what's next?

Today is new year's eve. What a better day to reflect on our year than today. We have been dragging our feet to write the last blog of our journey since we came back to Australia. Yes, we are back in Brisbane (in case you don't know) and have been very busy. We both went straight back to work within one week of landing back in Brisbane (Alvin went in the very day we landed and Linda started work a week later). We haven't really had time to reflect on the year as there were many things that kept us occupied such as work, finding a place to live, getting used to life in a developed country again, etc... We suffered from what a lot of people warned us about - REVERSED CULTURE SHOCK. I must say that when we first landed back into Australia (or even in the Qantas Lounge at Changi Airport before we departed Singapore for Brisbane), it was a little strange to see so many Caucasians (fair skin and blonde/brown hair) around us. As you can imagine, we have been around people with dark skin and black hair (Peruvians, Thais, Cambodians, Vietnamese, Chinese, Malays and Indians) for a good part of 2008. It felt really weird and we do not know how to describe it. I (Linda) was having difficulty accepting the difference between the haves and have-nots. I can't help feeling sad when I hear about people spending hundreds to thousands on a handbag, thousands on jewelries or thousands on a watch. All I can think of is how many children I can feed with that amount of money. In most of the places we have visited, all it takes is just USD$1 a day for an underprivileged child to live...

The trip in general can be described and summarised in two words - LIFE CHANGING. It has completely changed our perspectives in life. We knew all along that there are lots of less fortunate people in other parts of the world. What we did not know was how real it is and how big the gap is between the haves and have-nots. No matter how much you read about it, how much you hear from people or how much you see on TV, it is never quite the same as being there in person. We are so fortunate to be born where we were, to live where we are, to eat what we want to, to be educated to the standard that we attained, to have the good jobs that we have, to be given the opportunities that we are given and so much more. Seeing is really believing. Life is different after this trip.

Peru was great. We were volunteering at Peru's Challenge and having a holiday at the same time. It has always been Alvin's dream to see Machu Picchu and it has been fulfilled. We met some great people and made some friends. It was definitely a trip to remember. We got to know the local people, the local culture/food and to help out in the indigenous communities. It was definitely an eye opener for us. There is nothing like being right there to see how poor people are and that there is so much that need to be done. It also brought home to us the excesses that we have in the western world. We were inspired by the passion and commitment of the people starting projects to help the less fortunate in our world.

