our recent trip

it was hot and dry before for years

small yet steady flow of water changed every thing

The grand things are very commonly originated from small thing . The small thing which God made and giving it to us can be a mighty thing if we are using it wisely and properly . We were so desperate about getting water for our dry farm and with the blessing that we have been receiving in the form of small yet so steady flow of water has made a very big impact to so many of us . The water which flowing not more than 5 cm in its diameter has changed our dry land into a very fertile soil. Not only to the soil but we have been able to revive some villagers by involving them on our farming effort. As I am writing this blog entry ( its 2 05 am Singapore time) , Peggy and the villagers are still at the farm doing the rice harvest . It is our first ever rice harvest and this is the result of working together with the villagers. It is very common for the people over there doing this rice harvest right through the night. This harvest was made possible because of the water source as seen in the picture above. Size wise is not so big but if we are manage it properly it can produce mighty thing, we have proven it with this first harvest. It is the same as what God has given us in the form of our brain , so small yet it can produce mighty things. So may be we can say that every thing from Him can be easily wasted but if we are using it or manage it properly , it can produce mighty things. The same thing for our life , regardless what and who we are , we can do mighty things ( because of Him).

Peggy helping to cut the paddy

Collecting the cut paddy

the locals who are helping the harvest

more paddy to be harvested

me and our beautiful yet delicious rice will be

Indeed we do not feel bored nor tired too fast upon doing the harvest . Satisfaction and happiness made us possible to work around the clock quite easily . What we enjoy most has been our togetherness upon doing things together like the land clearing, the water flow arrangement to the farm , flipping the soil , planting the rice, planting the corn etc etc including eating at our farm that is eating our freshly cut Kang Kong ( water spinach) , our own corn and making the side dishes. Do not ask where we do the cooking , it is right at the farm under the trees and under the moon with woods on stones that we found it on the farm. Simply so simple meals and preparations but so " Yummy " as we are doing it together.

our own Kang Kong

harvesting the Kang Kong for dinner

cleaning the Kang Kong

some spices for the Kang Kong

mud crab as the other side dishes

any one want some of these delicious crab

Again all of these above were made possible because of the blessings that we are receiving in the form of Artesian Water , Praise The Lord.

This harvest is the first wave and we are going to have the second and the third harvest soon . May be in 3 weeks apart that we are going to do the harvest at our other farm. It is not a small job even for just the harvest so you can imagine the work that must be done about the soil flipping and looking after the farm from damaging insects and others things like keeping the birds away and locus. It will be a huge tasks too upon fertilizing the soil regardless with cow dunk or the basic fertilizer that are needed for the plant to grow well. Looking back about our efforts towards a good harvest it is worth it to do all the tasks for a good harvest that we are having. From planting the trees to the harvest time is about 100 days at the average.

the second wave of the harvest will be

the third wave of our harvest will be at Oefafi farm

I met with sis Wendy Shiao the other day at STC ( Singapore Airlines Training Center) , over our simple lunch she told me that she was opening the Bible the night before and found Isaiah 58 : 10-11. What has been experienced by us upon running the orphanage is simply the manifestation of these two bible verses. It is so precise and exactly what has happened ,as it has been to us and as what was written in the Bible . Praise The Lord for doing His part and making us capable to achieve the intended goals that we wanted to reach.

This a note that Naomi made for us about her trip. She is surely some kind of beautiful and talented child

Visiting Roslin Orphanage in Kupang, Indonesia (22~27 March 2008)

On 22 March 2008, my father and I took two planes to get to Timor from Singapore.The first stop was Surabaya and next destination was a town called Kupang.

When we reached there, it was 9:20pm. Uncle Budi who is the founder of Roslin Orphanage picked us from the airport. Next day, we started to explore the orphanage. (www.roslinorphanage.org).

I found that the orphanage was very farm-type.

