church camp
...written on Monday, Jun. 28, 2004, @ 2:23 p.m.
here.. here the entry bout the church camp.
17th June 2004
I had to go to work first but only for two hours before I can go for camp in Alden’s car. Actually I came out at 10am when I’m supposed to do so only at 12pm. So obviously, my boss called and scolded me. Bleah
We went for lunch first at somewhere near the Loke’s place. After all of us had our breakfast; we had to wait for our VIP, Mr Ivan Goh to arrive. So the entire CG, which comprises of 3 families had to wait for the guest of honor to arrive. When we called him, he was still on the highway, taking a cab down. How nice is that!
The ride there was tiring. My butt hurts like crap after like one hour. On the way there, uncle Alick drove the fastest, followed by uncle Albert. There was this coach that drove at I think 130km/hr, trying to compete with both cars so ya, it seems as though there’s this competition going on which made the trip more exciting. -_-”
Once we reached the resort, auntie Susan and everyone else warmly greeted us. I didn’t really pay attention to the rest cuz I really want to go back to my room and join Nicholas (my bunk mate). We had one queen size bed and one portable bed in our room. Being nice, he offered me the portable bed, which was highly uncomfortable to sleep in due to the hardness and the size of that pathetic bed! Chris teo who was my neighbor (we had a link room) helped us take a photo with me smiling on the queen size bed and Nicholas looking sad on the portable bed. Had to go down for briefing after I changed into berms and slippers. When I saw familiar faces at the grand ballroom, my heart was simply filled with joy. Most people were quite surprised to see me mainly because it was a last minute decision that I could come in the afternoon. Liz lee came to ask me whether I was angry with Sarah and Deborah right after the briefing. The answer is obviously NO!! It’s quite retarded to get angry over such trivial issues ya. Moreover, it’s not their fault (more like God’s plan for me). If not for them, the earliest I could reach the campsite would be like 10pm. Praise God!!
The camp orientation was all right I suppose. Got to meet my group members (fried rice) for the first time. Was really glad that the age gap in my group wasn’t that great. Pastor Dave is my group leader, kinda disappointed at first cuz I thought that means I can’t skip any games sessions during the camp. bleah
Dinner was okay initially. We were warmly greeted by the swarm of houseflies. I had a quick dinner then rushed back to the room to get my file and proceed to the ballroom to practice the dance.
The first teaching on the Word was quite inspiring. Trevor Yaxley talked about all the cool things that God did while he preached in other churches. He mentioned something like for consecutive of 3 days, whenever he said let’s pray, there would be the sound of thunder. AWESOME!!
Discussion was cool. Everyone shared about their experience with God and the things that God did. It was not at all boring. Actually I think my cg group discussion for tm can be revived as long as everyone in the group is willing to talk like 10 words.
There was no program after that so we went back to our room to get the cd player then go back to the ballroom to dance AGAIN! I think I am always the one who request for more practice cuz I really need it. Dance practice was fun and not at all serious. We really had a great time practicing even though there are times when I get a bit disappointed and frustrated bout the comments from people. I know there are trying to help but somehow I felt abit uneasy cuz everytime there will be people telling me all my mistakes whenever I start dancing. Anyway, I tried my best not to reveal any of my negative feelings out. This dance is solely for God and I myself would want to improve and thus I need to learn from my mistakes. Yeah! So it was dancing all the way until past 12 midnight. By the end of it, everyone was exhausted. I was too but I needed to practice more, so I went to ian’s room to learn from yimin and josia while ian or whoever was bathing. After three sets or so, I returned to my room cuz Nicholas was alone and ya. Felt really bad for neglecting him. Afterall, I invited him to come for this camp.
When I unlocked the door, I realized that Nicholas actually ledged it so I got no choice but to wake him up before I could enter my own room. Slept after I bathe. Fell asleep two hours later after I laid on my bed cuz I was trying to recall the dance moves.
