fatih community / Sekinchan on Wesak Day/ Mother's Day

i was at our weekly BEC meeting at Andrew and Val's house when the importance of belonging to a faith community struck me.
it had always been my perception that faith is a purely individualistic matter wherein one had a relationship with God and that relationship was a private affair.
the worship in church appeared to be community based, but to me, often translated into each of us praying in our own way, stuck in our own circles of concern and worries.

so imagine my surprise when i found myself belonging to a BEC group, meeting with them and praying together and reading the Bible together. i've become more open about what i am facing, the difficulties i have in my spiritual and daily life and especially who i am.

faith does not grow alone, it grows in a community. my BEC group has helped me to see problems in a different light, to make new friends, to understand that others struggle too, and we help each other in our struggles, and to be happier and more fulfilled person.

i am far from perfect, but i realise that milestones on the path of understanding and enlightenment should be celebrated. including the realisation that i am not alone and God helps my faith grow through my friendships and sharings with like-minded and kind people.

to Star of the Sea folks - i love you guys! :)

***
Wesak Day rocked - Tina and i went to Sekinchan, Selangor for a photography expedition in lieu of the planned hiking trip to FRIM which had to be shelved as the canopy walk there was closed.

we had a quick breakfast and then drove off to Sekinchan via the long and winding trunk road, passing places like Kuala Selangor, Assam Jawa and Ijok (which reminded me of the by-election there).

finally we reached the paddy fields of Sekinchan. Tina was armed with her DSLR and tripod (for taking shots and protection purposes - easy to hit someone with the tripod) while i went with my lil digicam.
i had never seen a paddy field up close before, so this was quite an exciting experience. we took shots of the verdant masses of green and yellow, and also a canal to water the fields, reminding us of 'terusan Wan Mat Saman' (the longest such canal in Peninsular Malaysia). poetry ideas were humming in my head as we walked and took shots of what caught our fancy. i gather we walked about 2 plus kilometres there.

we got lots of stares from passing motorcyclists and cyclists and people in cars. well, i suppose it isn't everyday that 2 girls carrying cameras walk about in quiet paddy fields taking pictures. we met an old uncle who demanded to know what was so exciting about the place ...

well, nothing happened in that sense - at least, as Tina put it, in God and in the tripod we trust.

finally after our fill of picture taking, we left for lunch at Kuala Selangor, but not before detouring to Bagan Sekinchan for a few more shots.

lunch was fresh steamed hot and sour fish, stir fried kailan and marmite chicken with rice - well worth the money as the fish was fresh and the chicken juicy and boneless (unlike New Paris' conjob of using bony pieces of chicken for their Marmite chicken dish!)

i returned home in the words of the cliche - tired but happy. we hope to do more urbanex trips in the future, and who knows? i might just take photography up. it intersects rather nicely with my writing.

***

Mother's Day is an excuse for blatant commercialism. that's what my mum and grandma believe in.
if you love your mother, everyday is Mother's Day.

so hell yeah. in contradiction to everything i've seen so far, have a good year ahead, mum and grandma. no references to Mother's Day - just the sincere wish that you have good health, happiness and love everyday.

God bless all mothers everywhere! not just today, but every single day of your lives.