heart breaking truth :(

when i watched this video, it broke my heart. but the next thing that came to me was what my Lord Jesus said on the cross.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” –Luke 23:34

God, help me to still look at them through your eyes, despite what i see here. And grant me wisdom to respond in love.

one out of ten - 1/10

today, i woke up with a sick feeling in my stomach. i wasn’t prepared for the week. i’d just learned the night before that i had to fill up lots of forms along with getting signatures, validations and whatnots and i had to send them back by this coming wednesday.

i was to go back to uni but i wasn’t sure at what time so i figured, early morning was the safest. i hadn’t packed yet.

everything seemed so disastrous. timings couldn’t have been worse. but the day went on still.

as it went on, it got better bit by bit. i found out i only needed to get back to college by 9pm which granted me a full day to finish up my forms.

was getting pretty stressed doing the forms. i thank God that my family members were very supportive and helpful throughout   called the people in charge and they said there was a short grace period for the dateline. that piece of information was such a relief! (i’m still going to try to get it all done by tomorrow!)

and at the end of the day, i was just so thankful for how God brought me through the day. this passage from Luke 17:11-19 stuck with me throughout the day too.

Ten Healed of Leprosy (Luke 17:11-19)

¹¹ Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.
¹² As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance
¹³ and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.
¹⁶He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him–and he was a Samaritan.
¹⁷Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?
¹⁸Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
¹⁹Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

i want to be like that man who came back to Jesus full of praise and thanksgiving. i want to be that one out of ten. and today was just that; a day that got better as it went along. i was constantly reminded to keep going back to God in thanks.

thank you, Lord. ♥
and thank you for what happened on 9th July 2011, Saturday.
you were right when you gave the words “unity” and “love for Malaysia.” indeed we saw the breaking down of barriers to stand together for what is right. continue to cause my heart to love my country and its people even more. thank you for Malaysia.

there’s still more to come!

BERSIH 2.0

two people in my life.

one says, "this whole thing is no good. it'll go up in flames. it's a recipe for disaster. what's the point of it? what are they trying to prove by doing this? no, we should not support this."

the other says "no, we must support this. the people are uniting to stand up for what is right, what will you do? for too long we've complained and not done anything, we talk a lot but when it comes to actually doing something, we sit back and say 'i'm going to play it safe, better not get involved'. no, we must support this together."

don't let your fear, pride, ignorance or indifference hold you back from doing something and being part of something that is right. 

BERSIH 2.0 - The Coalition For Clean and Fair Elections

i support this.

why?

because i love Malaysia.

and it's time for us to unite and stand for what is right.

outside my palace walls

i sat on the steps, facing the blank wall which went around the compounds of Kuala Lumpur Gospel Hall (KLGH). that wall was tall, tall enough so that i could not see what was on the other side even when i stood at the top of those steps.

it was like that wall separated two worlds: the peaceful church grounds and the broken world outside on the streets of KL.

i sat there reflecting for a bit on the things i’d been exposed to the past few days; the refugees, the poor, the homeless. i thought about how we found it so irksome that the water got cut off before we could finish washing up the dishes, when clean running water was something many who were poor had no access to. the irony.

i thought about how my life was so comfortable. the roof over my head, the love of family and friends, more than enough food on our tables, pocket money i did not have to slave for, gadgets, the list goes on. my comfortable palace.

that morning’s devotion was about Queen Esther and what Mordecai said to her, “Don’t think for a moment that you will escape there in the palace when all other Jews are killed.” (Esther 4:13)  it was a message from Mordecai to not be indifferent to what happened outside those walls because it would affect her too. it was about how Esther was in a place of comfort yet she still had a role to play in saving the people outside of her palace.

i am 21 years old. all my life i’ve been sheltered, loved and cared for, protected. i’ve never had to fight for food or runaway for my life. but i need to remember, ‘it could be me’.

i thought to myself how ignorant and indifferent i had been to everything around me. SWEEP really opened my eyes. the real world was a very broken one.

i sat on the steps, the high walls before me.

picture taken from http://weheartit.com/entry/11076207

have i built walls around me that keep the unpleasant things of the world out of sight? that cause me not to see, not to know the pain behind these walls?

Lord, tear down these walls I’ve built.
Take me outside of these palace walls.
Use me in this broken world,
to make a difference – one life at a time.

SWEEP : Social Work Exposure & Embracement Program 2011 (6th-19th June 2011)

priceless

the past one month plus since exams ended have been very eventful. starting with three weeks spent with the other PP’s (Pembantu Pelajar) otherwise know as orientation helpers.

the experience and relationships built were simply priceless and so very precious.

the first week of training was one that was bitter sweet. i remember asking if i had made the right decision to spend my holidays doing this. and i remember clearly what God said, “Give it your best.”

i remember the late nights and early mornings. the constant soundings the seniors gave us. but we got through that and it taught us all to work together as a team and our friendships grew stronger.

the outdoor camp, for me, was when everyone really bonded, helped and aided each other. being thrown into a whole new environment was really great to help us learn that we needed each other. some were better in this and some were better in that. in the end, we all came together as one.

the second week was our gerak kerja week. lots of work and preparations to be done for the coming orientation week. it was a lot more chilled and laid back as compared to the training week. and the amount of choki choki we consumed is mad! did a lot of dancing and cheering that week too. oh, i sprained my ankle too and had to go to a chinese doctor who rubbed and pulled it. i almost lost my purse too in all the drama but thank God for kind hearted people who found it and returned it .

as for orientation week, i was only there for half the week. cause i had a flight to Bali. but for the first half, it was a lot of early mornings and late nights again. and there was a lot a lot of students to handle! can’t remember but if i’m not wrong 900+? the hall was packed like a sardine can. didn’t really get to know many of them as i left pretty early. but the little bits of orientation that i was involved in, i enjoyed very much. oh, and i was part of the Biro Kesenian (or was it Kebudayaan?).

the PP’s also had a trip to langkawi after orientation week. unfortunately, it clashed with SWEEP 2011. (which will be another story to tell )

we’ll be having another orientation coming up when the undergraduates come in in september. let’s see how that goes.

these people, memories and experiences were simply priceless. and i really thank God for allowing our paths to cross. I thank God for telling me to give it my best from the start and that truly gave the whole thing a lot of meaning and purpose.

love you all banyak-banyak *HUGS*