Let the children's laughter.. remind us how we used to be

I had my 'awful' moments today.. when the heart just didn't feel quite right. But while waiting for the terawih prayers tadi, I was talking to this lady and she's just oh so inspiring.

She showed me pictures of the places that she's been to, in Khartoum.. and it's amazing. Amazing because I realized that she's been doing so much community service, not just with the other Malaysian ladies at the Complex, but also on her own.

For instance, she has horse-riding class with her two lovely daughters. Not only that, they also take the time to help other disabled children during their horse-riding class.

"There are cerebral palsy kids at the equestrian. Horse riding helps with their motor skills. So I got my daughters to spend time with the disabled kids," she said. And I was humbled.

Apparently, she instilled this volunteering habit in her kids since young.

"Even in KL, I would take them to orphanages so that they could play with the orphans. It teaches them how to share, love and care for other unfortunate children," she said, with a genuine smile. You can tell that there's no pretense or any show-off attitude there.

Amazing how you meet people out of the blue, who reminds you that there are a lot of good people out there. Oh. A good reminder for me too. Sebab I thought she was the diva-kind. I mean, memang lah dia diva.. she's pretty and all.. But beneath all that, rupanya she's a kind and humble mum.

"Oh. I can do all these (bring my kids to the orphanages) because I'm a stay-at-home mum. I can spend more time with them," she gushed, with a smile. A sincere smile. And of course, she had me there.. :) (So yeah, I am planning to go to an orphanage one of these days, and she said she wants to follow.. yayy.. nice.....)

Anyway, yesterday, I also managed to spend some time with the Sudanese kids. I was at the Zaat Al-Nitakein school to take pictures for our book project and was overwhelmed by the reception given by the kids. (Sekolah ni ala ala sekolah Convent di Malaysia, kata Isba. Only for the girls.. heheh.)

But ooohhhh... wonderful moments I had, at the school..

The school compound - nice!

Children playing during recess

Curious children.. as they see us whipping out our cameras

Such a sweet smile, she has

Ever ready to pose for the camera

All engrossed with the camera as Duaa clicked away

Drinking water straight from the tap

Take my picture, pleaseeeeeee... :)

Shy little kids

With the lady from the Ministry of Education who helped arrange for the photoshoot

Eager students.. ready to answer!

Oh yes, she can read..

Year 1 kids.. alahai comelnya semua..

I kinda like the girl on the right, yang paling depan sekali..

Spotted.. curious pairs of eyes checking us out..

A simple classroom.. I'm humbled..

 I'm blogging this sambil tengok terawih prayers from Mekah. And today, the imam cried a few times. And nope, it's not my fav imam Sheikh Abdurrahman As-Sudais.. but sedih jugak lah tengok imam ni nangis..

Ramadan kan.. banyak memberi pengajaran.

I need to try to be a better person too. To always bersangka baik, to watch my temper and to be more patient and kind... Also, to elakkan sifat takbur dan cuba ada sifat zuhud.. (According to 'Ustaz Joe', sifat zuhud is sifat tidak mementingkan keduniaan. Which is so relevant. After all, dunia ni hanya sementara kan.. so all the joy, or misery, or pain will not last forever anyway..)

Sigh.. I so kena banyak muhasabah diri..

Ok. Terawih (Mekah) pun dah habis. Time to sleep. Nite nite! xoxo