Youth Camp 2005

It has been about 38 hours since Youth Camp 2005 ended now, and it's now a bitter sweet feeling of missing yet relief. No joke, but this camp has been my most tiring one to date and no surprise for that. I was almost everywhere the camp was involved in, Chun Xiang being my saving grace for handling the food with such flair I could keep my mind off it completely. But at the end of each long day, catching sleep on the cold hard floor was perpetually impossible. Still, it was a good camp, made only possible by the most supportive of committee members and most wonderful bunch of enthusiastic campers. I really believe everyone who was there made a difference in the camp, and without them the camp would never have been the same!

I shalln't go through with the programmes, unlike my normal entries, I'll just pen my thoughts down instead. The run up to the camp was rather hasty, not everything was done quickly enough but thank God the committee was really capable in their own rights and jobs. I haven't been feeling 100% for quite awhile now, and my confidence hasn't been too fantastic either, for a couple of reasons I won't disclose here. But everyone heard my testimony on the 2nd night, I really felt a like a complete failure just before the camp. I brushed that thought aside and pressed on, my motivation being a hope of wanting to make the camp special for everyone in it. I didn't hold back, I brushed aside every other agenda and I pulled through. For those whose lives were changed one way or another through the camp, your success is as good as mine and my joy will be complete.

The turnout for the camp has really been fantastic, the largest number ever. To be honest, when I was doing the initial calculation for groupings, I had estimated a number of 40-45 people max inclusive of leaders. But everyone was just so enthusiastic in finding time to come for the camp, even if it was just for a day.. and the numbers averaged 57 in the camp at any point of time. We even had to create another group just before the camp to accomodate everyone! It's not the numbers that count, but the fact that 50 plus changed lives going back to the ministry with a common vision is extremely powerful, especially for the vision of the upcoming year.

For those who encountered God, especially for the first time, I'm really really glad for you because I know how far that will bring you. And if you keep pressing in on God, you'll have much much more in the not too distant future! It was the same for me, and the people before me, and it'll be no different for you cos our God is a faithful God!

My only regret from this camp was my inability to maintain a big picture of the running of the camp, whilst zooming in onto the individuals that actually make up the camp. I wished I had a programme IC to actually ensure the programme timetable so I could take care of the campers in a more intimate manner. But in the end, it was them who really made the camp special for me instead. As I waved them from the Campsite gate, watching their backs carrying their heavy bags disappearing behind the bending road, my heart sank and I knew the good times would become a sweet memory for the next one year that is to come.