Poor kids, rich personalities

Last Saturday, our cg had the privilege of taking 10 kids out to the zoo. They were some of the urban poor kids that our cg members, John & June had been giving tuition to every weekend. We wanted to give them a treat, but an educational treat. I think just by being with them, was a tremendous blessing in itself.



One precious lesson I learnt just observing the kids today - that each child was specially made by God - with their bundle of talents and gifts. Vasanth with his eye for angles and great photo shots, Pravin with his big heart and leadership, Kheva with her eye for detail, Letchumy with her strong smile.. =) I pray God's hand will always be on their lives that they will grow up to know Him, and to have a great future ahead.

Squirmy - Lesson from a caterpillar

Yesterday, when i drove back from office, i didn't realise that my car was covered with caterpillars. Yeah, caterpillars! I had thought that some family of birds must have loved my car, and did all their poo-poo big time! =)

It was only driving back that i realised that they were alive(!) and they were crawling(!) and they were actually caterpillars(!).

One particular little one caught my attention though. He was on my side view mirror. Holding on for dear life as i was driving on the Federal Hwy at slightly(!) more than 80kmph. He was a cute chubby little one, yellow and green in colour, squirming. Hmm.. that sounds like a great name, Squirmy.

The 10kms felt like forever. I actually prayed for Squirmy, that he would not fly off and die a horrendous car splat. And i prayed too that for Squirmy to hold on till i reached home. But before you think of how noble and kind-natured a person i am, let me clarify my motives. It was all so i can capture this fellow on camera. =P

Anyways, so much for God hearing my prayers, Squirmy stuck on my side view mirror till i reached home(!). And i learnt some precious lessons from him / it.

For one, life has it's share of tough days and challenges. Sometimes (as in the case of Squirmy) it comes in the form of a girl driver speeding down Fed Hwy. But hold on at all costs. It will come to pass.

Secondly, find your crevasse of refuge. Squirmy was quite a smart little one. He inched bit by bit from the top of my mirror and plonked himself into a little hole. It stayed there for the rest of the journey.

Thirdly, get out of the hurricane’s path of destruction. As Squirmy hid itself in the crevasse, he was getting out from the strong wind’s path. The rest of his less-smart friends got themselves killed – flying off my car and getting burnt by the heat of the car engine on the bonnet.

And finally it’s all about favour. Squirmy had found favour with me. He lived because I used my Touch&Go card to get him out of the crevasse and onto a plant. I wish him many wonderful butterfly days ahead. =)

Sometimes we are like Squirmy facing life’s challenges all of a sudden. From the huge sudden gushes of wind, on uncharted territories, with speeding girl drivers and water spouts. But let’s keep holding on. It will soon come to pass. Let’s find our refuge in God and His word. And let’s pray for divine strength and favour to see us through.

God bless. =)

*Photo courtesy of google photos.

Legacy of Love-in-action

It was a long long night. As i finally laid my head to rest, my mind was filled with the flurry of the entire day and night's activities. We had celebrated our cg's 3 July babies - Caitlyn, Jan and John; wearing Powerpuff girls and Ben10 party hats, blowing up balloons, putting up the very-used HAPPY BIRTHDAY signage, YY blowing up the huge Tigger/Pooh toy-thingy just for little Caitlyn, entertaining Andrew as we studied the book of Amos, eating the WAW chicken wings, watching Sarah fry the Korean "Sanjuk" snacks, sitting down and being entertained by Uncle Michael's new oldies... =)

Listening to the new oldies, Sarah, Malcolm & I reminisced our past. We recalled coming together each Friday - sitting and running around in their house, playing games and then joining them for the supper. As a young girl, I had often admired this family's love for God and for the cg members and the family that tagged along. Their spontaneity and their enthusiasm was a tremendous encouragement. But more than that, for their friendship and their "stickability" - this was one family who stood by us, encouraging and pryaing with us, carrying us through the thick and thin, laughing, crying and helped us in our toughest moments. This is truly a role model couple whom i greatly look up to and wish to emulate.

