Con Camp 2011!

Hey all!~

Before i start, I think Swee ought to be affirmed for the effort she has put into this community. From making the effort to talk to everyone, to coming for sessions and this blog, i think she has really been an awesome community member don't yall think! SO YEAH, EVERYONE SEND HER A TEXT OR HUG HER THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE HER!

So anyway, con camp 2011 was a very interesting experience to say the least, and i praise God for every second of it. Right now, i'm missing camp, A LOT:'( Withdrawal symptoms... To start off, i was really filled with nervous excitement for the camp. When i was told that i was Games IC, I honestly was kinda taken aback. I believed that a Games IC needed to be a really interesting, noisy and extremely outgoing person, things that i never thought myself out to be. I took the role anyway, thinking well, i'm just gonna try! I took a lot of time to prepare for the games, thinking everything through, trying to improve on them, especially since there was supposed to be the more spirit-filled/ scripture-based games. I think ultimately i put too much pressure on myself to do well, and i struggled with my personal need to show that i could do well in the role. The day before camp i was sorta panicking because i realised i had a lot of unfinished things to prepare for games. Yet somehow through all that i managed to find time to pray, and i tried to lift everything up to God and to let him take control. Sidetracking a little, I've foung a lot of comfort in prayer recently, through all my personal struggles and everything, so praise God :)

DAY ONE
Day one was hectic to say the least, for the Log team. For me it was a whirlwind of a day. Ice-breakers was nerve-wrecking, to go up there and attempt to be interesting was probably my biggest challenge for the camp. But i think God was there for me, and I HOPE it went well. HOPE because i'm not sure either, but i felt it went pretty well! Plus i had a lot of fun. Like A LOT. Our next job was for the outdoor games, which really was something i wanted desperately to go well. I think I was a little bit on the edge, so i probably snapped at some people, so i'm sorry to whoever was on the receiving end! I didn't mean to be that way:/ I guess that's a result of relying on my own strength, forgetting the words of scripture, " I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength".  It went well, i think, save for the fact that we were pressed for time. I thank God that the Log team helped me out so much during the day, through all the games, expecially the sec4s. They made my job a lot easier and relieved a lot of the burdens that i had. And to Ivan, thanks for helping me plan the day one games! At night i was kinda worried about day 2 games, and people were getting on my nerves as i struggled to brief the team about the games the next day. Dom helped me out though, and upon reflection, i realised that God had always been there in the people around me. And i thank God for it.

DAY TWO
SO yeah, day 2 games were a great worry for me. Partly because i wasn't even sure if i had everything ready, and also because a lot of time had been put into planning them, because of the new aspect that we had tried to implement. But yeah, it went smoothly! And i had a hell lot of fun sounding the siren. PLUS i was CLEAN. For both days. HAHAHA Log team bonding was extremely fun. Like forreal.
The praying with session at night was really moving. I sat at the back and i watched as the confirmands went up one by one. Sitting there, singing the songs and generally being in the moment made me wish i was a sec3 again. It feels very long ago... 2 years. THat night i learnt a lot talking to Raphael and Amanda, and i t strikes me how even in the times where you don't expect to gain anything, you still do. So yeah, it was a humbling experience!
AND baby sitting the confirmands was REALLY REALLY FUN. Iris and Joshua would testify to that. This, i won't share, cause thinking about made me laugh to myself, which is really weird since i'm at home and looking at my laptop. And well, it was time well spent with some really good friends!
DAY THREE
It was supposed to be the log team's slack day, but i still ended running around and feeling really tired.
I actually felt completely drained. But Iris,Hubert Glenn and baltz were around and helped me out when i couldn't find people to do stuff, so yeah praise God for them! And i had a really interesting sharing with Alison, Amanda, Jared, Joshua, Swee, Raphael and Simeon. It strikes me how, every camp we see the communities come to gether and support each other, and i'm really grateful for the YM in SFX and for OWL. I think i received a lot of support from alot of people. The lead up to parents night 2 was probably the most messy and frustrating period of the camp. The hall was chaotic, and i struggled to get things in place. Yet everything fell into place, and i realised that once again i relied on my own strength instead on God's. That night after the session was over i was overcome with tiredness and frustraion at a lot of things. And yeah, i cried. But the support that people gave me, Freeman, Iris, ch'ng, Ivan and even Darius, allowed me to move past that.
Plus, a fun-filled night with Ivan, Teo, Raphael, Amanda, Hubert and Jared really put a smile to my face, so praise God.

DAY FOUR
Most uneventful day of the camp, BUT, I wanna affirm Candice and Joshua for leadin morning praise. It was a really good Session and i had fun! OH, And i joined the 9 am choir. HAHAHAHAHA SO funny omg.

Anyway, that's most of my reflection, i thank God that i was given the chance to meet new people and to build on those i already have. And yeah Praise God for everything he has done for me, Truly he is My God, forever and ever!

<3 JP