Monday, August 24, 2009

What A Camp!

For the past 3 days - 22nd -24th August, 2009, the Royal Rangers boys , girls, camp speaker and guests had experienced fun-filled times at Perting Valley Adventure Camp site in Bentong , Pahang. I must say that being part of the organising team in making this a reality for the leaders, children and friends gives me a lot of sense of accomplishment and a whole new meaning to satisfaction. First and foremost, I just want to extend, spread out and lift up my hand and my heart to express my deep gratitude to GOD for making this camp possible for the Rangers boys and girls. My utmost respect and love for my leaders [ old and young ] whom had toiled so hard for this camp and though we go through a torrid time organising this, they kept faith in God and in me. Last for but not least, I want to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to my buddy , the camp speaker, Vive, Sathy and friends, BA and Jessy. I was so glad when I saw them at the campsite that morning and I knew that God has sent his team of angels to bless this camp indeed. I must tell you that there is a lot of hardwork and effort being poured into the organising of this camp. The leaders had been wonderful especially the young leaders in Comdr. Bryan Lee, Comdr. Stefanie Sim, Comdr. Ivy Wong, John Ng, Joa Wee, Sharon and Matthew Sim. I love all of you so strong!
We arrived at the main road to the camp site at about 12.30noon and there was a lot of excitement. From the spotted Land Rover to the Daihatsu Delta m/lorry, we were standing in the lorry and experiencing the ago-go sway as the lorry moves in the rugged terrain . It was a ride of our lives but a fun-filled ride, I guess! It's the excitement of the camp that makes you go through these emotions.
Upon arrival at the camp site itself , you could see the beaming eyes and the wide spread smile on the children's faces. The cool breeze and the fresh air greeted all of us including our newly arrived camp speaker, Vive , Sathy and friends, BA and Jessy. Warm hugs and firm handshakes were all around. Then, we had an interesting camp briefing from Perting Valley staff, Mr. CI and followed by chowing down our packed lunch. After every one had settled into the dorms, we started our first activity of the day which was the Burma bridge crossing. Children were strapped with safety gears and the staff from Perting are the best when it comes to safety aspect when carrying out activity such as this. All the children took part in this activity including BA and Jessy. It was really fun to see the children getting across the rope bridge and overcoming their fear of heights and confidence. Then it was off to the flying fox activity and I swear, you could hearing screams and shrieks as the children "fly" down the ropes! Some were calling out their "mamas" while some were scared stiff while Caleb says it best, " Whee, it's fun! Can I try again?" The younger children came down in pairs with an older boy or girl while others came down in a solo effort. It was a fun seeing the children having a blast. To reward them after taking up the confidence to do the flying fox, it was off to the a river dip. The water is cool, clean, clear and refreshing!
After dinner, we had night rally and Vive preached on the word taken from the scripture of Psalm 46:10. It was not only encouraging and indeed impactful message. The children were indeed encouraged as when we asked them of Vive's message , they told us clearly what had been preached especially of the SOAP [ Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer ] and BIBLE definitions the following day. It was a soul nourishing message and I am indeed glad we got the right man of God to preach the word of God. We all have been truly blessed by the message brought forth.
I guess, the most wonderful trip of the camp was to Lata Hammer waterfalls. The walk took us approximately 1hour and 20 minutes. We had to go through river crossing, fallen logs, overhead branches and finally 80 degrees descent/ascent to the beautiful waterfall. What a view and the waters was fantastically cold and nice. We set up a zone for restricted swimming while our two guide kept us all under their watchful eyes. We spend our entire day at the waterfall wolfing down our tin foil cooking of beef/chicken patties with burger bread. The chidlren had group activities and later, as we hiked back to our camp, you could just see the fun, the whinning, the child actor/actresses whimps and "kesian" face and so on. What a joy indeed for us to be conned by such acts of kesianism! They whined, protest, swear that they can't take a step forth anymore, begged to stop, whimper, walked limply, slight sob, dramstised their face and so on but when they arrived at our hostel, these children were seen to be stripping off their clothes and jumping into the river at our camp site! They sure would win trophies and awards in acting, man!
We had a chilled out evening after that with a lot of fellowshipping time, laughters and a time to recoil the good times we had shared. It was just awesome being able to play with the chidlren, speak with leaders in a whole new atmosphere and seeing the children growing up into responsible young children and leaders. Yup! Camps like these bring out the best in the children and you can see their leadership quality straight away. That's why Dave Nathaniel Louis was voted as the Best Camper by all the young leaders and commanders. Dave got our vote because he showed a lot of courage, showed a lot of heart, steady and fun. That's the beauty of camps like this. We unearthed and mould gems like these young lives.I was also very impressed with the camp staff from Perting Valley. They were friendly, accomodative and really beautiful people. They really took care of the safety aspect when doing activities. I guess, we were all very impressed with the cooking ladies also. They gave up good,tasty and abundance of food. I am glad that the children were able to mingle with staff well. At the end of the day, all the children and leaders go to the staff and thanked them for all they have done. It was really a nice sight and all the staff of Perting Valley had done touched my heart a lot. I reserved my greatest admiration and love once again to my leaders - old and young. Without them, I wouldn't know how to get this camp done. People like Errol, Jessica, Jason, Steven, Bee Ling, SLing, Bryan, Stef and Ivy are real gems! Thier heart, their commitment, their dedication and their friendship are so dear to my heart.
I thank you, GOD for making this camp Your camp of love, enjoyment and of great excitement!
Me? I am just thankful that this camp was a great success. Many adults and children told me that this is the most challenging yet most enjoyable camp they have ever experienced. Deep down in my heart , I just give all glory to the One above. I must say that I had a lot of spanner thrown towards me and my leaders along the weeks of planning for this camp but yunno what? I serve a BIG GOD and GOD made it happen. There were many fears among the people in regards to the H1N1 pandemic and so on but I say, I have a BIG GOD who cares for His people and if we petition and call out to Him loud enough, HE would hear us! I am glad that I have shed tears of hardship, gone through hurtings and pains at times but He always brings good encouraging people to cheer my humble heart. I would not have done had we all not spend enough time on our knees and petitioned for good weather, good coverings and safety for the children. So yeah~ Prayer is very important as in the SOAP order of life. Thank you friends for enabling me! Yeah, this 44 year old body still have plenty to offer, I guess!~

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