trippingdifferently

December 21, 2013

Welcome Patch, Patches, Ruby and Sam…

Today my boy got his first Christmas present…

He got mice! Yep, he did 😉

If you have been following our blog for a while, you will know that we lost our dear Nox last year and our dear Puddles early November this year. Since then, we have been discussing and contemplating whether we would have more Gerbils or some other pet.

When we received Nox and Puddles from one of my dear writer friends, we didn’t have to go through the formal purchase of pet process. Now that we have to, i found out that they are really quite strict in our part of Switzerland and insist that our cage wasn’t big enough for Gerbils according to recommendations set down by the VZFS (The Association of Zoological Businesses Switzerland). BUT one really nice lady from a newly opened pet store (not the one closest to us, this is one 30 mins away by car) went through all the rules with me (over the phone) and checked all recommendations for me and finally recommended that we switch to having hamsters or mice (Farbmäuse in German) if we did not want to invest in a new bigger cage (which would have costed between CHF150 and CHF250).

SO today we welcome Patch, Patches, Ruby and Sam (short for Samantha) into our home and hope they feel welcomed and enjoy being with us as much as we are already enjoying their company. They are cute and great climbers but oh so fast!

From top left (clockwise): Patch, Ruby, Sam, Patches. Tobias named Patch and Patches, i named Ruby and Walter named Sam. — From top left (clockwise): Patch, Ruby, Sam, Patches.
Tobias named Patch and Patches, i named Ruby and Walter named Sam.

They really do take pet ownership seriously here. When we bought our oh-so-cute mice today, i had to sign a sort of contract to say that i have now undertaken the responsibility to care for these creatures and another piece of paper which states clearly a few important points of care for the 1st ten days (such as not giving them undue stress and not taking them out of the cage for the first 10 days, giving them vitamin drops etc…). Then we were also given a book of basic information for small house pets.

i remembered when i bought hamsters from pet stores back home. We simply went there, chose the ones i liked, paid for them and brought them home – end of story, nothing to sign or read and certainly no association to set down any rules to follow.

But i guess it’s in the best interests of the animals and of course, it does make people think twice about pet ownership.

Anyhow, join us in welcoming our new pets!

syc

December 19, 2013December 19, 2013

There IS Still Good In This World…

… i want to believe that… i have to believe that… i need to believe that…

because yesterday i saw this video and this morning i read this news article (yes, it’s from May 2013 but still relevant).

Please read at least the article before reading the rest of my post… be warned the video is so very heartbreaking, no one i know personally has watched it till the end. i could only watch 30 seconds of it!

My heart is once again broken and my tears have not stopped and my spirit is so sad i’m not sure i know how to face Christmas this year, now that i know about this.

i mean, i have heard about the abuse these precious children suffer but to see it… i have no words…

My first instinct upon seeing that video is that the woman in the video and others like her are downright evil and should be given a taste of their own medicine. Then another advocate told me that woman is actually also an abused orphan herself. And then i read the article. It is just such a sad sad sad situation; a vivacious cycle which hurts everyone involved and can only be stopped by others; people from the outside, by responsible government and law, by love!

This is just one orphanage. There are many more like that BUT… of course there are also good orphanages with very caring helpers /carers but in countries where the label of orphan means you are worthless, these good places are too few.

i cry to the Lord about these children and tell Him how i feel about the abuser woman. The Lord tells me to pray for that woman; for her heart to be changed, for love to grow in her, for her to turn 180 and become a champion for these orphans. Is it possible? Not by human powers, ONLY GOD can do this. So i pray, with a heavy heart, i pray for these precious ones and that woman.

This morning, the Lord also told me that Spring will come.

How is that related to these orphans?

Well, we have been under a thick constant fog for 2.5 weeks now and it’s depressing. But in the midst of it, the Lord has shown me beauty.

The buds hang on even in the bitter cold, even when ice covers them. Even the ice itself has a certain beauty. — The buds hang on in the bitter cold, even when ice covers them. Even the ice itself has a certain beauty.

And the Lord says, the ice and snow will melt and the plants will bring flowers and fruit again.

So the Lord is telling me to hold on, stay the course, stay strong. He will hold on to these precious ones and there will be hope cos there is still good in this world.

