Gotong-Royong!

Lately, I've been thinking of ways to "penetrate" into the community. I have to be honest, it's not easy at all especially in a developed country like Australia, not to mention one of the most livable city in the world: Melbourne!

I always remember I phrase that someone told me back in high school times, "It's very hard to give a present to someone who has everything". Each time I think of something to do, the phrase just pops up. So hard man!!

Today, I came across an article about a church cooperating with the City Hall & DAP to clean Pudu area.

The enthusiastic participants gathered at the church area on Jalan Sayor as early as 8am for the big clean-up. The DBKL provided the equipment and trucks to collect the garbage.

About 150 church members, both old and young, were divided into groups to clean up various segments of Pudu, accompanied by some 50 DBKL workers.

“Pudu is located in the heart of the city and plays an important role in the overall image of Kuala Lumpur as the capital city,” he said.

“At the same time, the project also trains our young people to be conscious and caring of their community,” he said. More

Things are so much easier in less developed or developing countries where there're many more opportunities for us to give something back to the community. In Melbourne, it's almost nothing we can do with what we have now.

We are either under-qualified or less funded when compared to other organisations. Even those who are in needs dare not to accept our assistance. We are dispensable!!

So what does that mean for us? We should do nothing & keeps our heads down? After all, there're really nothing much we can do now that won't be breaking the rules (car wash, gotong-royong in the city, etc) or putting ourselves at risk (child care, aged care, etc)! All those things need special permits or requirements, which we don't have or not eligible to get.

However, Shawnism says we should equip ourselves even more. We are already left behind, we shouldn't be left behind even more! We need to get more certifications, short courses, skills, build more relationships with other non-profit organisations, etc. We need to catch up to the pack and be able to make a difference in the community once again. We need to be significant enough to make a difference. We need to gather our strengths and combine them together!

Next year, I'll be planning to take a few short courses or certificates to do something in the near future. Don't have any concrete plans yet but anything is possible now. Anyone care to join me in this mission to equip ourselves? As for funding, it'll be self-funded for now. Might try to ask from the LCEC? No guarantee. Don't let money stops you!

If necessary, we could even establish a non profit organisation to provide the services to the community. It looks like a big task but all I can say is, it's within reach! So, anyone interested? Let me know!

Remember, the Gospel baton is right in front of our hands, are we going to take the baton or are we going to let it slip through?