ACTSperienceOASIS

i've been on a camp marathon for the past eight days. first was ACTSperience camp at Shah Alam, second was Oasis camp at Downtown East. in between them, clocked in and out for work too. my body clock is abit haywire now? not that bad la. haa.

ACTSperience
i went with a few objectives in mind - a long awaited personal retreat and to learn to relate to people my age and working group. i went with a heart of full anticipation from God.

day 1: took a long coach ride with Roy and some of his cg mates. it feels like going on a road trip. feels fun. upon reaching Concorde hotel, i checked in and sat down to enjoy the quiet surrounding in my hotel room. during the P&W, i was very ministered by the song, Savior King: " ...i gave my life to honor this..." it stirred a deep desire in me to want to honor Christ's love on the Cross with my life. the verse came aptly after that, "...obedience is better than sacrifice..." i responded that i want to obey God in my life. i want to give my life to honor His love shown on the Cross.

day 2: woke up to a breakfast with Wynnie and her cg. Wynnie is soon going to Brisbane for her 2 years uni studies. we spoke excitedly about her new campus life and also getting in touch with hope brisbane peeps soon.
i went to "discovering soul's pathway to God" workshop and i met this fantastic lady- Karen. her testimony was really amazing and it set my heart to want to know her more. an interesting encounter we both shared really made us marveled at God's perfect timing and plan for our lives. i really thank God for this new friendship i found.
during the late afternoon, we had a fun time at KL. i joined roy and his cg, went around taking photos. oh yah, i got to know another new friend- Helen. Helen just joined not long ago and she is currently a HR manager and has been in this line for around 10 years. she also shared a testimony of how God healed her in the camp! amazing! got to know Issac, How Joo and Angie more too.

day 3: went to find Nicole and Wilfred during breakfast time. Nicole is recovering from her back pain. we talked and catch up on things. talking to them are very encouraging. Nicole is like a mother to Roy and i. well, she is the one who literally watch us grow up in youth days.
i hung around with Nicole's cg for the rest of the day. met another new friend- Elizabeth. a very sweet girl, quite quiet but she is full of smiles. during the CG chill out time, i went back to my room to reflect on some things and also the camp learnings. arranged for a dinner date with Liyan also. it has been a long time since we last catch up. we just talked and talked during the dinner. it was very fruitful to exchange words of encouragements about our ministries and the things we desire to do for God.

day 4: throughout the camp, i want to eat a good ramily burger. and God is never early, never late. i had my fill when our coach stopped for a break on our way home to singapore.

too many things and thoughts to pen here. ask me if you see me :) i'll be glad to share more.

OASIS
it was a great refreshment in the youth camp. this time round, we camped at the downtown east. it was full of excitement among the people as we came to a new campsite, chalets and all.
my fellow room mates include philo, her sheep lays and her grandsheep xinyi. during the first night, we realised that philo loves to wear layers and layers of clothings, she is afraid of the cold. lays was sitting on the cold floor doing her school work and xinyi was reading her bible and plugged into her mp3. me, reading bible and praying too, to prepare for something the next day... i was encouraged by xinyi's desire to help around in the camp and her child-like faith in God. it always bring me smiles whenever i see her. she is contagious in joy!
a funny incident occurred that left me laughing to myself whenever i thought about it.
shuz: *gasps!*
shuz (turned to jiali): jiali ar, i realised that i am leading prayer meet and service leading in tomorrow session...
jiali: thank God you found out now than tomorrow morning right...
shuz (panicked) *ransacked her bag to see if she brought the appropriate attire for it.
Thank God i realised it and i got the whole night to prepare for the prayer meeting.

i suddenly remembered that i did not take a single picture in Oasis camp! :(
nonetheless, MinOps worked very hard. thanks guys. your rewards are great in heaven and being in the same team as you make serving together so worthwhile.

a sweet post-camp finding: was on phone with dewen last sat night and he told me about something pastor Jeff mentioned in his camp teaching. i was truly encouraged and touched.

Thanks, pastor!

all ears: You've got a friend by James Taylor