Sorry if this entry seems too formal- I am actually writing up a report for the university newsletter. This is just a rough draft.
On the 11th to 13th of April, about 100 plus IMU students from various batches attended a weekend camp organized by the IMU Christian Fellowship. The motto of the camp- ‘Designed To Connect’. The central topic of the camp- redeeming relationships- be it with family, friends, ourselves or God. The purpose of the camp…..to have a better understanding of the relationships we have, and also restore and redeem the broken relationships in our lives.
So many people signed up this year, even more than the previous year. As the weekend approached, those who signed up were filled with anticipation and excitement.
Finally the big day arrived. We reached the Port Dickson Methodist Church camp at around 7 pm in the evening.
After being shown to our respective dormitories and having dinner, we gathered at the main hall for some praise and worship and an icebreaking session.
We were divided into 10 groups of 10-12 people. All the groups are being named ‘Connect’ but in different languages. I was in Group 2, ‘Conecte’ which is ‘Connect’ in Spanish.
The next couple of days were filled with sermons and other activities.
Sister Annette was is a very powerful preacher. She related her past experiences of dealing with all types of young people to us. It was heartbreaking but at the same time encouraging to hear all these stories about how some young people had to go through so much in life. She told stories about youngsters coming from broken families, youngsters dealing with drugs and rebellion, a young teenage girl dealing with abortion. The story that touched me the most was about a young boy who migrated to Australia at a very young age with his parents, but simply couldn’t fit into the society there, as he was mistreated and being abused on racist grounds. When he became clinically depressed, his parents finally brought him back to Malaysia, where he was again isolated. When he finally met with some nice people, and they brought him to church, it took him a while to realize that these group of people were worshippers of Satan.
Sister Annette also related some stories from the Bible, particularly the stories about Naomi, Moses and David.
All these stories made me realize that I can consider myself lucky compared to other youngsters. And it made me ask myself: ‘Would I be a Survivor? Would I be able to handle all the curveballs that life might throw at me?’ Her sermons also made me reflect on my relationship with myself, my family, and with God.
Besides the sermons, we had other fun activities- such as ‘The Appointment Clock’ game on the first night, whereby we had to ‘make appointments’ with strangers and then retrace them.
The ‘Missing In Action’ activity was held in Saturday afternoon, whereby we had to select one picture from a choice of 12, which we think attracts us the most. The two people from the box with the most occupants were asked to come up front to unravel a smelly and rotten piece of meat. This activity taught us how sometimes we get too caught up in all the materialistic things of the world, that our heart becomes hardened and toxic.
Probably the best activity of all was the ‘Viral Attack’ game. This game resembles the Treasure Hunt event during orientation, whereby we had to go to various stations and compete with another group in a variety of tasks. The catch- there are ‘viruses’ wandering about! The viruses, which were divided into the ‘H’ and ‘T’ virus, would try to catch the group members making their way to a station. In order to protect themselves from the viruses, group members would form a ‘bond’ and move in a group huddle, which protects them from being attacked by the viruses. In the end, the group with the most station wins and the most antiviral capsules left would win the game.
On Saturday night, we sang songs in front of the campfire, and some of us played Mafia.
On the whole, I really enjoyed myself in the camp. We all learnt a lot from the camp- from the sermons, from the activities. We got to interact with each other- form new relationships, rekindle old ones, and we got to meet people from other batches. And at the end of the day, we would take back fond memories from the camp- and the powerful message that Sister Annette preached- of love, family, and relationships which need to be healed.
I would like to take this opportunity to applaud the camp Committee for putting in so much effort to make this camp a huge success. It wouldn’t have been so smooth sailing had it not been for their hard work and dedication.
So many people signed up this year, even more than the previous year. As the weekend approached, those who signed up were filled with anticipation and excitement.
Finally the big day arrived. We reached the Port Dickson Methodist Church camp at around 7 pm in the evening.
After being shown to our respective dormitories and having dinner, we gathered at the main hall for some praise and worship and an icebreaking session.
We were divided into 10 groups of 10-12 people. All the groups are being named ‘Connect’ but in different languages. I was in Group 2, ‘Conecte’ which is ‘Connect’ in Spanish.
The next couple of days were filled with sermons and other activities.
Sister Annette was is a very powerful preacher. She related her past experiences of dealing with all types of young people to us. It was heartbreaking but at the same time encouraging to hear all these stories about how some young people had to go through so much in life. She told stories about youngsters coming from broken families, youngsters dealing with drugs and rebellion, a young teenage girl dealing with abortion. The story that touched me the most was about a young boy who migrated to Australia at a very young age with his parents, but simply couldn’t fit into the society there, as he was mistreated and being abused on racist grounds. When he became clinically depressed, his parents finally brought him back to Malaysia, where he was again isolated. When he finally met with some nice people, and they brought him to church, it took him a while to realize that these group of people were worshippers of Satan.
Sister Annette also related some stories from the Bible, particularly the stories about Naomi, Moses and David.
All these stories made me realize that I can consider myself lucky compared to other youngsters. And it made me ask myself: ‘Would I be a Survivor? Would I be able to handle all the curveballs that life might throw at me?’ Her sermons also made me reflect on my relationship with myself, my family, and with God.
Besides the sermons, we had other fun activities- such as ‘The Appointment Clock’ game on the first night, whereby we had to ‘make appointments’ with strangers and then retrace them.
The ‘Missing In Action’ activity was held in Saturday afternoon, whereby we had to select one picture from a choice of 12, which we think attracts us the most. The two people from the box with the most occupants were asked to come up front to unravel a smelly and rotten piece of meat. This activity taught us how sometimes we get too caught up in all the materialistic things of the world, that our heart becomes hardened and toxic.
Probably the best activity of all was the ‘Viral Attack’ game. This game resembles the Treasure Hunt event during orientation, whereby we had to go to various stations and compete with another group in a variety of tasks. The catch- there are ‘viruses’ wandering about! The viruses, which were divided into the ‘H’ and ‘T’ virus, would try to catch the group members making their way to a station. In order to protect themselves from the viruses, group members would form a ‘bond’ and move in a group huddle, which protects them from being attacked by the viruses. In the end, the group with the most station wins and the most antiviral capsules left would win the game.
On Saturday night, we sang songs in front of the campfire, and some of us played Mafia.
On the whole, I really enjoyed myself in the camp. We all learnt a lot from the camp- from the sermons, from the activities. We got to interact with each other- form new relationships, rekindle old ones, and we got to meet people from other batches. And at the end of the day, we would take back fond memories from the camp- and the powerful message that Sister Annette preached- of love, family, and relationships which need to be healed.
I would like to take this opportunity to applaud the camp Committee for putting in so much effort to make this camp a huge success. It wouldn’t have been so smooth sailing had it not been for their hard work and dedication.
2 comments:
Hahaah first pic everyone looks sleepy huh.
Well, we were sleepy!! ;)
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