Monday, May 09, 2005
Refreshed, rejuvenated, renewed...
Ahh... came from camp and boy.. now in exhaustion phase. But it was good while it lasted, that spiritual high and the feeling of floating above clouds. Refreshed, rejuvenated, renewed and rejoice!!!!
I've been to last year's camp, but for me, these 2 camps were different as for THIS camp, I went as a committee member. And boy... it was different all right... so different. Being a committee member is exhausting, seriously. You have to be the one to lug things around, make sure everyone is ok with everything, worry about whether ppl enjoy the camp... the lists goes on...
Back in the first camp, I was a participant and I had fun being in a group. Staying up late to discuss for the skit, havin fun in the group... it was fun. But I'll never regret being a committee member. Good fellowship with friends I would never give up on, having the say in almost everything, all the band practices and organising of the game (DEATH LANE!!!)... being a committee member is funner.
Good God, good friends, good life… what else can I want?
Day 1:
Left on the bus at precisely 6.30pm. IMU students are always INfamous for bein late for everything, so it was like God's miracle that we left on schedule. We had 2 buses, which equals to 80 seats, but somehow, we couldn't find seats for the seniors and had to move some things. Strange...
The journey up was okay. Got caught in the jam and arrived 5 minutes late. Not bad at all... Even though it was so late, everyone was hyped up about the camp. Even the committee who were tired. I knew I was, and had to prepare myself to stay awake for the session (which I first thought would be boring). But it turned out, it was fun. The pastor was fun... he was always cracking jokes and he made it an interactive session. Cooool. I usually fall asleep after 10 minutes of lecture, but boy was I surprised to find myself still awake after 1 and half hour of the session.
Must talk about the worship. There was also another camp going on at the same place, and they were singing hymns next to the room we had. And how was our worship? With drums and electric guitars and very loud voices. So different that I can't help but laugh at it.
The icebreaker was lagi fun. There are 8 groups in all:-
Florentina
Plum Blossom
Cutie Soft
Royal Gold
Scottex
Kleenex
Scott Deluxe
Premier
Just in case you haven't realise, yes... they are all names of tissue paper. Long story why.
All groups were given an egg and the aim of the game was to buy things with the limited money we have and use those things to build something to prevent the egg from breaking when dropped from a certain height. The things are sold in an auction and the catch is you won't know how the thing looks like until it is sold.
Like take for example the first thing sold that night: A handkerchief. Thus began the whole thing of auctioning for the handkerchief. And it was terrible, people yelling to and fro and finally the handkerchief was sold for RM90. And the handkerchief... hmm... as a hole in it. Strange...
A satay stick was sold for RM150, ONE satay stick. A hanger sold for RM40, a cup.. those used to collect urine, sold for RM200, straws for RM170, glue for RM220... the price were just exhorbit... it was madness. So through the night, all the way to midnight, there was only chaos in the seminar room. Some ppl from the other camp had to come down and tell us to turn it down and you know what... we did, for 20 minutes or so.
The games finally ended like 1 o'clock in the morning and people trooped off for supper!!! And it was funny seeing guardian angels asking people to send things to their mortals and some mortals grumbling of not getting anything. Haha, sucker!!! Then it was off to bed while the committee members converged to the seminar rooms to talk about the day. And to my dismay almost all the female members had already taken their bath.
Sheena to me: Let's bath together la.
That sounded so wrong...
I'm nocturnal kid. I get hyper at night. And I went into insulting mode that night, insulting almost every girl in my dorm. Elaine was wearing this cute fluffy pink night gown and I just can't help but insult her. "I think those who wear pink are bimbos" right in her face. To those I insulted, I apologise, and you must forgive me... cos I'm just too cute for my own good. MWAHAHAHA!!!! just joking!!!
PS: Elaine? Pink still don't look good on you.
And me being a nocturnal child, I couldn't sleep... so I decided to go for a walk with Evelyn and found TJ also unable to sleep. And because it was raining, we three sat in lobby and just talk. TJ is such an adorable kid. I said so and EV said it's like a kid calling another kid adorable. The thing is, I don't mind being a kid. I like being a kid, I want to remain a kid forever!!!
