Singapore: Blind Man

Last Tuesday, I met Sijia to go look at guitars (she eventually bought a Yamaha CG-111S) at Davies. We were done and waiting for KC to call us, so that we could all go and have dinner together. While waiting, we went and looked around the shops on the upper floors in Peninsula.

And then, we met him - a blind man lost on the 3rd floor. He was clearly confused and he was saying, "Please help..." My heart went out to him. We found out that he had wanted to go to the first floor but was somehow led astray and ended up on the third - the elevator does not have Braille buttons.

He had merely wanted to get to the main road, but along the way I found out that he needed to get to Capitol to take a bus. Anyway, when we were reaching the road, he asked if we could bring him to the busstop. Of course! and we did not hesitate.

I gather from our conversation that he must have been blind since many years ago. I don't think he feels any self-pity, and that was good since we were then able to talk rather well. He asked me about whether Capitol is a cinema, about the sort of shops found there, and whether there were any interesting ones. I told him there are galleries along the street and then I thought, "Oh no, will he feel sad that he can't see the artworks? Did I just remind him of that?"

Then I remembered that some blind people like to know about their surroundings. Not being able to see, hearing about it from someone else is the next best thing. After years of being blind, most would have matured and not pity themselves but instead make the most of life. Indeed, it turns out that our new friend was in Peninsula because he works there! He's a foot reflexology therapist on the 2nd floor.

All this was while we were waiting for his bus. That took a really long time, so we got to talk more. We even talked topics like robotic cleaners and domestic maids! I also found out that at the other end of the journey, someone from his family will be waiting at the busstop, to bring him home. Everyday.

* * *

We are all blind to the dangers of this evil world. Problem is, some of us do not even admit that they are blind and want to go it alone. Danger abounds - they might get lost, or they will trip and fall. Still others realise their blindness but choose to wallow in self-pity.

Finally, there are those who recognise their own blindness and ask for help. Not only do they get led on the right way, all the dangers are pointed out to them in advance. With self-pity out of the way, and instead having humility in its place, there is so much that can be learnt, even in blindness. Life is also surely smoother, when you do not have to keep bumping your head into things, if only you would listen to those who can see.

Above all, there is always Someone who is waiting. Someone who will be waiting, no matter how late you meet Him. He will be waiting, even if you do not show up. But if you do, then He will bring you home.

(Condensed from "Blind Man", Just the Wei I Am)

Singapore: Love for a Prostitute

Although I had visited the clinic and knew the ministry there since abt 4 mths back, I had not mustered enough courage to "walk the streets" as they call it. To befriend, talk to and pray for the people.

The house church is located at Geylang Road, where they pray and meet daily. On Wednesdays, they have a worship time and then they walk the streets. After worshipping for abt an hr odd, we went to the street in 2 grps.

I went with a grp of about 8 to the "Indian" streets, unsure of what was to happen. We squeezed past crowds of migrant workers, walked past a street of gambling tables ( I swear I only saw those in HK TV dramas). Along the streets were rows of women standing/ sitting down. We came to a grp of ladies, and someone asked if they wanted prayer. They said yes, and another embraced one of them, and another held another's hand. And before long, we were all standing in the circle, in the middle of the dark dinky alley- Praying.

Jesus was there though. I felt like He was walking with us in the streets. He wasn't just there when we walked. He was there, walking with them daily.

I asked S if she wanted prayer. She hugged me and laid her head on my shoulders. I thought she didn't understand, and asked again. Again, she hugged me. I prayed for her- for healing, for God's love. And at the end of the prayer, I asked her to call to Jesus, to tell Jesus what is in her heart. Soon after she said she gotto go, as there was business coming. It stirred my heart with a mixture of feelings.

But I knew Jesus loved each one of these. The bible came alive as I read Isaiah that night when I got home- of healing broken hearts, of setting the captives free, of bringing light into the darkness. There it was, in the dark alleys, incarnate love. Jesus walked and fellowshipped with the tax collectors and the prostitutes on earth. Jesus came to die for these ones. God wants to redeem these lives, each woman created uniquely and beautifully in His image.

I have a feeling that this is how christianity is meant to be. Christianity, according to the bible, is radical.

(From "A story of incarnate love", My Spiritual Journey)

Kenya: The Little Girl Who Said "Thank You"

In August this year, I went trekking in one of the Kenyan hills. To my surprise, dozens of Kenyan schoolchildren dressed in no more than their uniforms - the girls in full pinafore no less, with ankle-length skirts - scampered uphill excitedly past us.

Well! When I reached the summmit, I took video clips of the children. They were all very curious about the Strange Object I was holding in my hand, so I flipped my LCD and let them see themselves on video. Whoa. They instantly swarmed around me, buzzing excitedly like bees in a hive, until the teacher stepped in. (Thank God for teachers...)

So I let them peep through the video camera. They were all so so excited. The teacher explained to me that they were all from a school in the rural areas. Most of them had never seen a video camera in their lives before (until a blur tourist showed them).

While they were all taking turns, I spied out of the corner of my eye a girl standing all alone by herself.

What made her stand out even more was the huge orange polka-dotted sash that she was wearing around her waist, over her uniform. I wondered why she was standing there all alone, so I went over to her to say hi. At first, she looked away shyly, and didn't say anything in reply to my hello.

So I asked her, "You want to take a look through the camera?"

A smile grew on her face. She happily nodded.

I passed her the camera, and she peeped through it... and after she was done, she looked at me, and shyly said in clear English, "Thank you."

I was very surprised - and touched. 'Cos all the other kids hadn't said thank you, but this girl, all alone by herself, said thank you.

That day, I had a tiny glimpse of how God must feel everyday when, out of all the billions of people he blesses daily, one or two of them stop and pause and run back to thank Him for blessing them.

(Personal story)

Greece: Alexandros Papaderos

Robert Fulghum visited an institute on Crete devoted to reconciling Germans and Cretans.

At the end of a lecture he asked the director, Alexandros Papaderos, what the meaning of life was. Laughter followed, and people stirred to go. Papaderos looked at him for a long time, asking with his eyes if he was serious and saw that he was.

"I will answer your question." Taking his wallet from his hip pocket, he fished out a small round mirror, the size of a quarter.

Then he said, "I was a small child during the war. One day, on the road, I found the broken pieces of a mirror. I kept the largest piece. This one. I began to play with it and became fascinated that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine - deep holes, crevices, dark closets.

"I kept the little mirror, and as I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child's game but a metaphor for what I might do with my life. I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design I do not know.

"With what I have, I can reflect light - truth, understanding , knowledge - into the black places in the hearts of men. I can change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise.

This is what I do."

(From What Love Is All About)