The moment that i have been waiting for finally arrived last Sunday.....our very own WHC (World Harvest Church) Church Camp!!! Venue was at Peacehaven, Genting Highlands. Its a wonderful retreat resort specially managed by a Christian group for church events like this........and at 1500 meters above sea level! Now thats literally COOL. ^^
Day 1 (11/5/08)
So after Sunday service ended at 12pm.......which took longer due to ministering.......abt 120 of my church members went for lunch before gathering with luggage back at church by 1pm. But the PA and worship team (includes me) had to pack up some stuff to take up mainly :
2 keyboards
1 acoustic guitar
2 electric guitars
1 bass guitar
Cymbals
7 mikes
2 keyboard stands
All of this is to fit in Jason's Unser along with..........
A multitude of straws
5 people's luggage
5 people
Now u may think it sounds impossible..........well..........we did it! Stuffed the Unser like sardines in a can. As soon as we were done, we zoomed off to Peacehaven first to setup the instruments and audio system. Uncle Winston from Major Seven Music was also to be up there as he is providing the sound systems and we will work together. Grabbed a quick lunch......then in no time we were driving up Genting.
Well with all this weight in the Unser and 5 guys (Jason, Clarence, Jimmy, Gary and me) we all were wondering how we gona get up there. Just after the first guard house cars went faster than us...........even busses overtook us. We were like "Awww man........kena potong lagi........" sad man. So we went up slowly. Eventually near the top Jason had to use the Ultimate gear.
We reached the place on time. And as soon as i got out of the car......Gentings clouds and cold wind greeted me. Something i havent felt in a long time. Well......we set up all the stuff.......and waited for the rest to arrive around 3pm. By 4pm briefing was done and we all proceeded to our first itinerary : Futsall and Captain Ball!
Before that we had to check into our dorms. Girls n guys seperated. The dorms overlooks the green mountain side which this resort is built on. Really beautiful scenery and lovely cold COLD air all the time........ALL THE TIME..........
Everyone had to participate in every event. So me in my shorts n shoes and sports outfit. As soon i step out the door..........WHOOSSH..........cold wind.........i was like beginning to wonder how to play like this. We had 8 groups for the whole camp........names were based from the bible. So there was Micah, Jonah, Zechariah, Ezra, Hosea, Zephaniah, Amos and finally my team, Joel.
I played futsall, and we lost. Captain ball, we lost as well. Oh well........we got Explorace and Team Building the next day. The cold cold winds were always blowing. And with thick clouds, it just made the experience of the camp more.......interesting. After all the games were done........we quickly bathed, ate dinner and got ready for the good stuff : The message to be preached by Pastor Dennis Lee from River Glory Ministries in Singapore. I was expecting alot from his 4 sessions on sharing his theme message for us which was "Born for such a time as this".
When he came in he just had such a wonderful presence and sense of humour. Really a funny guy with jokes and stories to share. But his messages were very timely for us as a church to expand the Kingdom of God and also being in the right time and season. During praise and worship i cant explain just how great Gods presence was in this place. He was there. By just singing i was almost brough to tears.........not coz its some touchy old lovey dovey worship song nor was i showing how holy i am. No matter how holy i try i can never ever be holy. Only God is. But the fact He was present shows how much He loves our worship. Worship in spirit and in truth.
Day 1 ended with a really great insight to whats to come the next two days. Went back to our dorms and well........dinner wasnt really enough for all of us......so........cup Maggi Mee was everywhere in everyones hands. Haha..........we just love it. At nite this place is so cold that the floor gets cold, everyting gets cold. Even my water n bread i brought up. My clothes were cold as well.........so when i had to put it on.......well.......brrrrr
Good thing showers had hot water..........otherwise id be screaming in the cold ice water. First nite i slept with 2 shirts and a jacket plus longs. See how much i hate the cold? Then wrapped myself in a cocoon with the blankie. Zzzzz.
Day 2 (12/5/08)
Woke up 7am. Had morning devotion, sharing n prayers at 8. Breakfast at 8.30. Then we prepared for the 10am session of Ps Dennis. I was to serve the sound PA system the whole 4 days, so i have a pretty demanding job. Make sure all the mikes are working, make sure instruments can be heard tru the speakers, sound mixing, bla bla bla..........its a sound engineers job almost. Worship was great and God was there once again to touch us all. Ps Dennis stepped up a gear with his preaching. Powerful words. Great enthusiasm and words spoke to every individual i believe.
12.30pm was lunch. Then had a short break abt 2hrs for ourselves to fellowship , get to know each other more and walk around the Peacehaven grounds if we wanted. I went out with many others just enjoying the view and the cold air.......again. Its everywhere i tell u........... I manage to see KLCC from up here. Pretty cool. After completing the finals of Captain Ball, we went on to team building. Our task here was to cooperate as a team and do 3 things
BY USING STRAWS ONLY.......... we must :
Somehow make our team name
Construct the tallest, most creative and stable tower
Make an egg capsule to protect it from a 2 storey drop off
Man.........i did this in NS camp. Well the other challenge was..........we were doing it OUTDOORS. With cold with wind with soil n dirt. Interesting indeed. In the words of Ps. Dennis : "It is good!"
So we got underway........we spit our group in 3 teams. Some did the names.......some constructed the tower......my side was the egg. Well things were going well till i accidentally dropped the egg give to us. Backup egg was provided, thank God. And we had 45 minits to do all of this. And 45 minits was really SHORT. When we were told 10 minits left, we were so frantic the egg crew made a really erm......grotesque weird looking egg capsule. The tower was great........though not the tallest. Our egg capsule survived the drop. Some didnt......
Next item was Explorace. Its much like Amazing Race, have checkpoints with tasks to do. Once the whistle went everyone dashed to find their correct stations. There are 8 but each team is to go to a different station first to avoid traffic jam. We are given a paper with fotos of certain places around the camp. Those are where the stations are. So we went finding.
Ours was Kelvins station first. He asked us to fill balloons with water n put in a pail (for who knows what). Then he instructed all of us to stand on a mat and to move with the mat abt 5 meters to the line. Imagine 13 of us on a mat having to move together. The trick was simple. Doing it was another thing...........and then suddenly...........WATER BALLOON ATTACK!!!!! Argh.....no wonder he asked us.........we were all wet and Freezing.........not done yet..........flour and pepper showered us. But we had to go on.........what a way to start the race...........we managed to finish the first task.......ending up like Frosty the snowman.
2nd station was Ps Sharon. Her task........make a big circle. Then we had to grab the hands of the next 2 persons. And soon we were tangled up. Her instruction : Untangle ourselves.....ARGGGHHH. We were like a fuzzball man.......and with Sophia tickling us........ishhhhh..........but the miracle was........we did it in like 4 minits...........while another team beside us was still............stuck. Whooppies!!!!
3rd station : Ps Lois............her game? Lead the blind. 12 members blindfolded with 1 leader guiding us blind mice. We did the walk......now we had a reward........some food.......actually it was a special mix of ingredients we had to guess........WHILE BLINDFOLDED! I was really wondering what are we gona eat.........and when that thing came to my mouth........first thing i notice.........Maggi Curry powder, chilli powder, and some other ingredients. We had to guess. After that we were off to Karens station 4.
Task : Pass 10 red beans around with chopsticks in 10 minits while singing "this is how we overcome". Man.........dreadful i tell u..........we only managed 1 bean. Sad aint it?
Station 5 : Here we got decoyed. Monica's station was occupied so we had to wait. But then the clues given to us shows a correct picture but a wrong "decoy" station. So for nothing we got wet again........and again...........and then do ear squats singing another song. Celaka betu.......for nothing we all get wet. We went back to Monica as soon others were done. Her task was simple : spin around the unbrella 10 times. I spun and fell after 10 rounds....laughing at myself. And if that wasnt enough, task 2 : Transport ping pong balls with spoons in our mouth to a bucket : mind u, in the blowing wind. NOt easy but We did it........and went on to Daniel's station
Daniel Says , a version of Simon Says. And if u did it wrong u get loads of goodies n punishments. Well........we got more water........more flour and some paint of our faces. How marvelous. Enjoying it so far. Shivering.
Next station : Jadeline. Task : Pass the action. 12 fellas face infront while she gives the action to the last guy. Then it has to be passed to the first guy infront to guess. Ours was Pregnant Lady Playing Golf. U can get the action rite?