Day 2:
Slept at 3.30, alarm woke me up at 5.30. Forgot that I set it so I could catch the sunrise. I was still hyper, strange... Took my camera and tripod and the moment I stepped out of the lobby, I realised that I had short sleeves shirt and shorts on only... and the wind was so bitingly chilly that I fled back to the comfort of my blanket and sleep. Brrr.... became human icicle for a moment. So failed my first attempt to get the sunrise.
Devotion is like 7.30 in the morning and I had to take a hot shower to wake me up. Nothing better than a hot shower on a cold freezing morning. Then it was off to devotion with Kleenex. Talking about why Jesus came down the earth. A really touching story was told, about a farmer and sparrows trying to get into the warmth.
"A farmer was sitting by the fire when he realised that there were some sparrows hurling themselves on the window to get to the warmth. So being kind hearted, he opened the door for them, but they were fearful of this strange huge being. He tried his best to chase them into the house: by laying breadcrumbs on the ground, by going behind them to chase them into the house... to no avail. Then he wished that he was a sparrow, so he can fly among them and tell them to get into the house...
He has just realised the reason Jesus came down to earth."
Quite touching story and made me think a little. But it was strange as I was the one who edited it as I was in charge of booklet.
Then after that was another long session of talk. Questions were asked and answered. And surprisingly, very chim chim questions came from the non-christians.
Shiva: Who caused the tsunami?
Sheena: Technically, no one caused the tsunami.
Richard: *explain the tetonic plates, and the movements and the faults...*
Sheena: We live in a dying world... tsunami is the proof of it. The question is more of Why God let Tsunami happen.
Hmmm...
After that mind, thought-provoking session... it is time for GAMES!!!! And it started to RAIN!!!! The ppl in charge began to panic... seriously panic. Our games had to be shifted indoors and suddenly came the other campers demanding usage of the hall which WE have booked earlier. And person-in-charge Adeline, just gave away the portion of the hall away. Agong, agong... I never knew a gong could be so dumb... but nevermind...
They wanted to cancel the outdoor games, but I look at the sky and told them "Just get ready la... the rain will stop when the time comes"... but no... everyone still panicked, yelling orders, losing tempers... it was bad...
And guess what? The rain really stopped. Praise the Lord. That teaches us something that we found really profound when we talked about it later that night. But before I digress, the games went full blast. There were photo hunts and photo shots that were damn hilarious. The Jonah and the Fish were the best. As for me? I was incharge of the telematch and there is where the Death Lane came in.
We were to prepare 4 lanes filled with numbers from 1 to 8 and the objective of this game was for the groups to build boats from 1 to 8. There is a FAKE 8 and a real 8 and there are forks so choices can be made. Each group that arrive chooses a lane and off they go. But before that happened, I, Sheena and the juniors began to design the lane. I was in charge of Lane 1 and 3 and these were the Death Lanes, esp Lane 3 where the numbers are from one end of the lane to the other.
Sheena: Aiyo, Elena... this is too much la. Too much!!
And as God arranged it, the first group that arrived chose the Death Lane 3, the most difficult lane of all. Mwahaha!!!
But before that, remember the other camp that was having the other part of the hall. They have kids, small irritating maggots, and these brats were ruining our effort. They run about, ducking under the strings we tied up to separate the lanes.
So what did I do? I lowered the strings in attempt to catch the small kids unaware. And then came this little bitch who ran straight into the strings. It was low enuff to catch her around the neck. She fell down and began to cry while I stood before her, gazing at her coldly. The thought running through my mind: "If it was only thin wire, then it would have cut through her neck and the world will be saved from another irritating bitch growing up." And I wanted to lower the strings so more, so it will catch around the knees and the kid will fall flat on the face. Now that would be a sight.
Sheena: Elena, you are not borned, you are spawned. You are a demon child
So what? Sheena was no better, she was screaming at the kids.
Anyway, the games were fun, and it irritate some ppl, but the committee members had fun in the end. There was the F1 race and the Sem2s dared to challenge us the Sem4s to a race. That fellas ain't no see the real world yet.
