RR Melaka #1 Annual Camp - SUMO Camp 2011

"The best annual camp EVER, comdr!". "Wow, awesome!". "Awesomest camp ever,comdr!". "Greatest camp ever, comdr!" These are some of the responses I received from the rangers children at the end of the Royal Rangers Melaka # 1 Annual Camp 2011 which was held at MyGopeng Resort, Perak on 27th-29th August, 2011. For all the many accolades, praises, genuine sharing of feelings and compliments given, I can only give ALL glory and honor to the One above, our Lord Jesus Christ! HE is the one that had made it all possible for us to enjoy such a camp. My team of commanders and I are only HIS instruments, to be honest. To say that I marveled at God's grace is indeed an understatement. I am really and truly indebted to the Lord for enabling my team of commanders (young & old) to run this camp to the very best of our ability. I am also truly thankful to so many people who had trusted us in our mission, supported us in prayer and finance plus found fit to give us the responsibilities to run this camp. Sure, we have our ups and downs in many areas of planning and discussion but at the end of the day, mutual love and respect prevail plus everything went on smoothly. We had great weather, a good speaker ( for once in our annual camp, the boys & girls are wide awake during and after the sharing of the Word! ), no one was sick and even Nature was kind to us.  

We started our journey from Melaka at about 6.30am and we had one pit stop in Dengkil to have our breakfast - sausage buns and Dutch lady chocolate drinks compliments from David & Faith Sim - THANK YOU SO MUCH! There was just an all-round excitement for the camp. Traffic was smooth and when we arrived at Gopeng town, two lorries and a landcruiser was waiting for us to bring us to the camp site. I immediately recognised our guide/facilitator Yusof ( met him earlier when I did the booking) and Jus ( a Sabahan ). You could see that the eyes of the adults and children rounded up and lighted up instaneously. Afterall, only SLing, SYuen, JWee and myself had been to our camp site since we made the booking. The children and adults enjoyed the rumbled and tumbled ride in the lorries while excitement and anticipation filled the air as we arrived at the campsite. Everyone was just so happy to be at the campsite and as we were briefed of the camp itinerary of the day plus the do's and don'ts , we were virtually left to enjoy the beautiful secondary jungle setting. 

Simple, rustic and splendid spread of food consisting of fried fish ( tasted heavenly, I was told ) eggs, vegetables and fruits were our companions for about an hour. We, the commanders made each and every children thanked the kitchen staff for preparing such beautiful dishes for us. This went on every time we are served a meal because I believe that these staff cooked from their hearts and we should thanked them for their effort even though it may seemed menial. I can only tell you this - the meals that were churned out after this turned out much tastier and vibrant! The children and adults just loved it. We then went into our cabin type accommodations in Huts No.20.21 and 22 - simple yet comfortable place. Our day of activity started with team building games carried out by Yusof, Jus and Ambrose. What a great time we had! There was so much laughter, fun and such spirit of camaraderie! The games were well-thought, well-organised and purposeful. At the end of the day, Yusof had to leave us as he would be celebrating Raya holidays with his family in Penang. I bid him farewell and he told me that my group is in good hands of Jus, the Sabahan. 

After dinner, Night rally was our next program. The young commanders, Stefanie, JWee, Daniel, John, Matthew Sim and Mathew Chiam started out the night rally with the Praise & Worship session. That night, we were the only occupants of the entire resort and so, we sang our hearts out to the Lord making a joyful noise unto HIM. It was a marvelous session and Bro. Dinesh came out to bring the message, there wasn't any sleepy eyes but rounded and awake eyes indeed! That is a miracle itself! I knew deep in my heart that this camp is off to a wonderful start. Afterall, GOD is our first itinerary while the activities are the icing on the cake. That perspective has to be right in any camp that we had run all these years. I am thankful that that perspective is alive and well today! Then came the jungle night walk led by Jus and Ambrose. We started out pitch dark on a 85 degrees uphill climb the hill behind our cabin. It was physically taxing for my aging body and a few others but we did the climb successfully especially with each and everyone of us helping one another. The young commanders positioned themselves and pushed themselves to help everyone along the way. It warmed my heart knowing that the young commanders have learned well. Their spirit of togetherness and willingness to help these young ones truly made my heart leapt with joy. As we trudged on, we came to a clearing and within minutes, Ambrose was on a tree trying to shake down a marmoset from a tree. Jus used his torchlight to show the children the marmoset and then we were off into Orang Asli reservation land. We managed to get a glimpse of "kelip-kelip" or fireflies and it excited a lot of the children. We were then given a briefing by Jus on the purpose of walk and I pitched in by explaining to the children how sharp our sensors were as we walked along the pitched dark palm oil plantation. The next funny activity was the hunt for leeches from the children and adult bodies. There were 2 or three children who had some leech bites but I eventually showed the old boys and girls on how to completely end the life of a leech. I guess, it was an eye opener for them. I told them too that I have learn this method from an orang asli guide during my college days when I had the opportunity to go for a trip to Taman Negara. I never knew that this would come in handy someday! Anyway, that night everyone in my cabin sleep like a baby with occasional trumpeting of harmonious wind-pipe musical extravaganza.

