Youth Camp 2011

No doubt one of the best camps I've attended. The camp was centred on knowing God's Word. No bombastic activities, no outrageous games, just two video sermons per day, discussion and devotion times with our respective groups, and a fair bit of free time. On top of that, I was there simply as a camper. There wasn't a multitude of tasks for me to complete, neither was there the burden of having to drastically step out of my comfort zone. I know I shouldn't shy away from that, but at that point of time, the arrangement was perfect for me. And I thank God for that.

Thank God for the lessons learnt through the video sermons. It was a whole new style of sermons, and I found myself struggling to keep my eyes open at times due to the lack of interactivity. But God taught me so much each time. The main takeaway I got is that one could go so deep into the Word. By God's grace, I completed the Bible for the first time in 2011. But all I did was read it from cover to cover, without delving deeper. Now that I've got a bird's eye view of the Bible, it's time to dig deeper into His Word and truly read it purposefully as my "life manual". Once again, by His grace!

I'm thankful that I got to serve by doing the powerpoint. I really didn't want to, seeing that I made a promise to myself not to do anything related to slides for the next 6 months as I was so sick of them. But for some reason, it was such a joy doing it during the camp. I was greatly humbled when people thanked me for it, I wasn't expecting that 'cos after all, it was the least I could do. Thank God for the privilege to serve in little areas that needed help.

Last but not least, thank God for the people at camp. I didn't venture out to talk to a whole lot of people, but I'm thankful to have spent a little time with people I don't talk to in church over Bridge. (That is why Bridge is a beneficial game that links people together hahahaha.) Thank God for Eleanor going for the camp, it was great spending time with and talking to her. Thank God for Wanxin, whom I probably spent the most time with and got to know so much better. Thank God for the chats we had, and we found out that we really have a lot in common. So thank God for a common-interest buddy, haha.

After the camp, someone thanked me for helping her be comfortable around the youth. I was really surprised, as half the time I'd be trying to make myself comfortable, lol. But once again, I'm humbled. Thank God for what little help I could offer. Thank God for His showers of blessings over the camp. Thank God for the awesome roomies - Jean, Eleanor, Wanxin, Pat, Chia Wen, Yufang and Janice (for a night) - we made up the sick bay as half of us were ill, lol. Thank God for an amazing youth camp, an incredible ending to 2011!

An Indescribable Camp

The past three days at the BASC Children's Camp has been an amazing experience. Even that is an understatement to describe how blessed I am by what the Lord did during the camp. I thank God for this privilege to serve. I remember when the appeal was made for helpers, I disregarded it as I never really intended to help out in any avenue to do with children. It wasn't until I was personally asked that I felt a little obliged to do so since I would be having a rather long holiday. At that time, I thought that I would only serve in smaller areas such as games or art and craft, so to be assigned the role of group leader came as a shock to me. I knew I really had to depend on the Lord as 1) I have no heart for children, yet I would be spending the most time with them and 2) I absolutely do not like to lead.

It was challenging at the start. The hyperactivity of the children coupled with behavioural problems posed by several of them in my group made it difficult for me to get them to listen. I definitely thank God that leaders come in pairs (lol), thank God for Wanxin, who's way better at handling children than I am. Thank God that as we interacted more with the children, rapport was built and they were more willing to listen to us. I enjoyed the second day at eXplorer Kid where we got to play and bond with the children. There was this boy, Guodong, who wouldn't listen to a word I said on the first day. Yet on the second day, he wanted to follow me around!

Beyond the fun I had, I witnessed first hand how God performed miracles and changed lives over the short span of three days. A 12 year-old-girl in my group gave us much difficulty initially. She would either ignore us, or respond really rudely when we talked to her. During sermons and activities, she would venture off on her own and not cooperate at all. She was even called up by Aunty Betty for fighting with a groupmate. But I thank God for using Aunty Betty to spend time and share the Gospel with her. She didn't make an immediate decision but on the last day, she went up to Aunty Betty and said, "I did it." Puzzled by that statement, Aunty Betty probed and realised that the girl had accepted Jesus into her life. And the change in her was evident. She participated in the last sing-along session. She led us in our team cheer. And when we waved goodbye, she didn't stop waving till the bus turned off into another road... Even as I type this, I'm simply moved.

