Friday, May 09, 2008

So much drama has happened over the past one week that i don't even know where to begin and how much i can really share over the internet. Anyway, here goes:

1. Close shave with Death
A few seconds made the difference between life and death in my family on saturday. I could have been made an orphan or i could have lost one parent in an accident. Apparently some totally reckless and selfish driver beat the red light at a junction, and almost CRASHED into the right side of the car that my folks were in. If my dad had not seen the car coming on his right at the corner of his eye and jam braked, a horrible tragedy could have occurred. When i think about what my folks went through, no words can express how angry i am at that inconsiderate driver. I can only say that GOD PROTECTED MY PARENTS and perhaps it was not their time to leave the Earth yet.
This incident REALLY woke me up from my complacent attitude towards loving and caring for my folks and family. I realized that i have not loved them enough and showed enough care and gentleness towards them in their lives so far. I know that i have not given them what they deserve as well meaning, loving and long suffering parents. If they had died, i would feel intense regret at my actions and behaviour towards them.
I now don't take it for granted that they will be home every day. I used to just believe that they will be home everyday as per normal, and it was so mundane that it became unimportant. But now, cold water has been thrown in my face as i am shown that death CAN happen within my family. There's no such thing as, "It will never happen to me." It CAN happen to you. I now thank God every time i see my parents at home. It's a miracle and a blessing to see them alive and healthy everyday. I will never forget that, and neither should you. Take me seriously. Don't EVER take your loved ones for granted.

2. Lovely Friends
Had dinner and ice cream with a small group of cell mates who were still around after service... And then had good, honest girly chats and chill out session (actually, sunday was darn hot!) from saturday to sunday. Enough said. :-)

3. Official "Internship" at YGOS
I have joined Youth Guidance Outreach Services (YGOS) as a "intern" on a program called Project Servant. Will be serving there for 2 months. Oh man. I don't know where to begin to tell you guys about it. Got so many thoughts swirling around in my head and sometimes i lose them just when i want to pen them down. Argh. The gist is that i will be coming into contact with youths-at-risk, doing stuff like: befriending, going for camps, counselling, facilitating... I'll tell you guys more about what i've been doing and what my thoughts are.
I had a staff retreat from monday to wednesday, and i thank God that i joined them at such a good time. People had time to see who i was, and i had time to get to know others more. I learnt more about what YGOS does and it was enriching.

But not everything was great, and it's not anyone's fault really. Like i said, i'll talk more about that later, IF i can.

4. YGOS - Day 1
Today i had my first day at work and well... time passes really quickly at YGOS! :-) Can't wait to see how i will be interacting with the youths. I haven't officially met any one of them yet.

5. My application got...
While i was sitting at my dining table downstairs, my dad came back from work and stood at the top of the staircase, clinching a stack of letters in the crook of his arm. I spotted an A4 size brown envelope and wondered if it was for me. He stood there longer than usual and said to me: "I think this is your offer letter" with a smile. So i walked up to him and took the envelope and realized that it was from NIE. I wasn't sure if it was really an offer letter since i could not see anything through the transparent plastic window on the envelope that was vaguely related to being accepted. All i saw was: "FULL TIME MASTER..."
While ripping the letter flap, i told my dad, "Skarly it's just a letter to say that i've been (cleanly and promptly) rejected without even a second round of interview...". He just smiled at me, and we both waited in anticipation to see what the document was about.

LO and BEHOLD. I pulled the sheet out and it said...:
"We are pleased to inform you that your application for admission as a full-time candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (Counselling and Guidance) has been successful."

I read that line several times before it hit me that i WAS OFFICIALLY ACCEPTED. I mean... I've been so accustomed to receiving rejection letters from local universities that i was expecting to see something like: "I am pleased to inform you that while you made the first round, we regret that we cannot offer you...."

YES. I AM ACTUALLY GOING TO BE EN ROUTE TO GETTING MY MASTERS IF I JUST ACCEPT THE OFFER!!! WOW!
The idea blows my mind!

I want to stay in hostel leh, for at least one semester. But i heard that only undergrads get guaranteed a place to stay. I admit that i don't actually need a place to stay at all since i don't stay that far away from NIE. But STILL! I want some campus life!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been CRAVING some kind of authentic campus life since forever.

Then again, i have to think about whether i'm really going to take up the offer. Wouldn't it be great though, to do my practicum at YGOS? Hmm, yeah......... ;-D

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh so happy for u. but do think carefully, it is nt easy to deal with children or young adults. i guess my context is different from urs, but i still want to say yeah, working with students is not easy at all.but i guess ur work will be meaningful...well thank god tat ur folks are fine. i thot why u r missing for so long? oh dear, didnt know that happened to ur folks!!

Anonymous said...

so happy fer ya successful masters application!! =) enjoy ya time at YGOS! i believe u shall be the salt and light there =)

love,
kev

Lalalo said...

JO..... rahh i want to stay in the hostel again tooo... but i dont know man, the idea just floats around in my head.... its been floating around since last year, when Jun and I almost stayed together in a hostel.... :P hehe!

Anonymous said...

oh good grief:

yeah, thank God for protecting them. I guess it is not their time to go yet. I'm glad that now i have a chance to stay in Sg to study, cos i wld hate to have something happen to my family while i am away.

and yes, u r right. working with kids isn't easy at all. my hardest task is to come down to their level. argh. just have to love them the way Jesus loves them and do my best to be a friend to them.

kev:

hi kevin, thank you for dropping by to encourage me. i am grateful to have you come by!
i had my first contact time with some young students. my gosh, it wasn't easy. hope that i can carry on in a way that gives me hope that i can still pursue counselling. :-S

lala:

oh man! HEH. it wld be SO cool if we all could get hostel rooms. dont care if far away, as long as we still get to stay at yunnan gardens man!

but after reading some of the requirements and general info of the demand and supply..., i doubt i can get a room. oh well. but i'm still going to try asking. u serious about staying in hostel?

lets make it hip to hand out in NTU! buah hahaha..

Dominic. said...

hey jo...

u mean hip to hanG out in NTU? hahaa...:P

anyways, just felt that this verse is for you:

Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Yeap. This is in view of whatever happenings that you have been experiencing lately. Like i said before, i'm humbly encouraged by your willingness to address issues in life seriously and also your desire to step out of your comfort zone.

i'm sure you're having a fruitful and fulfilling time at YGOS. yep. have fun being a blessing!

cheers! :)

Anonymous said...

oh my goodness! did you confront that horrible God-should-strike-him-down chap?

i would have! stupid driver.

pardon my mild french. haha.

xoxo,
van

Anonymous said...

dom:

yes, i meant hanG out at NTU... yeah man. i wanna make NTU the next hangout place for NTU cell!

looks like it's really likely that i'll be going to NIE. Hm...

Thanks for the verse Dom. It has not been easy for me so far... It helps me a lot to know that God and a fellow bro cares and are encouraging me as i journey along this path for now. Feeling supported! :-D

van:

hahaha....
no, the driver took right off without stopping. guess i'll never know who it was.

Anonymous said...

yo! juz try ya best. no worries aft tat. Jesus tried His best yet not everyone repented =) He will help u to achieve greater things!

Rom 12:18 "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

Jn 14:12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

love,
kev

Anonymous said...

anon:

hey kev,
yes, i'm learning to accept me for who i am and that if this is what God really wants me to do, then i should have no more worries about what i cannot achieve. because once he chosen, no one, not even myself, can take it away, and in his time, i'll be doing whatever he has planned for me and that is enough. :-D

hey, i realized that whatever i've just typed is a bit in line with those verses.