Report from Ubin, an Overdue Perspective

Well, this is a lil overdue i guess, anyway, heres sth which i gotta really thank God for, especially during the Step-Out camp in Ubin, is held on the 13-15 of December 2007.

Oh, and lets relate it back to something i posted, back to my planes. =)


First Meeting


Its sunday night, when we received the e-mail/sms from the camp comm that there will be a leaders training on the VERY NEXT DAY =.= ... okay, then sleep through sunday night, woke up the next day, which came the first test - Diarrhea... must've been something i ate the day before, and well, spent the early morning in the toilet before rushing off to church to make up for lost time. Okay, reached there, happily get acquainted with the other leaders... well, last year in Immerse-Emerge, RBC got the most places among the leaders, while this year... ah well, three from RBC.

[I was considering. One day while i was studying SS in the library i got a message from Jess,"Can you please consider AND reconsider AGAIN ? We really need leaders for the Step-Out camp."]

[So ahh, good game, just go bah...]

Back to reflections - Yeah, then during the briefing i was praying too, "Oh Lord chase this pain away, chase this pain away so i can concentrate on the lesson oh please help me..." So ya, well, thank God he lifted most of the pain away, and was penning down notes... i think we did play some 'electricity' game before the training proper... So, yes, thats the day, on monday...

-In Relation- The Planning of the F-15 Eagle.

Training is always important, like wise is maintainance. In this case each group has 2 leaders working in concert for the good of the group they are going to take in the camp. In this case, we can say, that each leader is the wings of the plane. An aircraft must have proper wings, and each one plays an important role in flight. The campers will be the pilots, in which they put their spiritual learning on the line by signing up, and getting into the plane itself.
Camp comm, is the fuselage, they who join everyone together, and create the group. And they make the commencement of the camp/flight possible in the end.


Calm Before The Storm


Well, looks like i came down with fever through the week, thank God that my stomach is feeling much better, and that when i left to meet Tim for lunch that day of the second training, was feeling better, and although i'm a lil dehydrated, was raring to go. During the second training we learnt to play several group games, Polar bear, 007, the famed shooting game, and i dunno...

Halfway a camper's mum called [crap] and well, i've still gotta settle it first. Seems like the camper cant make it for both the briefing at Woodlands, but luckily theres the camp comm to e-mail her the essential stuff [phew]. Okay, learnt and discussed more stuff, me and my co-leader, a great person called Valerie, in the music ministry i would guess, so yeah, we discussed the topics, actually we were told to prepare like, how we would teach, and how good is our MOI [ method of instruction ].

However, we jus discussed and dug out the important stuff, made plenty of notes, then Valerie decided to do the camp tags via photoshop and stuff while i concentrate on devotion. Things are made complicated by the fact that the P5s are taking a sermon on Salvation, while the others will be taking one on God's Grace... i think... isit ? Tim ? Yeah, left the meeting happily, more prepared to take on the challenges the camp has placed for us =).

-In Relation- In-flight Trials

So trials are made that the plane is airworthy, a wing wont drop off in mid-flight, plane will fly straight and not the other way round. The final preperations has been made for a combat trial, which will prepare the crew and plane for real action should the situation call for it, in which this case it will. The plans have been worked out, all the training has been set, now that the theory aspect is done, its time for the practical session.


Fire In The Hole


Two days before zero hour, Tim and i went to discuss about our devotional materials near tampines interchange. While it started to drizzle, we found a pretty dry spot near the playground and prepared our materials. Praying for the rain to stop, thank God it did. Prayed to God for guidance and slowly searched through the Bible for relevant verses to impart onto the kids. After switching notes and improving on what we had initially, had some small talk. Talked about what would drive us into this camp, talked mostly of what interests us i guess =/. Soon prepared to leave, and went home for a good rest.. dunno why that day was extra-tired.