Elena to Hai Liang: You very dumb la, Hai Liang. Up there small, down there also small.
Ouch.
Anyway, everyone had fun and they returned to dinner, happy and satisfied. After that, there was high praise, led by almost everyone in the band, that is everyone took turns leading. Sheena moved from bass to lead to keyboard to backup in all different songs. Would have moved to drums too if we hadn't stop her. That girl... too much!!! Too much!!!
We had everyone jumping up and down and it felt good, just dancing and jumping as we worshipped Him. And the conclusion was superb... we all left the hall renewed and faced with more choices. And since the pastor would be leaving soon, there was a long queue of ppl waiting to talk to him.
I had a talk with him too... about some of my insecurities and realise I'm being too hard on myself. He told me that as long as I meant it, it would be all right and to hell with all that complacency thing that was being stuffed down my throat. God is good, He will bless me forever.
Oh forgot the good news. We have a new brother in Christ. Sushi finally chose to become a Sashimi!!!
That night, when the committee members began to gather round to talk about the day, we had to agree on one thing: We make plans, God makes it happen. Amen.
That night, the committee members went to bed early, it had beeen a long day for us (except me). The other teams were still up, preparing for the skit the next day. I took a walk round the grounds and find ppl singing their school songs at attention. Wahlaueh, a bit problem right?
Day 3:
The day passed in a blur. There was rush to get things done, to pack the bags. It's the last day of camp and the biggest event was the skits.
Memorable moments:
Kleenex:
The skit is about the choices Peter made.
Peter and Andrew fishing. Fished Jesus out of the water.
Peter: Why are you in the water?
Jesus: You saved me from drowning. I was practicing to walk on water, but have not reach the level yet.
Jesus: I'm giving you a choice. *refers to Bible* Matthew 4-19: Follow me and I will make you fishers of men and not fish.
The scene reverts to Jesus and Peter sitting down and facing each other. Do You want to be a Millionaire music playing in the background.
Jesus: Soalan Sejuta ringgit. Adakah anda akan mengikut Jesus pergi memancing orang? A-Ya, B-Tidak, C-Ya, D-Ya.
Cutie Soft:
The skit is about the choices Jonah made.
What if Jonah was a she...
God: Jonah, I need you to go to Niveneh to preach.
She-Jonah: Cannot!!! I need to wash the clothes, clean the house, cook dinner, sweep the floor, mop the floor...
A demon and an angel trying to get Jonah to make the choice.
Demon: God screwed you man.
Angel: God don't screw anyone.
Demon: I'm speechless.
PS. All words are impromptu.
Demon: Your God very sadist.
Plum Blossom:
The skit is about the choices Adam made.
Adam comes out, bearing the sign: I Am Supposed to be Naked.
Eve comes out, bearing the sign: Me, Too.
Satan: Ah Hock, Ah Seng, Ah Beng! We need to have a Conclave of Devils.
Ah Hock's plan:
Extract juice from Fruit of Knowledge and put into burger and sell in front of Eden.
Adam: Sorry, I am vegetarian.
Ah Seng's plan:
Sell VCD to Adam, causing him to sin.
Ah Seng: Eh, Adam... new VCD from Japan. Look at it. Count the X. Too many right? You know what it means... means got a lot of naked people walking around.
Adam looks at the sign he was holding, looks at Eve's sign.
Adam: In my world, everyone is naked.
Ah Beng's plan:
Get Adam and Eve to go clubbing. Plan worked.
But what if... Adam and Eve din go clubbing but go lecture instead? Lecture is about treating symptoms and causative agents.
Eve: Adam, that tree is starting to bug me.
Adam: Me, too. Remember what the lecturer says about treating the causative agents?
Proceed to cut the Tree of Knowledge down.
Actually, there is more, but a bit too much to write, so will jump straight to going home. In the end... apa conclusinya?
The Camp was great. It was fun, God moved among us. Camp was great. And to those who did not go... YOUR LOSS!!!
I don't want to regret not having done something later.
- Cid Highwind, Final Fantasy VII
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