Last year at this time, almost to the day, I received the news that I had not been selected for the WV post in Panama. It was disappointing to say the least, as I had felt my prior experiences, including moving to Spain a few years out of college, had been preparing me for this role. World Vision did express interest in having me apply for the same role but serving a different region – East Asia based in Bangkok, Thailand, instead of Latin America/Caribbean based in Panama. I had never been to either location but somehow Panama felt like a local move (my sense of “local” has been warping for the last 20 years) and Thailand felt like the other side of the world (because it is!).
There was a feeling of calling that required my availability and responding I moved forward and began the interview process. By February I was in Bangkok for final face-to-face interviews. During this trip I met with strategic leaders for community transformation, advocacy, child health, poverty eradication, and anti-trafficking. I learned that 900 million of the world’s poor live in Asia, more than any other region in the world, including Africa, and that there was measurable evidence of progress to addressing and, possibly eliminating, many issues related to poverty, including poverty itself. It was inspiring and daunting, all at the same time. I'm not sure how to describe what I felt when the offer came through, but I realized the opportunity it represented and so after prayer and consultation with friends and family, I moved forward and by the first week of April I had relocated to Bangkok accepting the role of East Asia Director of People & Culture. For more on this region and the work I am involved in check out this site (it also has coverage on the flooding in Thailand). www.wvasiapacific.org
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