Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Wandering
Written by: Paige Aufhammer
I've seen these streets beforeSo many streets I've treadMy feet with armor, but I'm locked and boundBy burdens heavy in my soulAnd wounded images of beautyHeavy on the groundThere's an awful lot of noise out hereWhere sound becomes and anthem to fear I've been silenced by images and tears...And I've been wanderingI walk alone so many daysSo many times I round a cornerAnd no one's thereUntil he stood and blocked my wayInsisting me to come and stayIn this unfamiliar placeThere's an awful lot of noise in hereWhere sound becomes and anthem to fearAnd His voice spoke tender to me thereAnd He said come... He said come...He said come and lay your weary soul to rest From wandering....
Written by: Paige Aufhammer
I've seen these streets beforeSo many streets I've treadMy feet with armor, but I'm locked and boundBy burdens heavy in my soulAnd wounded images of beautyHeavy on the groundThere's an awful lot of noise out hereWhere sound becomes and anthem to fear I've been silenced by images and tears...And I've been wanderingI walk alone so many daysSo many times I round a cornerAnd no one's thereUntil he stood and blocked my wayInsisting me to come and stayIn this unfamiliar placeThere's an awful lot of noise in hereWhere sound becomes and anthem to fearAnd His voice spoke tender to me thereAnd He said come... He said come...He said come and lay your weary soul to rest From wandering....
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Another day of shopping. today we were shopping for the missions fundraising. things here are a fraction of the cost in sg. so fun! but the crowds r immense. it gets scary cos we have to watch out for our belongings.
oh, guangzhou is officially better than HK. Not only is the merchandise of better variety and price, you can get the same kinda food and more here. Shi Liu Shan is here. I had the mango pudding fr today. mmmmmm. but when u r here, it's considered super ex. you can get a full macs meal or eat street food for a day for the price of a mongo sago dessert. there's also the dim sum. had a huge dim sum meal the moment i got to guangzhou yesterday at a super posh hotel. really good, and the price is about the price of yum cha at home. then there's the portuguese egg tart that i never saw in HK. It's delicious!!!!! the filling is just the right consistency, and the pastry is nice and crispy and flaky. mmmmmmmm.
ok, enough ranting. tmr, i'll b going to church. i'm excited.
oh, guangzhou is officially better than HK. Not only is the merchandise of better variety and price, you can get the same kinda food and more here. Shi Liu Shan is here. I had the mango pudding fr today. mmmmmm. but when u r here, it's considered super ex. you can get a full macs meal or eat street food for a day for the price of a mongo sago dessert. there's also the dim sum. had a huge dim sum meal the moment i got to guangzhou yesterday at a super posh hotel. really good, and the price is about the price of yum cha at home. then there's the portuguese egg tart that i never saw in HK. It's delicious!!!!! the filling is just the right consistency, and the pastry is nice and crispy and flaky. mmmmmmmm.
ok, enough ranting. tmr, i'll b going to church. i'm excited.
Friday, May 04, 2007
I'm here in Guangzhou. Will be here till mon, when i fly off to Suzhou where I will be slavedriven till the day before school starts.
Firstly, thank you all for coming to send me off. I'm touched.
Secondly, the shopping here is fantastic!!!!!!!! I only bought an over priced shirt la, but there's really a great variety of clothes here. I went to the wholesale centre and every shop sold different clothes. As I was going through, I was thinking, my mummy would buy that, and Amanda would buy that, and that is soooo jan, and euneh would love that, and that looks like something yang would wear. hahahah. it had everybody's style. almost went blind looking at all the differnt designs. hahah. so fun.
Thirdly, let me talk about my flight. I didnt know how bad my chinese had become until I had to fill out tis Chinese declaration form. I had no idea what they were asking. Good think i sat next to nice china lady who helped me. then on people on the other side of me started quarelling. cos the man next to me said the lady behind him kept pushing his chair, disturbing him. i seriously thought they were gonna fight. the woman was swearing on her father's life and they were calling each other shen jing ping. Tiger airways stewardess not very useful one. The inflight magazing also had so many articles on Vietnam and i spent a substantial amount of the flight reading about what i gave up to be here. damn... halong bay, freash seafood, cheap and tasty street food, walkabout tours... I did eat really nice viet food for dinner today though. hahah.
