christmas joy.

"Thank you, Oprah. My heart is happy", says a South African child. He was clutching the many christmas gifts Oprah Winfrey had showered upon him and many of his friends; with that smile on his face you could tell it was sincerely from the bottom of his heart.

It was Christmas Kindness on Oprah. Oprah and her team went to South Africa to stop at various places, setting up a tent at each stop to throw a Christmas party! Kids were invited and they came in lines, dancing and jumping joyfully as they walked into their first ever Christmas party. They shook hands with Oprah, probably not knowing they were shaking the hand of the most influential people in the US, and definitely not expecting to get any Christmas gifts.

Children everywhere jumping and dancing, shrieks of astonished delight, with smiles on their faces... wow. If it were already so heart-wrenching as seen on TV, i can just imagine how infectious the Christmas joy was in that solitary white tent in the middle of a desert nearly void of hope. I could understand why Oprah would break-down every now and then at the sight of these children...

Haha, i love the Oprah show, esp episodes like these. I really think it's great, what she's doing, changing the world bit by bit, being a living proof of what education can do to lift you out of poverty and anguish to a certain extent.

Born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, Oprah Winfrey was reared by her grandmother on a farm where she "began her broadcasting career" by learning to read aloud and perform recitations at the age of three. From age six to 13, she lived in Milwaukee with her mother. After suffering abuse and molestation, she ran away and was sent to a juvenile detention home at the age of 13, only to be denied admission because all the beds were filled. As a last resort, she was sent to Nashville to live under her father's strict discipline. Vernon Winfrey saw to it that his daughter met a midnight curfew, and he required her to read a book and write a book report each week. "As strict as he was," says Oprah, "he had some concerns about me making the best of my life, and would not accept anything less than what he thought was my best."
-------->http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/win0bio-1

But can education alone really change your life like that? I dunno but I really think there's more to life than that. These people need a source of real joy and hope and I could just imagine --- they'd be delighted to hear the ultimate Good News, the real reason behind CHristmas... the news that the one true God had sent his only begotten son to die for our sins just so we could love God and experience God's unconditional love for us. It's really a simple messsage when you think about it... :) yet somehow it's so hard to share.....

....to be continued.
(coz i'm going to Genting in about 45 minutes time and i haven't bathed or packed or gotten ready at all :P)