Ooh-Aaah..

“Life gives us brief moments with another...but sometimes in those brief moment we get memories that last a life time..."

Cambridge

I never realised how much I missed this place. The fond memories of years past. The bright smiles of street folk. The amazing aura of the place.

I took a walk back to the river Cam, to my safe spot - a spot only known to me, and maybe a handful of people I have shared it with. A place where I sat to talk to God, to myself and to think. A place where I cried, I laughed, I reasoned. A place where I knew love. The extraordinary thing about this spot is that I still felt that sense of warmth, safety, security and peace as I sat there, stood there looking into that beautiful view 8 years on since I was last here. Just as I walked away, a orangy brown leave blew towards me, and fell on my arm. The exact same thing happened to me 8 years ago when I said my goodbye to this spot. I looked into the sky, and I felt the Lord assuring me that He is looking after me and has been all this time, encouraging me to continue in my pilgrimage in the days ahead because He has got me sorted! What a profound way He ministered to my soul!

And, if not for the promise I made to H and B at PHAT Camp that I'll follow through with them, I doubt I would find myself back here this soon. And it was a promise I had to keep despite a last minute thing shoved into my "day off". No regrets though. This morning I managed to draw so much from Pastor S' impartation on youth ministry with her experience in US and I am honoured by her invitation to partner and go over to the US (and vice versa)

Back to Cambridge:

Being here as an urban young adult is quite different from my days here as a student. I see the hopes in the lives of these students on the street - their ambition and dreams, the ideal life of being at Cambridge, making something of themselves and making their friends and family proud. I see the fragility and the naive-ness of their lives. I see the drive of becoming one of the world's finest .......(you name it!)

My surprise last minute appointment with E was probably the highlight of my day. It proved to me that investing in the next generation is such a delight especially when you see first hand how they have grown in the Lord, and caught the heartbeat of heaven. I see E's life as a 1st year uni student at Cambridge, and I say to myself "wow" - seeing him taking leadership at his christian fellowship - going on a cause to teach English and do missions in China this summer - being involved and serving in his local church - what a way to make your life count at such a young age of 18, and cultivating such a beautiful heart for God.

Introduced E to H and B (secretly hoping maybe he can get to know them better, and possibly mentor them) before E left for his cell group, and H, B and I headed to have our Spanish Tapas at La Tasca. Pity we didn't catch the astounding sunset cos of the clouds. My time chatting, eating and chilling with these two 15 year olds brought much warmth to my heart simply because of their simplicity. U may be surprised that these 15 year olds probably get along with me better than my peers who like 25 year olds. I dunno...maybe you can say there is a connection of a "certain" different kind. Sometimes, I find that with these teens there is hardly any meaningless chatter - but more taking the time to listen to what they have to say, we do learn ALOT! (esp if we're seeking to be relevant and real to this generation!)

So, overall - I had a great day out even if it was just for a couple of brief hours in Cambridge. And I can only thank God for this breather from the manic of London, and work. Refreshed for the days ahead leading up to Easter Conference.

Thanks guys for making my day "chilled out" (wow!)