   
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed the set of footprints in the sand, one belonging to him and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, you 'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troubled times of my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why you would leave me when I needed you most."
The Lord replied,"My child. My precious child. I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
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~Footprints of my Life~
 Thank God for the wonderful trip to Hokkaido! It was great and I really some sort of withdrawal symptoms when I came back to Singapore. 2 days back in Singapore and I am already missing my time in Hokkaido. I spent a few days of the trip touring around different nature spots. From the mountains to the lakes, to the valleys or just moving along the vast fields of the land and the blooming flowers, the experience was just simply breathtaking. To me, it was just like a taste of heaven, just that I know that heaven will be much much better. It was just what I needed... I needed to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city, to be away from the noise of the buses and the mrts. During the 7 days, I really could let go of everything and enjoy myself. Thank God for that. The temperature though cold (around 11 to 14 degrees average) was very refreshing. I simply enjoyed the cool breezes blowing onto my face and hair. Their cool air just makes me want to stand still and take deep breaths. It's an absolutely amazing feeling. I learnt a lot about Japanese culture from what I see and from what I hear from my tour guide, Sam. This guy is no joke! He doesn't allow us to sleep on the coach when we are traveling from one place to another. He will just rattle on and on (even if it's 3 hours) about Japanese culture, the Japanese's way of life. If we sleep, he will make fun of us and we will be too paiseh to do so. But I have to admit that I really enjoyed his stories and I learnt a lot. Somehow, his stories just allow you to connect what you see on the streets and have a deeper understanding of the Japanese, not just what you see on the superficial level. Through this trip, God has also impressed upon my heart deeply the importance of missions in Japan. My home church is involved in missions in Japan and I must admit that I never really thought much about missions in Japan until I went there and I saw the people for myself. The Japanese that I saw in Hokkaido, especially those in the outskirts are really lovely people. They are so courteous, polite and sincere. In a few days when we were leaving the hotel, the hotel staff would wave non-stop in the cold outside to us until our coach is out of sight. This is something that you will never see in the big cities like Tokyo or even Sapporo. These Japanese value relationships. Hokkaido is also very heavily influenced by western culture. As you see my pictures, you will realize that the houses that you see in Hokkaido are unlike those that you might see in Tokyo. Some of them are like cottages, and if you go to Otaru, that place has a very italian feel. All these influences goes all the way back to their history which I will not talk about here. Alrighto, here are the pictures. I hope you enjoy them! MaRGaReT left her footprint @ 3:38 PM
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