Ps 30:5

The LAST time I did something for the FIRST time!

1/2 half of 2017 has been really fruitful. One of the main thing that makes the difference is my involvement with the urban greenery project.

From the brainstorming process, working on the syllabus, putting ideas tgt and helping to create new content, going to schools to help out as assistant, to eventually conducting the workshop, the most meaningful part for me will be working with like-minded people. It energizes me to be in a team who is passionate about what we are doing and you know everyone will do their best to make it work.

The most special part for me that I will always want to remember is working with the Madrasah. It all started when Dr T shared about how Madrasahs are considered private institutions and they don't get funding from the govt. Because of that, they are limited in their resources and opportunities as compared to the mainstream schools. Upon hearing this, I feel a lot to want to make the greenery workshops available to them. So I kinda followed up quite tightly on this because I believe everyone shld be given the same opportunity in education and experiential learning.

I'm so glad that eventually, doors opened for us. Dr T went down to the Madrasah to meet the Principal and I kinda tagged along coz I was curious to know how Madrasahs work. After the meeting, I thought how nice it will be if I can conduct a workshop for the kids there and I want to know how different the experience will be as compared to the mainstream schools.

Shortly after, I wasn't able to be as personally involved in the urban greenery project. But I'm so grateful that the collaboration with the Madrasah went through with the followup from the team. :) The workshops were scheduled to be in July.

Though I'm no longer involved now, by some change in events, I was requested to help out and teach for a session last week. I was like... SO EXCITED and YAYS!!! I was duper happy to have the opportunity to teach in a legit classroom again because that presents a chance to inspire and encourage the kids. :) My session was with a class of 26 boys and we had such a great time. I'm so glad I didn't forget my classroom management techniques and managed to engage the boys while "keeping them in their place". Haha!

I'm so grateful for all that is happening. This workshop is more than just a teaching session to me. We talked about it, took steps towards it and then it happened. And really, a lot of things in existence now come from a thought or a conversation with someone. You just need to set your heart to do it. Sometimes you see the results quickly and sometimes you don't. But it doesn't really matter if you truly believe in what you do or want to do. You will just keep at it until it works.

That's how BM happened too. There was no backup plan. It is just a lot of passion and hard work that make her what she is today.

2nd half of 2017 will be equally exciting as I find my involvement in a few new projects. I pray that God will open doors that will allow me to be a greater blessing. :)

Be it the socks or the pain that are hidden from the eyes of people, Jesus knows it all. He reaches out to us with His love and presence and that makes everything else become unimportant.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth. [Mtt 5:5]

Meekness is not weakness. Instead, it is about putting our trust in God. [Ps 2]
When fear, sadness and hopeless engulf you, it can really be difficult to lift our eyes to see Jesus. But that's the most important time to do so. Just fill your mind with the goodness and faithfulness of God. Think of the times when He was with you and helped you through. Quieten your heart to listen to His voice.

No storm will last forever. No espadrilles can last forever too. Perhaps I shld just stick to shoes that don't require me to wear socks.

One proud moment!

Woke up to this.

Thank You Jesus for loving me. :)

Housewarming gift to myself

And so I decided to give myself a gift when I return back to my renovated home. Can't believe I can just find any reason to justify my online shopping! 😬 I'm hoping I can shift back home soon. Kinda miss spending time with my parents and brother.

Activate Thankfulness

When the whole world decides to annoy you all at the same time, you feel it's fair and you have the rights to annoy the hell out of someone else too. But I'm glad that when I dig deep into what I am made up of, I found THANKFULNESS gently telling me to keep my chill. I find me asking myself what I can be grateful about. Of course, at the heated moment, I can't think of any. But as I let go of my anger and went on to doing my daily stuff, God reminded me of the people who have been kind and patient to me and that certainly made me feel happier and I know I can afford to be patient and loving to those around me.

I'm so glad that Pastors always encourage us to build our lives on gratitude. We often think that solutions exist outside of us. But really, everything that we need to overcome any difficulties and frustrations, God has already put that in us. :)

Now, back to battlefield.

Dedicated to the sweetest kopi lady

Wonderful people do make a difference in our lives. I'm thankful for a particular lady whom I encounter almost every other day. She is the coffee shop lady near BM who makes the nicest kopi siew dai. I got to know her more through the little conversations we had over the past few months since BM shifted to Blk 501.

She is always smiling and ever so positive. She never showed tiredness regardless how hot the weather is. It can be quite a challenge standing in the coffeeshop in a 33 deg celsius humid day. There was once she bought a few peaches and even shared one with me.

