I've been a ball of restlessness thinking about all the things I could do. Shopkeep, draw, get a graphic design job that ends at 9 pm earliest, enter competitions, make books, send out portfolios.

Bong: "Have fun planning your life..but actually there's only so much you can plan."

How true, for nothing about the following picture was planned, or even expected. Tell me a year ago that we would be there and I wouldn't have had the faith to believe it. It wouldn't even have been anything I'd have asked for. So right now, I'll just have to go along with the right thing one step at a time, and I'll find myself in lavender fields.

I wish I could show you everything from Japan, especially the children. But this is a special camp, and these are special children. So here are a couple of photos from each city, essence photos.


Hakodate: The mountains, the mist, the grass. The grass that Rachel and I rolled in because it was lush and inviting. The children were happy catching insects and the adults were happy being out of the city.

Suika, watermelon. We received six watermelons and had to give them away. All the fresh produce: morning market sashimi, potato-picking, butter-making, ice-cream making, white corn.

Hanabi, fireworks. This was the last night, Everybody's Birthday. The children didn't seem too impressed with our birthday party, but their eyes were glued to the cake when it came all ablaze with candles. Then we set off summer fireworks in the courtyard and played with sparklers till we were too full of them.
As photographer of the camp, I was able to capture all the little moments that I had never been able to in previous camps. Camps are strictly no-camera. After this though, I will have to delete all the photos with the children's faces. But I will never forget their faces or names. I wonder how they will fare, if they will be stronger, if they will remember that they can always call on their Best Friend to help them.


Then we moved on for our prayer walk, which was more of a blessing tour of Hokkaido.

Noboribetsu: Hell Valley, sulphur hot springs

and a ghost town ruled by a demon figure
our banquet dinner wearing yukata

Lake Toya
Farm Tomita, lavender

And the mascot of my entire trip: Marimo! Glorified Hokkaido moss balls.

So much to be thankful for. More photos some other time.

I'm leaving. Human beings constantly build their lives around things, and everything is important: family, pets, gardens, work, good food. But if they are really blessed, they will also find something extra to live for. I'm blessed, because I have found that something extra.

If I had never heard about the royal family kids' camp and child abuse, I would be a different person today. My final year project would have been about something else, possibly music, possibly something dark. I would not have taken japanese last semester, because I would not be going to hokkaido today. I would not have learnt to appreciate the good family I have.

But as it is, I am stuck forever to this cause that I have found. I don't even remember when I started aiming to go for the kids camp in hokkaido. It must have been eight months ago. But because it was all meant to be, the money was raised, the language was learnt, and things fell into place (not easily) this month.

I can't wait to meet the children, to see the faces that God must love so very much, to make us go against the odds to be with.