[ ‘SHARE’ Nov-Dec 2013 – Life Impacting Life ]　CEDAR’S BLOGGER

Author> Alice Kwan, Senior Education and Promotion Officer*

When I gave birth to my first child, friends would ask, ‘What expectations do you have for your child?’

As a mother, I hope that my two sons will be Christians who care for the world.

I first stepped into CEDAR’s office twelve years ago, and the words ‘Eyes on His world’ caught my attention. To Hong Kong people who have easy access to global news and information, it seems to be no challenge for us to learn about the world, and we even think that the world revolves around us! But this is not so. Once, when I was to write about Afghanistan I realized that I knew nothing about it apart from ‘911’ and ‘Taliban’. When I participated in outside conferences, people talked about years of civil war in Sri Lanka and yet I was confused with the names of the warring parties and could hardly take in the torrent of data and information.

In order to encourage my children to have a global view, every time before a trip abroad I would sketch a simple map so they would have an idea of where their mother was going. I also find interesting newspapers reports around the world and share with them so that their world is not confined to the small screen before their eyes.

Recently I tried to talk with the children about the damage caused by the two-year old civil war in Syria. Military use of chemical weapons on innocent civilians aroused international concerns and denunciations and many nations considered sending troops to Syria. Yet, neighbouring countries warned of attacking Israel should Syria be threatened. How should I explain such complexities to my children? Who is the hero and who the villain? I could not say. Just when I was battling inside, my children prayed in their innocence, ‘Dear Father God, please protect the Syrians, they need You, please love them. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.’ Isn’t that the purpose of God willing us to set our eyes on His world? I thank my children for reminding me of this.

CEDAR’s ‘Eyes on His World’ reminds us that we are to set our eyes on Father God’s world. May we start to nurture this mentality in our children from a young age, to keep Father God’s will.

* On 15 October, Alice finished her long stint at CEDAR, she joined a new ministry with her husband and two little sons, to continue caring for the world and the poor.