Church Camp 2008! (15-18June)

On the way to Malacca..


Krystal, Yiye and Swee Kiat

Chang Zhong, Ian, Shao Yu, Zhi Wei and Gabriel


Joshua, Vivian, Shermaine, Jeanette, Annabelle and Josiah

All after a satisfying meal!

Walking along Jonker Street..

Wan ton mee! There was also Chendol from this stall, but we were too hungry to bother taking a picture.


Chicken rice balls

More food

And MORE foood.


Fun in the pool!

More of us..


Finally, it's the younger ones against SK in a pillow fight..


1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.~[Hebrews 12:1-2]

Camp Theme Song.
Verse 1:
Did you ever feel that life is like a race?
A race that we are called to run in faith
To strive to reach the end of the line
Pressing toward the prize of life
To take the crown of righteousness from Christ

Verse 2:
But sometimes we falter and fail to stay the course
Our feet grow weak we want to run no more
Just remember the clouds of witnesses
Praying and urging from above
Surrounding us and cheering us to carry on

Chorus:
Fixing our eyes upon Jesus
He's the author of our faith
Let us lay aside our sinful ways
Cause he gave his life on the cross and bore our shame
And grant to us His living grace

Verse 3:
Let us run and not grow weary and lose heart
Let nothing persuade nor hinder us to stop
Let the Word of God abide in us
Be our daily strength and be our guide
Cause Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life
(Chorus)

The words are pretty meaningful...

Learnt a lot from camp! Here're the learning points..
Message 1: A Heart Made Hard. (1 Samuel 15:10-26)

• Value obedience to God, more than service for Him.
• Value relationship with God, more than honour before people.
• Deal ruthlessly with pride before it hardens the heart.

We often get very bothered by what others say, and we fear not being able to meet Man's expectations, so this was a reminder that we live to please God, not Man.

Pride is thinking too highly of yourself.

False modesty is thinking too lowly of yourself.

Humility is not thinking of yourself at all.

Six steps of obedience:
1. I hear
2. I understand
3. I remember
4. I decide
5. I do
6. I persist in doing
God gives us many chances to repent.

Message 2: A Life Made Soft. (1 Kings 3:1-15)

• Declare before the Lord that we are nothing.
  
• Beware of the danger of acquiring too many things.
• Know the main thing and stick to that one thing.

God does not expect us to be perfect in order to serve Him.
We are helpless beings who need to depend on God.

Message 3: Standing Strong (1 Samuel 8:1-22)

• Resist the temptation to judge and blame others.
• Refuse to take rejection personally, but accept it with grace.
• Listen to the Lord.

Disappointment + betrayal + rejection = Resilience.

A tall tree without a strong trunk will fall at the slightest storm.

Message 4: Descending the Mountain (Acts 20:22-38)

Principle...
#1 - To finish well, I begin now.
#2 - To finish well, I finish this chapter well.
#3 - To finish well, I find out God's life mission for me.
#4 - To finish well, I keep the main thing the main thing.
#5 - To finish well, I keep a clean conscience daily.
#6 - To finish well, I invest in keeping a significant relationship
#7 - To finish well, I learn to let go and move on.

Of course, we had lots of fun too!(and FOOD!) I guess the pictures say it all. Took a walk along Jonker street on the first evening when we arrived in Malacca, where we indulged ourselves in really GOOOOOD FOOD! We also tried their famous chicken rice balls =)

Well, during our free and easy time, some of us went to Mahkota to shop, some others went for a swim, some went to the gym to work out and lose the calories from all the sinful food intake..

Church camp was really good. It was a time of reflection on our Christian faith, and also a time of relaxation, away from our busy lives back home. Sure look forward to the next church camp! :)

God Bless!