~end of day 1~
18th June 2004
woke up at 7.35am thanks to the alarm that I set for my work. Nicholas was still sleeping so I shook him several times. We took like half an hour to go downstairs for breakfast. Everything did everything slowly cuz we were still quite sleepy. My whole back was aching due to the practice we had the day before. Breakfast was horrible. The cereals were all ‘lao hong’ and I think all of them had already been invaded by the houseflies. I left the bowl of cereals on the table after having one spoonful of it. Yuck! Had my second servings (fried rice and sausages). The fried rice was lumpy but I was hungry so ya. It didn’t really bother me the much.
The teaching 2 was about the coming of the HS, which talks about the unity of the people and the works of the HS. I was quite distracted during the sermon for some unknown reasons. Discussion was super cool today. Everyone started sharing about the works of the HS. Some got slained/slayed (dunno how to spell), some started speaking in tongues when they were still teenagers, some witnessed healing from God etc. I was quite irritated by Guowei cuz he kept on talking nonsense to me instead of listening to what others are sharing.
It started pouring when it was about lunch time. After lunch was suppose to be “explore Malacca”, but due to the bad weather, I didn’t feel like stepping out of the resort so I stayed in my room with Nicholas, Justin, Chris and a whole lot of pple. We played cards until the rain stopped. It took like 1 and ½ hrs for that to happen. Water captain’s ball was next. Initially, we played hockey but there was not enough sticks for all of us. So together with kang yong and chris, we sat by the pool and sang ‘making melody’. As we sang, we went closer and closer to the pool. After like 3 mins, someone asked me whether I wanted to swim, so I went upstairs to change and after that, the real game begins. It started off with like 5 pple. Gradually, it became 12, just enough to form two teams. However, most of them were kids so john chris Nicholas and me form a team, against Joel chong, ben (someone that we got to know there) and 5 other kids. I thought it was quite a fair team since we are like super outnumbered. In the end, we thrashed them like crap without letting them scoring a single goal. At around 3 plus, pple started to come back. It was not only until 4pm that I decided to stop swimming cuz of the dance practice. Had to bathe first cuz the pool is horribly dirty (that’s wad I was told but I din really agree with them. It looks kinda clean to me, except for the Jacuzzi beside the pool). Let me elaborate more on the Jacuzzi. Its ¼ filled with water and ¾ of which is made up of greenish water with algae floating on top.
After bathing, I rushed down immediately cuz I was late already. Had to wear a jersey that I borrowed from Josia with him name on it. Was quite insulted. JK! The shirt fits me nicely. I kinda like that shirt without the name. Haha. Btw, for those who stayed behind and not go for the Explore Malacca, there were indoor games planned. I wanted to go for it but when I saw the games, we went to play hockey. The games were BOGLE and SRABBLE. Sounds exciting rite? -_-”
During the dance practice, after I jumped down from the stage, I sprained my left ankle quite badly. It was an old injury cuz I have not recovered fully since the time I sprained it outside church. Anyway, it wasn’t a big deal cuz I could still walk. After jumping off the second time, I sprained it again and things got slightly worse. I think I haven’t learned my lesson yet so I sprained it the third time. This time round, my ankle got swollen quite badly. I could hardly walk. Thank God that after all the dancers prayed for me, I could still continue to dance. What a miracle! After the practice, amy teo went to ask for two bags of ice and the waiters gave us two huge bags. They are quite generous but seriously, we dun need that much. Do we?
Soon it was some nite dinner programme thingy held at the Grand ballroom or wadeva u call it. The MC played all the old songs which none of us has ever heard of. I think the latest of the songs were from celine dion, My heart will go on. Despite the sucky song, our creativity led us to sing it in ‘H major’. The TM pple occupied the tables nearest to the stage. All the singers gathered at our table and thus a TM choir was formed spontaneously. The whole ambience changed quite abit and it became so lively. I suppose music help to increase people’s appetite cuz by the end of the third performance, which was our dance, there was hardly any food left. As for the dance, my ankle din really affect me, and I only forget one step throughout the whole dance. After the performance, a lot of pple said I dance like a robot and I thought it was quite funny.
