things upon returning home. She frequently flies to the other side of the world, and more often than not, she just shrugs off the ill effects of completely reversing her body's clock.
My father, on the other hand, has not faired as well. He can handle being a few hours off, but last year, he was in Thailand. He did well while he was there, but it took him almost a month to fully recover when he arrived home.
On previous trips, I haven't really had to deal with jet lag. Traveling to Latin America doesn't really throw off normal rhythms, and I adjusted easily to the 5-6 hours difference in Europe. I attribute this partially to my youth, and partially to the fact that I have a rather fluid sleep cycle anyway. I can allow myself a day going and coming to adjust, and I'm right as rain. I have a general philosophy when it comes to travel - you have to immediately put yourself on the local rhythm. Otherwise, you adjust too gradually, and this equals a miserable trip. Jumping right in helps shock your body into a faster adjustment.
However, things change rather dramatically when you literally shift everything forward half a day. The trip there wasn't a problem. I arrived in Thailand just after midnight on a Saturday, went to bed around 1:30, woke up at 6:30 in the morning, and took the day to rest. I didn't take a nap, I just relaxed, then went to bed around 10. After that, I was fine.
On the return trip, I left South Asia early in the morning on Wednesday, spent 15 hours in an airport in India, slept four hours on the eight hour flight to London, and then was awake until I arrived home around 7 on Thursday evening. After two full days of travel, I was more than ready to get some shut-eye. I was determined to follow my policy, however, so I stayed up as late as possible. It wasn't until I realized I had fallen asleep sitting at my kitchen table that I relented.
That night was weird. I woke up a couple of times, not sure where I was, convinced I was still traveling, trying to find my bags. Within a few minutes each time, though, I was able to get back to sleep, not waking completely until after 9. I took Friday easy, didn't go out, which was good, because my brain was soaked in fog. Most of the time, I didn't know what day it was. I went to bed early again, and I felt quite rested on Saturday, though my body was aching from the travel and other things.
But there is a lingering weariness. I am seesawing on when I go to bed and when I wake up. This morning, I was up at 5. I felt rested, but I don't generally get up so early. Also, I am still having trouble figuring out where I am when I first wake. It is incredibly disconcerting, and I don't like how muddled my brain gets.
So, that's my state of mind right now. I didn't get anything done at work today because I was trying to figure out what from the trip needed to be done and then what regular stuff needed to be done. I also spent the entire afternoon debriefing with the rest of the group who went from HQ. That helped me stop drifting so much. It's still hard, though - my brain and my body feel like they are on two separate planes of existence. I'm just waiting for them to decide when and where to reconnect.
All that to say this:
I hate jet lag.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
We're headed to our next destination shortly. Probably won't have any internet connection, so no blog posts or Facebook updates. Please keep me and my boss in your prayers over the next few days. We're not really sure what to expect, but have been told many (often conflicting) things. We're both quite nervous, and would appreciate your prayers greatly. Thank you all, and look for an update when I return to the States on Thursday, April 14.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Brain ASPLODE!
I've been in Thailand now for a few days, so it's probably time to get something written on here! There is so much that I have seen and experienced - I don't know how I'm ever going to communicate it all to you. I have met so many people who have incredible stories to tell of God's faithfulness and provision in extraordinary circumstances. I think I'll be writing stories until at least 2013.
I was afraid I wouldn't get a chance to see anything outside of the guest house where we're staying. The ECC guys have us scheduled from 7:15 in the morning to 9:00 at night - that doesn't leave a lot of time for sightseeing or exploring. Fortunately, I wasn't required to be at some of the sessions, so I did get a chance to see a bit of the area. I even had time to get a Thai massage! You really can't be in Thailand and not take advantage of this truly unique experience. For about $8, I was smacked, pulled and stepped on - it was quite interesting. Only part of it was painful - the foot and head massages were heavenly. And in all honesty, it was mostly a good pain. I think I would take more time for it if I did it again, though.
It's not all fun and games, though. I am doing actual work - quite a bit, actually. We don't have nearly enough time to get everything done between downloading photos, editing videos, doing interviews and filming.
On the plus side, I've been pretty distracted from thinking about the next leg of our trip. We're headed to another country in the region with decidedly fewer amenities and a lot more travel. I've been worried about it from the beginning, but also excited, because there are so many amazing things happening in this country. There's been real spiritual warfare, and in my human weakness, it's been difficult to overcome. I've always been a worrier, and I just need to trust that God knows what He's doing and will be with me the whole time.
One of the hardest things about this conference is dealing with the security issues. There are several countries here that we can't mention because it isn't safe for our workers. This makes it hard when interviewing because we have to be very careful not to give details that might be used to identify our brothers and sisters. That's why I can't write about where I'm going next. But I'll be able to tell you about it when we meet face-to-face. We just can't have any searchable documents or pages with sensitive information.
I'm operating a bit on information overload right now. There's so much I'd like to write, but I can't get my brain to compress the information into a single stream. For example, I've had at least three people offer to find me a husband in their country. I have four new brothers in one of those countries who are just hilarious, and are always asking me fun questions.
I have to say, I'm glad I came to Thailand. I'm very glad to be part of this conference, and I would love to do all of this again. That being said, I have also been able to clarify some other things I've been thinking about, especially regarding the future. It always amazes me what God uses to open our eyes.
I hope you are all doing well! Please continue to pray for me, especially regarding the next leg of our journey.
Kob coon ka!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
36 Hours
All of my sign-in stuff is in Thai, so bear with me. Hopefully, I can get this figured out.
We're here! This is going to be really short, because I am very tired, but I wanted everyone to know that we've arrived, we're alive, and I never want to be on a plane for fourteen hours straight again in my life.
I'll post more tomorrow about all the travel. It's quite an adventure getting to the other side of the world.
We're here! This is going to be really short, because I am very tired, but I wanted everyone to know that we've arrived, we're alive, and I never want to be on a plane for fourteen hours straight again in my life.
I'll post more tomorrow about all the travel. It's quite an adventure getting to the other side of the world.
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