Dear Family & Friends,
I survived 17 days in Hokkaido! Thank God and my wonderful friends. It
was great to be out there in cold, misty (not hazy) weather. The Grade
6 Hokkaido hike up the volcanoes that called for the use of crampons
was challenging, exciting and not without incident. There were thrills
and spills out in the snow, yet all remained safe under God's
protective cloak of love.
Seeing the team limp back each evening with stories of how knees were
"killed", ankles wrenched and bruises sustained, made me feel less
envious that I had to stay in the "lowlands" in my wheelchair! The
oohs and ahhhhs that accompanied the viewing of the photos caused some
of the "envy" to return. I wished I could be up there. But, I was
thankful I could even be there!
I love Japan for its clear air, clean toilets, beautiful scenery and
polite people. Always makes me wonder how we can raise our own service
standards. We may be efficient, but lack the "heart" and that "pride"
in our work, which is so apparent there. Somehow, it just made
everyone feel so "special"!
One fine example was my encounter with Mr. Saito at Narita Airport. He
was assigned to push me in a wheelchair to catch my connecting flight.
He was polite, cheerful and caring. He asked if I needed a drink of
water and if I needed to visit the toilet. He was always mindful that
there were five others with me and would wait for them. He shared some
Japanese phrases with us and said he knew about our famous ex-prime
minister Lee Kuan Yew. Finally he said "Come back to Japan" in
Japanese. When we entered the airplane, I thanked him. In return, Mr.
Saito bowed, smiled, whispered "arigato" and went off.
In the end, Mr Saito did not just transport me from arrival Gate C to
departure Gate E28. He had showed me the true meaning of service. He
was not just a wheelchair pusher, he was an ambassador for Japan.
Indeed, he left a great impression on us.
Before leaving for Japan, I was reading a book by Dr. Eben Alexander,
an eminent neurosurgeon who had a near death experience and shared his
spiritual experience of journeying into "life beyond death". 'Proof of
Heaven' is finally proof of the existence of God.
Well, on the rocky and icy slopes of the volcanoes in Hokkaido, the
girls personally witnessed the existence of God. How else can we
explain one of the girls sliding 20m down a 70 degree snow slope with
the guide hanging on to her left leg landing in some low shrubs and
coming out of it shocked, with small cuts on her thumb and knee? Or
another flying down a rocky slope heading towards some protruding
rocks head first and recovered with just a badly bruised left thigh?
Do we need proof? Nah, we already know He exists. And He certainly was
there, His loving hand cushioning each fall.
"In peace I will both lie me down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord,
make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8
God bless us all and folks, make a little "heaven" on earth for someone today!
Love,
Cheng/Liz/Lizzie
The Eden Home Project is going on nicely with some hiccups here and
there. We have faith that God will see it through and it will finally
stand as a testimony of His great love for "the least, the lost and
the last". *2 We are close to achieving our target of S$70K, but know
that anything beyond that will go towards the running cost of the
Home, till we can work towards it being self sustaining. Thank you for
your strong support, kind hearts and generous donations. God bless.
We will keep all donors updated.
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