This season the Young in Spirit group of St. John’s Cathedral organised a visit to the Cahaya Suria Convent in Bukit Nanas as part of our outreach project. The centre is run by the Infant Jesus Sisters and is home to some 35 orphaned senior citizens.
Nine YIS members came together on a bright Saturday morning to spend some quality time and to bring the joy of the season to the folks there.
After greeting and introducing ourselves to the lovely ladies there, the carolling began. What fun it was! The ladies were great as they joined us in song and clapped their hands to the beat of some good old favourites like Jingle Bells and Frosty the snowman.
With such a responsive audience we couldn’t help but belt it out. All of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Next on the agenda was musical chairs. Now who doesn’t love this game. The residents who were mobile joined us as we boogied around the chairs. Those watching joined in the festivities by cheering on their friends and there were hoots and laughter all around at each pause in music came along and a chair and player were eliminated. The winner was awarded RM 10. She was thrilled! Her priceless smile says it all.
After the game, we took a breather and handed out handmade Christmas cards. This gave our youth the opportunity to sit and talk with the residents. We found out their names and wrote a personal message to each lady.
They were so glad to receive the cards, and some didn’t stop thanking us for the cards and complimenting us on how good they looked!
That done, we still had some free time and so we sang more carols, this time asking the residents for song requests.
Next we joined the residents for lunch. The food was sponsored by a parent of one of our members. We helped in the serving of food and drinks to the ladies. Then we sat down to enjoy the good food and company. After lunch we helped clean up and walked the ladies back to the hall.
‘It was a touching experience to have spent that little time with the elderly women. I felt satisfied in those few hours, entertaining them and having a meal with them. This experience has definitely made me think of how I should contribute to the less fortunate when I’m much older.’
This Advent project had a great impact on me! It taught me humility. Being with these ladies was truly a unique experience. Three ladies (as above) thought my niece and I all 26 alphabets in sign language. They laughed at our funny mistakes and were patient. Not only that, one lady even gave a few of us some advice on how we should eat and sleep well. –Suzanne
'It was my first time visiting an old folks home. I was touched but also felt really hurt to see them without any loved ones, especially during the Christmas season. Had a really good time talking to them, listening to their stories, singing carols with them, but most of all, I had a good time making them laugh. I think that it was a great gift just putting a smile on their face, I only wish we had more time to spend with them on that day, and hopefully we'll revisit them soon.’ – Darren
This advent instead of the big 'hoo haa' of Santa Claus and Christmas trees I experienced a very different experience, which I think is lacking in the lives of today's youth, the aspect of spending time (in contrast to money) with the needy in togetherness.
I was part of the youth movement who spend half a day at the Bukit Nanas Convent. We planned the trip to spend some time to bring about Christmas cheer to these elderly ladies. Indeed it testify to the fact that we could see the joy and happiness which radiated from the ladies as we sang carols, played games and had lunch with them. Alas, the one activity which made a difference to me was when we sat personally with each lady and spent time talking to them and getting to know a bit about them so we could write a Christmas card for them.
All in all, I hope the youth who went realized how their time can make a difference in the lives of these people. It's not the monetary help which makes the difference, it is the time spent together in fellowship!
It was the end of our visit and as we bid them farewell, they couldn’t stop thanking us for the visit and asked us to come again.
This great little group of women are fantastic. They are good company and this opportunity has really opened our minds and given us a different thinking perspective. It was great to sit and just listen to their stories. They have so much wisdom to impart and this visit to them brought just as much joy to them as it did to us.
#DSTeixeira