Fourthly, Guangzhou is an interesting place. very unlike the rest of china. going thru customs is a breeze. there was like no queue!!! and motorbikes are banned in the city. and there are very few people riding bicycles. totally unlike what i expected. oh and i saw an ambulance involved in an accident. quite ironic.
Fifthly, i'm staying in a fabulous condo. the place is super nice!!!!!!
Not sure what's happening tomorrow. since the driver is on leave. maybe watch the dvd serene bought today.
Firstly, thank you all for coming to send me off. I'm touched.
Secondly, the shopping here is fantastic!!!!!!!! I only bought an over priced shirt la, but there's really a great variety of clothes here. I went to the wholesale centre and every shop sold different clothes. As I was going through, I was thinking, my mummy would buy that, and Amanda would buy that, and that is soooo jan, and euneh would love that, and that looks like something yang would wear. hahahah. it had everybody's style. almost went blind looking at all the differnt designs. hahah. so fun.
Thirdly, let me talk about my flight. I didnt know how bad my chinese had become until I had to fill out tis Chinese declaration form. I had no idea what they were asking. Good think i sat next to nice china lady who helped me. then on people on the other side of me started quarelling. cos the man next to me said the lady behind him kept pushing his chair, disturbing him. i seriously thought they were gonna fight. the woman was swearing on her father's life and they were calling each other shen jing ping. Tiger airways stewardess not very useful one. The inflight magazing also had so many articles on Vietnam and i spent a substantial amount of the flight reading about what i gave up to be here. damn... halong bay, freash seafood, cheap and tasty street food, walkabout tours... I did eat really nice viet food for dinner today though. hahah.
Fourthly, Guangzhou is an interesting place. very unlike the rest of china. going thru customs is a breeze. there was like no queue!!! and motorbikes are banned in the city. and there are very few people riding bicycles. totally unlike what i expected. oh and i saw an ambulance involved in an accident. quite ironic.
Fifthly, i'm staying in a fabulous condo. the place is super nice!!!!!!
Not sure what's happening tomorrow. since the driver is on leave. maybe watch the dvd serene bought today.
Saturday, May 15, 2004
not sure if anyone still reads this, but for the benefit of those who do, here's the latest in my life.
we r currently attached to the PPHCSC. which is located in teban gardens (near jurong east). so anyone who is in the area, please drop by n pay me a visit.
since the centre is just starting up, we r doing alot of the background work. eg, building shelves, which was a scary reminder of my finger cutting incident! haha, good thing these were a different kind of shelves which didnt cut pple so easily... we also have mundane jobs like drawing lines for the record books, n typing in stacks of resident's particulars... on the whole, i think it's a good change fr hard labour, n it's pretty slck la. nice air con environment too! haha. n twice a week, we go to the nearby sch to help out. the kids there r a real challenge man. the room we r in is permanently noisy!!! i guess i'll get used to it as time goes by. ive only been there twice anyway.
yest, i went along to see how recruiting was done for the youth club. it was a real eye opener, cos it's really just going up to complete strangers n asking them if they wld be interested in joining our activities. i wld have been too intimidated to do that myself man! neighbourhood sporting activites also seems very racist! i dont mean that in any bad way, but that's wat i observed. the street soccer court was dominated by the malays, n the basketball court was dominated by the chinese. seems real strange to me...
we r currently attached to the PPHCSC. which is located in teban gardens (near jurong east). so anyone who is in the area, please drop by n pay me a visit.
