FEE FIE FO FUM!
I don’t know why I said
that.
Church camp is in less
than 2 days. I have yet to pack.
This is the first camp
in a while that I’m not in the planning comm for, and it feels good to be free
of the stress. Last year’s night before camp, I literally texted my fellow camp
commandant until I fell asleep. Plus, we had leader’s camp the day before the
camp, so we have one extra day to stay. Every night during the camp itself, I barely
slept until the wee hours of the next morning.
Hopefully this year’s
camp will not drain me out so much! It feels really quite different, as apart
from being a plain camper again, for once, the camp is planned by the teachers
and mentors. Also, two of my lovely friends are not going this year… I will
miss going for shower with them. (That sounds weird. But. We shower in
different cubicles okay.) And, as like every year, there are always new people,
especially the sec 1s and p6s to get to know. Looking at my group list, I
really am starting to feel old. Aside from the daoshis, I am the second oldest??
Oh and first time having a whatsapp group for camp group! LOL.
Before I sign up for
camp I often wonder why I want to. Some people have strong feelings for camps,
swinging to either extreme, because of the very typical fun, games and cheers
that are typical of so many orientation camps. I used to go for camps because
of the fun. After all there are friends and games and holidays were rather free
right? But gradually, camps took on a different take. The usual highlight – the
amazing race - was pulled off the agenda, serious stuff like fasting and
overnight prayer took its place, and the last night of camp became not so much
of a ‘thank-you –everyone-I-love-my-group’ session anymore but a more heartfelt
‘I-have-experienced-God-in-the-last-4-days’ outpouring, with the fair share of
tears. It’s as if it’s less fun, but yet, more spiritually rewarding.
Camp is a time I take to
shut the rest of my life out, and re-evaluate my walk with God. Well in the
past wifi and 3G were not so prevalent yet so I barely even touched my phone to
talk to anyone else outside of church for those few days. I forgot about
schoolwork, I forgot about cca. I do QT every day, I listen more attentively to
the sermons. There’s more time to just be silent and give thanks. To reflect.
To learn. To pray. As if all I failed to do during the rest of the year when I
would be busy and caught up with school and tired and full of excuses, at the
very least I would do for 4 days, with a little lingering effect for the next
week, or months.
So even though this
year’s camp runs the risk of not being as ‘fun’, I risk having fewer friends
than usual, it risks losing its effect, I am still going. There are many new
things to look forward to, and really, I don’t have an overseas vacation so
this will be it. I just need to getawayyy.