Every Christmas, we would be busy shopping and buying gifts for our loved ones. But this Christmas, I am glad that it is different from the norm, partly due to the fact that I am carrying an extra burden of an unborn baby of 5 months and therefore, finding it tiresome to walk and hunt for gifts (PTL!); and mostly due our company’s sponsorship to provide a free lunch for a group of underprivileged Orang Asli kids (OA) at the hotel.
Initially, I was going to skip the luncheon as I had taken leave to move house. However, the organizer had sent me numerous reminders that saying no had become difficult. When I arrived at the hotel coffee house, I saw close to smiling 30 OA preschoolers, chatting away. They put on their Sunday best as it was their first time stepping into a hotel. “These children had been pestering us, asking us if the BIG DAY to the hotel is tomorrow for an entire month!” explained the organizer. Unknown to me, these kids had experienced their many first that day: First time stepping into a hotel, first time having a western meal, first time seeing and tasting ice-cream! From the look of their joyous faces, I would have no idea that they came from families who were too poor to send them to school and feed them regularly. Some of them only get to eat chicken once a year and even then, the portion would be very limited. The volunteers did a great job in ensuring that the OA kids were well behaved. As the children put on their party hats and blow their whistles, I realised that a simple lunch had brought about much joy and hope to their lives.
As I reflect on my own children, I am grateful that God has blessed me with the means and the ability to provide for them. This Christmas, may I be inspired to pray and think of ways to bless those who are less privileged.
And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!' Matthew 25:40
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