There were cows, deer which is very queer. There were also interesting animals which happened to be on the farm. They were geese, pigs, chickens with chicks, roosters, and an eagle with a chain around it’s leg. My two favorite farm animals were the cows and the chicks. Although the mother hen did not let me stroke the chicks, they seemed so adorable! I think some farm animals have jobs and also can be eaten so that they do not need to buy meats from wet-markets all the time. But the eagle, which is an wild animal was saved by uncle Budi.

With happy children

All of the orphans looked very happy. From one month old baby to a 12 years old child, I noticed they did everything as a group. When a child sits, everybody begins to sit and when a child starts to sing, everyone follows. When I stare at them, they stared back to me for long time! When I compare these orphans from Singapore children, they seem happy with simple things and are the most laughable children. When my father took out his mobile phone, many orphans came rushing down to see the object with curious eyes. On 25^th March, we went to a house quite near by.

with Uncle Budi visiting baby Martina's home

There was an infant whose mother gave up the baby because her family is very poor. Uncle Budi took me to the mother’s house to visit and help them. I was looking around quietly with a little shock. The roof was made of straws, no tiles on the floor, no gas to cook, no electricity and they did not have a bed to sleep. I was wondering about their daily food as I looked at their skinny mother. There was no toilet in the house as we have in Singapore. They used their corn field to go to the restrooms. While I was there, uncle Budi and his friends built a bed for the family. I was happy to see their smile.

such a quality time with my daddy

some kind of quality time with the orphans

happy together even though with just one ball

Next day, we went to the beach with all the orphans to play soccer. We went along well until unexpected rain came so; we went to the farthest part of the beach and dug for water. After that, we played soccer again. That evening, when I went to my room and settled down, I decided to go back to the orphanage. I went there to go to the library to read books. I was delighted to see that the library also had English books. There were actually two libraries in the orphanage. Both libraries needed more books to be completed. He and his friends was helping to sort some books while I was reading the books. Uncle Budi’s dream is to open a school for the orphans one day. Through this trip, I learn that we must be more thankful for what we have. Sometimes we complain easily about homework and test, but now I know that it is so privilege to study without any worries. I was able to talk to the orphans in Bahasa quite little. In the future, when Uncle Budi opens a school, I want to visit them to help the school. Therefore, it is good to study for myself and I can see that I can share my knowledge to someone who needs too.

p/s: my father took some pictures of the trip, please feel free to click the link below to view.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icysDdsOfUc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icysDdsOfUc

http://picasaweb.google.com/chasl77/KupangMarch22To272008

me and my dad

It was so great for having Hux with us. It was so great to have such a fine young man willing to spend his time for others . Congrats to sis Karen Kang (the Past President of Rotary Club Seranggon Garden of Singapore) and hubby for a great up bringing to her son and daughter. For Hux , the orphanage is always welcoming him to come and to share . Thank you for your visit ( this time) and surely we will be delighted to have you again with us. Anyway here is what Hux has written to us .

Trip to West Timor, Kupang

by Lim Hui Xiang ( Hux)

Avocado earing or horn ?

The experience I have been through at West Timor, Kupang is truly amazing. Uncle Bud, Aunty Peggy, O-pa Cornelis & Mas Lief have been truly kind and patient with me. I really appreciate the hospitality that they have showered upon me. I really would like to thank them from the bottom of my hearts. To me, they are like parents to me, taken good care of me while I was there. Always considerate, always encouraging. Uncle Bud & Peggy taught me many things, i.e. the positive thinking in life, harvesting skills, how to cut open an enormous TUNA, the process of making the brown sugar…..

The meeting of Daniel and his beautiful daughter, Naomi have been wonderful. Daniel shared some really personal experience both about love & relationships and being a Captain of 777. The harvesting of the peanuts was tough work but together with Uncle Bud we have completed just one small piece of the whole big field!! Naomi-ya, too, shared a lot of her favorite jokes and have been entertaining to see her everyday! I must say she is one hyperactive girl who loves Alvin & the Chipmunks! They are like part of a family to me so when they depart for Singapore, I kind of miss them.

