An eventful saturday and a touching video

Yesterday was quite an eventful day. I reported to The Oriental at 8am in the morning for the Amazing Race organized by the IMF committee. The Amazing Race had the purpose of familarizing us with the locations of prominent landmarks in S'pore. We visited Chinatown, where we had the pleasant experience of going through a chinese tea ritual and tasting freshly-brewed oolong tea. One practice by the chinese was to roll the tea cup, warmed by the hot tea, in their hands as they believe that the palms leads to the heart. And there is actually such a thing as black tea! which is fermented tea, and the guy said that it is the most acidic among all the different types of tea.

We also visited a shop that sells hand-crafted chopsticks at Temple Street. The shop lady informed us that in the past, The Chinese viewed food as God, and thus a pair of chopsticks presented as a gift is fit for a happy occasion like a wedding.
Aside from Chinatown, other places we went to included the Supreme Court and the Monument to commemorate the war victims.

The amazing race ended at 4plus.. follwing which we went to our respective designated hotels for ground orientation. Me and my groupmates were allocated to Orchard Hotel. The hotel tour was a pleasure to the senses. We got the chance to see the different suites, including the Presidential Suite which cost a whooping 6000 bucks a night, and which includes a flat-panelled tv and jacuzzi in the bathroom.. down to the red, green and blue suites which cost about 450 bucks a night. Our group leader was a army guy who commented that his monthly salary was not even enuff to afford him a one night stay in the common suites..the way he said it made all of us laugh..haha. It seems like in army u do not hav to volunteer for anything.. u are just grabbed in to fill the job. We found out that for working from 10pm to 10am(i did not mistaken the hours), he is only being paid a miserable 15 dollars a day. Poor guy...

The ground orientation was helpful and definitely not to be missed bacause it provided us with the useful and practical info concerning the hotel operations. We we told where the smoking and non-smoking areas are, what customers have to do in order to use the wireless internet, where the Malays can go to for halal food, where the taxi stand is, etc etc.

Finally when the whole tour finished, it was 6pm plus. I was exhausted by the activities of the day, and it didn't help that i did not bring an extra change of clothes because according to the schedule, the whole thing should end by 3.30pm. It was partially a lack of insight by my part, i should have forseen that it will end late. The thought of not going to church did cross my mind..but it is the attitude of honouring God that counts isn't it? Even though looked like i just came from hall or from the fish market, as some pple commented. I was dressed in t-shirt and shorts, with slippers. Ok so I wasn't exactly presentable, but neither was I outrageously under-dressed. The attire was just a bit sloppy. Not that i intended for it anyway. But as usual, attitudes(nevermind that i had the correct one)can easily be overlooked by what pple see. It is the feeling of being misunderstood that sux.

What has transpired has transpired. Word can't be taken back. Feelings cannot be discounted. what is important is to learn from it. I asked God why.. he did not give me a reason, but instead showed me 1 Corinthians 13:5. Love keeps no records of wrongs.

To a fren..thanks for cheering me up when i'm down. Thanks also for listening and understanding.

Anyway, i am glad i went to church. During service PAstor Gerald showed us a touching video of how a boy who was paralysed from the head down. He had a difficult childbirth where the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, cutting off his oxygen supply. As a result some of his brain cells died, resulting in paralysis. But other than his physical disablilty, he can still think. Regardless of his condition, his parents loved him and let him live on, even though some pple advised that it would have been better to let him die.

As the boy was growing up, he was able to communicate to pple around him using eye movement to spell out words on a special computer. And through that, his parents got to know that he had a passion for sports. To help realise his son's dream, the father trained up his physical and took him his son for runs.. participated in marathons, and even tri-athalons. To the tunes of "I can only imagine...", the video showed scenes of his dad cycling with his son, running while carrying his son, and carrying his son through to the finishing line. I was touched by the love the dad had for his son, a son who could never give him anything in return. Through the son's eyes, intellect and a strong determination to live life shone through. And even though he could not express it, i think everybody watching the video felt it. Through the human eyes, what i saw was a pitiful boy. As the dad was carrying his son to the end of the race(everyone can see something was wrong with the boy by his appearance. His head was big in proportion to his body and limbs because they were shrunken and not developed), all eyes is on him and the unsual sight he and his abnormal son created. I can only imagine the thoughts in pple's mind. "What is the father doing?" "Isn't he embarrased to bring his son out into the public eye for all to see?" "Is the father out of his mind?" "That boy should be in a resting in a wheelchair, not participating in a race!"

Against what pple may think, the father realised his son's dream bacause of his fatherly love for his son. He wanted to give his son a chance to live life, to feel the joy of running and the wind blowing on his face. The video was an inspiration, and a reminder that we should all be grateful for the life that we have. In the same way the dad fulfilled his son's wishes, God the Father can as well for his children.

So live life to the fullest, and live it for God, because he has paid the ultimate sacrifice for us. And don't be limited by what other pple think, because that way, you will never be able to make a difference in other pple's lives.

I Can Only Imagine

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

[Chorus:]
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine