Written by: Ding Bee-Huei
Photo by: Chiang Kun-Ling
Translated by: Juneau Weng
Proofread by: Agness Tsao
In order to welcome the annual event for TIMA, all the functional groups had made full preparation for food, clothing, housing, and transportation in all aspects. Dormitory group is composed of 36 volunteers from the Taipei Districts. Considering the condition of the participants after a long day of classes and activities, they need to get sufficient rest. Volunteers began to plan for the preparations since May. In addition to the basic needs of cleaning, setting the moving lines inside of the Jing Si Hall, making choices for comfortable bedding as pillows and blankets, as well as special needs from participants of various countries were thoroughly discussed through a number of meeting and reached consensus.
Facing the challenges Moving forwards with courage
This is the fourth time for Chen Bizhen to be the contact person of dormitory group for TIMA. From the very nervous beginning to today's confidence, Chen Bizhen thinks that taking the difficulties as challenges, is the best way to learn and grow in progress, not only learning ways of doing things, but also knowing how to communicate with people, is the best part of learning.
Although Chen Bizhen has many experiences as a contact person of the dormitory group, but each time she has to face different kind of camps, also with different volunteers to work with. She learns to use gratitude, respect and love to face the people, matters, and things, so that all the volunteers and members who participated in the camp would return homes with joy, which is her greatest expectation. With a hasty personality, Chen used to make people obey her arrangements and listen to her commands. However, Chen gradually changes herself to accomplish the given tasks with a gentle heart.
On the day of September 12, the volunteers of dormitory group started to work step by step. Shen Hui Mei is the volunteer from Taipei's Wanhua District, and is distributing the sheets and covers of the blanket and pillows, carefully putting the blankets and pillows into the sheets and covers and finally placed them on the bed in orders. Shen said: "Neatness is Beauty, so I have to put blankets and pillows in lines carefully, and when the TIMA members who coming back here will feel very happy, and rest like at home, and continue to join the activities on the next day."
Zhang Yan feng, another volunteer from Taipei Xinyi District, has a job. However in order to participate in a total of six days volunteer work in the dormitory group, she arranged it as her vacation time long time ago. Early this morning with the team together, she happily took the train to Hualien. Zhang carefully made the arrangement on the bedding of each room, and when the sweat kept coming down from the cheeks and infiltrated her clothes, she is always wearing a smile.
Her daughter intended to invite her for a vacation to Japan, but she thinks that the trip will cost her around USD1,350 yet and with the language barrier, yet the Japanese food is not her favorite, she told her daughter : "It is still the best to do the volunteer work instead since no money will be spent, and also together with many great friends having the same belief I will be able to serve the members of TIMA form worldwide countries, that will be the best blessings that I can never miss! "
Meeting in TIMA once a year is an appointment of love, and also a delivering of an eternal love. Starting in 1996, Dr. Lu Xiuquan had been making appointments with Master Cheng Yen and it had been kept for the last two decades. Even though Dr. Lu passed away due to illness, but every year the members of TIMA from all around the world continue to participate unabated. The warmest reception from the volunteers has made the eternal love live in everywhere.