since the centre is just starting up, we r doing alot of the background work. eg, building shelves, which was a scary reminder of my finger cutting incident! haha, good thing these were a different kind of shelves which didnt cut pple so easily... we also have mundane jobs like drawing lines for the record books, n typing in stacks of resident's particulars... on the whole, i think it's a good change fr hard labour, n it's pretty slck la. nice air con environment too! haha. n twice a week, we go to the nearby sch to help out. the kids there r a real challenge man. the room we r in is permanently noisy!!! i guess i'll get used to it as time goes by. ive only been there twice anyway.
yest, i went along to see how recruiting was done for the youth club. it was a real eye opener, cos it's really just going up to complete strangers n asking them if they wld be interested in joining our activities. i wld have been too intimidated to do that myself man! neighbourhood sporting activites also seems very racist! i dont mean that in any bad way, but that's wat i observed. the street soccer court was dominated by the malays, n the basketball court was dominated by the chinese. seems real strange to me...
Friday, May 07, 2004
for those who missed the presentation but r still remotely interested in wat i shared, this is a small part of it:
So, at the end of the whole trip. I think I have learnt a lot. Of course, there r the obvious lessons like patience and flexibility which resulted from the flight cancellation episode, and trying to get the local people on the farm to work when we could barely understand each other. During the trip, we often had to remind each other that “it’s not wrong, just different” cos the culture was different. Furthermore, throughout the trip, nothing was ever confirmed. On the farm, everything depended on the weather. We could leave the farm at 5:30, or we could leave the farm at 10 pm if the weather was good and there was stuff to complete. So our stomachs had to know that they could be fed at wildly different times.
However, above these, the one most important lesson that I took home from the whole experience is that His grace is sufficient for me.
2 Cor 12:9-10 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
I’m still not up to the standard of Paul yet la. Delighting in insults, hardships and persecutions is still very hard for me, but after the trip, I can really see where he is coming from. On the farm, I faced such things everyday. As a young girl, carrying crates of potatoes ard really isn’t easy, neither is waddeling along the field planting 2-3 tiny potatoes at 8cm intervals. And cutting potatoes with the constant buzz of disapproval around us isn’t my idea of fun either. The day when we had to measure out the field was when I really couldn’t take it anymore. And yet, I was reminded that this was all for Christ’s sake, and that I didn’t have to depend on just my own strength, but I could depend on God. Best of all, Hid grace is sufficient for me. So I’ll be able to make it thru anything with him.
Even thru the tough times, I thank God for all the awesome sights He allowed me to see. Which really opened my eyes, and made me feel better even after a long hard day. During our relatively short time there, I’ve seen an amazing sunset while on the winding road down the mountain, barren brown mountains range against the backdrop of the bluest clear sky I’ve ever seen, ive seen the night sky covered with a whole host of stars while the town lights glimmered below us, and I’ve seen the whole place covered in pure white snow. As one of the missionaries there told me, “God put on the snow specially for you today”. That was really cool. Whenever I saw these sights, I’m always reminded that God is the one who created all these, and I’m amazed by Him all over again. Sounds very trivial right? Just nice scenery only wat, BUT u shld see it for urself. I can only describe it as amazing! And it was a constant reminder that the God who created all these was with us at all times.
So, the trip was great, and I wanna go back for harvesting (and I don’t mean just the potatoes)! And I thank God for giving me the opportunity to see all these things. I’d also like to thank everyone who supported us either in prayer, financially, or in kind.
So, at the end of the whole trip. I think I have learnt a lot. Of course, there r the obvious lessons like patience and flexibility which resulted from the flight cancellation episode, and trying to get the local people on the farm to work when we could barely understand each other. During the trip, we often had to remind each other that “it’s not wrong, just different” cos the culture was different. Furthermore, throughout the trip, nothing was ever confirmed. On the farm, everything depended on the weather. We could leave the farm at 5:30, or we could leave the farm at 10 pm if the weather was good and there was stuff to complete. So our stomachs had to know that they could be fed at wildly different times.
However, above these, the one most important lesson that I took home from the whole experience is that His grace is sufficient for me.
