Project Sparkle

So... Project Sparkle is a community project by Hope Community Services to help clean up the Kampong Glam Area where a large number of less fortunate people stay. The area consists mostly of one room flats and most probably housed a low income family that stays there. My lifegroup was tasked to clean out Blk 8 of North Bridge road and I knew it was going to be a tough hill to climb for those people that are not accustomed to stepping into the mud but as we started to clean i realised that once they started, their heart overcame the fears of whatever uncleanliness they had to contend with, which was to me a very commendable effort and in 2 short hrs we cleaned up the 2 floors that we were tasked! WELL DONE J1!

The thing about project sparkle was a chance for us to go out there and be filled with compassion just like Jesus when he saw the multitudes of people. And as usual, church service and everyone else amped it up to be that once you see their squalid conditions that your heart will be filled with compassion to want to help them.

This unfortunately didnt happen to me.... In fact what I saw was another side of life. I saw a family playing with each other, another family playing mahjong and having fun, a man walking over to a neighbours place to chat and a few kids from different racial families playing with each other. Was this a sight that broke my heart? nope. In fact, it opened my eyes to know that

Even without the luxury of money. You can still be contented. 

Yes money might help them in alot of situations in life, but as i see it, being poor doesnt mean life sucks and that life is like walking the plank to an endless eternity of unhappiness but that even in the most trying of times, that money isnt everything. I didn't feel compassion when i cleaned out their corridors, instead my heart was filled with joy to see the human spirit knitting a tapestry of relations together even without the abundance and security of finance. And if the human spirit was that strong in adversity, how much stronger when we have the HOLY SPIRIT in us!

We think that they need our help just because they are less fortunate than us. I think in retrospect, people that have everything but are spiritually bankrupt are the ones that need help more. To end off.. i'll quote a pastor from Cuba telling another American pastor who was on a mission trip about what he thought about money.

In America you have stuff and trust in your money. We trust in God. You think that a man can be elected and save the world. We know better. So do not feel sorry for us. We feel sorry for you.

Who should we have more compassion for now? lolz