The next morning, fresh and ready, we headed out towards Gua Tempurung for our caving activity. Earlier in the morning before the sun was out, I was praying in my cabin that everyone would be able to get to do the caving activity and to see the wondrous beauty of His creation through the limestone formation. Indeed, after meeting up with En.Manan, he told me that everyone can go into the cave as it had not rained the day before our arrival. So, it was safe for everyone to go into the cave. I quickly went to ticketing counter to buy our tickets before he changes his mind. Anyway, En.Manan assigned to us one En.Halim as a cave guide. En.Halim turned out to be a great cave guide and one experienced caver. A humble man and truly one which I respect a lot. He explained to us the rock formation thoroughly and he was so joyful in helping and answering the children's question. Before going into the camp, SLing, SYuen and JWee and a few good friends had persuaded me not to go for the caving activity which is 2 1/2 hours walk through steps and river crossings. They were afraid that it could be too strenuous for my heart. I tell you this, I did struggle a bit initially especially knowing the condition I am in but I told the Lord that if I were to die , I would rather die in the arms of my fellow commanders of the Royal Rangers ministry. I know I'll be very happy dying doing the things I like most and among the company of the people I love the most - the children and the leaders of this wonderful ministry. Nope, it wasn't an ego, pride or even something to prove trip as far as I am concerned! It is really something I love doing a lot - I just love the outdoors, the people I am with and getting them to see the beauty of God's creation. There was 640 steps uphill in the cave and another 120 steps down hill. Then it's a 10feet slide down a smooth rounded slab of marble, into a 3 feet hole on the ground before we reached the river path. Then there is another crawl into another 3 feet hole before we crawled and maneuvered for about an hour in a running water path with sharp rocks, V-shaped stalactites hanging over our heads and almost butt to face crawling. It was hilarious but adrenaline pumping as well. The rock formation were exceptionally beautiful while the gigantic marble stone slabs were smooth and nice. I am really thankful to JWee, Stefanie, Bryan, Bee Ling and Errol for continuous watching over me to ensure that I am okay. Along the way, Aidan, our youngest ever camper, told the commanders that he is cold. I immediately removed my t-shirt and asked them to drape over him so that he won't feel that cold. It helped him as the big shirt would cover his small body and give him some extra heat. I guess, being shirtless made a few people stunned for a while but it was okay with me though I shine out like a sore thumb with my slightly bulging tummy and whittish skin colour! I told everyone that I am well protected with some extra blubber oil on my body and that was a light moment to give some extra boost to the children to crawl on in the flowing river. When we finally emerged from the cave, it was sounds of joy and everyone washed themselves up. Again, every child and adult thanked En.Halim for his expertise and for his help. As I chat up with En.Halim, he told me that he was very impressed with our children, young leaders and adults for being able to get through the cave without complaint. He was also very impressed with how close knitted our group was and how co-operative we were with one another. He told me personally that he was really very impressed and thoroughly enjoyed his caving experience with our group knowing that we are a church group. It made my humble heart filled with joy that day. The children were oozing with stories for one another and the atmosphere was truly amazing. They really enjoyed this experience and again, God's favour made the difference. As we got our way back to the resort, lunch awaited us and this time, the plates were cleaner than clean while dishes were simply lapped up without noise. From here on, we had our obstacle course activity and telematches. Again, so much joy and laughter filled the day. After freshening up, the night rally started and it was even better than the first night. Truly, God had blessed us with a good speaker in Bro.Dinesh and with great P&W team.   After the rally , we had night games and durian feast-compliments from the commanders for all the boys and girls. As it was our last night, we really will miss this place and we lingered along later in the night until the wee hours of the morning. 

The next morning, we had our morning devotion carried out by Adventure Ranger, Lewis and  Bryan Chew. So proud of them! Then, it was breakfast of sumptuous nasi lemak. With picture session next, we then went on to Tiger Court Session! It was fun, laughter and more fun all the way - the Melaka # 1 way! As usual, before leaving the resort, everyone- children and adult took the opportunity to thank the kitchen staff and facilitators personally for the hospitality and love shown to us during our 3D2N stay at the resort - again , the Melaka # 1 way. It was our small gesture of thanks in recognising their hardwork and love for us during our stay here. These are things we take for granted at times - think about it!

As I left the resort, I felt a tinge of sadness because I really miss this outback paradise. I had so much fun & laughter, so much fondness for nature plus the children's antics and I felt thankful to be alive because God has enabled me to do the activities throughout this camp. Who would have thought of a 46 year old man successfully doing a 1 1/2 hours strenuous jungle night walk and 2 1/2 hours of energy-sapping caving activity after 3 months of angioplasty? Truly, GOD enabled me! YES , HE DID! 

That's why the camp theme is aptly named : Stand Up, Move On! ( SUMO Camp 2011 ). Thank you, Lord!~