Is It Really Free?

Was just discussing some topics tonight and this phrase came out of my mind, not claiming any credit for it :P

Nothing comes free or cheap, it's at the costs of others

We, as typical Asians, are bargain hunters. We like to see the word "Mega Sales", "Closing down sales", and best of all "FREE"! Our eyes will hardly notice words like "Charity", "Donations" and not to mention "volunteer work".
But how many times do we ever think of how others are affected by the free or cheaper things? Do we ever care or know the consequences of others?

Imagine these few scenarios:
1. For fundraising purposes, they offer free BBQ hot dogs. Most Asians would just go for the hot dogs and ignore other stuffs for donations!
2. Shop has very few customers though we like the stuffs inside. We just wouldn't buy it. We wait for the "Closing down" sales to take advantage of the cheaper price.

The organiser or owner are bearing all the costs of the "free" or "discounted" items. They're either cutting profit or making a loss. So, in a way, I pity them.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not encouraging your to buy expensive items and feel good about it. There're unscrupulous businessmen out there trying to con consumers by baiting high retail prices.

It's totally up to your own judgement to see whether those things are worth the price or not. If it's worth the price, buy it and support them. Don't keep bargaining for the price. Be smart in making decisions.

Think about it, they need to make a living too. Don't squeeze the life out of them.

Stop The Traffik

Went to Crossway again today for the Sunday service at 11am. Guess who is the speaker today? Steve Chalke, yes it's him! It's almost unbelievable to see him in person in such a personal way. For most of us from the Chinese background, we wouldn't have a clue of who is this Steve Chalke. Maybe we know Steve Jobs from Apple more. Here're some brief info about Steve Chalke from Wikipedia:

Steve Chalke (MBE, UN.GIFT Special Advisor on Community Action against Human Trafficking) is a prominent, and often outspoken, Christian leader and social activist based in the UK, and an ordained Baptist minister. He is best known as the founder of Oasis Trust and Church.co.uk. He is the author of numerous books and articles as well as a regular presenter and contributor on television and radio programmes. In 2004 he was awarded an MBE for his services to social inclusion by the Queen.^[1]

He was raising awareness for us about human trafficking. He's really a good speaker, perhaps one of the best I've listened to so far. You don't feel tired listening to him, in fact, you're hoping that time would slow down for him to speak more. Stop The Traffik is one of the organisations that he founded.

One of the good points that he made was about how the church has been made redundant by the governments around the world in terms of "providing the service" to the people. The government has been getting all the professionals to replace most of the works that churches have started. However, government today are struggling to cope or keep up the service and are looking to give back some of it to the churches. Well, this particularly happens in London where he's from. The point is, churches are not made to be confined by the 4 walls, we as Christians should be out there in field providing love and service to the needy. Without that, we are not doing what God has told us to do. Felt so relief that the message he brought today was the same message I've been trying to convey to my fellow church members though I think I'm not as influential as Steve, so my message went to deaf ears! :P

I felt more and more burdened as the days gone by. I think I've told some of you that I was going to plan to start an organisation or movement myself if our church didn't have a change of pastor in 2009. Now that we have a new pastor, the burden is still great in my heart. Not sure whether I'm capable to start a ministry on my own or with a few friends at the moment. Most likely I'll be joining an organisation very soon and start to get involved in the field rather than sitting in churches playing bible quiz! Perhaps will be looking more into the International Students fields. Not 100% sure yet! Hoping some of our church members will have the same burden & passion!

One of the reasons for my blog is also to raise awareness to my church members as well as my blog readers. Since I've about 1200-1500 visitors on average each month, I sure hope the message will get to you all.

Now, let's look at some of the information about human trafficking.

