PST in Dubai

After our GO Conference, all those joining the Logos Hope ship flew to Dubai, United Arab Emirates for 2 weeks of PST (Pre-Ship Training). This was to prepare us for joining the ship and also to teach us about the Arab culture that we would be in for the next month. This was in order to be more effective in everything we would do while in the Arab world, but also to be respectful of their culture and be able to build better relationships with the locals we would meet.

Sharing the gospel with the local people was illegal (therefore we refrained), however only about 20% of those living in Dubai are true Emirati - the rest are immigrants, mostly from India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. 

As we try to be culturally sensitive and appropriate in each culture as well as modest all the time, in the Arab world the ship had imposed a dresscode of shirts coming up to the collarbone and past the elbow. Skirts had to cover the ankle and any pants that were worn had to be loose-fitting and ensure the top would cover your backside.

the church compound where we had our PST - Christian churches
are few in the Arab world. Many different denominations shared this
compound, with knowledge by the government and no local Emirati
are allowed by the government to be Christian.

The hotel we stayed at - beautiful luxury, with 2 people per room!

67 people gather for 2 weeks of training about ship life, ministry and
the Arab world - where we started our journey.

We truly were in the desert - so dry, and no real trees anywhere -
just bushes and heather.

This was my 'fellowship group': at the end of everyday we gathered
together to share our thoughts, hang out and pray for each other.

A patch of typical desert.

This was a humongous hotel - where we walked most
days is just through the arch, known as 'the gaping mouth'!

The nearest shopping mall was a 30 minute walk from the church compound.
Our first afternoon we were asked to go there and do no shopping,
simply observe the local Arabic culture, so foreign to our own.

The Ibn Battuta Mall, named after the Islamic explorer Ibn Battuta, is divided into 6
sections: each decorated after a section of the world that Battuta conquered
for Islam. This particular photo is part of the Egyptian court.

Tunisian part of Ibn Battuta mall - beautiful decorations and detailing.

The local mosque. As we were in an Arabic country, these were everywhere
and the hourly 'call to prayer' became a normal sound during our time
in the Arab world.

Interesting fact: each call to prayer, from mosques to in shopping
centres and everywhere else are all done individually - no
pre-recordings anywhere.

This was the entrance to Ibn Battuta mall (Tunisia).

The display in the Indian court of Ibn Battuta.

A beautiful fountain outside Ibn Battuta mall.

These were our trainers during PST, using a drama as an introduction
to sharing about the different work departments on the ship.

A beautiful lamp in the Persian section of Ibn Battuta mall.

Old Chinese boats in the China section of Ibn Battuta mall.

One free afternoon, 3 friends and I took the Metro (behind us) to
have a little look around parts of Dubai. Each Metro station looks the
same as the one pictured behind us - very modern and futuristic.

On the walk to Ibn Battuta, we came along a random chair stuck in a bush!

We had one full day off in the middle of our PST, so a few of us went
to explore the beach in Dubai. It was a lovely day out, although very
coarse sand and incredibly cold water!

Dubai is host to many of the 'biggests' in the world:
this is the Burj Khalifa - the tallest tower in the world.
Dubai is also known for the biggest piece of plastic...

This is a typical shot in the Arab world with palms everywhere.
I enjoyed just taking some picturesque shots for beauty!

I found this photo quite ironic - I only noticed the half-naked lady behind
me in the picture much later! The irony was that most people were quite
covered up in the Arab world, ladies wearing burkhas and even non-Emirati's
wearing quite respectable clothing up to elbows and down past knees, so to find
this attire was rather shocking to us!

Daylight shot of the Burj Khalifa

Enjoying fellowship whilst waiting for our BBQ to begin!

A beautiful sunset above the church compound.

BBQ Arab-style: what we would commonly call kebabs.

Our whole PST together - 67 people

Our last evening was 'Fun Night', an evening of fun and games.
This was our group teaching our PST the 'animal game' - so much fun,
I'll have to teach it to you one day!