We continued onto Samuel's House for a few weeks to see our beautiful children and to work with Samuel's House. We then went to House of Mercy Foundation (HOMF) to volunteer for eight weeks. This was when the trip changed for me (Alvin). Before the trip started, I have always thought that this will be a one year trip to experience mission/volunteer work and get back to "life" in 2009 and beyond in Brisbane - making good money, change his car to a Volkswagen GTI DSG, buy a nice carbon fibre road bike, buy a nice townhouse in inner city Brisbane, live life to the fullest with life's little luxuries... And of course continue to support our children's home and other good causes from Brisbane (afar) by giving money. That was the plan, even when we were in Peru and Samuel's House. While we were at HOMF, I felt a very strong burden for the less fortunate (especially children as we strongly believe that children are the future). HOMF houses about 90 children and employs about 30 staff. It is a beautiful place and the children are beautiful. The children are very well look after. In terms of material things, they have it much much better than our children at Samuel's House. They are fed a lot better, clothe a lot better, live a lot better, etc... However, there are very sad stories behind every child's smiling face. This was when the trip changed for me. We read through their bios and I was more convinced that there is more that can be done besides just going through life worrying about life. And more importantly, it seems that although HOMF is a Christian orphanage, many of the children do not have a true revelation of God and are just going through the motions. This further convinced me that my purpose in life is about to change. Thinking back, I questioned myself why wasn't I convinced earlier since we have already been working/visiting Samuel's House. Working at/with Samuel's House did not show me as much how children in Thailand (and other parts of the world) are disadvantaged. Our children at Samuel's House no doubt has very sad stories too but we made sure that it is not an orphanage and is not an institution. Right from the start, Samuel's House was set up as a family home, not an orphanage. The children at Samuel's House has Hannah, Nehamee and Koh to love them like their own flesh and blood. They have very sad stories too, very much the same as the children at HOMF. We both love each one of them very much and are constantly visiting them in Thailand to shower our love to all 12 of them. And most importantly, we can see that every single one of them has God as their Father. Our children at Samuel's House, in my view, are so much more fortunate than the children at HOMF. They have a sense of belonging, a sense of family, and the love and guidance that many children in other children's homes don't get. We are so fortunate that we started (and kept) Samuel's House as a family run children's home and that we have wonderful and committed people to pour their lives into each of the children. Given such circumstances, we decided to sponsor this little girl - Joop Jang in HOMF. She is an orphan and her parents and brother were killed in a car accident when she was 5 years old. We hope that we can make a difference in her life (whether big or small) and the lives of many other children as we come across them. What worries us is that who are the orphans (from HOMF and elsewhere around the world) going to get guidance from when they get older, who are they going to turn to in the future, what is their future like without proper guidance, and most importantly what is their future going to be if they do not know God. Our children at Samuel's House's are growing up very well and we have no doubt that they will all grow up to be fine young men and women of God, spreading the word of God throughout Thailand and contributing to the society/world. We have a heart to see the same thing happen to as many children as possible. To give them an opportunity. An opportunity to know God. An opportunity to grow up to be a fine man/woman of God. An opportunity to be educated. An opportunity to contribute to society.

We then moved on to Cambodia to work with New Life Fellowship (NLF). One of the major things that reinforced my burden was visiting the slums and seeing the street kids there. They have absolutely no future. They were running around the slums shirtless, smoking in full view of their drunk parents, uncleaned, not in school, etc... NLF is trying to help these children as much as possible. NLF also goes out to the countryside to assist the poor to get a foot in life. They train the villagers to farm smart and to start small businesses. NLF also provides FREE English and Office skills to empower the local people. All these projects and programmes have really made a difference in the lives of the Cambodian people, much more than what a lot of those so called "NGOs" do... All this just reinforces that more needs to be done and done the right way. This is the same with our trip to Vietnam. The work that AOG WR is doing out there needs to be commended. They are helping the people to help themselves. AOG WR have put in pig farm programs (pay-if-forward programme), water projects, heart operations, etc...into the local communities. They have really made a difference to the people of Vietnam. These are the people that we want to learn from. Paul and Deb are truly inspirational and have been a major encouragement for us to embark on the next phase of our lives. We have also seen many people and children in Vietnam without hope and purpose in life. They are just passing each day and it comes and goes. We went to this children's home that is run by this amazing woman. It is a similar concept to Samuel's House and she is doing an amazing job considering that she is running the place only with the help of her daughter. They have 12 girls and all of them are firm believers of God. This is what we want to see and what we want to be. People with the passion and the commitment to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate.

Everyone needs a purpose in life. We do not want to go through our lives just going to work 9-5 Monday to Friday (and doing the usual weekend stuff) without accomplishing something bigger. We have promised God and ourselves that we will make blessing the less fortunate our main purpose in our lives. If we can make a difference to one child, that is one life we have made a difference to. But we believe God will utilise us to the fullest and impact as many lives as we can. HE has equipped us with the right skills, knowledge, resources and etc. to prepare us for this journey. HE has also blessed us tremendously throughout this journey and we know for a fact that HE will continue to bless us so that we can bless others.

You may think that we (2 people) or you can make very little difference to this world when there are so many less fortunate people. Think about it...you make a difference just by bringing a smile to the face of a less fortunate child. You can give an opportunity, a hope and a future to a child. We wish you all the best for 2009 and hope that you will get involved, make a difference, one child at a time.