Then on to Jason's last station. Easy compared to others. Walk on our hands n knees in the mud in pairs to one end.......then one guys picks up the legs of the next and both walk back to the other end. Then blow a balloon till it bursts. We were running out of time.......and well........Michelle and Connie had the unfortunate task of blowing the bigger balloons. Eventually we didnt get to burst all. But we raced back to the starting line to get the clues and guess the theme of the race.
Words were given and we have to guess based on a Biblical scripture. We got it in the end......The Armour of God. well.....so we finished. We came in 2nd place i think.........but the thing with this whole camp is when we are here..........marks are given for EVERYTHING we do.
We went back......wet and caked in mud in flour.........took a quikie bath n dinner and then Ps Dennis 3rd session. Another round of strong words from the Lord through him. And we took down plenty of notes. Ministering time saw many responded.......like the previous day.........but today was much more. Some responded to full time ministry (good for them) some recommitted their lives to God. Nite ended with high spirits and many of us deep in Gods presence and touch.
More midnite snacks and chit chats and fellowship. Went out for walks. Walking outside at 12am is really nice when u can see the clear view of KL and Gombak with stars on top and the wind howling. I fell in love with the place. Went back then slept. Tired
Last Day (13/5/08)
Woke up to be greeted by thick clouds around the camp. Cant see anything outside. By 8am it was clear. AFter morning sharing n prayers breakfast then packed our bags. Checkout of the dorms and went up for the last session of Ps Dennis. The last round proved the most in depth and most awesome time. The touch of God was so great. Finally i managed to go up to be ministered to. Daniel released Gods word to me. I got some encouraging words from the Lord and i went back.......went on my knees and just soaked in Gods presence and thank Him for the plans for my life. Many fell under Gods power and just lay there. Some broke into tears. We ended with a group prayer for Ps Dennis led by our lovely Ps David. Who says we young people cant love a 50+ year old pastor? We love him dearly! And we ended with lunch together. Those that had to take the bus back left earlier. Those came in cars also left a little while later.
The 5 of us that came on Sunday stayed back to pack the instruments and help Unc Winston pack his stuff as well. We were all done by 3pm. Said our goodbyes to Peacehaven and a wonderful experience with God. As a treat we all went up to Genting to have Old Town Coffee.....hehehe. Well a hard work deserves a good reward, no?
Then we enjoyed talking abt many of the things in camp. Had lots of laughs. Then we went home down genting to church to put back the stuff. went for dinner later and then home.
really a great camp. MY first church camp and it was really awesome. The great thing was.......already im hearing lives being changed, prayers answered, many wonderful testimonies. A few non Christians came and i believe they were touched as well and understood that Christianity isnt a religion. Its a relationship and experience with God. It needs no rules no preperations. Just stand before God as your are and have a fellowship with Him
Hope theres camp next year.
Btw : i have simplified alot of my experiences. Or else you all be reading a 10 page write up.
Pics n Vids coming soon later. U gona enjoy it.
God Bless
Regroup at Sempah
The other brave souls going up with us........Soffian only made to Gohtong.
The road after the first check point.......steep eh?
Red bus!!!!
How steep u think is that?
Second pit stop at the round about
Gohtong turn left......but go up first......
Bahri@dgm. See how sexy his butt is?
Awana Resort.......nice view
L - R :Jeremy Clarence Bahri. Clarence in pain i think.....
Look at the monster behind Bahri.......
Pit Stop 3
Good ol' me climbing like a snail.......
Kevin with his new carbon wheels climbing like a slug........
Like i said......long winding uphilly roads.........
My rear end and 7km more to the top
Corner just before the temple
If he didnt hold the post he would have fallen on the right side........
Desperate times...........
The pagoda
The cable car lines......
Another monster......
Almost there.......within last 1km
Its a long road.........
Finally reached!!!!
Misty n cloudy.........and cold.......brrr
Resort Hotel
Our elevation.........1630 meters .....almost 5000 feet above sea level.
My bike and Kevs.......they made it too.....
Clarence's one
Either that is a smile or a painful expression........
Bahri's little one......
Jeremys ride
Me and Jeremy......with our bikes......in starbucks first world.
