hey you! :)
i had one of the best mondays of my life today! after much stress in planning today's trip to SPCA then the orphanage, we finally went for it! 23 of us turned up today to first volunteer at the animal shelter and then spent some time with the children in the taman megah orphanage. i was so super duper excited for today and seeing everyone reach taylor's in the morning with their boxes of old clothes and other stuff was so sweet! it was like we all going picnic like that, in our shorts and big tees. :D
we left in four different cars, and dianne made these really cute blue ribbons for all the cars to show we were together, and the cars looked super cute, like wedding cars. except somehow tai kor's car had leaves instead of the ribbon, and it kept falling as he drove, it was so funny!!!! hahah i was annoying the life out of everyone in adrian's car with my rendition of Whitney Houston's 'Greatest Love of All', which mich and i spent the previous night "practicing" in li lian's house.still i had a really enjoyable time in the car too, but everyone else was just so excited when i finally fell asleep. :P
the SPCA came kinda as a shock to me, cause i am quite afraid of dogs and i have never been to an animal shelter before in my life. i had no idea what to expect. the guy that met us was a rather strict, no-nonsense kinda fellow, who did not approve of so many of us coming at once to help, cause online said 15 ppl max for volunteering but when i called up, the lady said 28 no problem. so he ended up splitting us into four groups, and i totally kept my brave face on, though i was kinda freaking out at the thought of entering the place they keep the 300 over (i think) dogs. so because my face seemed to hide my fear pretty well, the guy picked my group to go inside the section with really hyper dogs. man, i went in first too, after him la. got scratched on both legs but it doesn't show anymore, pretty minor la. still after a bit, i kinda got used to it and really liked playing with them then! man i would love to adopt one, but my mum's so freaked out about dogs. we played with the hose too a bit(:P) and i really had a blast, even though there was poop everywhere, even on my shirt. it was especially rewarding to see my classmates having so much fun too, extra so to those who were uber scared of dogs when we arrived there. i would definitely love doing this again!
after we finished our tasks, we had to go to rush to the orphanage. still, me, sean and tai kor got the chance to speak with the no-nonsense guy for a while. before we spoke to him though, i noticed this dude and his dad with a freaking adorable bulldog in the admin part of the shelter. they wanted to 'dump' him there cause he had a skin disease. and the lady said that if you wanna dump him there, you must sign the agreement that you won't mind him being put to sleep if they cannot save him. and the no-nonsense guy said in chinese, how can you just want a dog when it's cute? then sick, throw away? where is the reasoning?.. and stuff like that la, it's obvious how he did have a genuine heart for animals. and the father just said, sign only la, don't care put to sleep anot. i was like argh!!!! inside, and the no-nonsense guy gave a slightly angry sigh. so as he was talking to us afterwards, he said sorry for being a bit irritatedly angry today, just kinda stressed bout people la. and i said like that dude and his dad who just dump their dogs like that? then he told us that that's one part la, but also at people who wanna adopt dogs but refuse to follow procedure then scold them pulak. i told him that he's doing a really good thing here, and he said, yea, but not everyone in the public thinks so. so we all chatted a bit longer and realized he was actually a really nice person. so that kinda brightened my day, knowing people like him, who live on passion and goodwill still exist, despite the many pressures they face. :D
next stop, the orphanage! :) everyone seemed to enjoy me falling asleep too much! =.='' but we made it for lunch and then to the orphanage! the orphanage was an extremely humbling experience. as soon as we reached we could see so many children with the more severe diseases lying on the floor in a pretty distorted position. it was quite heartbreaking, but still most of them were cheerful and willing to play with us. i met a blind girl who could sing really well, kids who danced to 'nobody, nobody', an adorable boy who i fed bread for their tea and so many other super cute kids. and i remember thinking, these are all beautiful children, how can people just dump them here because they're different and require more attention?
who is to judge that life should be led just from school to university to marriage to healthy children to their graduation and their marriage and to becoming a happy old couple on rocking chairs? the people i truly admire are those who say no to the convention plan for life, the one accepted by society and choose a different path, a tougher path. parents who would stay with their kids no matter what. like little amanda's mum and all the other parents from the special needs kids parent support group in church. and alongside that, people like the no-nonsense guy and the man who runs the orphanage, people who decide to dedicate their entire lives for their passion for others. they were both young men, who had their whole lives before them but they chose this path, to live a simple life, a difficult one too, but an extremely rewarding one at that. but what must it be like i wonder? especially at the orphanage when the more severely disabled children will never be independent? they were 24 year olds there who looked as if they were 8 year olds only and could not respond to questions at all. imagine the patience that that man must have, repeating the same routine everyday to children who might never understand his sacrifice for them. but perhaps that in itself is what sacrifice truly means, doing something purely out of a deep sense of need in your heart, regardless of recognition or acknowledgement. and also the no-nonsense guy, his passion for animals is evident, how must it feel to see dog after dog put to sleep because they were unwanted? how does one deal with that sense of anger and hopelessness? discussing this with my dad on the way home, we realized, the courage to do such a job can only come from a calling. it must be calling to run an orphanage or a calling to choose to save animals. and i'm starting to believe more and more that my calling is also for the less fortunate people in this world. but do i possess the courage to do greater things?
so i entered my dad's car at the end of the day smelling really stink apparently, like pee and sweat and euyurgh-ness. but i felt happy in that condition, really happy. :P cause today opened my eyes that love still prevails in this world at times, that even in a dangerous world such as ours, there are places that offer refuge and hope and love and second chances. and maybe the world isn't such a bad place after all, and perhaps it is the bad in the world that subconciously brings out the best in people. because as people, we feel for one another, we're all connected, and when one person hurts, the chain is rattled. maybe we just need to be more sensitive to the plight of others, for when we open our hearts and choose to feel, we are capable of doing incredible things.
i learnt the true meaning of charity begins at home today. i am someone who loves going to orphanages and volunteering everywhere, such that my family gets irritated for me not spending enough time at home and always having to trouble them to send me around. and spending today so unafraid of scary dogs that claw at you, smelly poop all over, pee everywhere and demanding people, made me realize that if i don't do this at home, it means nothing. i remember saying at REVAMP that for me, greater things start at home for me, because of how much i neglect my home to do stuff elsewhere. if i can be brave outside, i must be brave enough to deal with dirty toilet bowls at home, lizards like sherman, worms in the garden and tough house cleaning tasks that i would have loved to have done outside for charity. i gotta be the same person there as i am here. and i gotta stop complaining and start doing. JIA YOU CANDICE!!!!
and lastly what really touched me today was the spirit of G8. i love just observing people and at SPCA, seeing everyone smiling doing dirty jobs really warmed my heart. and having mixed groups in the cars also brought us closer together, and i felt that it was so sweet to see people laughing as we were eating lunch, just enjoying each other's company. but above that all, i remember most clearly seeing the pure kindness in each and every one of my classmates hearts. and this reminded me again that when you look closely, people are really, really, REALLY, beautiful. i don't think i'll forget the image of the little boy sleeping on gene's lap, or the boy with his hand around wen shi singing songs as he played the guitar, and elena playing with ganthi(a lady there), and cheau wei with this little girl who really loved her, and raymond dancing with the children there, and everybody else really! i'm just stating a few, but i have never been more proud and blessed to be a part of G8. :) i'm so glad everyone had a good day today and i believe we definitely got at least a little bit closer to each other today. thank You God, for an incredibly unforgettable monday. :)
the best things in life are free,
candice :)
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