The camp i been to last few days was called Dynamic Camp. It's held by the Air Hitam Church ppl annually on the Penang Hill. I was really excited cos this is the first time me actually going up Penang Hill (we always plan to go there but never did). I was a bit apprehanded at first also, cos I'm not a Christian. But then since my fren invited me to go, wat's is there to lose? I'm glad that i din pull out last minute cos it was really the best camp i've ever been to!!
Full with anticipation, my fren's mom drove us to the foot of penang hill at 9am. We were suppose to ride the 'train' up to the 2nd station up the hill. There, i can see the long and straight railway going up steeply the hill, with the small 'train' snailing up and down. At 10sth we finally got the chance to ride in the train. The excitement ceased abit cos there's not much to see except greens and the train was crammed like a sardine can. When we reached the second station, the weather had became cooler. then we had to get on our feet in order to get to the Brothers' Villa. Yes, we trot the hill path with our handful of luggage a full 30 minutes and only reached there sweating and panting. But it was not that bad actually, cos the air was cool and refreshing.
Once we were there, we have to queue up and do registeration stuff. The Brothers' villa was actually a compound with 2 main buildings. One is comprised of rooms (about 20 or so) on the first floor while having a kitchen, canteen and some storage rooms on the ground floor. The other one has a Hall and more rooms. Overall, it looked old but sort of inviting.. When we got to the rooms, i notice that there were gaps between the wooden wall and floor.. kinda like an opening. Dun ask me wat it's for all i know is that it made the rooms freakingly cold at night having icy wind blowing in through.
After we had our luggage in our assigned rooms, we went to the hall for a short briefing about the camp and the committees. Then we were divided into groups, like normal camps do.. kinda boring actually. There was a talk at night after dinner and there goes the first day.
The fun started the 2nd day. We have to wake up 6.30 in the morning! It was unbeliavable that i actually woke up that early. Maybe it's the cold weather that made me get up. It was so cold that the water felt like ice. After we got down from our rooms, we were to do morning exercise, a task i've last done since Form 3. The cool breeze kept everyone awake and forced us to work out in order to warm ourself. haha..
In the afternoon, we have base game, which we have to run about to stations and complete tasks given out by the Game masters. This is where we get to compete with other groups for 'money' used in the following day's game. The interesting part is that in each group, there will be 4 handicapped members, who are either blind, one-handed or siamese twins. Those members have to be blind-folded or tied together while playing the game. This really adds on the fun. We have to help the blind to accomplish all the tasks painstakingly. I had much fun playing and running around the province. And the exciting part is that the games involved water! the weather was cool in the afternoon but freezing if you are soaking wet... In one of the games, if you lose, you've to be punished with pouring water. Muahahaha... There were also water balloons and water guns aiming at you. hahah..I was really lucky cos i was hardly wet at the end of the day.Phew, Thank God! i can catch cold easily...
It was even challenging the next day. The game scenario is that a scientist had created a mysterious thing which can cause havoc in the world and it was wanted by the evil boss. So we, as the investigators, have to search for clues around the world-which are stations featuring different countries' cultures -to complete 3 tasks; find out who is the Boss, what is the mysterious creation and not to lose all our 'money'. The thrilling part of this game is that there will be the boss's subordinate and shark loaner lurching around and chasing us. during the game, you can hear screams and long shrieks from us while being chased by the bad guys. We were really terrified as we have to travel from country to country without being caught by them. We have to sneak pass them, flee when noticed, see ahead and look out for them... it really felt like in war times.. really adrenaline rushing..
First my group went to Hawaii, where we are to be blind folded and hit a can in a distance with stick(wat's that gotta do with hawaiian culture anyway?). it was easy cos we jz walk straight and bingo! we got it. The next one was Japan, where we are forced to finish the biscuits with wasabi..urgh, it was plain horrible. Wonder how the japanese can even like this kind of stuff.. Later on we headed to China, where we are suppose to play pingpong with the china Ah Pek there.hehehe... it was fun, and did i mention that it's then that i first held a pingpong bat? ahhah.. it's true.. it got me interested and i think i wanna play pingpong more often later.^_^
The game was really enjoyable. although my group was not quick enough to figure out wat is the treasure, and exactly who is the evil boss, we had fun, and that's the most important thing. It was like we got to know our members better throughout the game and the invisible barrier between us had melted somehow. Maybe that's wat we gain, something better than prizes.
Besides going crazy in the games, there are also thought provoking talks. Questions like 'Who am I?', 'Why am I here?' and 'what is the purpose of life?' were being discussed. I, or should i say every human being, have been always searching for the answers to those questions. I've pondered and seek the answers everytime i thought of the questions, but in vain. Then when i think of nature, of how beautiful it is, with all sorts of living things in it, then of Earth orbiting the sun, along with other planets without clashing into each other, then of the solar system being jz one of the billions of systems in the milky way, then of the infinite universe having zillions of systems like that... I would be really impressed and on the other hand, feel how puny humans are compare to all those... Sumthing can't jz appeared out of nothing. A watch can't appear out of nowhere in a forest. there must be a creator, or a person who left it there. Same goes to us. We can't jz appear out of the blue. So, I believe in God, our creator.
I'm really confused before, about religions. Is it really true wat religions said about God? About going to Heaven and Hell? About Salvation? About dooms day? i'm not so sure even now, but i want to know better. i guess i have to be open minded. During the dynamic camp, i've listen to how God change lives, how my fren got through hardships and hatred with God's help... I'm really touched. Really, I am. you may say that i'm mawkish but it really spurt me on to get to know more. Maybe this is wat i've been searching for, and i've got nothing to lose pursuing the truth. Therefore, there and then, i prayed, along with others, that God would come into my life, and show Himself to me so i can know Him.
The camp ended on the fourth day, and i was really reluctant to leave, after knowing so many great frens and being so close with them. It was really hard to say goodbye, with our friendship jz beginning to bloom... we had spend our times together and gone through much in 4 days. It may be little to some, but with their help and guidance, i've learnt a lot. I thank them sincerely right from the bottom of my heart. And i thank God for giving me the chance to be here, to meet these wonderful people, and to know Him abit more.
I can say that this camp changed my life. it had encourage me to get a step forward to believe, to open up, and to accept. Things may not change drastically, but i believe in God, and His plans for me.. I want to believe, that With Him, an ordinary me can live an extraordinary life.
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