After dinner, I played cards while with Nicholas before going to Ian’s room to watch soccer together. The Tv at Ian’s room kinda sucked so I moved over to Alden’s room, which was just beside Ian’s. The match was awfully boring and after like 20 mins or so, Nicholas requested to go back to our room to sleep so I followed him. We went to Ian’s room to get our slippers but I couldn’t find it cuz the lights were off (both Ian and Josia were asleep already). Back at our room, we talked for less than 10 mins before Nicholas were off to a world of his own. Chris came to crap with me and tried disturbing Nicholas. Then Nicholas was like ‘GO AWAY!’ we did it a couple of times until the joke became boring. After that, it was my turn to slp.
~end of day 2~
19th June 2004
Ian is suppose to wake me up at 7am for the morning 5bx led by Shufen cuz she needed help to lead the morning dance. Well, he didn’t so obviously I didn’t wake up in time for it. Actually it was my fault cuz it was my responsibility to wake up in time for what I want to attend.
Breakfast was the same. I tried other dishes apart from fried rice. In fact, I tried every dish that I have yet tasted. Well, there wasn’t much variety so I didn’t eat much either. I ate a lot of fruits though, hoping that I could shit cuz apparently, I haven’t do so in 2 days, which was quite abnormal. Just to sidetrack abit, I rather depend on fruits than the packet drink that Josia drank last nite for quick ‘release’.
Trevor’s wife preached the sermon. It wasn’t as good but it was still very good. She mentioned what is Jehovah (I am the God u want me to be at the time u need me to be), 1 + God = Majority and the importance of being in line with the heartbeat of God. She asked a question that really struck me. Do we believe in the product that we promote? The product is obviously Jesus and we are supposed to share the gospel. If we believe in Jesus, then what is holding us back from sharing? If Jesus is our everything, y do we fear rejection? We are life carriers. We have a mission to save lost souls. We have the power and the authority. All we have to do is to ask God to use us.
During the briefing, I didn’t pay attention cuz I didn’t want to. Just sat there and stone until the briefing was over and pple started preparing for the carnival of colors. I volunteered myself to go out to the marketplace or whatever u called it to fetch the kids back to our resort. I wanted to go there to buy some presents or clothes for myself cuz I haven even spend on anything yet. Maybe a few chewing gums but still, it’s NOT ENOUGH!! Uncle Jeff chose Ian Josia Mich and Nicole too. So five of us took a quick lunch and off we go to the unknown place!!
We didn’t really have time to shop like what I had in mind. Anyway, the stalls there were horrible and the clothes were totally disgusting. After like 5 mins of browsing through the goods that were on display, the kids came gradually. We were ordered to talk to them abit and make them feel welcomed. The first guy that I approached was Jeremy. He seemed to be pretty nice but kinda shy. After finish telling me him name, he went off somewhere. I was in a playful mood then, so I decided to follow him around. So whenever he sees me, he will move elsewhere and I will follow. After awhile, I went off to socialize with another kid, which was Jeremy’s brother (Gaviel).
Gaviel is chubbier and bigger in size. Anyway, I didn’t really talk to them after that cuz there’s another two Malay looking kids (Sean and the other one I can’t remember) who appeared to be more sociable. By the way, they are Gaviel and Jeremy’s schoolmates and playmates. Their parents are good friends too.
On the bus, I sat with Sean’s bro and tried to entertain him by teaching him all the lame songs. Too bad he refused to learn. Bleah. Anyway, the bus became quite packed and a lot of kids got no seats so I gave up mine and stood beside Josia. In front of Josia were 3 chinese-speaking dudes (Edwin, his bro and their schoolmates). The other 2 only had Chinese names so I couldn’t remember. Edwin’s bro likes me a lot. He clanged on to me right after we got off the bus. He wanted me to be their group leader because I’m nice and cool and handsome and the list goes on……
Actually I wanted to be in their group also cuz we can really connect. But too bad I got 3 other kids whom I am quite familiar with (Jeremy Gaviel and Sean’s bro). That is like so cool. At least they are not that quiet and reserve type. Together with the Malacca YFC leader, david, we led the 3 of them through the carnival.
Our first station was Yellow, which was situated beside the ops room. Nothing interesting happened during the carnival until we reached the Red station. It was so humiliating at the soccer area, beside the tennis court. All three kids tried kicking the ball at the 30pts mark and almost scored a goal. David tried the 100pts mark that I thought was kinda impossible to score but he managed to kick it like 5 cm away, which was very good already. As for me, I didn’t dare to be so ambitious so I took the 40pts mark. Once I kicked it, a lot of jaws dropped. The ball was so off that everyone got a shocked. I was obviously blushing then but hey, I tried my best and have no regrets. (:
Overall, my group did pretty well in all the games so I thought we might have a chance to win a Manchester United shirt. When the results were announced, our group was the 8th. That was quite surprising. How could my group, an all guys group lose to a group with all the girls. Anyway, the games were fun and all of us did enjoy ourselves, which was the most important thing.
During this carnival, I was quite unhappy with a group of guys from our church who refuse to let the Malacca kids go first because they too wanted to have fun. These people are from TM, which makes me even more furious. If they were the same age as the Malacca kids who were like 7-9 yrs old, fighting with them to play will be quite normal. But no, they are at least 3 years older. What is the purpose of this outreach? Is it organized for the church pple to have fun or for the sake of evangelism? Seriously, I think its time for u guys to grow up.
Dinner was slightly better today. The beef was nice. Oh, this was my second time eating beef. Bought some cup noodles at the shop in the hotel and went to Ian’s room awhile cuz our (Nicholas and me) key was spoilt again and wanted to wait for Chris teo or J low to come back so we could open our door since we had a link room. Unfortunately, this never happened and I had to bring my cup noodles down to the grand ballroom, which was like so sucky.
During the workshop ‘focus on the family’, Trevor Yaxley showed us an article or rather some pointers that he got from the Houston Police Department. For the benefit of those who never go for camp, I shall type it out here.
12 ways to Raise Delinquents
1) Beginning in infancy- give the child everything he wants and in this way he will grow up and believe the world owes him a living.
2) When he picks up bad words – laugh at him and this will make him think that he is cute- it will also encourage him to pick up cuter phrases that will blow off the top of his head later
3) Never give him any spiritual training- wait until he is 21 and let him decide for himself then
4) Avoid the use of the word ‘wrong’ – it may develop a guilt complex. This will commission him to believe later when he is arrested for stealing a car that society is against him and he is being persecuted.
5) Pick up everything he leaves lying around and do everything for him so he will experience throwing all responsibility onto others.
6) Let him read any printed material he can get his hands onto – be careful that the silverware and drinking utensils are sterilized but let his mind feast on the garbage.
7) Quarrel frequently in the presence of your children – in this way they will not be too shocked when the home is broken up later.
8) Give a child all the spending money he wants – never let him earn on his own – why should he have the things as tough as u had?
9) Satisfy his every craving – denial may lead to harmful frustration
10) Take his part against neighbors, teachers, policemen etc. they’re all prejudice against your child
11) When he gets into real trouble apologize for yourself by saying ‘ I could never do anything with him’.
12) Prepare for a life of grief- for surely you will have it
This is so dumb la. Whoever who came out with this crap had already stated in point ten that he/she is prejudiced against the delinquents. There are so many people who are blinded by their own sins and even trying to influence pple to spend eternity in hell. Thankfully, most parents have compassion for their children and that’s the way they should be. God creates humans and I believe they are here for a reason.
After the talk, I got the key from J low and went back to my room. Actually I don’t mind going for the second talk but Nicholas and Justin didn’t want to. So I stayed in the room and played cards for like 2 hours. While playing cards, I kept on disturbing Nicholas by asking him to look into the mirror and he might just see something special. The mirror was directly behind him so it made the whole thing super freaky. Justin didn’t dare to look too. Anyway, Justin wanted to bunk with us so we accompanied him back to his room to get his stuffs cuz he didn’t dare to go back alone.
The silence was deafening to the point where we actually started running until we saw two chairs with a Painting separating them. I went there to sit and once Nicholas hopped on to the other seat, I screamed and ran off with Justin. Nicholas got quite freaked out la so 3 of us sprinted towards Justin’s room without stopping. On our way back, the situation was somewhat similar, just that Justin was carrying his guitar to our room, thus he ran slower than us.
In our room once again, Nicholas started playing the guitar and sang the Justin song composed by Daniel loke. He could only play G and sang the first two words that is Justin Justin… and then he stopped. We stopped playing guitar after awhile because it was off tuned. Just lay down there and crap until Nicholas went to dreamy land again. Chris came to my room soon after that to talk to me cuz I will be leaving the next day. He left J low alone in the room so after like half an hour, J low felt lonely and called Chris over several times. Before Chris went back to his room, he asked whether I was sleepy. Actually I was but I told him that I wasn’t. Anyway, everytime he talked to me at night, I will feel sleepy after awhile. This has been experimented twice already. Haha. Soon after that, I decided to sleep cuz Justin was like ignoring me already.
~End of day 3~
20th June 2004
I had quite a weird dream and woke up around 3am. When I opened my eyes with my posture remained, I realized that all three of us got the same pose. It’s quite weird cuz in my dream, somehow I felt that all three of us were dreaming of the same thing at the same time. What I meant is that we were in the same dream together. I shan’t elaborate on my pose cuz the pose wasn’t very nice.
Once again, I was the first to wake up. Right outside the toilet, there’s this flattened lizard that are already died. I think someone stepped on it last nite or maybe Chris played a prank of us. Justin and I just brushed our teeth and went down for breakfast. Nicholas wanted to bathe so we didn’t bother to wait for him. He told us to bring up the food for him. After we finished eating, we queued up for the scrambled eggs. It’s DEELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!! Nicholas brought down our files and joined us after that while we were eating the eggs. (I am kinda distracted right now cuz its almost time to go home from work).
During the teaching, Trevor talked about his encounter with God and the Holy Spirit brought him to heaven (he wasn’t dead). In heaven, he saw a big tree that is not like anything on Earth. Beside the tree was a small house. Once he stepped into the house, he saw a lot of pple there and the room wasn’t small at all. In the room, no one talked to him except for one. This guy had two voices. In fact, everyone in heaven had two voices. One voice is for the normal communication, without having to move his lips, if he chose not to. The other one is the inner voice of praise, meaning that there’s this voice that keeps on telling the other person he is conversing how great he is and stuff. Anyway, after a short conversation, there was a pause and from a distance, he saw a familiar face which he could recognize almost instantly (his son). Both of them hugged and Trevor started crying. His son then told him that no one cries in heaven and asked him to stop crying. Just then, Trevor got pulled back to Earth.
Trevor goes on to tell us about the flowers in heaven. They are always singing praises to God and everything in heaven will never be damaged or injured. Even when flowers got trampled, they will simply stand up and continue to sing praises!
After all this talk about heaven, Trevor started prophesizing about the church and particularly the people. First was the lady who sat behind me, then the one beside her. Each time Trevor prophesized about that particular person, he/she will start weeping. Before you know it, almost everyone was bawling his or her eyes out. The feeling was super cool and God’s presence was like so eminent. There was shouting; people receive the gift of tongues, jumping around etc. it was totally awesome, way beyond description.
After the teaching, Daniel told me that he’s kinda worried that the church might split up again because of the charismatic influence. I really hope that such things won’t happen and so I hope that everyone will pray for our church that there will be unity.
After lunch, Uncle Winston (the guy who is driving me back) told me that we will be going back at 1.30pm instead of 3.30pm. I was quite reluctant but I dun really have a choice. The later I leave the resort, the harder will I be able to leave later so ya.
The journey back was boring cuz I dunno anyone there and ya. That was it, the end of church camp. That night was kinda horrible and I felt so lonely. My heart was still in camp, and lying on my bed, I was still thinking bout everyone in Malacca, what are they doing now and stuff. The feeling was horrible but ya. Everything has to come to a stop somehow someday sometime……