Church Camp 2008

Gotta clear the cobwebs from this thing... had mission trip and church camp almost back to back... i think i'll post about the trip later.. since church camp is still kinda fresh in my mind, i think i'll post about that one first...

Day 1
i didnt forget my passport!!! the trip to purajaya in Batam was quite smooth lah.. the room was quite big and the beds were comfy and the shower was sufficiently hot.. :) it was comparatively much better than the camp in 2004 at tanjung balau... :P we had some time for team building in the afternoon led by uncle bala... i went back to the room after that and i wanted to go watch the TV but the Holy Spirit hijacked that time and i just spent a while praying for the camp and preparing myself for the evening service... then in the evening we had a corporate session... the Holy Spirit really moved among us and ministered in our midst.. during the time of prayer, Raja and Pastor Frank came and prayed for me... and Pastor Frank said some things that were really specific to my situation and what God's been telling me... i was down on the floor and the Holy Spirit really ministered to me :)

After that, the youth went up to the lobby for a karaoke session.. and a few ppl took turns singing some songs while accompanied by this live musician.. i went to sing too though i was somewhat uncomfortable with the idea.. and also cos my encounter with God was still fresh in my spirit and i din wanna retire from it so quickly.. but anyway, when i took up the mic to sing that duet with ray, i sensed that the mic was defiled.. and so i went back to the room and asked God for forgiveness, even if i should have stumbled any of the youth in the same manner...

Day 2
The morning session was taken by Pastor Frank while the ladies went over next door... Pastor Frank spoke about prayer and spending time with God and encouraged us to persevere in that discipline. there were several things that he said which spoke to me personally and one of it is pushing through in prayer even if you fall asleep halfway or something and not give up.. and also not to allow the devil to make you think that your prayers are not working.. After that we had lunch and Pastor Mary and some of the facilitators went to sit at our table and we got to talk to a few of them...

In the afternoon, we went shopping!!! i was kinda excited to leearn that Batam had a "Megamall" but it was nothing like that megamall in Manila.... the one in batam was about the size of j8.. maybe smaller... while the one in manila would be like around 8 times that size.. :P anyway had fun with Pangern and Joshua going around trying out stuff.. (yes, guys do enjoy shopping too u know!) there were lotsa things i wanted to get and lotsa things i was KIVing, especially from Matahari, the dept store cos things were really soooooo cheap.. part of me wished that i had brought more $ along.. :P there were some unkown brands here and there but the designs were not bad lah... and i have an unwarranted bias towards towards grey stuff... oh but anyway, i finally ended up with 3 things.. the most ex of the lot i got was biker's jacket! It's not exactly leather and all but it looks nice and i always wanted to get me one of those for fun.. and it wasn't very ex interms of sing dollars... then i got myself a long-sleeved shirt.. i figured that i need more of those esp with my attachment in july.. but in Batam it was nice and cheap, unlike what you get in Singapore.. actually i wanted to get more but i dun have enough $. The last i tem i bought was a t-shirt from the dept store.. and yes, it had grey in it... hahaha... Pangern took some time deciding whether to get a polo tee or pair of shoes (or both)... But the polo tees weren't that great.. they're much cheaper in Iloilo and the design is so plain that i guess you're only paying for that small guy on a horse logo... okok.. i think im talking more than i should abaout the shopping trip..

we came back and had our first track session in the evening.. i went for the MSG track- ministering spiritual gifts.. and though the theory part seemed a bit dry, the activation part was quite fun... we get to hear from God for ourselves and for our frens.. :) and the last activity for the evening was when we would write what God was saying for someone without knowing who that person would be! hahaha... and then the pastor would tell us who it is for... i remember that final activity cos i would try not to use gender-specific words cos i din know if i was gonna give the word to a guy or a lady... but the final round we did that, my spirit man was so stirred that i did use a gender-specific term for a guy.. and then i went on writing bold stuff about him... and guess wad... the pastor then told us that what we have just written is for ourselves!!! and i was going "i knew it! i knew it!" cos in my group, there was only one guy and that's me... :P and the things that we heard for ourselves and the things released really ministered to me lah...

The evening was really eventful... Firstly Auntie Elizabeth couldnt enter into her own room cos Isaac had double-locked the door and not even the staff could open it... so we spent a considerable time banging on the door, pressing the doorbell, ringing the phone, blowing a whistle... but Isaac proved to be immovable.. we could hear the TV on inside his room and we reasoned that he probably dismissed all that commotion as part of the programme or maybe part of his dream perhaps... it lasted so long that by a long shot, we were already (not seriously) considering to sound the fire alarm or activate the sprinkler system! Finally, Pastor Ban was called and he attended to the situation by continuing to ring the phone.. finally Isaac answered and opened the door... Pastor Ban and Auntie Jasmin, in their concern, left their room to check on the situation... Then they themselves were locked out!!! When the hotel staff brought up the key to open the room, they brought the wrong one, so they steyed there for a pretty long time, enough to see the blackout and a few young people make their way to the hallway to check on the situation.. in the darkness, someone even put on her shirt backwards... it was pretty amusing though we would not discuss who it was... the blackout din last long though and soon, many were snoozing away...