Home ! Night time, received word that Valerie could NOT attend the camp for she has enzyma... Good Game ? Nah, well, was like, got blasted with this problem, but did my best to remain optimistic. One way to stay optimistic is always, to pray. Still had to meet a long lost friend the next day... anyway, Tim also encouraged me and offered help, for that I am super grateful and thankful. Valeria would have the group tags and her devotional materials passed on to me the next day. Well, looks like this one winger will have to finish the job yes ?

-In Relation- Air-Collision

Once during a combat training session, an Israeli Eagle collided with a Skyhawk. While the Skyhawk exploded immediately, the Eagle spun towards the ground, one wing torn off 2 feet from its main body [fuselage]. The pilot wanted to eject, but was in an awkward position to do so. Thus he increased the speed of the plane, and in the meantime increasing stability in terms of lift generated by the plane. Nontheless, the plane was still in danger of exploding, and is in the air away from home.


Forth Compassion !


Into the camp, i appeared a lil late due to hold-ups at home, but thank God i managed to know my group well and present myself to them. Also had to explain what happenned to Valerie, and thus needed to gain their respect for the camp. Camp comm has agreed to help my group, and i would like to thank David and Louisa for helping out in managing the group despite their roles in the main schedule and the problems faced by everyone. Meeting up with the group is cool, got to know the Woodlands side as well, and my group took off to a good start.

Sure, lunch tastes like kueh, God answered our prayers for no rain, but i guess we forgot to add in the 'clouds' element in desperation to get dry whenever necessary. We had alot of fun, also got to know the leaders even more, as well as the individual kids. They like to talk, like to help each other well, and i guess we had a good start... but due to the tight schedule, i guess we forgot formal introductions, which occured before the worship after dinner.

During the worship-sermon-ministering, God revealed his pressence throughout the entire hall, David took the P5s up so i stayed with the others. Its really good, all was just... feeling good, feeling right, i remembered forgetting all the troubles faced during the line-up to the camp, remembered thanking God with all... Those who went for Immerse-Emerge last year will know the feeling, its an exact replica, if not stronger then before, as was with the sermon given by Alvin Chia.

Night walk was... too short, but a lil fun in the entire duration. Camp comm was 'bugging' us with trials and tests all the way, but it turned out good in the end... Hahas i was half confused as in [Should the leaders participate as well or is this trial only for the campers ?]. Yeah, nothing much after that but, on the way back, i think... heard something non-human for sure, i thought it was a joke-horror sound machine, and when this trio of girls who walked past our column screamed, i turned on the verge of laughing at the sound itself and everything. Guess being at the front spared by the real horror of it =D.

Day 2, i was KO'ed right after lunch. Fever and illness i've been fighting the days before finally caught up to me.. was embarassing, seriously =/.. casualty list has [ Dino Ding - Exhaustion ]. Ah well, David helped to take the group after he rested during the morning activities. It seemed that Compassion was being led like runners in a relay race, with each runner supporting each other by his/her own efforts. Well, funny thing is that when i got up to help lead Compassion back, David has to 'order' me to rest some more till dinner -.-". Evening sermon, more kueh in our bellies, same powerful sermon like the day before, only that now everyone experienced it. Finale night was exciting, Kudos to the other groups and their performances, as well as the other leaders in our combined last-minute performance. Compassion did SUPER ! i didnt even participate in the planning, two of the senior members led the way, creating the storyline and stuff, and thanks to Louisa for cutting out the 'advertisment plaques' for us during our skit.

Man i love my kids ! Sure, the last night was cool, the ending and everything... almost teared, but i'm the sort who gets the feeling but does not show it in the open, even if i wanted to, and thats well, i dunno if its a good thing or a bad one. So, leaders wanted to stay up the night, but werent allowed to. Vanessa's sunburnt shocked me alrs, and well, i made a mistake too, should have told her to leave stuff to Elijah and get some rest, but i guess in the end God knew the best way, that whatever happens, in the end everythings gonna be alright, like now !

