FOC 2005

the theme? more than just a big fish. it was a time of fellowship, from the meals to the times of just sitting around and crapping. it was a good time, nevertheless. for the pictures go to my 3rd photo album (sidebar link). look for the foc 2005 album.

we covered the book of Jonah and there were actually stuff which the pastor said which i don't quite agree with. one of the strangest camp really 'cos honestly, i was trying to see what i could learn from it.. which wasn't a lot as compared to the other camps or retreats that i've gone for. a bit like there yet not there.

my thoughts on the book of Jonah? it's a demostration of God's grace and judgement. from the time that Jonah ran away, God used "free will" to work out His will, revealing himself to the sailors. then it was demostrated later in the belly of the fish. it's God's grace and judgement. thinking abt it, God could have let Jonah drown but He didn't. that's God's grace. however, i am certain that if Jonah had no repented in the belly of the fish, he would have died. that's God's judgement. God also shows both in how He treated the Ninevehs.

so how do we see God's grace and judgement in Jesus? in the cruxifiction of Christ, we were judged when we shed the blood of Christ. but grace came from it that it's the same blood that saves us. Similarly, in the resurrection, it's through God's grace that His Son now sits at His right hand and reunites us to Him. But at the same time, Jesus sits there and judges those who do not believe. God's judgement and grace at its best.

the workshops were interesting as usual. i went for Wai's ws on bgr (hilarious stuff as usual) and pastor ong's ws on the bible's reliability. i like how pastor ong could answer my questions and it made sense to me. wai was his usual crappy self, linking me and singleness.. hey, it's a gift, k? more on it another time though..

the puffers were fun to hang with. we're nuts but we know the right time to be insane. i'm just thinking of our last discussion on friday morning before lunch. everyone was engaging in the discussion, bringing up issues to talk about. then to end things off, alvin played "as the deer panteths" and we sang along softly. then joshua volunteered to pray for us all. it was nice that ppl took the initiative. then during free time, the feng yi came up with the "suaku" game. puffer power!

the camp tired me out. how bad? this is the first time that i've fallen sick in the middle of the camp. by the 3rd day, my voice was fading and sounding "sexily" hoarse. and i was just so drained, mentally and physically. but by God's grace, i held on until the last day, my voice only giving way that saturday night. mom warned me about burning out before sch starts. i know she wishes that i wldn't be so involvied in CF 'cos it really is sapping my energy out.

but i get a new unfound and unspoken energy just from serving the Lord that keeps me going despite it all. i fall sick, i take medication and the cycle starts. i'm never going to be ready for the 1/2 marathon at this rate. at least i'm working my abs. they're aching just from my coughing. pray for me.