Watching kids grow

The past few days of surveying has been really been an experience. Doing door-to-door surveys from 9:30am to 9:30pm with a 40-minute lunch break and 20-minute dinner break (without dinner) is just.. you have to experience it yourself to know what it's like. But there is so much to thank God for:
- The great weather: It's been cloudy and windy most of the time; the only time I felt the scorching heat was during lunch
- A great partner in Jasmine: She's really good, really fit. She could walk the whole day without the need to take any breaks. And actually, she was the one who asked the survey questions 75% of the time. My apologies to her for being half-an-hour late on the 2nd day; I know it's a capital offence to make girls wait. Sometimes I would be the one to suggest taking the lift for going 3 floors up, when she'd be the one to recommend the stairs. 真是自愧不如。 Also got to know her a little more.
- Nice respondents: Quite a few of them actually invited us in so we need not stand at their doorsteps. Some even offered us drinks!

No doubt everybody worked very hard, but I'd have to say God's grace is really sufficient. We got exactly enough respondents by end of Sunday. (:

-------------------------------------------------------
Anyway, that was just preamble. I'm not yet a parent, but I felt the tip of an iceberg of what a parent probably feels when a parent sees his/her children grow up. I saw my choir kids lead worship in front of an adult congregation for the first time on Sunday.

Pride and joy welled within me when I saw them leading worship on stage. Not that I really mentored them since they were young, or had a great part in their musical or spiritual development; but perhaps the past one year with them has brought me closer to them. And I really thank God that they have all grown and matured.

Now that a couple of them have completed their secondary school education, and pretty well too, I wish them all the best for their post-secondary education. I pray that they continue to be a great testimony in their service (not that I want to delineate and decompartmentalise service from the other aspects of their lives, but how else do I express it), studies and families.

P.S. Why is my preamble as long as the crux of my post?
P.P.S. Anyone still up for La Boheme? :D