The Christmas Letter
Dear Jesus Christ,
I read this in
Our Daily Bread, Reflections for the New Year:Dec. 25th- A fitting presentA little boy was somewhat perplexed by all the exchanging of presents on Christmas morning, for he had been taught in Sunday school that it was the birthday of the Saviour. Finally, after a long period of silence, he asked, "Mommy, when are we going to give Jesus His present? I thought it was His Birthday!"Stange, isn't it, that most of us give gifts to everyone but the One whose birthday we celebrate. A good question we might ask ourselves is this: What am I going to give to the Lord Jesus this Christmas?Yes, Lord Jesus, I was kinda perplexed too after reading this passage. It made me realise that maybe for 19 years of my life, i've been missing the whole point of Christmas!
So, here's where i'm gonna ask myself that question, "What am i going to give to the Lord Jesus this Christmas?"
Here, i wanna promise You that this year, i want to give You my 2009. The whole package, the whole year.
And, hopefully this isn't too selfish, i ask that You'll send me angels to wake me up whenever i fail to deliver Your present to You. & that's why i'm writing You this letter on my blog. So that when the angels read this, they'll know that i've given my 2009 to You. When i don't give my 2009, they'll shake me real hard.
I thank You for taking my punishment on the cross, I thank You for giving me new life.
I thank You for teaching me Your ways, I thank You for loving me.
And so, i shall end my Christmas letter to You now, & I pray i'll nv forget to give my 2009 to You.
Yours Sincerely,
Steffi Woon
(24th Dec 08)
adventures in hainan dao
All this little village boy needs is a relative in a globalised country like Singapore to have his awesome picture found on the Internet.
This is my nephew. (name not revealed) I found him in Hainan Dao, and after 3 days spent with him, i left my heart there with him.
Isn't he awesome? He's the best in the whole trip & i'm glad we are related!
But let's not forget what other experiences i had through the trip.
We went to this island specially for monkeys. like just monkeys. However, in Hainan Dao, the way they treat animals is real horrid! If u're an animal lover, pls dun go there & see ur heart break.. We also went to a zoo that had closed down le, & the ppl just left the animals there. Totally docile, totally lifeless...
But pls don't be mistaken that my family village is like that. Indeed it's not. The zoo & monkey island is near the area called Sanya, but my family village is in the area Wen Chang. So they're worlds apart, really.
The streets in Hainan Dao was indeed a new sight for me. Cars honk at each other frequently, there's the occasional mountain in the background and somehow, the young kids there look especially happy all the time. Beggars were found here and there & Tut Tut cars rule the land.
I'd like to say that Hainan Island is somehow different from Mainland China. I dunno why, but i'd like to dis-associate them from their motherland. The Hainanese have tanned skin & big round eyes, not the usual fair skin & Chinese slit eyes that are stereotyped as theirs.
So the nine days was really a new thing for me. Above all, i wanna rmbr my family village always. Whether i grow up & have a new family, or to be a single all the way, i'll wanna keep contact with my distant relatives in Hainan Dao. I wanna watch my nephew grow up. I wanna know my cousins as my cousins.
Although we're countries away, & we have a huge age difference, I don't wanna forget them & i hope they... ...
don't forget to remember me.
Next plane home
This is the view from my first budget airline... On our trip to Cambodia!
Yup, in 5 hours time, i'll be making my furthest journey in life, to a place out of Southeast Asia.
Although it's just Hainan Island, China, somehow, there's an uneasy feeling welling up in me.. Out of SEA.. it's an experience seriously...
Wrt to my previous post, it's amazing how Man has made it possible that you can have the whole world in your hands. Doesn't this reflect the inherent yearning of power amongst mankind? It's just a planet, a globe, and we want to hold it in our hands.. Hmmmmm....
Annnd... don't worry too much for my family and me.. Just relax unti 13th Dec, & then, we'll be taking the NEXT PLANE HOME (courtesy of Daniel [KA-]POWter)
:)
