China;
written @ 13:38 on Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2008

Haha, was planning to be lazy and not write about China. But well, someone wanted to read! q: And I guess it'll be good too, to testify of God's greatness and His faithfulness(: So these are excepts of what I've learnt from the trip.

For starters, this year’s trip was vastly different from the one which I went last year. In more ways than one, it really opened my eyes to what mission work really is. Last year we focused more on teaching English to the primary school children, whereas this year we did more farm work and so had more opportunities to interact with the farmers and the people there. Which was quite a cool thing since they were all so amusing HAHA.

This guy here is super joker. Clare says he looks old enough to be my dad but he's only in his early thirties.

His 2 younger kids. I think the older one was in school.

The most significant thing I learnt would probably be what it means to take a ‘faith journey’. Each day travelling on the tractor up to the higher plots of land, down to the valleys, is a faith journey in itself. You really had to trust the driver to drive safely; the tractor, that it would hold your weight; and of course God, to bring you safely up and down the mountains. You really never know what can happen next. Sometimes the wheel of the tractor would be just inches away from the edge of the cliff, and one wrong turn or loose soil would cause the tractor to fall over the edge. It made me think of how similar the Christian life is. We often don’t know what’s ahead of us, but despite the circumstances, we still trust that God will bring us through each day. I think I learnt what it truly means to have faith in God.

Loading the planter with potatoes.

I DROVE A TRACTOR!:D

Oh, and it was really amazing how we did not feel a single tremor when the earthquake happened (2 days after we landed, actually). We were all down at the farmhouse painting, oblivious to what had happened because we felt nothing; whereas the people who were in 3 different areas surrounding the farmhouse felt the tremors. It was truly amazing how God protected us through all the earthquakes and aftershocks which followed. Really thankful for His protection, because I only realised the seriousness of the quakes after we came back home.

Painting the metal frames.

Haha no idea what this was.

We are strong!:D

Another important lesson I took home from this trip was what it really meant to serve God in the mission field. When the first quake happened, many calls were made, worried parents calling and us assuring our parents that we were fine. Even one of the missionary’s parents called up to check if everything was okay. It made me realize that the mission field is very unpredictable and really, anything can happen in the next minute. Am I willing to give up my all and serve God, trusting that He will only take me home when my time is up? I was very encouraged though, when in the midst of all the confusion, my parents still trusted and did not worry too much. (:

Weed with pretty heart-shaped leaves!

I was glad for the chance to interact with and talk to the farmers as well as their wives and children. Despite a slight language barrier (due to the fact that their accent was rather strong), we were able to understand each other. It was a little strange to find out that most of the wives I talked to were around my age! I was a bit sad to see once again, the discrimination that the females there faced. Some of the girls really do want to study and get a good job, but once they get married (and it’s usually at a young age), their lives no longer belong to themselves. If I could, this is something I would want to change – so that there would be more opportunities for the girls there. But I know it’s hard to, because that’s the culture that they’ve been brought up in.

She's my age! And already has one kid.

This girl's 4 years old, and her mom's 20.

I was really touched by the people's hospitability and generosity. To show their gratefulness to us for helping them with the planting, they invited us over to their houses for lunch and gave us their best food. One of the poorer families insisted on us going for dinner and said he’d already killed a sheep for us (it’s like the best treatment anyone can get over there). I felt so bad because he served us BOTH chicken and lamb meat. This taught me about how the poor, though they have so little, they are still willing to bless others with the little they have. It’s like the old lady who gave the 2 copper coins. Am I willing to bless others with whatever I have?

I loved the visits to the orphanages! This time I managed to talk to my sponsored child and met her sister as well. (: Each time I step into the orphanage, my heart just goes out to the kids there. I feel fortunate, but yet at the same time, I think these children are also fortunate in certain ways. It touches me when they go all out to make me feel welcomed – bringing me to their rooms, doing my hair, showing me what their daily lives are like, and basically blessing me more ways than I can ever imagine.

My sponsored kid and her sister, with Clara and I (:

My favourite girls!

Hahaha they all wanted to banhoutui!

I managed talked more to the older children, which was different from the previous year where I mostly hung out with the younger ones who didn’t really talk much. This trip was pretty emotional because I didn’t know if I could come back next year. So when the kids asked “Are you coming back next year?”, I had to disappoint them because couldn’t promise them that I would. Haha, that sparked off alot of crying among the girls, and the boys were amused/bewildered/at a loss as to what to do. q:

The two super cute brothers! (:

It was also good getting to know the missionaries better, and hopefully our presence has brought some joy to their lives. I have been blessed by them, by their love and care for us and especially for the people there. Through them I have learnt how to trust fully in God and I really see their heart for the people.

My favourite emo pic on the trip. I really wanna go back next year ):

Okay this is a really long entry haha. Shall end off with a picture of the beautiful sky one day!

the.past | the.present