its confirmed. it's final. i am going for the cambodia missions trip this sep. yes and i mean it.this sep 2006. dates are from 1-8 sep. mixed feelings about it initially. my heart is that i've always wanted to go for missions in cambodia. weird right? when my unit always had missions in south thailand, indonesia etc. it just doesn't interest me until 1 sunday..i chanced upon the church bulletin and saw--> cambodia missions! WOW!! my heart was like REALLY!! but it wasn't organised by my sub d.a little skeptical i asked my cg leader, james. can he help me ask if i could go? yes. i finally met up with the leader and found out more. many have asked me..why the interest in cambodia?? i guess the heart was set about 2 1/2 years ago. while i was auditing this client, he wrote a book about his missions trip. and this book was on cambodia. many pictures taken. and @ that moment i felt yes, this is the place i want to go for my short term missions.

about 2 years later, my ex-colleague, francine also went cambodia for missions and she was telling me.."this is the real essence of love." how an elegant girl like her, so glam so neat can just go.and when i saw her photos it was like.."hey francine, you so untidy ah!!" but i could felt the love there which is what the world lacks. actually even after i met up with the leader in charge for the cambodia missions last sunday, my heart was still not sure..until now. i am 100% sure. Cambodia here i come in Sep 2006. why?? Francine shared of her cambodia trip exactly after 1 year she went there...and so coincidentally she posted it up now. The timing is just so right as i am deciding whether i really wanted to go this time round. Francine shared this on her blog...

"Sharing with you one of my life's greatest experiences in all of 25 years...

A picture speaks a thousand words, and how much more if its a picture of God's loveliest creation - Man. What sets us apart from a plant or an animal, is the abilty to embrace love in its entirety of giving and receiving, to nurture and in turn, to remember those who have touched us. Love covers a multitude of sins, it forgives and overcomes, transcending all physical, mental and societal barriers.

Hardened by the brutalities of their every-day lives during the reign of the Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodians of those times knew not what it means to love and to be loved. Unfortunately, the emotional scars endured by them did not diminish over time. Every Cambodian kid we met during the trip had a sad story to tell. Violence had become a way of living, a means of survival. Aggression was the face of many a Cambodian child.

However, looking at the pictures of the the Cambodian kids taken during the games we had organised, I am compelled to think otherwise. What I perceive are reflections of hope and innocence, and the willingness to accept love from those who were ready to give.

Take time to consider this... You are born in a country free of strife, blessed with luxury beyond your basic needs, and surrounded by family and friends. Can life be any better? Yours would be a living paradise to any Cambodian kid. But you are still not happy. Until you take a step back from the deafening competition to ponder over the times you have hurt that scumbag of a colleague with your words and actions, the number of times you have missed a family gathering or lost your friend(s) to pettiness... you will never understand joy.

The only price we have to pay for joy is to simply love. To love your neighbour as yourself, and to love that enemy as much as you do, the neighbour. Because love is sacrificial and giving without expecting to receive, you find more contentment in life and through contentment, joy.
Trust me, you've been blessed in more ways than you know. "

I guess it's all these things that confirm the thought yes, i am going. This time round, i am going to leave behind my make up, my beautiful clothes, my gucci bag and get out of my comfort zone. This is what i want to experience, the real essence of love. guess this time round, it will be my turn to be to be reduced to a state of disarray, unkempt hair, mismatched clothes, unflattering poses and the list goes on...But being a mission/volunteer is never about looking glamarous 24/7, it's about reaching out with a genuine heart and soul. *smiles*