Star gazing nite + pancakes

After finally finishing two essays (lotsa thanks to ppl who patiently listened to me whine about it), and totally needing a getaway cos i am so horrible at it (i think i need to develop stronger viewpoints. very weak at just being easily swayed. if not i'll always take forever to finish every other time.), i planned a star gazing nite, and a trip to the pancake house for its tuesday buffet special!


Objective 1: Drag ppl with me to watch the stars and the full moon!
Objective 2: Eat ice cream out in the cold weather. But some complained, so i bought oreos and milk instead. Made everyone bring jackets and mugs along and we walked all the way to sch campus!
Objective 3: Bond btw the some of us uni hall ppl. We don't really sit down together in such a big group aside from meal times... So it's fun just to play 'sit in a circle' games and use forfeits to declare each other's gd points instead of doing shameful stuff.
Objective 4: Wasn't too successful i think. Haha. To introduce ppl to abit of astronomy. I tried to put in some greek mythologies too.


Yummy pancakes! Were really thick and fluffy! But eating only plain pancakes with just butter and maple syrup was seriously too 'je-lat'. I was so hungry... but ate 4 and couldn't eat another bite. Still think waffles taste better. The ambience was good though. Very cosy and 'cowboy era' like, with lotsa different pancake posters and comics on the wall!

Easter Camp 2008

Beautiful scenery that melts your heart at God's creation


Sapphire + Iron men doing their war cry. Don't the gals feel so protected? :p


Tug of WAR!



Hilarious game. Dancing to the music and blowing balloons at the same time. When the music stops, do a classic pose!


Kitchen duty = first to get the desserts!


Standing with pride and ready for the 1 minute challenge! Jump when you think it's exactly a minute, and if the most number of ppl in the grp are caught jumping in the picture taken, they win!


My group posing! Grp cheer (according to tune of song): 'You've got to iron! iron! (X2 with ironing action) You've got to... (X3) oh..... IRON! (with strong arms action)'
LOL


Thanks to Woei Shyang who posted all the camp photos in his facebook!

One Single Drop

Easter Camp was Perfect! It's quite rare to have a perfect camp isn't it? Ha. Ok, maybe it wasn't perfect. But it was really good for me. I wonder if it was because i didn't have much expectations for it, or rather, i didn't really know what to expect from an OCF camp. Well, the experience was really amazing. And i thank ppl like... both Moses (Koh and Foo) for making me excited about going for it even before i touched down in Aussie. And the e-camp committee, who were actually all first time committee members!!! *wow* Praise God.

At first i thought the camp theme 'One single drop' was weird, and i knew all that i needed to know from the theme Psalm, 139. Only when i went to the camp did i realise that i was very wrong! I felt soooo weird being the newcomer after being so comfortable in YPM for such a long long while. Weird not because the ppl were in cliques and didn't include me, but just because i wasn't used to the one not with an already close grp of friends who knew me well. The first day we had 'OCF has talent', and i felt that i was totally not cut out for the stage. Ha. Think i didn't do anything very stupid while dancing, but i just felt soooo embarrassed in front of ppl and become much shyer to everyone else. Haha.

Anyway, the camp has brought me back to my foundations. Other than being more convicted that everyone is made so differently, and of cos it's very impt implications (e.g. how we treat others because of that reason), i realised that my position in Christ wasn't as strong as I would like it to be. Not that i didn't know about the verses that told me who i am, but it's more like the experience? Of the divine nature and of the confidence that i already should have in Christ? It's more than just knowing God is always there, and I am able to trust him, but also to identify and remember the times God has revealed himself, and the power i actually have in Christ. (Thanks Chris.. for listening to me on the phone.. I'm really seeking for more experiences of the Holy Spirit, and trying to identify when or how the Spirit is working in me.. ) Only when i am really convinced am i able to show it strongly in my life, or be able to defend my faith assuringly.

Maybe i dont make sense... but it's just personal.