2 Cor 12:9-10 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
I’m still not up to the standard of Paul yet la. Delighting in insults, hardships and persecutions is still very hard for me, but after the trip, I can really see where he is coming from. On the farm, I faced such things everyday. As a young girl, carrying crates of potatoes ard really isn’t easy, neither is waddeling along the field planting 2-3 tiny potatoes at 8cm intervals. And cutting potatoes with the constant buzz of disapproval around us isn’t my idea of fun either. The day when we had to measure out the field was when I really couldn’t take it anymore. And yet, I was reminded that this was all for Christ’s sake, and that I didn’t have to depend on just my own strength, but I could depend on God. Best of all, Hid grace is sufficient for me. So I’ll be able to make it thru anything with him.
Even thru the tough times, I thank God for all the awesome sights He allowed me to see. Which really opened my eyes, and made me feel better even after a long hard day. During our relatively short time there, I’ve seen an amazing sunset while on the winding road down the mountain, barren brown mountains range against the backdrop of the bluest clear sky I’ve ever seen, ive seen the night sky covered with a whole host of stars while the town lights glimmered below us, and I’ve seen the whole place covered in pure white snow. As one of the missionaries there told me, “God put on the snow specially for you today”. That was really cool. Whenever I saw these sights, I’m always reminded that God is the one who created all these, and I’m amazed by Him all over again. Sounds very trivial right? Just nice scenery only wat, BUT u shld see it for urself. I can only describe it as amazing! And it was a constant reminder that the God who created all these was with us at all times.
So, the trip was great, and I wanna go back for harvesting (and I don’t mean just the potatoes)! And I thank God for giving me the opportunity to see all these things. I’d also like to thank everyone who supported us either in prayer, financially, or in kind.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
anyone interested in knowing much more abt the trip is welcome to come for the presentation this fri nite, which is tmr. there will be lotsa photos n we will be sharing the highlights. need detatils? just msg me.
Friday, April 30, 2004
im back!!! the airlines thankfully did not mess up again n we got back on a nice plane (relative to the others we took). this one didnt make me feel so claustrophobic n there was no fat man spilling over to our seats. anyway, aft all the other long rides we've gone thru, this actually is quite good already.
the feeling of euphoria when we touched down in singapore was amazing!
"we're home!!!!!!!!!! ahhhhhh!!!!!! i cant believe it!!!!"
after travelling so much, the flight just felt like we were moving on to another place again, but seeing the singapore control tower n the airport confirmed that we were finally home!!! while we were still on the runway, i was just staring out the window n embarassingly, national day songs were running thru my head! lol. that was until i heard, "never see singapore b4 ar?" haha.
1.5mths isnt really very long, but now that im back, everything seems a little strange to me. the tv seems huge, my hands arent used to turning taps that way, n the roads seem way too tidy. lol.
looking back, time flew by real quick, but i can also remember me counting down the days (my every journal entry records the number of days we have been away). it was the experience on the whole that was great. if any part was taken out, it just wouldnt seem complete, n the trip out of balance. if i ever get the oppertunity, i'll definatly go back again!
more reflections n updates another time. im too tired now. but for now, im just thankful for the safe trip back!
the feeling of euphoria when we touched down in singapore was amazing!
"we're home!!!!!!!!!! ahhhhhh!!!!!! i cant believe it!!!!"
after travelling so much, the flight just felt like we were moving on to another place again, but seeing the singapore control tower n the airport confirmed that we were finally home!!! while we were still on the runway, i was just staring out the window n embarassingly, national day songs were running thru my head! lol. that was until i heard, "never see singapore b4 ar?" haha.
1.5mths isnt really very long, but now that im back, everything seems a little strange to me. the tv seems huge, my hands arent used to turning taps that way, n the roads seem way too tidy. lol.
looking back, time flew by real quick, but i can also remember me counting down the days (my every journal entry records the number of days we have been away). it was the experience on the whole that was great. if any part was taken out, it just wouldnt seem complete, n the trip out of balance. if i ever get the oppertunity, i'll definatly go back again!
more reflections n updates another time. im too tired now. but for now, im just thankful for the safe trip back!
FastCounter by bCentral