The short one day of interaction with Uncle Alan and Aunty Catherine was fantastic as we traveled to the far-away field, 5km deep into the rocky roads and experience the fascinating sight of this huge padi field. Uncle Alan better not post the plant fertilizer (me) online. According to Uncle Bud, he is very focused at work who commands respect from colleagues. That point I would not know but one thing is for sure, and that is he is a friendly and humorous person who is at the same time totally committed to the God together with his partner, Catherine. They are really interesting to observe and I like the way they knew each other. Catherine’s appearance made me felt Singapore as the ‘lah’, ‘leh’ and ‘lor’ came out from her mouth. It was really a pleasure to meet them.

The people at Roslin orphanage are the best! Nadap, Nickson, Antonis Oki, Philton, Fridg, Marta, Trish, Pina, Sari, Diana and the kids! Initially when the kids first saw us, they were so curious about us yet shy. So in the end wherever we went, they would follow us and just sit down and keep quiet. The interesting fact is once we manage to make one happy, the rest joined in. The atmosphere totally changed in an instant.

There is a certain hierarchy that we noticed at the orphanage. The teenagers who are aged above 12 are tasked to do household chores within the orphanage while those below 12 will be hanging around enjoying their everyday with the rest of the kids. I must admit I am surprised at the maturity that Edu, Lodi, Michael and Pretti. These 4 have showed great deal of responsibility when it comes to taking care of the little ones. They are answerable for the safety of the younger kids and this is a very good example of instilling responsibility to the kids when they are young.

Sorting out toys and wearing the toy sun glasses

cement for the new building

The greatest fulfillment was to get the library there sorted out. Thanks to the 3 musketeers, Uncle Budi, Daniel and me! Initially, I thought to myself, ‘wah, so many boxes of books ah, this time jia lat liao’ But I am always reminded to tell myself, everything is possible. So just start doing it, who knows what will happen. So after arranging the library, I told myself never to look down on the librarians. It is seriously no joke to arrange that MANY books! We cleaned up the place, arrange the books according to their category, put up the big learning posters, and created the dust protection for the books within the shelf. So when everything was done up, our dearest Papi took the kids to the library and had an English lesson about, ‘What time is it?’ It’s really cool as there was this great deal of satisfaction when I see the kids enjoying their reading time in the library.

tiding up the library book shelves

Daniel Cha at the library

cleaning the crab together with captain Alan Chan

chased by the girls

helping to fill up the water when the pump was not working

I also enjoyed the harvesting of corn and peanuts with Uncle Budi and Daniel as we seriously got ourselves big time dirty with the work we have done in the field. I still cannot imagine how the thief manages to steal the peanuts plants in that pitch black field during the night. Impressed! But, still tough work in the field but enjoyed the sweat and everything. Corn just plucked from the plant taste better then the cooked version of it, trust me. Also, a message to my fellow friends, Peanuts is head to come by, so do not waste them! Finish every single one of it! Fruits at Kupang are super fresh. In fact, everything in Kupang is fresh! I just simply love the life there!

guarding the farm

At Roslin, it is like a training camp for Singaporean kids like me who are so pampered and used to the lifestyle at Singapore! I highly recommend this trip to my friends as it trains you to endure the mosquitoes, teaches you how to clean crabs and savor them after a hard day’s work. Cleaning tuna is one of the most fun skills. Thanks to Peggy teasing me, I manage to help her cut up some fishes while being laughed at most of the time, i.e my sitting posture, the way I held my knife and how big a piece I cut! I am so sorry aunt Peggy but I am learning and doing my best.