On the third day, a new girl joined my group, and she was a close friend of the 12-year-old girl. I knew it was double trouble right when she started goofing around with me. But over the day, God used Aunty May to talk to and share the Gospel with her, and she too came to know the Lord. Wow, wow, wow! There were many other testimonies about other children coming to trust Jesus, and it was just amazing. Thank God for the 66 children who trusted the Lord!

Thank God for my group, Hedgehog. I would not switch a child in there for any other. Naughty as they are, they're beautiful children, each a precious child of God, each unique in my eyes. I couldn't have asked for a better group. Thank God for our assistant leader Aunty Jenny (who could only join us on the first day, yet was greatly used by God to share the Gospel during soul-winning time) and our fearless soulwinner, Aunty May! Is she good at sitting the children down to talk to them!

Last but not least, thank God for the most awesome partner I could ever ask for... Wanxin! It's been such an enjoyable three days working with her. I'm really blessed by her efforts put into the camp by thinking of our team cheers, taking care of the children so well, and simply being a great role model by His grace. It was my first time working with her and I didn't know her well prior to the camp, but quoting what she said in her text to me, I'm amazed at the chemistry we shared. Thank God for this dear sister, she's one of the few people I've truly felt comfortable working with, and I couldn't have asked for a better person to serve alongside.

We are spiky, we are cute, we are the hedgehogs, and we will win the war!!!!!

BASC Camp 2011... To God be the glory!

St. John's Island, 5 - 7 Nov

Thank God for the wonderful getaway to St. John's Island from Saturday to Monday! The last time I set foot on the island was 2 years ago and this time I went back, I'm reminded once again of why I love the place. The scenic seaview, serene surroundings away from civilisation... I wish the trip had been longer, but over the short span of three days, I had a marvellous time. I will let the pictures, which were all taken by Catherine, do the talking.

The red, blue and green

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Playing Kart Rider Rush with Isaac and Ira. Love the boys!

Group shot over steamboat, minus Charmaine (who was behind the camera) and Alicia (who left earlier that afternoon).

With the guys, whom we didn't hang out much with 'cos they were always out fishing. Nonetheless, they were great fun, especially Darren, whose every line uttered is of great entertainment value lol!

Aunty Alice! Was simply lovely talking to her about many things!

The girls, who were amazing company throughout.

Charmaine being a bully as usual. I was trying to pose glamorously for the camera while in that position, but... I guess the picture says it all.

Lamb to the slaughter... The evil monkeys dragged me all the way to the sea where Kong decided to walk off, but Charmaine really dunked me in! Single-handedly. But with me clinging onto her, she partially got in too, so I'm happier. :D

So, presenting to you the wet pair.

Once again, I boarded the ferry dripping wet. (The same thing happened two years ago.) But this time, I wasn't alone. Haha! That aside, I'm just so thankful for the getaway. Thank God for Kong organising, planning for and contributing so much to this trip, for Charmaine helping out with all that and her labour of love in the preparations during the trip, and for everyone's awesome company one way or another! I enjoyed myself tremendously playing with Isaac and Ira (catching, iPhone games, card games, etc.), talking with Uncle Ivan and Aunty Alice, watching the guys (Kong, Darren, Daniel and Hansen) fish, and hanging out with the girls (Siqian, Catherine, Alicia and Charmaine)! Not to mention, we had our very own worship, sharing and prayer session on Sunday in a comfortable, cosy group. And I thank God we missed our ferry back on the last day and had to wait 2 hours for the next one, which gave us time to chill on the island and capture many beautiful memories with the cameras. (That gave me time to be thrown into the sea too...)

It was simply a refreshing time spent with the people there, catching up, talking, playing and such. I had a nice Sunday afternoon in the kitchen (somewhere you'll hardly catch me in) too, helping and learning from Charmaine how to prepare the various dishes for steamboat (and annoying her from time to time with the little things I did lol). So once again, thank God for the three days, thank God for each and every one who went!

I Refuse...

