was jus doing my record of expenses on my 11 mth trip in China.. tho in the beginning i had been prepared to cover my expenses from my savings, i sensed God telling me He would provide and challenging me.. something like "you watch and see how I will do this.."
and yea, tho i didnt raise funds, frens, aunties and some acquaintances i only met once or didnt even meet contacted me and expressed a desire to support me financially. Some wrote cheques and some transferred straight to my account..
well in the end, all my expenses, (living expenses, setting up costs, flights, insurance etc), were covered. just slightly over a 5-digit figure. and i still have a few thousand left over, which i'll set aside for future trips. For those who'd like to plan a trip, daily expenses came up to about $6000-7000 for the 11 months.
God is so awesome! and His blessings often has a multiplication effect. i was blessed not just by the financial providence, but also by the sense of partnership and relationship by those who supported me in this way, so that it wasn't me doing my own thing, but a whole community of people behind me too, whom i represented, to show His care for those i would meet. Thank you friends, for being part of this.
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
(Mal 3:10-11).
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
(Ps 50:9-12).
i'm also very thankful for those who kept me in prayer. Prayer is so important, in China, we prayed often. to us, who are away from our homes (some fr really far away), it is such a vital way through which He ministers to us and keeps our hearts focused and thankful.
so i encourage you, lift up your eyes, He is so big.. it is a wonderous thing to experience His reality and find that faith can be so real. Real enough to touch.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
pics
some pics fr my KM team's previous visits to the leprosy villages!
a resident in the village
XM and a resident trying out toothbrushing Banna!
i'm gng to Banna!!! so exciting!!! hv been lookin for an excuse to go back for e longest time!! my flight leaves on the 5th Sept n i will be back on the 19th.. will spend a few days in KM too.. :)
programme is to visit leprosy villages and pull teeth.. Sam will onli get bk on 6th so i hv to whirwind fly to office and pack everything and we'll be good to go on the 6th!!!!!!!!
foot note: if ever any of u get to visit a leprosy village, no fear, they have been cured for decades. 2 weeks of medication after diagnosis will render u non-contagious. New patients these days are merely cured in their homes after discovery. perhaps the term 'leprosy village' is a misnomer.. its more like 'physical rehab village' for ex-leprosy patients.
The leprosy village residents only remain there cos in the olden days, they would be rejected by the community if they returned to their home village, and even now, the level of awareness is low in many villages and there is still a stigma attached to these cured patients, which would socially even affect their children and grandchildren. also in the leprosy village, they receive care for their permanent nerve damage that often result in disablities.
example, if the nerves of their eyes had been damaged due to delay in treatment and diagnosis previously, they need to be taught to blink after a lorry passes by, or else they could get eye infection and blindness as they cant feel that some dust has gotten into their eye.
the ironic thing to me is that leprosy, which like tuberculosis, is such a treatable disease in these days, its like nothing, jus take medicine. but the stigma of this disease is so great it is comparable to AIDS. Surely we all need more education.. for the residents need more care and compassion than our ignorant fear.. ignorance is not bliss, it can do a lot of harm.
like the most Wonderful One says.. 'knowledge of the truth will set you free..'
programme is to visit leprosy villages and pull teeth.. Sam will onli get bk on 6th so i hv to whirwind fly to office and pack everything and we'll be good to go on the 6th!!!!!!!!
foot note: if ever any of u get to visit a leprosy village, no fear, they have been cured for decades. 2 weeks of medication after diagnosis will render u non-contagious. New patients these days are merely cured in their homes after discovery. perhaps the term 'leprosy village' is a misnomer.. its more like 'physical rehab village' for ex-leprosy patients.
The leprosy village residents only remain there cos in the olden days, they would be rejected by the community if they returned to their home village, and even now, the level of awareness is low in many villages and there is still a stigma attached to these cured patients, which would socially even affect their children and grandchildren. also in the leprosy village, they receive care for their permanent nerve damage that often result in disablities.
example, if the nerves of their eyes had been damaged due to delay in treatment and diagnosis previously, they need to be taught to blink after a lorry passes by, or else they could get eye infection and blindness as they cant feel that some dust has gotten into their eye.
the ironic thing to me is that leprosy, which like tuberculosis, is such a treatable disease in these days, its like nothing, jus take medicine. but the stigma of this disease is so great it is comparable to AIDS. Surely we all need more education.. for the residents need more care and compassion than our ignorant fear.. ignorance is not bliss, it can do a lot of harm.
like the most Wonderful One says.. 'knowledge of the truth will set you free..'
Sunday, August 20, 2006
my poem
Do you smell carrot?
i have a snowman.
he sits on my beach..
we wave to each other
maybe one day, if the magic is strong enough..
we will swim in the sea together.
i have a snowman.
he sits on my beach..
we wave to each other
maybe one day, if the magic is strong enough..
we will swim in the sea together.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
back!
*XH, my fav KM fren*
*ice kachang tog*they say a pic paints a thousand word.. so let me post more pics :)
been running ard since i got back, but so blessed to have a fren come back w me for 2 weeks! we ran ard sg, went to penang, went to underwater world.. it was such a thrill to have her with me and to see sg thru her eyes.. :) great fun.
on the other hand i ate dinner for the first time tonight at home since i got back.. it reflects to me wat busy bees we hv been.. :) oh and i watched 3 movies this week! things in sg are strange yet familiar.. something i learnt fr KM.. it is good to take things slower.. and appreciate more..
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