Ah well, last day, we dug out Lynn's Bible but can fing Ling Quan's one, sadded about it, but we gotta go.[I still hope that it will be found, even if one day we had to dig up the whole beach, personally i still want it to be found.] Well, said our farewells, i also told them that i'll be seeing them during SNOW this March ya ? Hahas, anyway, once we hit Lighthouse, bye bye kueh, its high time we grab some proper hot chow ! Well, the beehoon problem isnt the fault of the organisers, just some mis-communications through the messenger trail which led to some unhappy stomachs. =p

-In Relation- Flying Not With Your Own Strength

Flying with one wing is no easy business, but through all the troubles, landing at twice normal speed, getting the tail hook in the wrong place, landing unsteadily, bottom line ? the plane landed. Pilot and co-pilot survived, and millions of dollars saved by the decisive reaction of the pilot, and the strong design of the Eagle.


With all thats said, now is the summary.

God pulled me through all the troubles, He pulled me through everything that the devil has thrown at me, and even though i didnt come out of it perfectly okay, in time for the camp, He still held me strong and didnt let me go. He led me as well as the other leaders as we led the campers, and thus, we came out alive. Not perfectly okay, weakened, burnt, exhausted, but we still came out alive.
Looking at the relations of the F-15 Eagle. Why did i choose that magnificent plane ? Not only because its my favourite, that it does best in what it does, which is shooting down bandits which threaten us, just like us now, knocking aside troubles that come our way, and even surviving it when we've taken serious damage. Satan may send his temptations and discouragements, things that make us lose faith and the lot, but no one, nor plane, works alone. Moving in cell groups, as well as squadrons, we provide mutual support to each other, that in times of need, there will be someone by our side, watching out 'six' for anything. Even more than ourselves, we also have the One, which protects us, which pulls us up even if we go down, just like when the Eagle lost its wing, we press forward holding the faith, anf in the end we will know, through our own experiences and testimonies, that He is there, and is always around us, no matter what we feel, or where we are.
Lastly, what i have learnt somewhere, is what the Eagle is made for. Not the fighter plane, but the bird. Eagles are born to kill serpents. To bring them right from the surface of the earth, to the wide open sky, and send them down back to their deaths. Not that we should hold a crusade against snakes, but that in our spiritual lives, we are the eagles. Whatever serpent that comes crawling to kill our eaglets, we strike first, hard and fast, to breed a whole new generation of people to continue the Great Commission, to continue the battle against the devil under God's banner.

Yepp, thats what i haveto post, God Bless ya, Have a Nice Day.


Avanti Conquistatori ! [Forth Conquerors !]
Avanti Red Blood Cell !


-While we are captains of our 12 individual groups, we will never forget, that we follow the Lord Jesus Christ our God, who is our Captain, throughout everything in our everlasting life. Amen.

Quoted by myself, during a prayer before Step-Out Camp 2007.

Dino of RBC912

By the way, the theme song for both Step-Out and Hunger camps 2007 is:


Centre Of My Life
Jonas Myrin, Natasha Bedingfield

Intro:
(x2)

Verse 1:
Let my walk speak loud
And my words be true
Let my life be whole and my eyes on You
Lord I'm stepping out, from the comfort zone
Letting go of me, holding on to You

PreChorus:
Freedom comes, when I call You Lord
You are Lord, my God

Chorus:
You are the Centre of it all
The universe declares in awe
Your Majesty, I surrender all
I make You the Centre of my life
Lord I respond with all I am
You placed in me the song
Of Heaven's melody
Your Majesty, I live to sing Your song

Verse 2:
I have found Your peace,
it replaces any fear
You have done it all, I can trust in You
Lord I'm stepping out, from the comfort zone
Letting go of me, holding on to You

Bridge:
This is Your song, not mine
It is Your song, that brings healing to this land
This is Your song, not mine
It is Your song, that brings freedom

©2003 Hillsong Publishing (Admin. in U.S. & Canada by Integrity's Hosanna! Music)
All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
CCLI song #4331492