Lancaster City & Listening Well

I just took a shower but my hair's still wet so I can't go to bed yet.

The heatwave that hit our area this week is still hanging around and the air still feels a little thick tonight. Unfortunately, I can't help but feel a little apprehensive at this reminder of what Singapore's humid air feels like on a daily basis. So here I go again... longing for what I do not have (snow, please!)?

Anyway, I drove Steph to Millersville University last night where she had to take an exam this morning.

At 07:20 sharp I put on my running shoes and went jogging around the neighbourhood. It was a tad creepy since nobody was out on the street and I felt as if people were watching me from their windows. As a result, for the rest of the morning, I dared not to step out of the house but waited inside instead for Steph to come back. I spent the whole time reading, sleeping and watching a part of Lion King.

The thing is, the special edition Lion King DVD that I watched included a new song called "Morning Report" and it totally spoiled the scene! I mean, it's a nice song and all but that's not the Lion King I memorised as a teenager. My childhood memories felt violated for a second there.

It was 37 Celsius outside and the 18 Celsius inside the house made it a whole lot more welcoming.

Steph came back and we drove off to Lancaster City. I felt like a tourist with a camera. As usual.

Before we got to Lancaster City, I tried to imagine what it would look like and to be honest I wasn't expecting much. I thought it would be more or less like a sleepy old Pennsylvanian town. I was quite surprised to see some familiar Jersey City-reminscent sights like Spanish billboards and grated windows.

They gave me an odd sensation of being at home. Guess Jersey City rubs off on you after a while.

But Steph is right. Every city is so different and has its own personality and culture. Lancaster City was definitely in a league of its own.

Met up with her friend Hilary for lunch.

Spyro Gyros.

You should have seen Hilary's face when her gigantic plate of food arrived. Nobody expected it to be so large and colourful.

My lamb and beef gyro was really good, but had none of that New York City grease that I was half-expecting to taste.

The drive back home wound through scenic Amish country. We passed quite a few horse buggies on the way.

Mummy cooked an amazing dinner as always. She doesn't know it, but I thought it was very delicious.

Stir-fried prawns.

豆芽。

Another weekend gone by. Spent.

I actually really appreciate the past few weeks of growing spiritually with Steph. I feel like we really got to know each other better through our countless conversations with and about God and I learnt so much from her too.

One thing that she has taught me, or reminded me of, is to stop cutting people off in conversation. Steph once mentioned how one of her pet peeves is when people cut her off in the middle of her speaking and I've been watching myself ever since. To my utter dismay, I discovered that I LOVE to cut people off in conversation and that I do it all the time without even thinking about it! I guess that's something I'll have to work on from now on.

I want to be a good listener because I can learn more from others by listening well than by speaking well anyway.

Bis dann, auf wiedersehen!

VBS & Running

For this whole week, I am volunteering my time for Vacation Bible School (VBS) which is happening from 18:00 to 20:30 every night at the church. The kids who come range from preschoolers to eighth graders... I think? And I'm there to help with the first graders (6-7 year olds).

I must say, even though kids aren't the first thing that would naturally pop into my mind when it comes to ministry, I've definitely gotten a lot out of the past two days. Since I knew that kids weren't naturally my thing, I prayed before VBS that God would give me the patience and guidance to deal with whatever situations came my way. And to my utter surprise and amazement, God has given me so much more.

I see so much potential in these children. I see their hearts and minds and what they think and long for. But most importantly, God has given me a heart for the children- especially the ones who are quiet and timid. I love to draw them out in conversation and to see some kind of emotion flicker across their faces for a moment. Now I truly see how rewarding a child's smile can be.

The cool thing is that, the kids aren't the only ones learning things from their time at VBS.

I was feeling very low today, having disappointed God once more. I was so scared that I was starting to backslide and didn't even feel like praying for forgiveness anymore. I thought to myself- "God isn't going to keep forgiving me. He's probably sick of me slipping and falling all the time". I felt worthless and weak. Degraded and stupid.

But when I was sitting among the children listening to the lesson today, the speaker said something that almost brought tears to my eyes.

She said: "Does God love you when you do something wrong? Yes! Does God like it when you keep doing wrong things? No! But remember that no matter what happens, God will always love you."

I prayed in my heart that the little boy sitting next to me who had been silent most of yesterday and today would feel God's love. Yet at the same time, I felt my heart jump at this simple message.

Wow. God loves me no matter what!

I need more and more of this assurance each day. Ever since two weeks ago when I've really been engaged in prayer with C.L.I.M.B., things have not been going too smoothly. While God is answering prayers left and right, Satan is also trying to get in between us.

I know how important it is to keep praying for everyone else, but I also really hope that someone out there is praying for me. I really need it.

With that said, a heatwave is headed our way towards the end of this week, which means I won't get as much running at all. On Monday (it was 33 Celsius out); I felt really really really dizzy by the end of my four-mile run. The drive back was brutal because I felt so weak at times it was hard to turn the wheel. I think that's an indication that running in the predicted 38 Celsius weather this Thursday would not be a good idea.

Till then...