eye-opener

Okay the mundane thing first: shopping.

Initially I thought my parents wanted to do CNY shopping i.e. getting all the goodies and stuff, like candy, confectionery and other crunchy, chewy, crumbly things. But no, Expo sales come first. Especially if it's the second last day and it's so close to our place (yet we don't exploit that enough). So we shopped instead for New Year clothing and all. Come to think of it, it was the first time I remember I did serious clothes shopping for the New Year. Hm. That is either a good thought, or a really bad one.

Anyhow, I'm amazed at what an amazing shopper I am! HAHAHA. I'm so serious, really. I immediately (and accurately) zoomed in on all the best deals, the deals that boasted at least more than 50% off their price tags. Okay, I know I'm el cheapo and all, but I'd rather blow a lot on food than on clothing. My tastebuds deserve the best.

And I was a prolific shopper compared to the FATHER and even the MOTHER. Just goes to show how little we shop. I think I scored around, hm, ten or eleven items within one and a half hours for both the BROTHER and myself. A big apology to the salespeople there though; I left big messes of clothing in my wake as I flitted around (who asked them to put the S's and M's at the bottom of the pile?!).

Okay, on to the more exciting bit of my day - the eye-opening bit, in a good way of course.

So the MOTHER knows a few friends committed in the area of community service, and we were invited to attend an orientation of the place around HS. HS is basically an organisation first initiated by a few doctors to cater to the local migrant worker community, and has now expanded to include quite a few charitable and commendable services, such as medical consultations, counselling, English lessons, and walk-abouts around the area i.e. Geylang, all to further extend His kingdom. I know some Singaporeans may be thinking "Geylang?! All the sex workers hanging around there; what a seedy place to be in!" and all. But hey, from what I saw tonight, there is a need there, and some people need to fill that need. Besides, the food is good and cheap there.

So okay, one part of the programme entailed a walk-about, where I was in the group that was to visit a dormitory housing Indian migrants. We walked through plenty of backlanes to get there, and obviously chanced upon many a sex worker, and other foreign workers just lazing there, either engaging in conversation or having their supper. But we were turned away when we reached; they were 'busy'. Fortunately, we managed to enter another dormitory in a shophouse. In it, there was a room that supposedly housed ten of them, with a rent that was quite reasonable, compared to more exorbitant rents that are said to exist for other migrant workers, even up to $200 a month just for a bed and a toilet shared by seventeen others. This is compounded by often unhygienic conditions (you'll never imagine the extent of it until you see it) and danger lurking everywhere, from unreasonable/abusive employers/pimps to thieving/violent co-workers.

And it was surprising that they were so eager for us to pray for them! One of them wanted us to pray for his niece that had undergone open heart surgery that very day. And out of the seven or so of us in the room, he asked ME to pray, bypassing even the person-in-charge that guided us around the area. Of course I gladly obliged. (:

Later on as we left, I realised that this was what encapsulated "missions at our doorstep", a phrase sometimes overly used (I feel) by some churches. There are so many opportunities for many Christians and non-Christians alike to serve the community in this area; many of the foreign workers here are in so much need for a friendly face among the community, and in just that hour and a half, I noticed the dire void between the citizenry and these foreign workers. It really explains, unfortunately, the Serangoon Gardens incident.

But the world will be a better place.