Thursday, May 22, 2008

mmm well i guess its times to recap on my very first uni camp and my very first camp in the NS ministry (:

We had our camp on st john's island(too bad i don't own a camera ><) but it was a really different experience where you don't:
1. enjoy praise and worship in the extremely comfortable air conditioned hall that you experience in youth camps
2. don't have like hundreds of youths squashed together
3. have rooms and beds to own the hostels

but what we did have (: :
1. an island which really showed me what the Artist can make with His almighty hands (:
2. a breath of fresh air and a quiet retreat with God where all we had were these few hundred young people sat down to worship God despite all things!
3. company that was to die for (: Every single one of you made my day everyday in camp!
4. The incredible changing power of God which reached deep into my heart and struck the chords of my soul
5. Going through terkan-ing sessions which reminded me oh-so-fondly of our other "favourite "island ( any guesses since it starts with a big T and ends with a G)
6. wonderful hospitable camp comm! (:
7. a renewed spirit
8. a grateful heart.

I guess it would be a huge lie to say that there was flashbacks of youth camps and how there's that inexplicable and irresistable urge to compare, but i realised one thing that it doesn't matter where you are, all it matters is where God is and where your heart is. Camp was amazing! Although there were no declarations of hitting numbers in goals, the huge roaring fire of souls but instead there was that peace in the spirit where you could hear the Holy spirit creeping and flooding hearts.

The second night was rather interesting with our first activity re-enacting the time when Jesus was captured. It was actually pretty intimidating to be questioned, forced to do physical exercises (that were for one not easy at all after a while having to do frog jumps around the bball court and push ups like close to perpetually every station), but somehow i think we infuriated the game masters quite a bit because our bunch of NS guys took it as simply an activity at first before getting pretty much blasted it. But in the spirit of it all, it really felt good doing all those exercises together, and i can understand the spirit and enthusiasm that we showed to do more exercises because it sorta reminded us how it was in BMT. It was so close to being exactly like it :P But there were lessons to be learnt and it really made me think if it was easy to be a disciple at all. I really wonder how the apostles survived... in that oppressive environment... thank God that Jesus rose again and He saved us (:

But i think the ultimate highlight would be the very last night, where we had worship which really reached deep down into my soul. God healed me that night as he urged me to respond to that call. He took away all the hurts, all the troubles, the blame and sin that i didn't know i carried and renewed my spirit utterly. As the leaders were praying for the people who responded, two leaders came to pray for me and God really moved through them with a message that i really sought, and it gave me a renewed direction and showed me how to really lay down everything to God (: After that was a heart warming holy communion which was something that i never really experienced before (: As we all went around exchanging cups as we spoke to our brothers and sisters whom we had something to say, to thanks, affirm, encourage or to apologise to. For me, i think there was a lot of exchanges which i really treasured (: and i was encouraged by this family of Christ! And i think God helped me clear the air a little more as well as to let me truly have a peace in my heart.

One sentence that i kept hearing from the people of a certain group which i treasure: " I'll see you at the end of the race." (:

Haha simply hearing that made me smile. (:
Because there's really nothing like running till the end beside this dear family of mine.

I pray that God has touched the hearts of all those who were there (:
And i thank God that He has shown me wonderful things in this camp as well as filling me up with an extra dosage of his spirit.(:

Its time to go again (: