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Friday, June 01, 2007
Window of the World 2007 Bintan
It seriosly extremely meaningful and fun.
Not going to go day by day, because i will end up writing a 5k word essay that way ><
IF you cant be bothered to read, just scroll through the pics and read th shoutouts at the end lol.
Off to bintan!
The 2 hr ferry ride there was spent almost getting into a fight with some dude there, sitting on a dustbin cuz there was no space, and of course singing and talking. Lucky to have met some people from mansuri sec who were going there for an adventure camp. and we even saw them another 2 times during the trip haha.
CIP
Which is actually the point of us going there. We went to this orphanage for CIP, to interact with the kids, to paint their walls, to build a library corner.
Picture of the kids on Day1
Me with kids there (and rachel)
our master piece
Honestly, we didn't do much work, just painting. And alot of the time we were simply playing with them. They did share their indo games, and were super good soccer players too.
Some of us really wanted to do something for the orphans and influence them in some way, but turns out the best way to do it was just simply interact with them, and they do appreciate it. Once we really wanted to do something but didn't know how, so we simply sang Christian songs while painting.On the last day, me and yuanhao preformed for them. and many others, like the choir girls, Lucy and gang, and who can forget Ryan's insane solo that brought so many smiles =P It all ended really well with an insane dance with the orphans (and some cross dressers xD ) which was so funny. Parting was really sad, and some took the opportunity to pray for them individually.
Being with the orphans for those 4 days was a really immense experience.
Prayer Meetings & Free Time
Amazed we actually did prayer meetings lol.
The 1st day's prayer meeting was cool, didnt expect a large number of 20 to turn up. It was very impromptu, but God was really with us and everything went great (:
2nd day onwards only 7-10 people came. Lil disheartened of course, but great things happened in that small group. Firstly, maybe because small groups were way more comfortable and less stressful for us, thus prayer and sharing was much easier, and secondly, those who came were all really on fire (: I vividly remember the prayer meeting under the stars at loola resort where just us guys shared our struggles and problems- it was really great (:
WOW would definitely not have been such a great experience without these prayer meetings, and they did help to bring me closer to God.
Really wanna thank Ryan for the music, Audrey for planning and taking care of the girls and Yuanhao for doing the global day of prayer thing. Also Lionel, JunEn, Lee Min, Gareth, thanks for coming. I really feel that this prayer meetings did bring us so much closer together in His name (: Also thanks to those to came on the 1st night and especially John Wong and Bhupinder who came once or twice even tough u guys weren't Christian, God bless you (:
Okay to the free time - AGRO RESORT IS THE ULTIMATE
Rachel Cheung told us that it was gonna be really shitty accommodation with no power at certain times n stuff, so we really were expecting shit. BUT THAT PLACE! ITS AWESOME! (will upload when i get pics)
Its seriously like better then east coast chalets kind of standard. really fantastic resort that made us very happy!
Alot of free time was spent breaking with yuanhao =P and teaching LIPS how to break! haha hilarious.
We simply cleared the living room of the furniture and tada! our breaking studio. Cause its a room, music was blasting and it felt sooo good. At least my flares n tops improved from those sessions.
yuanhao balancing a chair
Did alot of other stuff like swimming (with Mr Mongan) Playing asshole taiti until 2am. MOVIE MARATHON UNTIL 4am! watched Stomp the Yard, 28weeks later and Click. okay i knocked out halfway during click -.o
Oh and of course i cant forget our busrides and practically everywhere. we were singing like crazy! Thanks to mp3s and 3 speakers and lead singer Jun En. Junen, Yh, I and Lips were singing songs from like switchfoot, good charlotte like crazy! Really made the trip damn fun! Actually sometimes people like audrey and rachel were singing too haha.
By Zen and Speaker
We Made it through the trip =P
Activities
Went to loola resort on the 2nd day to do some activities like rock climbing, obstacle course, and flying fox! Rock climbing was hilarious, how Lips was stuck there for 10 whole minutes and was kicking sweat onto audrey xD Then how Mr mongan was soo darn tall but cldnt climb at all hahaha. Flying fox was a lil scary, and definitely hyped all of us up with the adrenaline! Oh, and we saw the people from masuri sec on that day again.
kayaking was an extremely unforgettable experience. At first was sharing a kayak with Lips and Audrey. Had soo much difficulty kayaking lol. After that lips went to get a single kayak, leaving me n audrey and we also realized we had alot alot of time to kayak around. Ended up just drifting about, singing songs, talking about everything, marveling at the beauty of creation, and even praying. Awesome experience!
We also had an trek. where there wasnt a proper path uphill. Remember walking a pretty long distance to the hill and talking to rachel on the way, but she cldnt continue after going up the hill halfway lol. the dangerous part was really coming down, but Me yh and jun en just ran down the hill, almost tripping a few times xD insane fun.
Loola Resort
This place was so great i need a section specially for it lol.
the sea around was soo shallow that we could easily walk 50m out into sea at not even knee deep.
Staying on the ocean was such a cool experience, and what made it sooo great was the prayer meeting out there, on this platform on the sea
We shared alot during that prayer meeting, and at the same time awed by the beauty of the night sky, totally littered with stars. It was so beautiful it felt really really unreal, an experience i never had in my life. And of course the fellowship was just amazing. Since it was so beautiful, we just decided to sleep on that platform.
sleeping under the stars, and waking up to this sunrise, was just so beautiful and surreal.
Boom Netting and Survivor Island
Probably the most fun part of the trip - boom netting!
