Author: yoongz

A Singaporean family living in Switzerland; sometimes loving, sometimes hating, always living the differences we see each day.
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Developing Our Heart for God…

…that is the title of an article i read a few months ago…

It talked briefly about the influences Greek scholars and Socratic thinking had on the 3rd and 4th century churches have affected the way we relate to God.

These influences encouraged focus on the intellectual and have became so deep-rooted in our basic thinking that it has also swayed our relationship with God from one of intimacy and power to one where mere knowledge plays a bigger role. It has shifted our priorities, causing us to neglect the building of close relationship which can change lives.

The concluding lines of that article (read full article here) states

We must listen and respond with the heart. Whatever service we give to God should be a result of our relationship with our heavenly Father, not an end unto itself.

And one form of service i have been actively involved in is advocating for orphans with special needs (please click here for more posts on these orphans).

Today is Teamwork Tuesday where we, advocates, shout out about one particular child, in hopes that such concerted efforts would bring the child more notice and help find their forever family.

3-year R.J. waits for his forever family to come for him.

Meet R.J.

He is such a handsome little guy. See those wonderfully soulful eyes. He is 3 years old and we have been told that he would be transferred to an adult mental institution quite soon. After transfer, his chances of getting adopted would diminish, it may even disappear all together.

Reece’s Rainbow (an advocate website) wasn’t even given enough information to be able to start an adoption grant for him (no donation button). Once he is transferred, information would be even harder to get.

Please don’t let R.J. disappear. Please pray for him and share his story so his family can find him today. Click on his name or picture to see his profile on Reece’s Rainbow.

Responding with heart,

syc

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Done! Step 3 of Step 5…

On 5th July 2012, Thursday, i completed my 8 hours of Swiss Driver’s Education Classes 😀 (called Verkehrskundenskurs in German) … it took me 4 consecutive evenings of 2 hours to get it done and now i have a piece of paper which says i have fulfilled my obligation.

There was quite a fair bit which was from the self-study i did when preparing to take the theory test earlier. But i also learnt new things, such as from 2015 onwards, it will be mandatory to drive with headlights on – all the time. i learnt about tricky things to look for when driving into certain junctions, also strange (ok strange to me) recommendations such as the first thing you do when entering a tunnel is to take off your sunglasses (i can’t do that – i wear prescription sunglasses if i took them off, i most definitely won’t be a safe driver).

i had a fun time at the classes, even though it was conducted in Swiss German (which is different from High German – i learn High German in my language classes), plus the instructor came from a different part of Switzerland (i had to go to another city to do this as the ones in my city just didn’t work out in terms of timing) which means his accent in Swiss German is much different from the one i’m used to in our part of switzerland. (Oh the joys of language learning :p )

The other students were all teenagers/young adults eager to get their first ever driving license. They were of course Swiss and completely understood what was said and took part actively in answering questions. i tried my best but found it most beneficial to listen. Besides, they had interesting stories to tell, such as one girl nearly was involved in an accident during one of her practical lessons, another guy who is Italian (parents were immigrants) kept comparing the difference in driving laws and behaviour between Italy and Switzerland which finally led the instructor to sternly remind him that we are discussing Swiss laws not Italian ones.

There is one other thing i like to mention – i really liked the building the classes were conducted in – it is new, bright and colourful!! Here are some pictures to show off the building:

This is the Migros (the major supermarket chain) Klubschule (Club School) in Aarau, Switzerland. Doesn’t the cafe look so inviting? There is an outdoor sitting area too.
This is the walkway from the stairs to where the classrooms are, simply love the colours. Notice the tape on the floor – they are still doing up parts of the building. The break area (right picture) is so pleasant and has such an open feeling.
This is the hallway just outside our classroom… i love those colour blocks on the dark green wall and the long row of windows facing the wall… we were in room 108.

So step 3 done… have already started on step 4… another 1.5 steps to go to get my Swiss Driver’s License! Hurray! 😉 (See here for the list of all 5 steps).

syc

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Passabene…

Pass…what??, you ask.

Passabene – a self-check system which Coop, one of the major supermarkets, in Switzerland have installed in their larger stores. This system is not new. i believe it was started maybe 4 years ago. But i never got to use the system until a few months ago when we went to a bigger Coop a couple of villages down from us (the ones in our little village and in the old town are too small for such a system).

So why do i want to talk about a system which has been in use for 4 years already? Well, last week i talked about how much trust exists between service provider/stores and customers in this post. i just wanted to show another example of it here.

Picture from a Japanese Website – http://bxp.seesaa.net/article/126977284.html

In brief, this is how the Passabene system works. (You can visit the website here – in German)

You register with your Coop Supercard (ok, you have to have a Coop Supercard first – which is easy to get, just fill in the form and they mail you the card on which you can collect points) to be a user of Passabene. It was a little confusing for me as the lady at the counter had initially misunderstood what i wanted (i blame my poor Swiss German). Anyhow, confusion cleared. The process to register was simple, again just fill in a form with name, address and Coop card number, she keys it into the computer and you can instantly use Passabene.

You swipe your Coop card at the computer screen, next to the rows of scanning devices. One of the devices light up – that one is yours. You take it and off you go shopping. Simply scan your items and put them in your trolley.

At checkout, go to the specially marked Passabene line, which usually has almost no one, give the lady behind the counter your scanner and she loads it up to her screen, you pay and done. It’s quick and easy, saves time; you can be in and out in minutes if you only needed a few things.

She didn’t even ask to see what items i had in my trolley. They trust that everything you put in there has been scanned. It would have been so easy to slip an extra apple or two in there. (Of course i didn’t)

The other thing i love about it is, my son will stay by my side and even help to get things from the shelves so he can do all the scanning. Normally he asks to go and play at the toy section till i finish, which isn’t a bad arrangement, but i just like to have him go supermarket shopping with me. i think it is because i grew up doing just that. My family loves supermarket shopping, especially my dad who insists on walking up and down every aisle even though we only need 2 things (we never leave with just 2 things!). So it’s a family event which i love from my childhood (actually we still do that now when i go back to visit). It’s a tradition i want to pass on. 😉 Plus, i think that it is good opportunity to talk about the food he eats.

i found some interesting discussion on the English Forum. There are a couple of people who don’t like the system and also one who had been constantly spot-checked on. Have a read here if you like to listen to what others have to say about Passabene.

Happy Shopping – wherever you may be shopping.

syc