Thursday, July 21, 2005
I can't believe i woke up at 1pm today!! Whew! Having a laptop in my room with such easy access to the internet is not very conducive to my sleeping habits... haha. Slept at 4am last night and it's already 1am now!! Ended up blowing 10 bucks on a cab to woodlands or i won't have been able to make it by 2pm :P
This comm service project has really made me more aware of singapore as a whole (aka. life outside orchard) *grinz* but what i have realised is that the government has really really really been taking good care of us (despite what the SDP is trying to say to get themselves more power). Truth to tell, I trust the PAP and am probably not as grateful or appreciative to them as i should be... When i visited the primary schools in the north, like SiLing Pr & Canberra Pr, Í was stunned by the colourful facades that greeted me; the educational murals on the walls that piqued even my aged interest; the gleaming computers, lockers and classrooms that the children seemed to take for granted, as well as the fountains and carefully tended greenary amist the colonnades of learning that lent an air of serenity to the place. Truly, I can hardly believe how fortunate the children in Singapore are nowadays... All this upgraded architecture bespoke the money that the government has reinvested into making schools a place that children should hunger to spend their childhood years... They put in money and effort not for profit, but to increase the standards of living of the people, beautifying the environment and nurturing the people, that singaporeans may be able to luxuriate in their surroundings despite the fact that we are a city state and there is little to admire in our natural beauty. With our funds, the government has made this country into a place we can call our home, a place to be proud of.
Yet how often do we complain of the huge payrolls the civil servants are getting? How often do we stop to admire the landscaped New Towns, or savour the fresh air we breathe? Take the MRT, for example. No other city in the world has such an efficient public transport system for such low costs... It even brings a certain uniqueness to our country: the railway tracks twisting between tall monuments of buildings, the train itself flashing brightly in the noonday sun... Who else can boast of such??
Truly we are most ignorant of our blessings. I say this because, much as i am learning to appreciate my country, I am equally as certain that there is more goodness I have yet to experience; more that has been done for us as a people that we know nothing of.
All this came to me as I lowered myself into a chair at Woodlands Regional Library. And it wasn't just any chair... it was comfortable, with rounded armrests and a back that supports you as you recline into it. The library was stocked with them... Plush sofa's for the weary, simple chairs for the studious and tiny stools for the toddlers. All the floors were carpeted, the shelves lined neatly with books to pleasure, books to distract, books to educate and books to enlighten... There were magazines of all sorts, newspapers from different countries, computers with free internet access and even headsets that allow song lovers to peruse their books and listen to music without distracting their fellow library go-ers. So wonderful, so peaceful, so luxurious... It made me yearn to bring such joy to the children in China. The village children who congregate in a school crudely put together with wood and cement. The kids who share benches and desks in a poorly lighted and sparsely furnished classroom for whom the gift of a pencil, ruler, notebook and eraser meant so much. The would be farmers and homemakers who haul water a few kilometers home from a communal cistern, whose minds are so eager to learn and whose hearts so readily welcome strangers who show them affection and love.
Arghh i want to do more!!! I want to play a part in nurturing the next generation, bring up upright men and women of God!! I want to work hard so that i'd be able to attain a position where i can honestly change lives for the better... Alleviate suffering in Africa, bring comfort to the downtrodden in India, love to the people in China and goodwill to the nations of terror. Damn my human limitations! :P
Lord give me strength that I may fulfill the purpose You have for me... Thank you for loving me, Lord, that I may take refuge in Your arms.. Through You, all things are possible. Let me be a living sacrifice to Your glory, that I may be a blessing, for You have blessed me; that I may love, for You have loved me. Praise be to You, Lord Jesus, Amen.
John 3:16... "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
12:38 AM