Be the difference

I promised a blog post on our Impact camp. So here goes!

WARNING: This entry will only be filled with words and no pictures.

I wasn't feeling very well throughout most of the camp because I've been having ulcers in my throat. It hurt SO bad that I really had to force myself to eat. Many people fell sick and couldn't leave together with everyone else. :( But thank God they made it on the second day.

We left church late on Thursday because the bus came really late. I had to take care of the youths following the van. It was a pretty short journey, only about an hour's drive. I was the only 'old' one there because the others were still at college.

When we arrived at MBS Rawang, it didn't take long for us to get used to the place because we've been here before. This time, we couldn't get the big dormitory. So, we were separated into a few rooms with bunk beds instead. It's cool to have ten people crammed into a small room. My dorm was filled with noisy girls. LOL

We only played one game on the first day, which was charades, something everybody was familiar with. We got to know our group members better as well. After the games, the Olympic-sized pool was practically calling us to it. We couldn't resist and just had to jump into the pool. I was just soaking in the pool and chatting with the girls. Didn't really swim. But I was so relieved that I actually went in the pool after that because I couldn't go swimming for the next couple of days due to unforeseen circumstances.

Ee Leen, Pei Yi and Jon arrived during dinner time straight after their classes. The rest of the college students also came on the second day. I didn't feel so 'old' there anymore! :D And then, the first session with Pastor Dennis came. We really enjoyed his sermons. The theme of this year's camp was 'Be the Difference', as stated in my entry title.

In the next couple of days, we played captain ball and station games. Captain ball took quite a while because of a few complications here and there. I didn't even get to be in action because the ball didn't come to me. As the goalkeeper, all I did was stand on the chair and watch them snatching for the ball on the opposite side of the court. Sigh.

The station game was pretty interesting, especially during the eating part. We had to eat a mixture of apple cider vinegar, coco crunch and milo. It wasn't THAT bad. It just had a really awful smell because of the vinegar and it was REALLY sour. Many guys couldn't take it, a few girls had to eat an extra few scoops for the guys. And I think the vinegar actually made my throat feel better! LOL

The final night was 'Wannabe Night'! I was really excited for this because I loved my outfit. Everyone dressed up as random characters. We had a ninja, terrorist, Mrs. Universe, soldier, doctors, super stars, superman, super woman, and many more. I dressed as a red indian. My mom lent me one of her feather masks she wore during a masquerade last time. :D Some said that I looked more like a tribal warrior. LOL!

Each group was told to come up with a skit the day before. We had to be creative because everyone planned to dress as random characters. (By the way, there were six groups this year. I was in Impulse. The rest of the groups were Radioactive, Thunderstorm, Firestorm, Fusion and Shockwave.) Every group did really well. We had a good laugh from all the skits.

Later in the night, we were supposed to have "supper". But as usual, something else was planned. We were brought to the cafeteria, gathered in groups, blindfolded, and led to follow a long string, walking around the campsite. By now, I was already used to activities like this. I knew what to expect. Apparently some guys screamed more than the girls. LOL!

I couldn't have supper on all three nights because the instant noodle soup could make my throat feel a lot worse. But I enjoyed sitting at the cafeteria, just talking and zoning out at some point.

There were many sides to this camp. First, we 'older' ones had a favourite hangout place at the cafeteria. We just loved sitting there and just chatting during free time because it's so cooling. Maybe it's because this year's camp wasn't as crazy as the ones we've been to when we were in secondary school. We were more relaxed this time.

We also realised that some of them are VERY competitive during games. They should really learn to relax and have fun. Winning isn't everything. I hope that we will see healthy competition in future activities. And, everyone should learn to submit to the leaders, regardless of age and how they usually act. The camp committee had a hard time controlling the younger ones at some point. It's a good thing they were more strict during the second half of the camp.

There were plenty of funny moments too! LOL But I can't really list down all of them here. :P

One of the most talked about parts of this camp was none other than the Angel and Mortal game. I'm sure most of you have played this game before. At the beginning of camp, each of us drew lots and got our 'mortals'. Throughout the camp, our task was to take care of our mortals subtly, sneaking notes, presents or snacks to them. Watching over them like a guardian angel. I kept getting GA mails (Yunny name the notes this and made everyone read them out loud like Tyra Mail in America's Next Top Model) from the same two guys. So, throughout the camp I assumed that my GA was a guy. And the handwriting on my notes didn't look like a girl's at all. The modus operandi of my GA didn't look like a girl's either.

When everyone finally revealed each other's mortals on the last morning, I was totally shocked to find out that my GA was Yunny! o.O She's my group leader and she's also in my dorm! I had no idea at all. She made the two guys trick me on purpose. Sapphira had warned me about this, that I'd be totally shocked when I found out. But I told her I didn't think that I'd be shocked if any one of the youths was my GA. Boy, was I wrong! LOL

Yunny sneaked so many notes for me everyday. So sweet! I was really touched. Thank you my GA!!! :D As for my mortal, I felt bad for not preparing anything beforehand. And I didn't know if I was gonna get a guy or a girl. So, I just brought an origami set and folded paper angels for him everyday. I'm glad he liked it. :)

Everyone else was so curious about who their GAs were. The best pairs were of course the brothers and sisters. LOL The brothers got their sisters as their mortals. And the sisters totally fell for their tricks! The look on their faces when they found out the truth was priceless. ROFL!

I'm really gonna miss this year's camp because I like hanging out with the younger youths. We might feel out of place with them sometimes, but they really don't make us feel that way. FGA USJ Impact-ers, we are one big family!!!

Last but not least, the sessions with Pastor Dennis in the camp was great. He talked about being the difference in our schools and colleges. He used Daniel, the character in the Bible, as an example. Daniel was a man of purpose, principle and purity. He refused to compromise his convictions and remained true regardless of the rewards or punishments.

Sometimes, it's difficult to be like Daniel because of worldly influence. But the standards of our lives should not come from the world. We shouldn't be afraid of being judged by others because only God can do that. God admires people who stand by their principles and His word. I believe that we are a chosen generation. The Bible says so. We are ALL OUTs, people who set goals, commit and pay a price to achieve them. People will look up to us and depend on us one day.

Daniel purposed in his heart to not violate God's law when he was challenge to do it. He could do it even at a young age. So, why can't we do the same? The opposite of light is not darkness, it is only absence of light. We should have faith because darkness will never extinguish the light of Jesus. And we can also be that light in the darkness of the world.

Our minds are important. We should not adjust our lives to the culture that we fit into it without thinking. People wants to control what we thinks so that they can control what we become. We need to purpose in our hearts to not be conformed by this world.

Studying communication, we discuss everything under the sun in class. Sometimes, even things that I don't believe in. I remember watching a video in CRR tutorial during my first semester. I remember feeling angry after the video because it insulted my faith in a certain way. But after speaking to some people about it, I realised that I didn't have to worry about anything. As long as I have faith in Jesus himself and the word of God, I don't have to be afraid of anything. Bring it on!


Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
- 1 Timothy 4:12