... to be taken down by this massive workload. No matter how tough it's gonna be, I've gotta fight on. 'Cos I'm remembering to count my blessings. And all this will come to an end. Just two more weeks...

Phil. 4:13 is mine to claim.

Stand strong, in Him!

His All-Sufficient Grace

It was a busy two weeks. Deadlines upon deadlines, meetings upon meetings, presentations upon presentations, tasks upon tasks... I knew at the beginning of it all that I didn't want to sulk through all of that though. I prayed, that I would truly depend on His grace and hold on to His promise, that the joy of the Lord would be my strength. I just knew He would see me through.

And of course He did. I'm just glad it's all over. I did feel frustrated at a point, but come to think of it, it's all about Him. What's a little indignance on my part, right? Thank God for having seen me through. The battle is not over, but thank God for the temporary rest I can enjoy now. Anyways, I'm supposed to be a "free bird".

Am still a little sad. But I'll entrust these emotions to You, that You might weave this melancholy into a love for the soul.

To end off on a lighter note... Pizza-cum-slumber party at Charmaine's tomorrow!

Junior Year

I'm now three weeks into the first semester of my junior year. It's a significant jump from Year 2 in terms of module nature, class timings, and the amount of readings and assignments. Many say that Sem One of Year 3 is the worst semester. It is indeed very tiring, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that. For now that is. I thank God that I don't dread going to school. In fact, I look forward to the moments I get to catch up with friends I haven't seen and talked to in months. Thank God for times like these that make going to school fun. And how can I forget... I've got the best timetable I've EVER got, the first four-day week I've EVER had!

Thank God for the first few weeks He's seen me through. I guess it's easy to say that it's fun now, seeing that I haven't arrived at the hectic periods. (Soon enough though.) But I pray for renewed strength from Him each day, a constant dependence on Him, and sustained purpose in going to school. And if the Lord's willing, may this be redemption year! ;)

Marvellous Memories, Bountiful Blessings

Like a toss of a boomerang, the five weeks I spent in Damai flew by. The only difference is, the time ain't coming back ever.

I'm truly blessed by this experience. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm so amazed how God answered my prayers and brought such a huge group of trainees into my life. I thank God for them, I thank God that we got along so well. I recall the many meals we'd have in the canteen and staff lounge each day, the chit-chat sessions, the birthday celebrations, the outings, and the support we'd give to one another whenever we had a rough time in class. I'm thankful for the friendships built, I won't forget them, and I pray that we'll still keep in contact somehow!

Thank God for the privilege to observe 1A1, 1A3, and 2E3. I didn't think I was gonna bother very much about the students. After all, I was only gonna be there for a short time and I was just observing the classes. How wrong I was. The students grew on me, and it's rare, but I actually found them adorable. Really adorable. Annoyed as I got with some of them, I never could stay angry at them. At the end of the day, they just made me smile. As I gave my goodbye speech to 1A3 last Friday, that scene where the students asked me not to leave, requested my Facebook, even wanting my autograph... I was pretty moved. Well, I'm glad I can keep in contact with the class, but it's my regret that I didn't get to say goodbye to 1A1 and 2E3. But as much as I miss them, life goes on. I can't thank God enough for letting me get to know and interact with these students. It's a pleasure.

It's definitely been a culture shock, a place and experience very different from how I was brought up and where I studied. But God has opened my eyes to the beauty of it. It's a realness of the world that I haven't seen. Where I came from, everything was fast, task-oriented, and it was all about reputation. Where I went to, it's just different. I began to see that the struggles in life are so real. It's not about pushing, pushing, and pushing to attain excellent results. I began to see that it's worth it to slow down, cultivate the foundations in a person, shower some care and love. I guess it'll be more rewarding teaching in such an environment. But it's no walk in the park. Let's see where God leads me next year, and for my 4 years.

I don't think I can fully express in words what I experienced and learnt the five weeks I was there. But that was for sure one of the best experiences I had this year. Once again, I thank God for the attachment, the staff, the students, the memories, the blessings, the lessons. And I'm still praying that He'll imbue in me a genuine passion for the road ahead and beyond that, a love for His people.

Thank you, all, who walked this journey with me and thank You, God, for Your unceasing presence.