Ray Of Hope (Grace Christian Mission)

“There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist”. When I heard that quote about a young pessimist, I felt guilty. Guilty as if Mark Twain dedicated that ever-famous quote to me. To be honest, at times of hardships, I would often tell myself, “I give up” or “I can’t take this anymore” then end up crying though it doesn’t actually solve anything. However, everything became contrary to what I often think and feel.  A dull moment was not precisely present by the time I stepped on Grace Christian Mission. When I first caught a glimpse of those children probably at the age of 4-16 with quite a smile on their faces, I felt amused. I sat beside a kid during the program. I asked her, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I waited for like 5 seconds before she replied and said, “A missionary”. Whoa, just whoa. Again, I asked another one, and he replied, “Soldier po.” I felt a sudden rush of joy inside my veins. Yes, these kids might be abandoned by their parents or their relatives; however, they are still fortunate for they can study and pursue their goals and that the Grace Christian Mission are there to help them. Young pessimist? No they aren’t. They are God-fearing, humble, and any other positive words I can ever utter.

 Young as we are, I realized that even if we cannot escape from devastating events or whatnot in our lives, we must hold on to God’s hand whose trying to pull us up when we’re at the depths of the earth. On our last CAT, I can therefore say that I am extremely, absolutely, immensely and evidently felt the 2 greatest emotion at the same time. I felt happy because I was able to interact with people I never thought I’d meet and I thank our school for giving us this opportunity. I learned that though we are different from each other, in the eyes of God we are all one and that we are called to love each other. The only part that saddened me was the realization that there would no longer be another CAT for us and that I have to go back to reality where I’m bound to do a lot of things in school. However, I did not let the anxiety overpower me for I know that once I graduate, I will be able to help more people and maybe someday, go back to the places we had our CAT.  Just like what Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope”.