RR Melaka # 1 - 18th Council of Achievement 2010

What can I say about our Royal Rangers Melaka # 1 - 18th Council of Achievement 2010 - one word : Fantastic ! I think, in all of my years of involvement in this wonderful ministry, this is one Council of Achievement which I am really satisfied and I want to pay tribute to the young Adventure Rangers boys & girls. Of course, they wouldn't know what to do had it not been their blessed young commanders namely Comdr. Stefanie, Comdr. Bryan, Comdr. Stephen Raj , Comdr.John, Comdr. JWee and Comdr.Paul Raj. The decorations, ideas, props and so on were birth by these wonderful Adventure Rangers. I am really glad and satisfied that they have chosen to learn from all of us. I am so proud to say that they have understood the very heart of this ministry and they are now living it. I take a lot of heart knowing that if one day, the older leaders were to step down and move on, these young leaders are able to hold that mantle of faith and commitment. I am so blessed!
We started out early in the morning to get the arrangements done and soon, from scratch, everything came into place. This was all done by the young ones. Yes, we had discussed about this over the weekly Rangers meeting and soon, the ideas burst into reality. As for Comdr. Errol, Jessica and myself, we concentrated on the food aspect. We managed to rope in Comdr. Bryan to prepare mashed potato [ his own creation! ], corn with butter and a pinch of salt and Comdr. Stefanie to do her coleslaw [ her own creation too! ] Yup, we wanted these leaders to enjoy cooking and come up with palatable food for the function. It was fun indeed as we peeled, cut and mashed the potato. Teased each other as we mixed the colesalw and most interesting of all, many heads do make the food taste nice! I was really captivated by the awesome fun and fellowship we had together. If only you coukd see the kitchen which was surprisingly clean and not messy as one would think. I guess, these leaders really learned well. Then came the BBQ NZ lamb shoulders, chicken wings, special garlic bread and hot dogs. The lamb and chicken wings were greatly & delicately marinated in the hands of Comdr. Errol & Jessica! They tasted exquisite & just heavenly! For once, the food we had prepared were licked clean and the bottom of the pot was gleaming and shinning. We had no extras but we have some very satisfied parents, leaders, supporter, friends and children indeed!

All in all, it was a wonderful night to honour the Rangers boys and girls for the yearly achievement. It was a proud moment for some children and there were certainly beaming joy on the faces of parents. First and foremost, I want to thank the Lord for granting the ministry with so much abundance and blessings. I want to thank the leaders for breaking their back and perform way above expectations each year to make this ministry a success. They are the unsung heroes and really the most wonderful people I've ever worked with. The children had brought so much joy in our lives and they are the reason we are still slogging it out year in year out in this ministry. Not forgetting, Congratulations to the Bronze Medal of Achievement recipients namely Bryan Chiew, Malcom Chiam, SYuen, Josephine Gan, Lewis Raj and Mathew Chiam! They have worked hard for the awards.

As we were mid-way during the Council of Achievement, I received a SMS from my brother [ different earthly father and mother but same Heavenly Father! ] Vive, and I want to quote his message :
"Dear Comdrs, every year you faithfully teach the children, give them awards for their accomplishment and feed their parents with nice meals. Sometimes, the only earthly reward you get is complaint and no appreciation. But rest assured that the Lord will reward your faithfulness. God bless! "
That is the message from a great leader/commander of this beautiful ministry and we, the present leaders - young & old, are just passing on this beautiful legacy of love, care and concern as we've always been doing for the past 18 years. I still miss those great leaders that have grown up and moved on in their lives. I am blessed and forever indebted for leaders like Vive, Sathy, Cristal, May Ching, Jonathan, Jamie, Adeline , Les and Rachel [ she was at this function and looked very smart & crisp in her RR uniform. It is such a delight for me to see her in her uniform! ] Thank you once again for God enabling on our lives and God bless each and everyone of you~