A definition:

“Trafficking in human beings” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

• At least 12.3 million people are victims of forced labour worldwide. Of these 2.4 million are as a result of human trafficking. A global alliance against forced labor, International Labour Organisation, 2005
  
  
• 600,000-800,000 men, women and children trafficked across international borders each year. Approximately 80 per cent are women and girls. Up to 50% are minors. US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2005
  
  
• An estimated 1.2 million children trafficked each year. UNICEF UK Child Trafficking Information sheet, January 2003
  
  
• The majority of trafficked victims arguably come from the poorest countries and poorest strata of the national population. A global alliance against forced labor, International Labour Organisation, 2005
  
  
• Trafficking is the fastest growing means by which people are caught in the trap of slavery. Anti-Slavery
  
  
• Human trafficking is the third largest source of income for organised crime, exceeded only by arms and drugs trafficking. UN office on drugs and crime
  
  
• It is the fastest growing form of international crime, already generating 7 billion dollars per year in criminal proceeds. There are even reports that some trafficking groups are switching their cargo from drugs to human beings, in a search of high profits at lower risk. UN office on drugs and crime
  
  
• People are trafficked into prostitution, begging, forced labour, military service, domestic service, forced illegal adoption, forced marriage etc.
  
  
• Types of recruitment; include abduction, false agreement with parents, sold by parents, runaways, travel with family, orphans sold from street or institutions.

Plus, an event not to be missed if you are in Melbourne!

Australia's Largest Chocolate Fondue Party!
January the 18th 10.30am-12.30pm

Federation Square, Melbourne

Everyday thousands of trafficked children are forced to work in the cocoa industry. This must stop.

Come and learn more about the trafficking occurring in cocoa production and enjoy in some Fairtrade chocolate fondue!

Why wasting on "No-hopers"

Just read today that the CEO of Harvey Normam has slammed the Australian Charities in "wasting" their donations on no-hopers.

RETAILING billionaire Gerry Harvey has lamented that Australian charity is being wasted on "no-hopers". Asked in a new book about his community role, Mr Harvey said giving to people who "are not putting anything back into the community" is like "helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason".

He said it was arguable that giving charity to the homeless was "just wasted". "It might be a callous way of putting it but what are they doing?" he said. "They are just a drag on the whole community." More

Most people would be shocked to see such statements especially if it comes from the mouth of a billionaire. However, I'm not too surprised. I can see his point and why he's making such "bold" statement.

For those who attended my Sunday School classes before, they also should know the answer to it.

Remember the question: Why a poor people will always be poor no matter how much you have helped them? Giving money, food, shelter, etc etc. For those who know the answer, feel free to post it into the comments.

I guess that's why Mr Harvey is saying they are just a drag the community .

Does that means we shouldn't help those no-hopers? Certainly not, we should help more but in the RIGHT way. What's the right way? Refer to the answer to the above question.

If they can't grasp it, to be honest, I agree with what Mr Harvey said.

How about Jesus? Would he have physically help EVERYONE that he saw? Many would say yes, I said not really. Remember he walks away from crowds that are still waiting for him to perform healing miracles? Same principle here.

Movember Fund Raising

Few weeks ago, I've posted that I'll be doing a fund raising for Prostate cancer & male depression research.

After growing my mustache for 10 days, it hasn't grown much! Well, I'm not those hairy type! :P

Here's a photo of it:
Again people, You can donate on http://www.movember.com.au. If you do it online, you can pay via credit card or PayPal.
My ID is #1663391
First Name: Shawn
Last Name: Lu

So far, I've only received $10.00. Ha ha! Keep it up people~! By the way, donations are tax deductible if over $2! So rich guys & girls, help minimize your tax by donating for charity!

p/s: I need to shave it before 16th as my parents are coming. Don't want to shock them! :P

Larger Than Life

It seems that I've underestimated our Social concern groups in my previous postings. Tonight during the service, they mentioned 10 things that they wanted to do. Some includes eradicate poverty, reform the health care system, fight for injustice, combat racism, tackle homelessness issues, etc. Perhaps Kevin Rudd should think of employing them?

They are basically "Larger than life". What I think made them even larger is they claimed that we can do it as long as we unite as a church. Maybe they are belittling the global problems that we have at the moment or their faith is even stronger than Apostle Peter.

