(Warning: will take a long time to download for those modem users...sorrylah)
(Note: Every picture taken here is against personal/commercial download. So don't you dare touch them and download them down! All rights reserved. Want the pics? Come and see me.)
Camp verse:
"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." Romans 12:11 (NIV)
"Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master." (MSG)
There is no cause worth living for until you find one worth dying for! What is your passion?Where does your heart lie? A simple question, yet one that leaves many scratching their heads, lost for words. For the annual XYZ Youth Camp a.k.a PassionCamp04 at Bayu Beach Resort in Port Dickson, over 230 youths that spent 4 days and 3 nights there had a whole new understanding of passion.
If there was a passion-o-meter, the meter would have reached maximum point! The PassionCrew who arrived on the morning of the 11th were certainly in for a surprise when they found that MANY of the campers had arrived earlier than the time they were told to! After an hour of "organized chaos" whereby campers registered and got their extremely cool looking camp shirts, the campers of PassionCamp04 were eagerly whisked off in buses to an adventure of their lifetimes!
Upon reaching Bayu Beach Resort, campers were divided into 12 groups bearing interesting names such as Fuego, Fogo, Feu, De Passie, Ardor, Zele, Zelo, Afan, Brann, Iver, Eiffer and Conatious. The campers were given a chance to guess what those names meant and it turned out that the aptly given names were different words for passion, fire and zeal in languages such as French, German and Spanish. The day was followed by the campers being sorted into "countries" to play war games. Kudos to Alvin Yeo and team who pitched together a fun-filled two day game which had participants scheming and strategizing endlessly. Best part of the games was that Alvin managed to incorporate the true story of Jesus Christ's sacrifice at the end of the game.
We were privileged to have Pastor Shawn Kong from Eaglepoint Church as our camp speaker. Young, passionate and on fire, he shared unselfishly from his life and God used his realness and down-to-earth attitude to speak rhema words into our lives. In the first session, Pr Shawn posed a thought-provoking question, "What is passion?" Within the next 4 days, Pr Shawn led us through subjects such as "Why Passion?", "Passion for Lord Jesus", "Passion for Purity", "First Passion" and "The Incredibles: Passion For Great Things". With the world out there competing for our attention and our passion, it is sad that some youths simply wander and meander through life aimlessly, passively watching the world go by.
God was continually knocking, banging on our hearts' doors as Pastor Shawn too also spoke about how God promised His Holy Spirit, a passion, a cause worth living and dying for. In those 4 days, God worked deeply in many hearts, reducing even the toughest into tears. It was especially on the second night after Pr Shawn preached on "Passion for Purity", when the Holy Spirit visited us, many surrendered their sins and past baggage to Jesus and were cleansed! Indeed, it was such an awesome sight to see the campers weeping and kneeling in God's Presence. In a world of immorality and sinful indulgences, youth these days have nowhere and no one to turn to. Truly it is by God's grace that we are saved and lifted from the miry clay; sanctified and are called His own.
The one thing which God impressed strongly in our hearts was that He is passionate about us too! He holds our futures in His hands and there is no need to worry. This was particularly meaningful for the many Form 5s in our midst who have just completed their SPM and have yet to decide the course of road they want to take. Another promise which God held out to us was that we are supposed to ATTEMPT great things FOR God and EXPECT great things FROM God! Yes, it is without a doubt that youths who are Spirit-filled and passionate are destined for great exploits!
One exciting moment before we had our last session was when Uncle Jit Cheng (Pastoral Team) came and started praying for all the campers, including the adult leaders as many had fallen sick due to allergy towards carpet dust. Some were healed and we praise God for His divine healing!
In addition to our sessions with Pr Shawn, we were also blessed to have Reuben Arthur and Pastor Mike Ngui conducting workshops such as Social Etiquette and Goal-Setting. A light change from the usual fare and we had loads of fun during those practical sessions. In fact, campers were even given a chance to put to practice what we had learned from the former in a Gentlemens' Dinner the following evening.
If anybody were to ask the campers to share another interesting part of camp, they would certainly enthuse about our Talent Noon a.k.a. XYZ Idol! A talent time program inspired by the television hit series American Idol, teams were given the opportunity to come up with the most creative skits. They could do nearly everything to win votes from other groups. And just like the American Idol, there was a panel of judges and a pair of hosts who provided the laughs which had us rolling on the floors!
Truly, God has used PassionCamp04 to instill in us the 6 marks of a New Generation Youth, which is: Grounded in the Word of God, Exuberant in Worship, Fervent in Prayer, Passionate in Soul Winning, Vibrant in the Gifts of the Spirit and Compassionate in Caring. Although we came home tired and sick, in the same way we are refreshed and healed. All glory be unto our God in Heaven for a blast at camp! May the fire never cease to burn out in our hearts and as we go forth from PassionCamp04, let us continue to live for Jesus!
::Day and night I'll stick with GOD;I've got a good thing going and I'm not letting go::
No comments:
Post a Comment