Over the recent holidays, i went to Batam, one of the Indonesian islands off Singapore. It was my first mission trip there.. or for a matter of fact, anywhere. The memory of it all is still a bit hazy to me (and NO... no pun intended for the lingering haze over the island). Probably it's coz i'm still trying to recuperate from the travelling and the lack of sleep. We were up at 6am every morning and only went to bed after midnight. Throughout those few days, we were going from one place to another. Church services, sunday school teaching, orphanage visit, distributing food to the villages, cell group meetings, etc.
We were there in the slums with the people, bearing the heat and the dust. The houses in the villages ... if you can even call them houses... were so small and empty save for a single flourescent tube. The windows are square openings on the wooden wall. For some, there's not even a door to the house. Children ran about bare-footed, sending the chickens squawking. I even saw a man on a stool underneath the tree, getting his hair cut.
It's one thing to hear about poverty but to actually be there and to witness the miserable conditions in which these people live in, it really took a lot out of us. Suddenly the 15 cartons of food and clothes that we carried there seemed so light compared to the burden in our hearts. These people did not expect much yet gave thanks in all circumstances. Games that we used to play as children (which we think of as childish now) brought so much laughter and excitement to them. While we played with the children, the adults gathered round and cheered on. Some even joined in.
At the orphanage, we lovingly nicknamed a little boy T-Rex. We were playing the Cheezels Game with them. All they had to do was take turns to bite a Cheezel off the string while competing with the other team. This little fella was so excited that he was practically roaring all the way. He even stopped mid-game to pose for this shot. :D It was good to see some of my team members let their hair down and joined in the games. The children showed us how to take joy in simple things. Even a few balloons floating about in the air was enough to keep them happy.
I didn't have a Paul-on-the-road-to-Damascus kind of epiphany from this trip. Neither can i say that i did so much to change the lives of these people. But i have certainly gained much from them. And i know for sure that Cheezels will never be just another snack to me again. ;D
We were there in the slums with the people, bearing the heat and the dust. The houses in the villages ... if you can even call them houses... were so small and empty save for a single flourescent tube. The windows are square openings on the wooden wall. For some, there's not even a door to the house. Children ran about bare-footed, sending the chickens squawking. I even saw a man on a stool underneath the tree, getting his hair cut.
It's one thing to hear about poverty but to actually be there and to witness the miserable conditions in which these people live in, it really took a lot out of us. Suddenly the 15 cartons of food and clothes that we carried there seemed so light compared to the burden in our hearts. These people did not expect much yet gave thanks in all circumstances. Games that we used to play as children (which we think of as childish now) brought so much laughter and excitement to them. While we played with the children, the adults gathered round and cheered on. Some even joined in.
At the orphanage, we lovingly nicknamed a little boy T-Rex. We were playing the Cheezels Game with them. All they had to do was take turns to bite a Cheezel off the string while competing with the other team. This little fella was so excited that he was practically roaring all the way. He even stopped mid-game to pose for this shot. :D It was good to see some of my team members let their hair down and joined in the games. The children showed us how to take joy in simple things. Even a few balloons floating about in the air was enough to keep them happy.
I didn't have a Paul-on-the-road-to-Damascus kind of epiphany from this trip. Neither can i say that i did so much to change the lives of these people. But i have certainly gained much from them. And i know for sure that Cheezels will never be just another snack to me again. ;D
1 comment:
Aren't you thankful you are blessed with so many things !!
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