Well here I am back from 2 weeks away. I arrived back in Canada on Saturday and was welcomed by a pretty good snowfall (rare for Vancouver). Kind of hard to leave the temperate SE Asia region (Thailand/Singapore/Malaysia) and its 30 degree Celsius temperatures for below zero and snowing!
So what kind of trip was it? Well let’s just say it was 14 days, 7 cities and over 23,000 miles of successful meetings that will move us forward in our goal to provide the best technical support and services to VisionFund possible. I am definitely physically tired after these kinds of trips but at the same time re-energized by the amazing team I have working with me to get all of this work done.
I have to say that I am always struck by the historical beauty of the United Kingdom. I arrived in London on Sunday Afternoon the 13th to relatively mild weather and it wasn’t raining (which is a nice change to the usual weather I get). Arun, (who is the team lead for my project management group) and I headed off to explore the countryside a little bit on our one "non-working” or “travel day” during the two weeks. We went to Windsor which is best known for “Windsor Castle” where the Queen spends many months each year. The quiet serenity of the town was amazing and while we did not get to go into the castle as it was too late to do the tour we walked around and enjoyed the little shops which are built right into the walls of the castle! After a few hours of walking we ended up in a little English Pub and had a nice dinner. Ironically the rain stayed away during our whole walk around the town but began to fall the minute we got into the pub (whew). Coming from a part of the world where we are about to celebrate the 150th anniversary of our entire province seeing buildings (and castles) that have been there for hundreds of years is always a little awe-inspiring.
Our meetings in London went well and we even managed to get out for dinner one night in Piccadilly (to Wolsely’s). Our host arranged for the reservation which is pretty hard to get in the evening most of the time and I could understand why. Sitting in the restaurant we were surrounded by celebrities from all walks of life. Damon Hill (Formula 1 World Champion Race car driver) was two tables over from us, another actor whose name escapes me but was very recognizable was at the table next to us on the other side and even Joan Rivers came in right behind us. Not something that Arun or I normally get to experience in our usual travels with World Vision so it was kind of neat to experience for a change.
Mid-week we headed off to Belfast and I can tell you that flying into the city I was in awe of the pure beauty of the countryside. The rolling green hills, the town below was just as beautiful as I had been told it was by Robin Mark a number of years ago at a Worship Conference he and I were both at. We stayed in the Europa Hotel, which was the most bombed building in all of Belfast over the years of the conflicts in Northern Ireland. It is also where Bill Clinton stayed on his visit to Belfast as President of the United States and was square in the middle of the city. On our first day there I managed to get out for a jog around the city before it started to rain (something, which I was told by our local host, that you can tell is going to happen by the fact that if you can see the mountains you know it is about to rain and if you can’t you know the rain has already started).
So what kind of trip was it? Well let’s just say it was 14 days, 7 cities and over 23,000 miles of successful meetings that will move us forward in our goal to provide the best technical support and services to VisionFund possible. I am definitely physically tired after these kinds of trips but at the same time re-energized by the amazing team I have working with me to get all of this work done.
I have to say that I am always struck by the historical beauty of the United Kingdom. I arrived in London on Sunday Afternoon the 13th to relatively mild weather and it wasn’t raining (which is a nice change to the usual weather I get). Arun, (who is the team lead for my project management group) and I headed off to explore the countryside a little bit on our one "non-working” or “travel day” during the two weeks. We went to Windsor which is best known for “Windsor Castle” where the Queen spends many months each year. The quiet serenity of the town was amazing and while we did not get to go into the castle as it was too late to do the tour we walked around and enjoyed the little shops which are built right into the walls of the castle! After a few hours of walking we ended up in a little English Pub and had a nice dinner. Ironically the rain stayed away during our whole walk around the town but began to fall the minute we got into the pub (whew). Coming from a part of the world where we are about to celebrate the 150th anniversary of our entire province seeing buildings (and castles) that have been there for hundreds of years is always a little awe-inspiring.
