July 23, 2014

Wilson Encourages Pastors, Doctors and Politicians in Bangkok

World
Church President Ted N.C. Wilson has offered encouragement to hundreds of
Adventist leaders at a historic pastoral convention in Bangkok and asked for
prayers for the local Adventist hospital after months of political unrest led
to a decline in patients.

Wilson,
who visited the Thai capital last week, also prayed with the country’s top
politician for religious affairs and visited two Adventist schools that educate
the children of some of the most influential people in Thailand.

The
July 14-16 pastoral convention, titled “Revival and Reflecting God’s Glory,”
gathered more than 1,200 Adventist pastors, church workers, administrators and
spouses from across the Southern-Asia Pacific Division for the first meeting of
its kind since the territory of the former Far Eastern Division was split into
two divisions in 1997.

The
kaleidoscope of colorful cultural outfits and the myriad of languages that
marked the opening ceremony impressed many first-time attendees.

“I’ve
never seen anything [like this] before,” said Dhay Htoo Sien, a pastor and
school principal from Yangon City, Myanmar. “It makes me feel I’m a part
of the world church family.”

<strong>MOMENT OF PRAYER:</strong> Adventist evangelist Mark Finley praying with pastors at the Bangkok conference. Photo credit: SSD
<strong>SPECIAL MUSIC:</strong> A group of women in traditional costumes playing special music at the gathering. Photo credit: SSD
<strong>BANGKOK HOSPITAL:</strong> President Wilson says Bangkok Adventist Hospital, pictured, saw a decline in patients because of street closures and demonstrations at nearby government buildings connected to the country's political turmoil in recent months.
<strong>GOVERNMENT TALKS:</strong> Wilson and his wife, Nancy, meeting with Kitsayapong Siri, director general of the religious affairs department of Thailand, and his three deputy directors. Photo credit: Thailand Mission

Wilson
urged attendees in a keynote speech to pursue a more vibrant relationship with
Christ, saying they would see as a result more positive relationships with
family members, church members, and the general community.

“Let
them know that a walk with Christ is a vibrant, joyful existence,” he said.

On
the sidelines of the convention, Wilson visited the 200-bed Bangkok Adventist
Hospital, which opened in 1937 and is known locally as Mission Hospital. It has
lost much business over the past six to seven months because of its near proximity
to government buildings buffeted by demonstrations and related road closures,
Wilson said by e-mail.

“Unfortunately,
it needs our prayers since it is so close to the government buildings where
demonstrations take place,” said Wilson, who ate lunch at the hospital with his
wife, Nancy. “Now everything is quiet and peaceful, and they are regaining
their patient load.”

In
an attempt to return normalcy to the country, the Thai military took over the
government on May 22.

Wilson also met with Kitsayapong Siri, director general of the religious affairs department of Thailand, and his three deputy directors.

“We
shared with him about Seventh-day Adventists and our emphasis on following
Christ’s ministry — physically, mentally, socially and spiritually,” Wilson
said. “We shared counsel from the Bible with him and had prayer for him,
his colleagues, the King and Queen of Thailand, and the people of Thailand.”

Wilson
later toured the Ekamai Thai School and the Ekamai International School, which
opened in 1946 as a school for Christian missionaries’ children and now teaches
kindergarten through 12th grade. Today, both schools are progressive and thriving
schools as they reach out to the students of the upper classes of Bangkok,
Wilson said.

“We spent most of the day visiting and encouraging people,”
he said.


With additional reporting
by Teresa Costello in Bangkok. Contact
Adventist Review news editor Andrew McChesney at [email protected].
Twitter: @ARMcChesney


Related link

Southern Asia-Pacific Division article: "Ministerial Convention Opens With Over 1,200 in Attendance"

Advertisement
Advertisement