chronicles of young

 Logging in a tangible realisation of prayer tonight after I got back from the Geylang Ministry dinner.  God, You have been so faithful and kind to me.. I want to remember what a privilege it is to serve You together with my brothers and sisters that You have called into one family.  I had a prayer when I was in HK and I see now that it was a subconscious thing I was looking for- to work in an area where the marginalised are reached within a community. I kind of had that in HK but here in GM, I felt so cared for even as I served. Really inspired by Debbie and Kelvin's heart, and the various others whom I felt safe with even though I just met them for the first time. Somehow there is that camaraderie with these people who chose to commit their time and energy to reaching Geylang.  There will be struggle and even disillusionment, but Lord, I pray that I will remember this. Even to carry this spirit of love and service similarly if I am in that sphere of influence....

( Writing this the morning after caffeine-induced high at night; I don't doubt that God also used last night to speak into my life ) Those verses came to mind as I was praying for Mongolia, which led me to pray for the different ethnos as well. And I was suddenly filled with that deep longing and a deep sense of vision, as I envisioned awesome sights of each unique ethnos bringing gifts that reflect their culture and God's glory into the city of God. I think this is the source of my attraction to tribes and cultures different from my own. That first encounter with Mongolia awakened that sometimes troubling attraction. Is it just wanderlust and the desire to be 'free', or romanticised attraction?  This morning, it hit me that I was going into another city, with its different people groups. How can I work for the shalom of this city? Where the fruits of nature are fruitfully employed, and there is universal (mutual) flourishing, wholeness. 1 I don't know...

(This is in reference to the lovely story mentioned in the previous post, really thank God for this 'leaf')   Just wanted to remember a day like this. Started off the day feeling a little cranky due to lack of sleep and physical exertion from the yesterday's Urban Hike. By the time I made it out of TJ office after an intense meeting around 1pm, my body was protesting. So when I was back at my office I just kept putting off planning for the counseling session at 4.30pm. At slightly after 4pm, I was slumped on my chair holding the case file in my hands and asking myself what should I do with this boy (lol haha I am not a good representation of a counselor). Asked God also, my supervisor too. Literally went up to him and said "I don't know what to do for my session later" Wise wise supervisor, he replied "Ask him what he wants to do. "But, he will just say he wants to go home." "Then ask him what he wants to do at home." Anyway,...

Have humans always been enthralled by high places? The Tibetans build their temples in the mountains to be closer to the heavens above. Today we trailed behind on the overwhelming kindness and generosity of a Vietnamese family as they ascended up the steep trail in Ba Vi National Park to worship at the shrine. We had the privilege to be privy to this ritual for some special day. Looking at the offerings of money. fragrant branches, a whole chicken... and then their lips moving silently as they knelt before the shrine. What are they praying for, I wonder. How do they see themselves in relation to the gods they are praying to? It was in that high fog-filled place that we had received so much grace freely given. We were so warmly welcomed into their fold, beckoned into the temple to see, invited (many many times) to eat their food, ushered up their van. At one point I remembered thinking: This is also a kind of shalom. This short trip to Hanoi has really brought us to high places...

For some reason, every time I reflected that I am becoming more extroverted, the immediate reaction was to deny, like being an extrovert is a bad development. I have indeed developed my ability to be extroverted from having to interact with so many people all day everyday (an exaggeration: I'd be hiding at home now if it were so). Wanted to write this down before I sleep (strangely buzzing-awake, without caffeine, probably the itch from the multiple mosquito bites on my feet?!). Reflections from interactions. 1. Dignity I realised that perhaps it is not the act of asking money or saying that one is poor that robs one of dignity, or accepting financial help even. Perhaps it is the value and meaning we place on money. Why is it so 'shameful' that I am less well-off? Does that make me more coarse? Perhaps. But ultimately I think it boils down to what/whom we based our dignity on. I have grown to not be ashamed of my humble(ish) background, especially when interacting wi...

This moment I am getting the feels listening to Vivian Chan's song, sitting in a mess of a room. The room is snug especially with Bex's quiet and strong presence near me. My hair is wet and I catch whiffs of my shampoo as I type- every time I finish bathing I thank God because the feeling of having hot water after coming in from the cold is just awesome. The mattress that I am sitting on is so cosy and makes coming in to sleep each night pleasant. Especially after a night of talking with these dear brothers and sisters here- these lovely beautiful people with all their quirks and flaws, whom I have been learning so much from. Today was like sunshine. My morning time with the Bible was more fruitful than the previous days, and during the time of prayer subsequently, I was actually dialoguing with God rather than being distracted by other people praying. During lesson time I was cooking seasame oil chicken and stir-frying xiao bai cai for lunch as a representation of Sing...

A friend's post about how she had less than a dollar in her bank account and how she has to work for her university education reminded me of how privileged I am. In this Friday's seminar we did the Privilege Walk and I was ahead of so many of my friends. Standing there, I felt the social distance. If I am guilty about privilege, it would be because I took so many of them for granted, they ceased to feel like privileges to me. Especially not having to work for your university education which can be such a pain in the ass sometimes- I can't imagine the double pain my friends feel, working for something that they don't like. Even being able to look for internships, and not caring whether they paid or not. As I mentally listed all the other privileges I have, I realised the extent of my privilege. One of them is travelli ng | Hainan, 海瑞墓 This semester which is ending in exactly 2 weeks' time has been one of the best. Which is utterly surprising given that it s...