Day 3
Continuing with the MSG teaching and activation, in the morning we played several games and one of it was that we were to take turns prophesying over ppl seated on the chairs in front of us.. and i really thank God that the words really flowed out of me.. when it was my turn to sit on the chair, what people released over me really ministered to me.. When Raj spoke something about ministry, i started crying... and then later Auntie Mavis comes along and released and builds on the same thing.. and den Auntie Janet comes and releases some encouraging promises...and Dot comes and gives me a word of assurance... and it all ministered into my life.. (sorry if i cant rem who else said what but i remember these ppl cos what they really said really spoke to me heart)

The other games were quite fun too and ppl were quite accurate, like what Auntie Ruth (Ong) said over me during the time we were supposed to give pictures and den make a connection... but what really proved to be very interesting was when we played "queen of the rotating wheel" where we are supposed to release words to ppl whom we don't even see (cos our eyes are closed and they just come to us when it is their turn for us to speak over them)... first, it was my turn to receive words so i went around.. and what ppl said over my life were quite true.. when i came to Auntie Ruth (Chua), she talked about peace and also bout me having God as the Father i never had (she doesnt know that it was me..).. and den Auntie Janet comes along and builds up on it and talks about God as the Father i always wanted.. by that time i could feel the anointing coming and i was in tears... den Ben comes along and releases a picture that describes what i was going through... den i also remember Gerald give me a picture that conveys what God was doing in my life and also confirms my decision in ministry direction. Den Auntie Sheila releases a kind of a mild rebuke lah.. of me not spending enough time in the Word.. which was so true.. and i know that it's really God's word to me for the season... these were some of those that really ministered to me... den it was my turn to be the one giving the word at the rotating wheel... and one of the interesting things was that though i din want to release gender-specific terms again, for one person i did (though i dun know if it was accurate or not... it'll be quite funny saying to a lady, "the Lord says to you, My son...") and when it was my turn, the words flowed and i thank God for that..

At the end of the morning session, i received a personal prophecy from Pastor Aow which really confirmed what God has been speaking to me.. he also spoke about seeing a deep well which was exactly the same thing that Ben released over me.. Den as i went out of the session hall, Pastor Mary comes along and den further affirms me and says some stuff which were pretty relevant to my life and walk with God.. so i realy felt encouraged..

During the afternoon session, we learned about the Word of Knowledge and how it operates and also tried practicing it... though we still released stuff, it was harder to flow in the afternoon cos ppl just had their lunch and we were feeling kinda sleepy.. haha... but anyway, it was still good.. since it was the last night, i decided to make the most of it by sleeping right after the afternoon session ended and bathing right before the service started so that i wun fall asleep during the service.. and in fact, i was wide awake also cos of the presence of God and my inner man was alert... There was such a freedom and liberty during the worship, even as God was teaching me once again to behold Christ and be transormed in His likeness... Pastor Mary came and asked me to pray for her and she encouraged me and told me to sharpen my gift and even write down the things i receive in a journal and review them.. God spoke to me though the sermon too, which talked about perseverance...

Then in the evening, the youth retired to JK's room for a session of Taboo and food.. it was kinda fun and filled with note-worthy moments... statue of liberty... darth vader.. and all... we didnt sleep too late though.. most of us were pretty tired so we went to bed at around 1 plus...

Day 4
Most of the youth were still reeling from the late night that when i came down for breakfast, most were still not yet down... we had our last MSG session for the camp and we even got to release words to our facilitators... i really thank God for both using me and ministering to me though the sessions.. what was a highlight of the sessions was truly the body ministry and for the youth and adults to hear each other's heart and struggles and even get to pray for each other, even in bringing about a sense of unity between the generations.. it's really as God turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers... really thank God for the facilitators as well, not just in devoting their time and energy but also in their patience and affirmation.. :)

Pastor Ban ended the camp on a high note by telling us to create good memories for ourselves.. and i was really ministered to in the camp even as it truly was a memorable one.. the food was not that great but ok lah.. but i enjoyed the sessions.. even those times where i got to pinch a couple of ppl, pray for a couple of ppl, play with janan and a couple of ppl, etc... even in writing cryptic messages on ppl's bathroom mirrors using either english or bad malay grammar... well, all in all, i feel....

THE CAMP WAS TOO SHORT!!!!