As i watched Uncle Michael strum the guitar, and watched how Aunty Angelina was admiring him quietly across the table, and Malcolm & Matthew singing along with them, it was a cherished moment. I realised that that was an incredible legacy left ingrained in their hearts and mine.

Uncle Michael and Aunty Angelina were the cell group leaders in which my parents were a part of. They have literally seen me grow up before their eyes. They warmly opened up their homes every Friday for cellgroup. And we, the kids, had the privilege of watching love in action - through the bible studies led, through the melodious praise songs sung, through the laughter shared, through the prayers prayed (for our school exams, our piano/organ/violin exams, for our scrapped knees and fevers, for our loose teeth and sore throats), through the guava juices and soursop drinks served, through the countless "makans" and carboot carnivals they organized. This was truly love-in-action -- a legacy that they've left - that will be forever ingrained in my heart and mind.

In their recent 25th Wedding Anniversary, i asked them the secret to their wonderful blissful 25 years of marriage. Uncle Michael promptly replied they've held on to the verse "Never let the sun go down on your anger". A simple yet profound truth. It was heart-warming to see them still publicly displaying their affection for one another and for their children. It was encouraging to hear "I love you"s and "I missed you"s regularly being exchanged.

As YY and I now open up our house for cg, i am glad to have the privilege of a wonderful couple who has paved the way and shown me a great example, which i hope to learn from and model after.

Now, i have the privilege and blessing to have Malcolm (their 2nd son) in my cg. As we were riding in the car, i told Malcolm what a great legacy of love that his parents have given to him. He proudly agrees. May our generation learn from them, and be a continual blessing to those God brings into our paths.. =)

Lessons in June

It's simply creepy how time flies. June's already ending in a few hours, and "kia-su" me has to beat the clock to throw a post in, just so i'll have a blog-post for every month.. =P

I thank God i finally managed to get myself a laptop, so that i can get back into blogosphere. I've been feeling so lost without it.. =( Despite that, i still feel like my right hand is still missing, with my camera still unreplaced. Every now and then, to cheer me, YY takes me to browse in the camera shops, just to take a peek, and then for me to go back and dream about it.. haha.. =))

This month, two close friends have lost things that were really precious to them. One lost her laptop - full of her kids' videos (since birth) and another lost her hp just today. It is so painful to lose things so precious.

But then again, on reflection, it is in losing something that we often realise it's true value. Most of the time, things like these are taken for granted, and get treated with little significance.

I recently got hold of a movie - PS I love U. Now, let me warn you - this movie is one tear-jerker (more so than the average Korean soaps), and heart-wrencher --- a total girly movie with many "ridiculous happenings which make absolutely no sense whatsoever to the average normal guy". But i managed to glean some precious lessons, which made it worth my tears, my tissues and my time.

1. Live the life you have now.
Holly epitomises the girl-next-door who dreams of great things, but fails to remember that she has a life now and a wonderful Scottish husband by her side. So in her envy and strife for better things - like a bigger house and a better job, she often gets into arguments and the blame-game over her husband's inability to provide all these luxuries for her and her own inability to get these things by her own efforts.

2. Love like you've never loved before.
Holly and her husband loved each other, but they didn't realise life was going to be that short. Her husband died tragically (how else!) and so suddenly, that she couldn't cope initially - feeling desperately lonely and with a tremendous overwhelming sense of emptiness in her life. Everywhere she turned and walked in her little house reminded her so much of him.

3. Dream dreams, and live them now.
Holly was an art student, and when she first graduated, her dream was to create. But in her pursuit for stability, job and money, she forgot her dreams. And it wasn't until her husband's death, and his letters that reminded her who she was, and the dreams she had, that she started pursuing her passions.

My recommendation: Get hold or rent the DVD. You can borrow from me, if you wish.. =) Watch the movie with your loved ones. Have a full box of tissue with you, just in case. It is worth the two hours. It makes you look at ur spouse/ family just that bit differently, and view life with just that slight bit more positivity. =) Happy July!