Oh yes! And i wanna share all the GREAT stuff about the camp. Think many would like to hear:
1. Program timings weren't too rushed
Had like 1 hr devotions, 1 half hours bible studies, short but very concise sermons. It was gd planning cos it seemed that there was buffer time for most biblical activities. (We all know how we always get carried away.) First day there was lots of breaks so that we weren't packed with activites but could actually chat and get to know other new ppl better.
2. Enough time to sleep
Lights off was actually 9pm on the 1st night, 10.30pm on the 2nd, and the 3rd night there was no lights out. Great! So ppl had enough energy to take part in all activities, not fall asleep during sermons, devotions, workshops, and bible studies.
3. Considerate towards non-believers
Instead of putting them into the normal devotions and bible studies, a separate discovery group was arranged so that they could learn something more bite-sized and applicable. They were even given new bibles on day 1, and given special mention and encouragement on the last day! Gd thinking comm!
4. Games weren't dirty
Not that dirty games are not fun, but because we knew that games wouldn't be dirty, we could bathe during any time of the day. There wasn't queues for the showers at all, so there wasn't any bath time planned in the timetable too. More program time and less stress on campers. Ha. If you don't want to bathe, it's up to you! Of cos, dirty games are always welcome... :)
5. There was a feedback poster
in the main hall. Posts were responsible and feedback was addressed during the camp. Instead of just giving feedback after the camp and it doesn't really make any difference anymore since it's over. 4 sections to it - praise reports, issues, improvements and transport needed home for part-timers i think.
6. BGR session
Haha. We've prob heard this many times.. but it's still always applicable. Esp when it's not a 'rules to follow' kinda sermon. Very practical guidelines on "How to increase the odds of a successful relationship" [Heard Glenn Lim came to talk about it too during YPM? What did he say???]
7. Praise and worship was from the heart
The band was all made up of OCFers, whom we all know usually come and go cos of short study periods., so they don't have as many years to practice together as a band. Even though they're not as coordinated as YPM bands, or might not have very cd-like effects, but it was obvious that it's more than the music, the speed of the songs, or the way the worship team sang. They really had more heart to praise than worry about perfection (even though i know that they rehearsed really hard too). Ppl sang louder when there wasn't music, shouted when they felt like it, and jumped about just for God.. not because the music was cool. On the last day, the committee themselves led worship without music at all. Fantastic.
8. Very flexible
No qualms about swopping the timetable around when the weather changes, without the stress of following all the plans put into place. And very relaxed abt how the program unveils as the Spirit leads. There was one workshop where we just worshipped instead of learning stuff, and the last night was lots of praying for each other (not just leaders) and even a mini celebration for someone who accepted Christ!
9. Very progressive teaching
Each biblical program was a build-on from the previous one, be it devotion, sermon or bible study. 3 different workshops to choose from allowed people of different maturities to learn what they preferred. Impressive.
10. No cliques!
It feels good to be accepted and loved. Even though we're all from different unis, and we might already have buddies here and there, ppl still mix around. Good stuff.

Oh and we saw like quite a few 'double' rainbows, those that were with their refractions. Absolutely breathtaking. Sry for the lack of picts here. I didn't bring my cam along. If i get my hands on picts with my friends, i'll update! Thanks for being interested... :)

squeak!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!

Haha... Sry i didn't wish you on your bday itself. I admit that i forgot. But still, since you reminded me, i'm going to give you one entry! :)

May you be able to experience breakthrough with your understanding and walk with God, that you can experience his abundance for you, esp in the Spirit.
May you be able to be an impact in Ypm! In whatever way you're faithfully serving in. There's so much potential in Ypm yet to be unleashed... GOGOGO!
May God bless you in your relationships with the people around you, that you are able to be more than just positive influence, an uplifter, but even a multiplier of faith and love.
May God bless you in your work, that you can a gd testimony to others, that you can do an exceptional amount of excellent work in the same time as others, that you really enjoy what you're doing and find it fulfilling.
May all the high cholestrol in you be gone too. :)

How did you celebrate your bday? Made 3 wishes and shared 2? (Benjamin tradition! Set by me... Or was it Matt? Ha.) Feeling wiser growing 1 yr older?

lotsa love,
mel

Mini thoughts

It's the 2 week break! I'm loving the time i have, but i'm stuck doing my essays. Finished one after so so long... and i've still got one more to go, due this sunday. I hate doing essays! There's no formula to it. There's so much information to be gathered and put together, and when i'm writing it, i don't feel any sense of security at all even when i try to reference as much as i can. No strong opinions to convey, not sure what the marker is looking out for and i just take forever to do it. Language is beautiful, but just not my cup of tea. I guess it was never meant to be simple in the first place. There's no formulas in life, only patterns or structures to follow. Even for science, it's just educated guesses!

Meanwhile, i feel like there's not enough time to talk to ppl in the hall and chat with everyone back in spore. If only i could clone myself and catch up with everyone at the same time. I can share that much with that many ppl. So sad...

Oh well. Back to work in my tiny little room.

Alethea

This entry is dedicated to ALETHEA Lim Jiing Qin! a.k.a sexy scenery (she blabbered out the word sexy instead of scenery when she was explaining the meaning of her chinese name, jing3 LOL)

This is my cute unit mate who has been such a darling to me. She studies all the time, has been winning lotsa awards from the school, and most importantly, she's been there for me for the important happenings in my life thus far! Like... my meals, chit-chats when i'm about to go mad from claustrophobia in my room or when i need a listening ear; telling me the latest happenings about everyone else in uni hall (lots of gossip flying everywhere), brought me to visit her Catholic Cathedral, and...


She gave me HAIG'S CHOCOLATES!!!


She surprised me with a MUPPETS poster because she knew i was crazy over it, but was feeling too poor to buy.

Thanks loads Alethea~

Even though sometimes i look as though my mind's abit blank cos i don't have such exciting stuff to share just like you can share with me, or i sometimes just get kinda anxious and abandon you to do my work, or i wake you up every morning to go for breakfast every morning with me (just like how i wake my bro up for church. haha) and i comment honestly about your cooking... (i didn't say your fried rice wasn't nice! i JUST said that it needed abit more soya sauce! haha. i have high expectations of my food, but i'm not fussy, and the love you put into the food is more than enough... cook more! haha. :D )
Hope that all these are forgiven! Cos you're stuck with me in the unit for a year..

MUAHAHA.