Just 2 weeks ago, she told me that she will be going back to China for good as she has a 6 years old kid back home. Though I don't really know her that well, I felt a bit sad about it. I think she has become like a friend to me. Well, I thought instead of being sad, I should just celebrate with her. I racked my brain to think of a farewell gift. Or maybe a gift for her child. But I'm just worried that she may not have any luggage space for it! So, being a very practical person, I gave her an angbao 2 days ago. I hope it can be a blessing to her as well. She was very shocked and thankful when she received it. We exchanged numbers and parted.

Just today, she texted me and told me to go and look for her. She said she has a gift for me. Turned out that she bought me a box of chocolates and treated me to coffee. She says that my life is like the chocolates, full of sweetness. I'm really touched by her gratefulness and sweetness. She doesn't really need to buy me a gift but she did.

Thank you so much for being you, Ruyu! Your presence is really a joy and an encouragement to me. I'll definitely miss you and your coffee so much. I don't think you will read this but this post is for me to remind myself of a wonderful person and friend. Wish you all the best for your future and hope to meet you again one day! ❤️

Maybe I am a super social person. But looking out for people and being a blessing to them is what we should do. Pst shared in service today that we receive the Light and then be the light to the world. If we don't make this world a better place, if we don't share the love we have experienced from Jesus, who will do it? Being someone who has been very blessed, I pray that I'll always use my blessings to help people. People may not know Jesus yet, but they can at least experience God's blessings and grace through me.

If you are feeling down and depressed today, don't look inwardly anymore. Look around you. Choose to be a blessing to people. Choose to care for others. You may then realize that your problems are not as big as the skies above you, but maybe just the size of the ceiling of your room.

Many people know the price of everything but the value of none.

70 cents kopi

When the kopi auntie approached me, I reached for my wallet. Unzipping the side of the wallet, I reached for a $1 coin and some coins. However, when the auntie told me how much the drink was, I got a shock. I guess it was some sort of cognitive dissonance. Hahaha! My kopi siew-dai actually cost 70 cents! It's like the cheapest that I've ever heard! Usually, it will cost $0.90 to $1.20. $0.90 is already considered very cheap. I suppose that's what happens when you live in a matured estate with lots of elderly. That last time I had breakfast in the market, the bak-chor mee cost me $2.50. 

Everything taste the same everywhere actually. The coffee tasted no different from the one at the food court in town that cost $1.80 and the noodles tasted the same as anyone in the malls which cost $4.50- $5.  It's like 2-3 times the price! 

I think I shld eat at home more often! :)

Sometimes we thrive so hard for the important things in life. Yet, we can miss out on what is important in the midst of our thriving.

What is important to you, really?
What is taking up most of your time, really?

Live simply, always

After a long hiatus, yes, I am back!

Back from my crazy overseas trips and back to my crazy mess.

Korea trip was great, Myanmar trip completes every awesomeness residing in June. It's funny how everytime after I come back from a third world county, and I feel things are so expensive in sg. Imagine a can of coke is worth a very good meal to them and a meal to me is equivalent to the daily wage of the workers there.

I remember a time after my first Cambodia trip, I felt a little guilty while I was indulging in my can of soft drinks. Like here I am enjoying myself on a hot sweaty day but the people in Cambodia will never enjoy such luxury. Well, day after day, that feeling starts to wear off and I get numbed by the daily demands.

So the next time I went to Cambodia, I felt less of that. I guess you call that marginal utility though the reality of what's happening in the other side of the world never quite changed.

Fast forward to today, it's been quite a few trips for me already. Twice to Cambodia, once to Vietnam, twice to Myanmar. Do I feel nothing at all? And shld I feel bad to feel nothing? To be fair, we are really different from them who are in those countries. The opportunities, environment and expectations are so different. It's just difficult to compare because it's like comparing apples with oranges. Yet there is one thing I took back after this trip. And that is: Live Simply.

My encounters with the people in the third world nations simply showed me the resilience of human beings. It doesn't take a lot to get by life. They don't have clean water, good sanitary and nutritious food. Yet, they are still happy. For us, we get upset and depressed when we don't get our branded bags, eat in our favorite restaurants or even get enough likes for our fb posts!

I want to live simply more than ever before. I hope that my lifestyle will not become more expensive as my income grows. In fact, my giving and generosity should increase with any blessings that come my way. Oh no, don't be mistaken. I will still indulge in myself once in a while but I'm just saying no to a mindset that says.. "since I'm earning more, I can just spend more and commit to unnecessary monthly expenses because I can afford it."