Source/Author: By James TC Wong

This story was first published at gmc.org.my on Nov 28.

MIRI - 4th Miri recently organized a camp to mark the end of its many character-building activities carried out in the past eleven months.

More than 30 members from the Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade participated in the 2D/1N camp from Nov 15-16 at Grace Methodist, their sponsoring church.

By 7:00 pm, the campers had completed their registration. BB Captain Roseline Lee led in the opening prayer followed by the announcement of ground rules and singspiration.

Four teams were formed consisting of Pre-Juniors, Juniors and Seniors. The campers were quick to settle down to name their own team leaders.

For the ice-breaker, BB Helper Abel Wong introduced “Cups”, the latest percussion beat popularized by the movie, Pitch Perfect.

The game contains the elements of team-building and unity with the intention to teach the participants to perform an unique rhythm by hitting plastic cups on the floor in a synchronized pattern.

To everyone’s delight, the campers performed “Cups” splendidly during the camp closing.

A video testimony on how God has transformed ex-drug addict Singaporean Kelvin Soh was shown to the campers, followed by an active open floor discussion led by the BB Captain.

In the following morning, the first session for the Seniors started at 8:30 with a talk by GMC Sunday School Superintendent Vivien Lim.

Entitled “Friends”, the one-hour talk essentially covers the aspects of friendship experienced by teenagers.

The Seniors were also invited to play a rope game to demonstrate the power of a team’s ability to solve complex problems when they collaborated.

“When you are in a tight spot and don’t know what to do, you should seek help from people whom you can trust,” said Lim as she explained the lesson learned from the game played.

Abel Tan was the coach in the second session, “Overcoming the fear of Public Speaking”.

“Public speaking or communication is feared by many people,” said the 32-year-old MNC Petroleum Engineer and member of the Toastmasters Club Miri.

Drawing examples from the Bible, Tan reiterated that Moses too struggled when God wanted him to confront the Pharaoh.

“Moses gave the excuse that he did not have the gift of the gab. But God rebuked him because Moses was focusing on his ability rather than focusing on what God can do,” he said.

Tan encouraged the Seniors to trust God in the area of public speaking and communication. “Even if we are poor in communication and have bad experiences in public speaking, we can become better if we trust God to help us in this area,” he added.

While the Seniors were busy with their morning sessions, the Juniors were given a hands-on learning bakery lesson by the BB Captain who was assisted by GB Captain Eunice Ho and other Officers.

After three hours, the Juniors were all smiles as their carrot cup cakes turned out to be satisfactory.

Other highlights of the camp included a Bible “Word Search” and a Station Game organized by the Seniors.

Before the camp closed, the BB Captain presented a Commendation Letter to Pte Jonah Lau Li Xuan who had saved his friend from a drowning incident on Nov 3, 2013.

“We commend Pte Lau for his initiative and quick action in responding to a life-threatening situation. His bravery and civic-mindedness are exemplary to every Boy in our Company, hence making us very proud of him. May Pte Lau continue to glorify God in his future endeavours for the advancement of His Kingdom,” said Lee before presenting the letter to him.

With the announcement that Team C emerging as champions, food packets were distributed to every participating team.

The camp drew to an end with the singing of the BB Vesper.