Missions Trip To China 23rd Nov- 3rd Dec 2007

Dear Lord,

Thank you so much for this trip and for the experiences that I felt throughout this period of time. Many times, I could have been defeated and fell along the way, if not for YOU and for all the people who were our prayer warriors supporting us all the way...I would not have made it...

First day - 23rd Nov Friday
Could not sleep the whole night, been packing and planning and praying the whole time, so afraid that I would miss out on anything during the trip. Barely slept two hours when I jumped out of bed at 5 a.m and started printing some last minute pictures which I need for the Games Day on Sunday. Kept receiving frantic calls from Xiu Qin to quickly rush to the airport for check in. The whole day consisted of waiting for transit in between planes from Singapore to Bangkok then from Bangkok to Kunming and finally our destination.
Kept praying throughout the whole trip for all the people I left for a short while back in Singapore, God to move in my heart, God to speak to me specifically regarding the missions work and how I could contribute in this trip. Guess all the tiredness and sickness that I brought along from Singapore did not really help...feel jetlag and having a runny nose all the time...will it stop?
The whole flying thing took us to 7 plus in the evening. We were all greeted by really cold weather of between 0-3 degrees Celsius!
People from the orphanage that we were visiting came to pick us and we had a sumptuous dinner of jiao3 zi4! yum!

Day Two - 24th Nov Sat



Went to walk around the "Old City" (gu3 cheng2) as a tour...had a taste of freshly picked strawberries...man they were so sweet and delectable, we forgot all about hygiene and just kept popping them into our mouths after buying from the tribal ladies along the roadside. They were the sweetest strawberries I have EVER eaten, fresh some more. Took a lot of sights and sounds of the city...must really see for yourself to appreciate Yunnan's varied cultures and the 22 different tribes! The Naxi women are considered to be the more female-dominated tribe, whereby the women are made head of the household! Men are not expected to do any menial work and ladies would have to be garang and take charge of everything..check out my photo links for details! :P A short but very meaningful cultural lesson here.The girls are so forthcoming that some of our dear brothers in the team had their fair share of attention from the girls! Carol and I digged at them "We are VERY SAFE here in this part of China!" tee heee heee...:P



Made a trip to the school in the afternoon and had lunch with the children. Was very impressed by their cultural performances put up. Some of the kids even took me around their school compound and their dominitories. We were already beginning to be very impressed by their strong sense of survival and hearing their many sad stories of how their parents died, our hearts were already very moved and many of us ready to want to do something in the lives of these kids.

We were hosted very well by Francis a Singaporean who forsaken everything he had to work at the orphanage and "Hu2 Mama" a very dedicated and capable lady who single-handedly set up the orphanage more than 20 years ago. She went to the extremes to "collect" all these orphans from all the hill tribes of China, and as we listened to how she trusted God despite all her difficulties faced with the authorities and in getting the finances - 3 million Yuan a year, to run the orphanage we were all in awe. She is certainly one amazing lady with a big heart.

We were treated to a sumptuous meal at the end of the day at a small hotel and restuarant ran by the secondary school branch of the orphanage. The orphanage also provided for the children a chance for them to earn cash and to run a small business for their living.



Hu2 Ma ma Sharing her testimony of how God healed her of her illness to enable her to carry on the work at the orphanage

The secondary school branch of the orphanage where the kids blessed us with their marvelous cooking! A "Dai" Tribe boy presented us a tribal song!

Day Three - 25th Nov Sunday


Lovely shot of me, Carol, Guang Rong and baby Wang Rui! She was the doll of the team every day!


Me with the Primary 3 children who showed me around.

Had a serious lesson from the Lord today: SURRENDER. And what it really means to me.

Just after lunch, I already felt terrible, was so stressed the previous night that we all stayed up in the cold and chilly guys' room on the second floor of the inn that we stayed in, planning the flow of this big "Games Day" and preparing all the materials. It was supposed to be me being the overall in charge, little did I know that I was to be so tested and so weak at the onslaught of the things that were to happen.

I saw Auntie Mag, whom I felt was like my Samaritan for the whole trip, and she commented that I looked very pale and weak. Sat me down at the steps leading to the school hall, and provided me with hot water and medication. I was so weak that words cannot describe how I felt. She rubbed my back and my whole head just went burst. I could no longer think straight and I know that I was living in a whirl for that good one hour in the cold wind, lying on the lap of Auntie Mag in the cold wind. Auntie Mag herself was down with bad gastric pains. If you all are talking about spiritual attacks...I think we were really struck down, just hours before the big event where I had to run the games for the whole school...I prayed very hard underneath my breath.

Francis saw the both of us and kindly offered us his room to rest. That was the beginning of the failing of my health from that point onwards. Shortly after I laid myself down to rest, I threw up all my breakfast, lunch and whatnots. I had not vommitted in years! Aunt Mag stood by me, caring for me, and I really prayed for God to help me, prayed for the people whom I had briefed to to be able to run the rest of the show. I was so so weak that there was a strong battle within me, I want to run the show but my body cannot take it. There at that point, God showed me: Surrender to Him. All my worries and concerns and how the thing is going to turn out. The pictures you see below and above are taken are after my "vommiting" saga. Praise God for sustaining me!

I continued to monitor the running of the games after resting for a few hours in the room until I know I was nearly fainting at the very last part the finale Telematch, too weak to even carry the prizes that we had prepared for the children. That was when my stubborness had taken the toll on me - I have to leave it the hands of Guang Rong, Nic, Carol and Peiqi and Siew Qin to finish what was started for me...I really have to let go...It was certainly a very humbling experience if you ask me. To be so weak and totally dependent of people to save me and to assist me. Thank God for the rest of the team that day and for God to preserve me!

Surrendering really means, leaving it all to the hands of HIM, who would run the show for you, who would ensure you that everything to go according to HIS PLAN not your plan, after you have prayed over the thing and committed the result in His hands. The more you try to hold on to something that God had intended for something better, the more you would struggle. I saw the beauty of allowing God to run things according to His plans that lovely afternoon in Lijiang, and I was truly falling at His feet all over again. To have tried to control the timing and the smooth flow of the program that I had orginally intended would have really marred the children's fun and experience of the whole event.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."
~Proverbs 16:9



Photo collage of the Telematch - Check out the children's faces!
To be continued...