Friday, April 13, 2007

Initial struggles

Well, five days have passed since we arrived in Melbourne on Monday, 9 April.

We have not looked back since.

Alright I'll be truthful: The first two days were messy - adjusting to the climate (it was getting cold and officially autumn), figuring out all the administration, procedures, adjusting to new lifestyle, culture, grocery location and food stuff prices, travel routes, parks, playgrounds, etc.

Can you believe it? No hawker centers! And no roti prata or teh tarik! It was like starting all over again, a new born baby. Hardly even crawling yet. Oh... it was supposed to be that way, I guessed. Life sure knows how to hit you when you least expected it, especially when you don't know what you are going to get.

Yet I still couldn't figure out what I was in for. Emigration is no joke!

As Forest Gump said, "Life is like a box of chocolates..." Yeah, you get the picture.

The first night was long, the second longer still.

My thoughts were along the line of: Did I make the right decision? Was I stupid to quit my well-paying job in Singapore and venture into the unknown? I had interviews lined up throughout the week but they were just interviews, ie no job offers yet.

Kinda reminded me of Abraham. God called him out and he obeyed. Did God call me out in the first place? Or was it my wife's voice? Sshhh...

All I clung on to was that God is faithful and He has never let his children go hungry or beg for food. The whole earth is mine, the gold and silver therein belongs to Me, declares the Lord. I'm not only convinced that my family will overcome these challenges and adjustments, I strongly believe my household and I will be greatly blessed. And we will be a blessing to others.

Selene? She cried. Sshhh...

Firstly, she doesn't take well to cold weather. So if you see an Eskimo in Melbourne tagging a bubbly 4-year old girl along a street, it's probably Selene. Furthermore, she doesn't like major changes. Yeah, she can say she likes traveling, changes in life, experiencing different cultures or the like. But when the rubber meets the road, she cries.

Nothing sad about it actually. It's just her adjusting. Like the first night in our new home, she cried. Like when she was bonded to MOE, she cried. Breaking down is her form of stress reliever.

And Rachel?

She was the only one having a blast! Heh. As long as she could do her art and craft, reading, watch TV, have friends (she simply prayed and believed that God will send kids of her age to be her playmates. I'd swear God will do it because she asked so trustingly), she was basically happy.

We ought to learn from the kids. They take things easy and are worry-free. Thus they can be so adaptable and lovable. No wonder Jesus loves them.

Our prayers:

  • Get a job and a well-paying one as I will be the only one working (Adrian)
  • Able to cook well (Selene)
  • Able to give thanks and eat whatever is on the table (Adrian, Rachel). If not, we'll be fasting soon :P
  • Able to adjust to new climate, culture, lifestyle (All)
  • God to send nice, wonderful people (hopefully Singaporeans, Christians) along our way to guide, help us settle in (All, esp. Selene)
  • Have playmates around her age (Rachel)
  • Have lots of fun and family time (All)

Stay tuned... another update coming up on how God is so faithful to us!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey dude, great to hear from you. take care okies? lucky you, it's winter over there. and it's becoming like summer over here though it's spring. wes

QQ*librarian said...

Hey, brother. Hang in there. I'm sure Selene will have a good time there very soon - given your characters, I think you will adapt to oz and have fun soon. Of course, you will be a blessing to others. Your family was a blessing to us in S'pore and you will be a blessing to new friends made in oz. We'll visit you soon. Meantime, we uphold each other's family in prayer.

Anonymous said...

Hi Adrian,

Didn't know you've migrated till I visited your blog! No wonder, no updates on it for a while! I pray that the LORD will watch over all in your household and overflow your barn with so much blessings! Keep in Touch, Joyce. Do drop me an email whenever possible ;)