GO Conference

Before going anywhere with OM for 6 months or more, you are required to do 10 days of training at a Global Orientation conference.

OM Headquarters in Mosbach, Germany are at an old mill with this
beautiful creek flowing underneath.

I found a nearby shed with bikes and upon finding the owners,
was allowed to borrow one as long as it was back by 5pm
each day to cycle around town - it was wonderful!

A cute and typical little German house!

For a sermon illustration, we were all given some clay to mold as we wished.

We were then asked to swap and I ended up with a cute little turtle!

I officially renamed Becky, giving her 2 new middle names -
this is her re-enacting the 'dipstick' portion of it!

We were given paper to turn into boats and so Becky
and I decided to float ours in the river!

One of the exciting things about the conference was the mix of people - over 70 countries were represented by 300 people and all with the same passion and love for God. It was alot of fun getting to know many different people and hear all about the fields we were heading to and our stories - how we came to know God and how He had called us to the mission field, the vision He has given us to reach out to people all over the world, serving and loving them as Christ did for us all. 

We had a 'culture night' where each different country was given
the opportunity to present something of their country. The Aussies and
1 Kiwi wrote a skit with the blokes around the BBQ and the women
in the kitchen, with a Brit translating us into 'normal English'
- it was a hit, for those that understood!

Although you can't really see it, I was enjoying the first real snow
since arriving in Europe.

My brilliant dorm-mates at GO Conference. Quinea on the right
went to South Africa to do training while Becky on the left
came with me to the ship where we are still close friends.

Mosbach, Germany

After London, we headed to Mosbach, Germany for the Global Orientation (GO) Conference. Blair and I arrived 4 days early so enjoyed finding our way around the quaint little country town that is Mosbach.

I was proud of how I managed to sort out our inn bookings and travel arrangements and everything else for those 4 days as we didn't find anyone with a single word of English!

The view from the Swan Inn 'der Swanen'

Such a quaint little inn, they went to every effort to include beautiful little touches

Where we ate breakfast and dinner each day

Our accommodation was at the top of these stairs -
the typical olden style rickety winding stairs.
At the bottom out the backdoor was a beautiful and huge
rottweiler who became my best friend!

We took a little walk and found the OM base (operation mobilisation),
where our conference was to be held.

London

When it came time to travel to Germany, I thought what better way than to do a stop-over in London as I'd never been to the UK before. Blair, a friend travelling to the same conference in Germany, was my travel buddy as we went through London.

The beginning of the journey: Kuala Lumpur airport

I brought Blair along to be the baggage boy...
just kidding - we travelled together to training in Germany

We decided it might be fun to spend time in London seeing
as we were passing through anyway - are we having fun yet?

I felt like I was in the middle of a Monopoly game, but was
thrown off a bit - shouldn't this sign be green?

The legendary red buses of London... these became constant
friends in our week of fun in London.

London winter's are much colder than expected and neither of us
had remembered our beanies - doesn't Blair look dashing in his
new head gear?

So there's 2 options:
1: jump out in my Clark Kent suit
2: Get flushed to the Ministry of Magic
Preferences???

Trafalgar Square

Enjoying a day in the only greenery I could find in London -
dancing in Green Park!

The gates of Buckingham Palace

a London squirrel hoping to find something to eat.
He fell for this trick 3 times!

One of the less commonly found statues in London...

This was my winter hat purchase - so, fall fashions?

A guard at the Royal Barracks. The sign on the other side says
"I bite" - we couldn't quite work out if it was talking about
the horse or the guard...

Part of Windsor Castle

Changing of the guard at Windsor Castle

"Someone" defiling a beautiful piece of architecture within the
walls of Windsor Castle...

Stone Henge

Nearly falling into the warm baths in Bath.

A beautiful old cathedral in Bath, this was the small side chapel.