Making It Possible

I was feeling lethargic when I woke yesterday morning. I struggled my way through to the toilet and wash up. =S Teresa and Carl came to pick me up to the Kaikan. The whole journey was a bit quiet, we were all just listening to the music from the radio. Before going straight to the Kaikan, and considering we still have a little bit of time, Teresa and Carl went and get their breakfast at McD and I just followed from behind. While they we're queuing up, Teresa turned to me and blurted "I got a job!!!" That instant moment, I felt a surge of adrenaline rush in me. And I go like, "Ohhhh…. TERESA!!!" followed by a big hug to her! I feel extremely happy for her and could feel deeply the power of daimoku!

Teresa has been looking for a job ever since she finished her last semester - that was around end of June or July this year. She wanted to get a Permanent Resident in Australia but she was not allowed as she did not meet the minimum requirement of 2 years studies here (she only did 1.5 years). The only way the could make her stay here permanently is to get a job that is willing to sponsor her a work visa. It is NOT easy to get a job here in Melbourne without past experience, when you're a fresh uni grad, not holding or planning to apply for PR and basically I think it's generally tougher for international students to get a job here. But that did not deter her to try. I talk to her every now and then and ask her about her job hunt, I could feel that her anxiety lengthen with each conversation I have with her. She was really struggling to get a job. At some point, I too felt that it is very unlikely for her to get a job given such short time when her student visa expires on the 31st Aug but deep down inside I really hope that she will be able to transform this with faith. I can't imagine how much worries and stress she had in her mind of having the thoughts that she will have to leave the country soon if she still couldn't get a job. I spoke to her mum, and she too was feeling stress seeing her daughter going through such difficulty. Her mum gave her all her support, and never stop to encourage her to chant more hours with strong determination, believing that things will move according to her prayers and that to have unflinching spirit. Of course, at the same time, she did not stop applying for jobs and going out to network and meet new people. So came 31 Aug and she's still jobless. She then applied for an extension - a 3-month working holiday visa that give her a final 3 months to hunt for a job. Within just a few weeks, things start to change. She bump into a friend whom she met at a bar sometime ago and spoke about her job hunting predicament. This guy happen to be the managing director of a company asked her to send him her resume and the next week she went for and interview and got a job offer last Friday!

She told me she chanted 30 hours few weeks ago. Things did not seem to change then. I’m not sure if she felt devastated still, she refused to give up and continued chanting abundant of daimoku and finally, last week she finally gain her actual proof – getting a job that is willing to sponsor her a working visa which eventually allows her to stay here!

Now this is a splendid proof that really encourages me to not judge things immediately, but never to give up and continue to have that conviction in my prayers every single day. To have the confidence that every effort to chant, every effort for kosenrufu, every cause that I make will eventually come back as a benefit to me. Things might not change immediately, but when it does, it’s a drastic change. This strengthens my belief that I will be able to breakthrough when I go through job hunting next year. I still think that it is extremely tough for me to get a job in Public Relations but having said that, I’m going to challenge it full on, to really believe in myself, to manifest my potential, with chanting, and of course with the support from people around me.

Apart from Teresa’s experience, LH recently shared with me about his victories. Few months ago, he told me he has a few prayers objectives to achieve this year. One of the few is that his gf will receive a scholarship that will enable her to do her internship in Melbourne for 3 months. Secondly is that there will be someone to sponsor her a fully paid air ticket. Within months, one by one slowly had been realized and I’m expecting to see her gf in November! Not only that, recently he even received something which was unexpected to him – an offer to Harvard University to further his PhD research for a few months. That's not all, he is the only one selected! Though he said ‘it is not 100% yet’, but his supervisor has already announced it in their meeting. Nonetheless, really, it is amazing!