CIVILIZATION!!Im lazy to transfer all the photos and videos I took now so make do with this nice picture instead of a nice ubin picture =).
And honestly, Ubin has nice stuff. Just that I associated Ubin with NP campsite so it became a land of horror. Its not a bad place actually =). Just not much to do lor I guess. And no proper food, not alot at least.
But one of the worst things about Ubin is of course Ubin water. Fail water sia. Its brownish. Haha I talked about Ubin water all the times I've been to NP campsite so I wont again but yea its supposed to be NON PORTABLE WATER so you arent supposed to drink it.
And omigosh one of the days when CW, Leng and me were bathing, the Ubin water turned orange. ORANGE I TELL YOU. ITS LIKE THE SAME COLOUR AS 100 PLUS ORANGE. SERIOUS. ASK THEM.
Haha ok enough about Ubin water. I wont talk about everything about Ubin. What happens in ubin stays in ubin right ^^.
Hmm. Main thing we did at ubin was cycling. We cycled like everyday except day 3. And honestly, after cycling at Ubin, you will realise that all that park connectors nonsense and ECP and all are NOTHING. Seriously Ubin is like gravel bumpy road that keeps going uphill downhill lol.
And DO NOT, attempt the dunno what stupid bike trail. Not even the 'blue square' which is supposed to be easy. DO NOT. Oh but the double black diamond paths are seriously cool to see. Though crazy.
Anyway, haha Chek Jawa bike path there is awesome. Basically to go to Chek Jawa, you need to cycle one path, then to exit you cycle another. Its AWESOME ok the mad uphills you get off and you push, then the golden rule in cycling in ubin is 'what goes up, must come down'. INSANELY FUN DOWNHILLS SIO!! The wind is DAMN NICE!! I tried multiple tunes to take a video but I cant luh not pro enough haha.
Anyway, now I feel like buying a bike coz cycling is fun. But then uh, not much use lol.
Yups. And I feel weird that im not in a need to be in a constant lookout for mosquitoes or ants. Though every time I feel a slight itch I still instinctively check =p.
Lets talk about killer mosquitoes and ninja commando ants =D.
When in the jungle trail in Ubin, mosquitoes dont sneak up on you, numb you and suck your blood. They swarm you in groups of more than 10 and sting you. Nuff said.
The ninja commando ants move in formation, lined up like an army in hundreds. They are ninja cuz one moment they have the entire army there, next they're gone. The sneak up to your food supplies no matter where you try to hide them with skill. And they bite. They hurt. They attack. They group and communicate. And they ride on leafs as they get blown by the wind. NOT NINJA COMMANDO ANTS THEN WHAT. Nuff said.
Haha alright enough of the horrors of Ubin. I thank God that He was with me all the way, through it all.
Someone asked me during the trip (I had quite a number of theological questions during the trip somehow) 'why do I believe in God' and to be honest I wasnt quite sure how to answer him. Because you see, I could throw apologetic, I could tell you alot of things like how archeology confirmed stuff in the Bible, I could tell you how psychologists analyze Jesus' behavior, I could tell you how the cruxification was real, that Jesus really died on the cross, and how the empty tomb is a reality and showed he was resurrected, the reactions of the pharisees, the powerful early christian movement, all that to quote why Christianity is true.
But were these the things that made me follow Christ? Was it these evidences that led me to believe in God?
Honestly, it was experience. The more you walk with God, the more real you realise God is there. And unfortunately its not something that I can describe. Its the little things you see. I know, sometimes I cant really explain but I know. For example, read my X-Factor post. Its like that. Thats faith I guess. Hebrews 11:1, the faith chapter makes it clear.
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Does this mean blind trust? No it doesnt. We are sure of what we hope for because we know its real. We are certain of what we do not see with our human eyes because we see with our spiritual eyes. 2 Corintians 5:7 says "For we walk by faith, not by sight." It doesnt mean we close our eyes and walk. It means we see things in the spiritual realm. We know where we are heading.
So how do I know God is real? Because he showed himself to me. Because as I seek him, he continues to reveal more of himself to me. Because he is faithful and shows up in the little things. Because he answers prayers (but so many people have a misinterpretation of what prayer is all about, its not just asking for whatever you want, its more than that but it would be quite long if I were to spamhere). Because he lifts me up. Because he gives me his grace, his strength, his power, and these things I know. Because he molds me and guides me, leads my every step.
But people out there sadly cant really identify with that can they? Thats a rather sad thing. But its powerful. Its true. Experience God for yourself and he will show you. For those who seek him and seek him with all their hearts will find him.
I digressed from Ubin but yes. Something I needed to say haha. Little things you know. Like it was pouring over the mainland but at Ubin how nice, it rained when we were at the chalet only and not during our tent times. How many times the rain started but stopped again when we're about to cook. How dark clouds gathered in the skies and yet it didnt pour. How it didnt rain while we were kayaking but only at the end when we were returning the kayaks it gave a nice refreshing shower, and the rain stopped for dinner. Really, things like these that people wouldnt even think about and if they do they would attribute it to luck. But if you are constantly aware of these things, sometimes you'll realise that God is really watching out for you. If it happens once in a while, fine. But if we clear the skies for X-Factor and all that as well as all the other non weather related stuff, you'll realise.
Most people rather believe in astronomical odds (go read up on the odds of Jesus fulfilling every single old testament prophecy) then the supernatural. I can understand that mentality. After all, Christianity can be quite demanding. It can appear to be restricting freedom. But I feel free. I am free. True Christianity is awesome. But I suppose its kinda hard to understand a supernatural being helping you, leading you, guiding you. But what I'll say is, dont rule out God.
I thank God that when I flew off that bike on the first day. Sounds weird, especially since I was complaining of ass pains the next few days but those were for the luls mostly. Yea sure my arse really hurt like mad, I was worried too that it might be something serious, but when I hit the ground after flying off and screaming AHHHHHH in my head, I was really, really, really thankful. Because I could have landed on my head. Because I could on my face, my arm, my leg, my knee, my elbow, whatever. Chun Wee said it was a sharp rock right? Sharp rock to head? Not funny. For how much my arse hurt after I landed, I can see how I might have died if I landed head first. But I landed with the soft cushion of my butt (sounds funny but I mean it). Injuries limited but it could easily have been much more severe. Chance? Luck? Or God? For me, after much more of these little things that he has done for me in my life, I know my answer.
So I thank God, for his protection, his guidance throughout my trip in Ubin. I thank God that even in those days where its hard to seek him, he was with me anyway. And so I take every opportunity to praise God. Be it riding down those crazy downhill slopes or whatever. I dont sing for fun when I cycle you know, I mean it with my heart.
So thats it for Ubin haha. Wow I spent quite a long time on this post, more than I expected to. I digressed haha but yea.
Anyway, to all Christians out there, you should read my friend Gideon's blog =). Its really good haha. Hes from Trinity btw. I was there once and I do think they have some stuff that DI could learn from them for haha.
So yups.
One last thing before I end this post. A song I heard from long ago but I recently started listening to it again. I have many prayers for myself this year, the kind of person I want to be, and I mentioned this before, this is one of them. I wanna love, I wanna have compassion, I wanna be able to be there for others. This song does speak about it. While it does appear to be more geared towards the random strangers, for me, I wanna start with those who I value, those people who I do care for and mean alot to me. I fail at doing this really. But this year, even though as of now I fail, I believe that God will change me and help me to become more like the person he created me to be.
Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere,
Why have I never cared?
Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
yeah
yeah
Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work
He's buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?
Chorus
I've Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all along
Yay tmr's sat ^^.