An acre in Sri Lanka

"You deviate an inch on the map, you lose a thousand miles on the ground."
Ancient Chinese proverb.

When a woman asks her man, "How do I look?", it means that she is asking, how you do feel about me.

No shortcuts to the journey on which you are going on. I guess that is true for me. I don't want to take a shortcut and then miss it. Nor do I want (who wants?) to lose my focus and then take a longer time to get there. Wondering about Life and what it has in store for me. Growing up seems to be hard. Only a few years back, we still depend on the parents for pocket money, reliance to pay phone bills and stuff. Our holiday jobs was just to supplement our income to buy more new fads. Now, we have to earn our own keep. And in a short few years' time, marriage is on the cards, with kids along the way. How fast the balls keep coming. It's hard to imagine what it would be in a few years' time. How much we all would have changed.

But while I still can, I like to lie in bed and daydream a little, wishing for days where I can just smile and laugh on end, having no significant worries, having a man who loves me, someone I can trust and support if need be. I want to travel so much, the urge is getting increasingly stronger. Meeting Sri Lankan delegates yesterday fuelled another dream in me.

It's been a year. Last year before I had dengue, was volunteering with the video team in the Missions Convention, Adam.

I met this extremely fascinating Sri Lankan youth pastor who was my age. He was a lanky, dynamic guy who used to work as a newscaster. We had planned to talk more, but unfortunately I was down with the fever immediately after volunteering. I remember last year I was pretty peeved at my state of health because I missed my favorite Mark Gorman's speech.

This time, saw a bunch of Sri Lankans sitting in front of us during the service. Kie and Penelope and Fifi were so enthused with talking with them, I was so proud that my folks could offer a bit of Singaporean hospitality. Talked to Julian, Jude, Mitchell(that's the pastor), Natasha, Zaki, David and a few other girls. Hearing their dreams and how God has provided them with money really fuelled my desires to help others reach their dreams. Jul works in HSBC, Sri Lanka, and he earns about sgd $300 a month. I cannot imagine how much they saved, just to get here, and how hard it was. We take things for granted, because we have it too easy. They travel an hour's journey to their church. Yet they have so big dreams - Tash wants to build christian schools as there is none in their predominantly Buddhist country. When my deals come through, I shall definitely help fuel this mission. I have a dream now, too. Of buying a plot of land in Sri Lanka. To build, schools. Churches. Orphanages, etc.

Dr David Grant: Obey (God) and miss it... rather than not obey and miss it.

And I feel something for a certain country now, when I gaze at it's national flag. It seems to jolt me, make me feel something for its people and the places. I wonder... Am I going there soon?

So Canada, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka are now top of my list. If I make friends everywhere, I shall travel the world. On a shoestring budget!