We took this ferry for island hopping, and on the way we did this thing called boom netting. Simply, 2 nets are laid on the side of the boat, and we can jump from the 2nd level of the ferry into the net. Not only that, we could just chill in the nets for the whole journey while the boat was moving! had loads of fun, talking and playing stupid games with lips, lionel, junen, yh n audrey.
woah! this was like THE picture of the trip! look at lip's SEXY EYES AAAHHHH!
Okay, so we took this ferry to this deserted island where we were supposed to spend the night. Fellowship was again really good, singing by the beach n stuff
We also had a prayer meeting, despite all odds. A pretty good one in fact. And it was global day of prayer then. we prayed hard for Indonesia, Singapore and the whole world. Only then i realized how impossible looking our task is. Got a little disheartened at how little i could do, but i should just have faith that God will do something great. Anw we just lay on the beach and just talked for a really long time, before we couldnt take it and went to sleep. When it was way too cold and even army strength repellent seemed ineffective, finally went back to the tent..
Byebye Bintan
Cant really remember what else we did, so im going home (:
wait! on the last day something awesome happened. After praying so hard to see hope in indo, it seemed like God answered our prayers in a very real way.
we actually found this christian school! being overly excited, we just ran off in there without telling anyone. We went in and talked to the people there and ended up praying with them
It was a fabulous way to end our stay at bintan. and when getting scolded by rachel cheung, she said we were ending the trip on a bad note by running off like that and creating trouble. Inside, i was really thinking "just the opposite!"
Off bintan island
took a ferry back to Singapore, and still having a great time of fellowship on the way.
Kinda sad when we left the place, and im sure everyone was too. It was truly the best trip i had been on so far. I really got closer to God during this trip and i realized i can do sooo much more for Him, and can be so much more an active Christian, and its just my mental barriers limiting me. I think i did grow win character too, now cherishing every relationship i have, especially my parents, and trying harder to shine for God.
Oh ANW this is THE list of retarded things to remember from the trip
Ahdir- "good times"
Audrey- " it feels like i peed" <- O.O
Ryan's sexy eyes (!!!) , the Ryan show ( we are all actors ), Ryan's solo at the orphanage. ( Ryan i duno you )
Us singing "i just wanna live" and "get your hands off my girl"
Lionel "the moon too bright.. can someone switch it off?"
Junen "This star is too close to that one - move!"
Rachel's MRT game (i was wacking ryan when i found out the answer -.-)
Yuanhao "I AM THE DRY MEAT THAT FILLS THE MOUTH"
Actually, even now i can hardly remember the events that happened and the fun we had, but the greatest take away was the friendships from the trip. I say again that the fellowship was awesome. i hardly felt so comfortable and connected with friends before. thank God for that
Yes, and thanks 5.15 + 3 from 5.8. u guys made this WOW trip amazing! It wouldnt be the same without the people so i think ill start thanking them
the TEACHERS (if they ever read this blog o.o )
Mr Mongan- U were the funniest guy ever! thanks for adding so much joy and fun and jokes to our wow trip, as well as really connecting with us students (:
Madam Rachel Cheung- Madam! u were the nicest lady ever on the wow trip! everyone really noticed how nice you were during the trip haha, and thanks alot for bonding with our class!
Madam Low - Thanks for taking care of us kids during wow trip! like a mother to us haha.
okay.. and to the.. younger dudes ><
Lips! - didn't know you that well until this trip, but thank God for you! glad to know you so much better as a friend and u were a true blessing throughout the trip. Thanks for all the jokes and crazy singing! especially at the orphanage! wouldnt be the same w/o u pal!
Lionel - you are like one of the nicest guys ever and so ever easy to talk to! really appreciate you coming for prayer meetings and just being a great friend. Thank God that i got to know you better through the trip. God bless!
Jun En Really wonder how quiet the trip would be without you man lol. Thanks for all the singing and insanity xD really glad we hung out during the trip too!
Yuanhao haha! nuff said lah. Thanks for being a true buddy, like always. Breaking in bintan rocked huh =P Was just so glad u came along with our class and made the trip so different for me.
Audrey wouldnt be the same without you! thanks for really shining for God and being a great influence! really thank God to get to know you through this trip =) Also thanks alot for always asking the girls to prayer meetings or organizing theirs, continue working for the Lord!
Leemin for adding alot of fun to the trip (camwhore) xD yup thanks for all the fun times you brought us and putting up with our teasing and stuff haha.
Room mates- John, Lester,Bert, Gareth Thanks for being wonderful roommates (: apologize for the noise, and thanks for putting up with the noise. Thanks for coming for prayer meetings a few times too, especially john, who isnt even christian- may God light your way. and thanks gareth for coming all the time and being a blessing to the bunch of us! Bert, i pray that your relationship with God will improve and stay strong kie (:
Rachel for talking during the hike thingy haha i didn't forget kie! Just thanks for for godliness and being a real blessing to our class (:
Jeanette! thanks for smuggling my dvds back LOL and being such a cool shopping buddy on the last day. Continue to stay strong in the Lord kie, we all still have a long way to go and alot to learn (: Really love your sincerity and just being who you really are!
Bhupi for coming to prayer meeting once. was surprised and veyr thankful, may God light your path (:
Joshua for thanking thousands of photos for us! hope to receive them soon (:
The paintees and everyone who painted
U guys made our plan a reality! cant belief the painting turned out so well (: thanks for all the hard work, im sure the orphans love the world map room!
All who preformed for the orphans (lucy and gang, choir girls) you guys really brought joy to the orphans there.
Could go on and on, but just thank you 5.15 for making WOW trip such a great experience. Our class is really great. no politics, no bitching, and everyone is so nice. really appreciate you guys. Thank God for you guys and this great experience
