The Light We Give.

Monday, January 7, 2008

The journey in Cambodia with the entire missionOPIC family has been nothing less than a pleasure for every single one of us. Honestly, I could not have predicted a more enlightening experience and it is very fortunate that I could share this with everyone there. As i open my cupboard and look at the missionOPIC windbreaker, it is written there: The Light We Give. On the tee: The Light They Need. But exactly how true are these?

As I look upon the above picture, I look at satisfied faces elated at the final contribution that the team has to offer to Kravan Primary. So in that sense, it is the light that we give. Every single effort put in was for those who attend the school. It was not for us, but for them. However, beyond the faces of the missionOPIC members, each of us know that the kids there also had something to give to us; be it the sweets, bangles,drawings or even the simplest of smiles, they have impacted us.

One big learning point that I've learned during the journey coincides with what I personally believe in life.

I believe that everyone -every single one of us- are merely passersby in each others' life. Strangers to each other for the time being. However, in the brief moment that we "bump" into each other, we hold gifts that we share. And these gifts, as mentioned so many times during the trip, are not tangibles, but something intangible.

The gifts are the lessons we learn from one another; from the teachers, tour guides, each other and the children. So to say "the light we give" or "the light they need" is quite unfair to say the least. Everybody involved needed light, and these same people provided the light. So, IF we were to head back there to Kravan Primary at the end of the year, I'm going with a mindset: The Light We Share! =)

Labels: Afiq

reflected at 9:52 PM