As the happy times at Roslin pass, news came to me that I need to return back to Singapore to help my dad’s business. Suddenly, there was this sad feeling that I have to leave the place. Somehow I managed to forge this bond with the people there and starting to live the way they lived. It is an undeniable fact that this trip has been truly worthwhile and it makes one feel that one have not wasted their time!

soccer with Michael at the beach

no problem on handling a newly born baby

free lesson from teacher Hux

Once again, I would like to thank Uncle Budi and Aunty Peggy for all that they have given to me and to the kids at Roslin. Salutes*

at Tenau port

sad goodbye with Fritz and Nikson at 05 30 am

Just come and join us

taking a shot at the beach

Naomi sharing her musical skill with the orphans

We can be enjoying our time together or making a quality time together with just being together and making some interactions together . It can be with a ball without talking but playing foot ball with the children at the beach or taking them to the new class room seeing all the books and toys that are available. If you have the time , you may just try to do a puzzle together with the children or may be simply to teach them some basic knowledge of colors or numbers to the preschool children. It was so great for me and my wife Peggy for having the assistance of bro Daniel Cha , his gorgeous daughter Naomi and Hux with us , they were able to interact with the children on so many thing which making the children not only happy but also learning a lot from them .

simple ball can be a great thing if we are playing together

We were also so happy doing the orphanage's cleaning together , pulling up the peanut trees , getting the corn and also playing by the beach with the children. It can be going to the wet market , to the fish market , cleaning fish etc. It has been enjoying moment every time we are preparing our meals together . Hux even practicing some new skills of cleaning the tuna fish and helping to steer up some cooking in the kitchen. He also sharing his time and knowledge with the older children about doing their English ome work( while learning some Indonesian language at the same time from the orphanage's children).

watching Peggy to clean up fish

practicing what has been learn

helping to prepare our lunch

singing with the children

bro David and the local villagers at Oehala

joy joy joy  we have some computers to learn from

It must have been a hard time if I am doing the library arrangement by my self but with the help of bro Daniel Cha and Hux the hard work can be over came without too much problem . The main problem is that non of us are librarian ha ha ha . It is not easy to be one and really a time consuming job to arrange books and other things inside the library. Specially for Naomi , she is enjoying the animals that we are having like feeding the cows , the deer and also she was so much into book reading. She finished a book per day at least. With her interest of reading I am sure that she will be a very bright and successful person in the future. I have been telling the orphanage's children to learn from her about the strong demand of reading books . By doing so we can improve our knowledge and views about life. I hope that they will do it and really willing to improve them self by reading more books.

Bro Alan Chan came with his wife Catherine , their visit is really a big encouragement for me and Peggy to do better in so many things. He is a person who does not have a lot of time but he was willing to come and visit us which by distance we are almost 4 hours by a plane.

Bro Alan ans sis Catherine's visit

Thank you to bro Alan and sis Cath for your visit. Bro Alan Chan is not one of my boss in SIA flight operations but he was also the president for FCAP of Singapore( Fellowship of Christian Airlines Personnel) for 4 years and through FCAP we have been helped by a continuous support to the orphanage by sharing some our orphanage's running cost every month which handled by sis Ann Lee and sis Wendy Shiou . Thank you FCAP , thank you bro and sis , thank you for your visits and care to the little and unfortunate one.

When bro David Eliathambi and bro Leo came , they have been a huge help for the children by setting up a computer lab which the children can do a lot of things upon practicing them self with more computer skills and education matters through the computers. It was only a day the computers were set up properly and we were having also a quality time with the children by a picnic at the beach .

having a quality time with the little ones

Bro David was the only one came with us to the spring water up at the mountain , it is called as OEHALA spring water. Prior going to the spring water we were preparing our own meals and it was so great to have the meal just by the street side with the drink of huge coconut which freshly opened.

swimming at the Oehala spring water

At the orphanage we are also trying to improve the skills of the older children. We are encouraging them to visit more to the library beside the routine house chorus . We are also asking them to learn some of the mechanical thing like fixing our own motor cycle and upon doing it we ask a mechanic friend to teach them by rebuilding an old motor cycle as if a total reconstruction.

Mechanic Ferry is trying to teach the older ones with some skills training