And i believe it. i have to, i need to… otherwise… the alternative simply can not be…

So believe with me… and pray for these precious children, share their story, they need the world to know about them and care for them and do something to help them.

The little something i do for these orphans is to shout out for them, especially for the ones with special needs who are even more at risk of abuse. i know i can not help every single one but if even a few come to know love, my small part is done. It takes lots of small parts to form a whole. Would you be a small part too?

This Christmas my efforts include helping Jasper (Asia) to get as much exposure as possible and to increase his adoption grant by US$1000 by year’s end (we are US$644.40 from our goal at the moment). Here and here are my 2 current events for Jasper. Please do take part and share them with your friends and family. Thank you.

syc

December 18, 2013

Extended Jewelry Giveaway…

Jasper is waiting for his forever family. He needs your help to get his message out there.

Our fundraising efforts for Jasper (Asia) has not been going as well as expected. 😦

To date, we have helped to raise US$346.60. Thank you to everyone who has helped us get this far! 🙂

BUT we still have ANOTHER US$653.40 (plus another 10% for Voice of Hope Fund which helps run the Reece’s Rainbow ministry).

And we have had only 3 participants in our Jewelry Giveaway.

The original date on which we were going to draw names for the gifts was 20 December. BUT we are now EXTENDING it to 26th DECEMBER, in the hopes of raising more funds for Jasper’s adoption grant as well as getting more participants. So we will be drawing names on Boxing Day regardless of whether or not we reach our goal of US$1000 – i pray that we will reach our goal.

So here’s the details of the Jewelry Giveaway again:

3 sets of lovely necklace and earrings, all beautifully set with Swarovski Elements Crystal to thank you for taking part.

Here they are:

SET 01 – Snake Chain Necklace made of rhodium-plated brass with a Pendant set with 1 berry-coloured Swarovski Elements Crystal (crystal is 0.8cm/0.31in diameter). Length is approximately 45cm (17.72in), can be shortened to 42cm (16.54in). Earrings are set with 1 berry-coloured Swarovski Elements Crystal each, in rhodium-plated brass with titanium stud.

SET 02 – Snake Chain Necklace made of blackened brass with a Pendant set with 1 grey Swarovski Elements Crystal (crystal is 0.8cm/0.31in diameter). Length is approximately 45cm (17.72in), can be shortened to 42cm (16.54in). Earrings are set with 1 grey Swarovski Elements Crystal each, in blackened brass with titanium stud.

SET 03 – Snake Chain Necklace made of rhodium-plated brass with a Pendant set with 1 blue Swarovski Elements Crystal (crystal is 0.8cm/0.31in diameter). Length is approximately 45cm (17.72in), can be shortened to 42cm (16.54in). Earrings are set with 1 blue Swarovski Elements Crystal each, in rhodium-plated brass with titanium stud.

Here’s how to enter this giveaway:

Simply sharing this giveaway/this post or our FB album will get you a Free Entry.
Give to Jasper‘s adoption grant here.
- US$5 = 1 entry
- US$10 = 3 entries
- US$15 = 5 entries
- US$20 = 7 entries
- US$25 = 9 entries
- US$35 = 13 entries
- US$50 = 19 entries
- US$100 = 39 entries

Once you have made your contribution to Jasper‘s grant, please comment below with your initials and last name, and your email and how much you have given. You can also email me at sandra_chia(at)hotmail(dot)com if you wish to. Remember i don’t know you want to be entered into this giveaway unless you comment or email me.

3 recipients will be chosen via a random number generator on the 26th December, Thursday, 9pm Central Europe Time (3pm EST, 12noon Pacific Time).

Please note that you do NOT need a Paypal account to give to Jasper‘s grant, all you need is a credit card. When you click on Donate on Jasper‘s profile page, you will be taken to a Paypal page but you can use the Continue link on the left of the Paypal login box. You can also send a check to Reece’s Rainbow (Reece’s Rainbow, PO Box 4024, Gaithersburg, MD 20885) and write on the back that it is for Jasper (Asia).

Please do help us spread the word about Jasper‘s story and this giveaway. Remember you get a free entry when you share. But you have to comment here or on our FB page, with your name and email, to let me know to include you in the giveaway.

Do also pray along with us for this fundraising efforts and more importantly, pray for Jasper and for his forever family to come for him.

Thank you very much.

syc