A Retrospective Look back: To the Convention

Okay so it wasn't That long ago since I went to my first District Convention (or at least that how I'm soothing my conscience), but I think now is the time to (finally) post the experience.

Before session started:

Left: Ashley sitting pretty in the auditorium.
Right: Alanna with her new Bible - she'd just received it recently and almost didn't want to open it!  Thailand wasn't part of the annual meeting, so many English speakers here are still waiting on their Bible - went to Bangkok English meeting just last week and most of the audience still had the old New World.

I'm unsure why, but I expected the Thai convention to be the same size as our conventions back home.  This is, of course, completely illogical when you consider that we regularly have 7,000 people at a convention, but Thailand's total publishers for the ENTIRE COUNTRY is half that.  Hence, in size it was more like a Circuit Assembly.

I hadn't been back in Thailand long before the convention, so I must admit I was worried about how much I would understand - and with all the mental exertion if I would fall asleep ignominiously.

It was a definite Plus that I'd gone to the convention in English.  I didn't feel stressed about missing a point, because I'd already taken it in at English.  Also, since I'd taken notes I could then follow along almost point by point, and (depending on the subject and speaker) understood more than I expected.

At one point I turned to Alanna to say: Hey I totally understand this speaker and she replies he's Japanese.  Ironic, but true, other foreigners are sometimes easier to understand than the native Thai speakers.  Reason being they typically talk slower and enunciate more clearly.  I also theorize that they have a vocabulary similar to mine because if they came here to serve they probably picked up most of their vocab from our publications.

As is often the case, the Baptism was of particular note, yet a bit different from the US.  Fortunately I'd been a bit prepared after attending Assemblies in English and Thai during my last visit.

My View from the 2nd floor:

Note the size of the pools.  They reach maybe to mid-thigh, so they have people carefully watching to be sure the person is fully submersed.  There were a couple, few poor souls who had to be dunked a second time.

 The pool on the left was used for sisters, the right for brothers.  However, the brother line moved much faster than the one for sisters, so by the end sisters were going to both pools.

 And an official group shot of all the baptismal candidates before they got wet :)  Why don't we do this I wonder???

Alanna with the new tract - very exciting!  Especially after doing last months campaign, I have a new appreciation for the set up of these tracts.  They're amazingly easy to use and follow up on!

Ashley was so excited I believe she'd placed all her tracts on the bus that night before we'd even returned home!  I believe she also placed many of her new brochures - Thai received some brochures newly translated into their language in addition to the other publications we received in English.

My most exciting addition - the Imitate their Faith book.  I been slowly making headway studying the Thai since then.  It's particularly slow going since I never run out of things to study in Thai and preparing for the meeting and field service has to take precedence.

Ah the life of a language learner.  Always, always more to be learnt.

To conclude the day we were trying to do a group shot, but clearly had some difficulties keeping straight faces.

 Sadly I don't remember now what was even so funny, but third times the charm.