The mighty Bu Pyeong Methodist Church in Korea wouldn't even declare to solve any one of the problems mentioned above by themselves nor even thinking to do it by themselves. Even developed countries like USA or Australia dare not. However, CLMC has the "greatness" to make such bold claim. How great thou art!

Bu Pyeong Methodist Church understands the seriousness of the problems and how big the scale of the problems are! Hence, they have been seeking partnership in tackling these issues. They seek partnership from other Annual Conferences, churches & non profit organisations.

For CLMC's Social Concern, what are their plans for the coming years? Will we see CLMC extending or accepting more partnership in ministries soon? Will it be another empty greatness talk or will we finally see some serious commitments to tackle the above 10 matters?

Gentlemen, start your tash!

November is just around the corner, which also mean Movember is too! For most of us Asian kids, we don't know what is Movember. I only knew it about it a few weeks ago when my colleague asked to join it.

Let's see what's Movember:

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is an annual charity event held during November.
At the start of Movember guys register with a clean shaven face. The Movember participants, known as Mo Bros, have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their Mo, raising money along the way to benefit men's health - specifically prostate cancer and male depression.

I was quite reluctant to grow it at first as it's quite....disgusting..."er xin"....ewww. However, I promised them after much persuasion by them. It's for charity anyway so why not!

Let's see why those people are so wu liaw to think of Movember:

Men lack awareness about the very real health issues they face. There is an attitude that they have to be tough - "a real man" - and are reluctant to see a doctor about an illness or go for regular medical checks.

Movember aims to change these attitudes and make men's health fun by putting the Mo back on the face of fashion and in the process raise some serious funds for key men's health issues, including:
Prostate Cancer: because every year 2,900 Australian men die from prostate cancer and over 18,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. [ FIND OUT MORE ].

Depression in Men: because one in six men experience depression at any given time but most don't seek help.[ FIND OUT MORE ].

Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. It occurs when cells of the prostate mutate and begin to multiply out of control. These cells may spread (metastasize) from the prostate to other parts of the body, especially the bones and lymph nodes. Prostate cancer may cause pain, difficulty in urinating, erectile dysfunction and other symptoms.

Now, which style would suit me? My mustache grows very slowly, so I don't think i can be too picky in terms of styles! Just let it grow naturally! Haha! I think my style will just be "Major". So, don't be too surprised if you don't see me shaving for the next few weeks!

Also, please remember to donate for it! By the way, donations are tax deductible if over $2! So rich guys & girls, help minimize your tax by donating for charity!

You can donate on http://www.movember.com.au. If you do it online, you can pay via credit card or PayPal.
My ID is #1663391
First Name: Shawn
Last Name: Lu


By the way, let's look at the difference between Male & Female depression:

Female depression	Male depression
Blame themselves	Feel others are to blame
Feel sad, apathetic, and worthless	Feel angry, irritable, and ego inflated
Feel anxious and scared	Feel suspicious and guarded
Avoids conflicts at all costs	Creates conflicts
Always tries to be nice	Overtly or covertly hostile
Withdraws when feeling hurt	Attacks when feeling hurt
Has trouble with self respect	Demands respect from other
Feels they were born to fail	Feels the world set them up to fail
Slowed down and nervous	Restless and agitated
Chronic procrastinator	Compulsive time keeper
Sleeps too much	Sleeps too little
Trouble setting boundaries	Needs control at all costs
Feels guilty for what they do	Feels ashamed for who they are
Uncomfortable receiving praise	Frustrated if not praised enough
Finds it easy to talk about weaknesses and doubts	Terrified to talk about weaknesses and doubts
Strong fear of success	Strong fear of failure
Needs to "blend in" to feel safe	Needs to be "top dog" to feel safe
Uses food, friends, and "love" to self-medicate	Uses alcohol, TV, sports, and sex to self medicate
Believe their problems could be solved only if they could be a better (spouse, co-worker, parent, friend)	Believe their problems could be solved only if their (spouse, co-worker, parent, friend) would treat them better
Constantly wonder, "Am I loveable enough?"	Constantly wonder, "Am I being loved enough?"

Does some of the symptoms looks familiar on some people that we know? He He!