Our meetings in London went well and we even managed to get out for dinner one night in Piccadilly (to Wolsely’s). Our host arranged for the reservation which is pretty hard to get in the evening most of the time and I could understand why. Sitting in the restaurant we were surrounded by celebrities from all walks of life. Damon Hill (Formula 1 World Champion Race car driver) was two tables over from us, another actor whose name escapes me but was very recognizable was at the table next to us on the other side and even Joan Rivers came in right behind us. Not something that Arun or I normally get to experience in our usual travels with World Vision so it was kind of neat to experience for a change.
Mid-week we headed off to Belfast and I can tell you that flying into the city I was in awe of the pure beauty of the countryside. The rolling green hills, the town below was just as beautiful as I had been told it was by Robin Mark a number of years ago at a Worship Conference he and I were both at. We stayed in the Europa Hotel, which was the most bombed building in all of Belfast over the years of the conflicts in Northern Ireland. It is also where Bill Clinton stayed on his visit to Belfast as President of the United States and was square in the middle of the city. On our first day there I managed to get out for a jog around the city before it started to rain (something, which I was told by our local host, that you can tell is going to happen by the fact that if you can see the mountains you know it is about to rain and if you can’t you know the rain has already started).
Belfast is a city of variety. Both old and new architecture side by side (mostly as a result of the old buildings being bombed and the new being built to replace it unfortunately,however the city hall was amazing...see the picutre attached) I love Irish accents, there is something inherently friendly about them. I can’t wait to go back there again someday and have time to really explore the city and the surrounding countryside but for now a little taste of it was enough to encourage me to go back.
From Belfast we headed to Asia on the Saturday, Starting in Bangkok on Sunday and then Singapore Monday where we had meetings with World Vision Asia Pacific Region leadership. For those who have never been to Singapore it is such a neat city to be in as it is just so clean. There is a saying that Singapore is a “fine” city (you get fined for this, fined for that, etc.) I just think it is really quite unique and I always enjoy spending a little time there. On Monday night it was off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for 4 days of my management team meetings. For the past year I have been operating with the knowledge that in order to move the support strategy I proposed to the VisionFund CEO last January forward I would have to have a strong management team. It took until this year to add the missing parts to the team (Arun started in his role in the fall, one manager started January 7th and the other officially starts of February 4th) but after 4 days of meetings I can honestly say that the Lord has blessed me with the support of 3 very strong leaders, all unique in their own right and each bringing abilities that complement each other (and me). I am encouraged by the progress we made in our 2008 strategy plans and feel ready to tackle the year ahead.
2008 will bring many changes to the face of IT support for VisionFund and while it will not be easy I am confident with the support of great IT leaders and strong staff that our team will make that difference happen. Of course none of it would be possible without the support of our Lord and Saviour. Thank you God for Mary, Arun and Joe and for their willingness to share this journey with me, may you bless them as they take on the ministry that you have called them to and continue to shed light into their lives and their thoughts.
Well that’s it for now…next up is Los Angeles the 2nd week of February where I will present our recommendation on February 8th to VisionFund leadership on where we would like to go in providing effective banking application services to them for the next 5-15 years. This is a 3-4 year project (no small undertaking) so prayers for open minds and hearts are always appreciated and of course for safe travels.
Til next time,
Mike.
2008 will bring many changes to the face of IT support for VisionFund and while it will not be easy I am confident with the support of great IT leaders and strong staff that our team will make that difference happen. Of course none of it would be possible without the support of our Lord and Saviour. Thank you God for Mary, Arun and Joe and for their willingness to share this journey with me, may you bless them as they take on the ministry that you have called them to and continue to shed light into their lives and their thoughts.
Well that’s it for now…next up is Los Angeles the 2nd week of February where I will present our recommendation on February 8th to VisionFund leadership on where we would like to go in providing effective banking application services to them for the next 5-15 years. This is a 3-4 year project (no small undertaking) so prayers for open minds and hearts are always appreciated and of course for safe travels.
Til next time,
Mike.
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