Give them roots and wings

This month we participated in two Touch Community Services (TCS) events. The first was on 10 Oct 15 – the MAD Race which was to raise awareness for Depression. We walked for 2.5km along Palawan Beach on Sentosa (Runners ran for 5km).

Elias had school band practice so he could not join us, but all the kids got up at 6:30am on a non-school day, and got out of the house by 7:15am, just like on a school day.  I was so proud of them. We have come a long way from the days when they would grumble and whine and drag their feet.

We got rainbow bands!
Elkan arranged them according to the colours of the rainbow.
(See, they match with the order on the banner!)
We had a great time walking and just chatting away.

Besides the walk, we had the chance to decorate our own Singa! I loved that activity. Thank you SKM (Singapore Kindness Movement)!

I made a “Little heart” Singa.
Edmund made a “Sporty” Singa,
and Samuel made a “Rainbow” Singa!
Elkan had no interest in this.
But he went around the booths
learning about the symptoms and stigma of depression

The second was on 17 Oct 15, where Samuel took part in his 3rd flag day. (I didn’t remember, he was the one who remembered). It is always good going out on donation drives with little children, because people like giving to children and so it is always a more pleasant experience with better outcomes.

But it is also great fun bringing the children out on flag days because they are always so enthusiastic, especially Samuel.

He wanted to wear his MAD Race T-shirt.
And I happened to have gotten some bananas for breakfast.
And he had a minion (albeit fading) tattoo on his right hand.
And he happened to have a pair of yellow sunglasses in the car.
Put all these together and we have a little minion with us.

He worked with Edmund for 2 hours around Hougang MRT station.

Samuel came to join me at the tail end of the 2 hours.
By that time he was very tired.
He gamely agreed to “help” me get more donations, which he did!
One lady rejected him, but came back to donate.
Another man had donated earlier on and walked away,
but later turned back and said he would donate again for him!
I call this the “minion” effect.

Then we took a 2 hour break during which we had lunch and traveled back home. We continued for another 1 hour in our block. Samuel gamely followed Edmund again.

We weighed our collection.
Edmund collected the most,
because Samuel was with him most of the time.
We had a neighbour who gave us 1/3 jarful of coins!
We let Samuel slot the coins in.

In 2012, I wrote about the TCS (Touch Community Services) Ultimate Hawfest Fest, and some other TCS volunteering work we had done previously. It was so nice seeing the children’s old photos. I am sure that two years down the road, I will be delighted to read this post and see their photos too.

My older boys do not follow us on flag days anymore. They have their own small groups and it is their leaders who take care of them now (*Phew*) so that’s what they did today.

I hope they will be ok, but I am rather confident of that because both Elkan and Elias had volunteered to do street collections previously, and they liked it.

Yes, they had VOLUNTEERED for that street collection, at their own initiative. When I first heard it from Elkan, I could not believe my ears.

As parents, we do everything we can to bring our children up to have initiative in doing good deeds, but when they actually do them, we are incredulous. Sheesh. Sorry boys, I know mummy embarrasses you and maybe causes you to feel discouraged with such display of lack of confidence and belief in you, but hey, confidence takes time to build…

For all the good which we encourage our kids to do all through their growing-up years, we actually never know when it becomes something which is really in their heart and from their heart. I have this secret (well, not so secret now) desire, that my children will become like the girl who spoke at the UN at age 17, or that boy who died for Jesus at age 15. Or closer to home, but an older person – a doctor who went to China for 8 years as a medical missionary.

I want them to be great, and to do great things. I don’t need them to be famous, or to become rich. But I want them to be able to make a difference.

It is not so that they can make me proud, but because I love them, as much as I love this world. There are great needs in the world, and someone needs to meet them. Why should those someones not be my sons? If that happens, it will be the marriage of the two loves of my life, and that will be my greatest dream come true. I think that is God’s heart too. He wants all His children to love the world, and be wiling to die for the world the way His firstborn son, Jesus did.

Well, we didn’t save the world, like the Avengers did (haha. Sorry for the lame joke) and we didn’t die for anyone this round. But we had fun supporting TCS.

Children, may you fall in love with serving the needs of the world. May it burn deep within your soul.