This year's camp felt really short. I guess it was partially because I was constantly doing something as opposed to just enjoying the camp, and also partially because it was packed and tiring.
I wouldn't say that administratively or execution wise it was perfect, but that is not what matters when it comes to a camp like this. Every time camp comes around, I would be reminded of what a friend of mine once said about camps. The success of a camp is not determined by how good the planning, how flawless the execution, how fun the games, the tasty the food, nor is it about the fun and laughter. All these are secondary to what is most important which is that each and every single camper grew closer to God. Judging by this criteria alone, I would say that this camp is a massive success.
I am unable to completely express all that I feel about it, there are so many little things that add up and I know I will not be able to mention them all, so just snippets of whatever stood out for me.
I am, very much humbled. I have always been quite a cynic. There are things that I earnestly pray and hope for but at the same time parts of me feel a sense of helplessness and hopelessness towards. I would really desire to see something happen, would want to believe for it to happen, but I would be held back by a degree of skepticism. Not towards God, but towards the heart of men. This camp though, I see things happen that I realise I have allowed myself to become cynical towards. I also remember the things of the past that have happened and now I find myself in a renewed sense of hope. I believe that the God who moved so powerfully in this camp will continue to do a mighty work. I believe that this is the start of something new.
The breakthroughs in people's lives. I am amazed at how God moves. While I acknowledge that God is the God of all and can do all things, sometimes my frail human mind just refuses to fully accept that, and I still end up surprised at how God can touch lives. I am truly thankful and in awe. There are people who have come to know God this camp, prodigal sons returned home, stragglers caught in His grace, people in all sorts of circumstances and situations drawing closer to God.
While there are many breakthroughs, a few specific ones really tugged at my heartstrings. When I see how they have grown, who they are now and how things have changed, I can only fall upon my knees and worship, to give all praise and glory to God because I know I have done nothing yet God made a way. There are still some whom I really pray will come to truly live the abundant life, and I am looking forward to it.
There is also still plenty of work left to be done. In the, I would say aftermath, of this camp, lives have been so shaken and we need to help these people find their anchor on the rock. Pastor Karen shared about the four kinds of seeds that are sown, and so we must remember that the seeds that were sown on thorny and stony ground were both seeds that were received and started to grow, it was only afterwards that they withered. It is then our responsibility to do what we can to ensure that the soil is good soil. It is not over, it is only the beginning.
At imagine side, this is certainly our most important work yet. Sometimes in the nature of our work we don't actually interact all that much. Unlike the worship team which comes together to practice regularly, our jobs tend to be more individualistic. You can't have multiple people working on a poster, or multiple people editing one video. This time though, we had meetings to discuss at length the direction and the specifics of this project. We had multiple scriptwriters editing one massive script, we had storyboarding, the actual shoots where many people were present. Basically our work was all pretty much interconnected this time. Because of that, I felt that we had grown much closer. I used to not find myself as attached to the imagine team because of all these and also because we just don't have big projects often. This time round I felt that I really got to know some of the team better (even people I have supposedly been working with for years), and again I am humbled. I am humbled by the dedication and passion of so many members of the team. The heart of service that really is directed towards God's glory. That unyielding, indomitable spirit. These people are truly inspiring people. It also humbles me to see how far we have come, from the days when Si Er gathered the few of us and we didn't quite know what we were getting into, when our first posters and videos were on a whole pretty bad productions, to where we are now. There were points in time where I had wondered what I was doing in this ministry, but now I really look forward to what God has in store for us.
There definitely are things we still need to improve though. Lefa mentioned something right before the camp about being more like Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus and less like Martha, who while had great heart and intentions was missing out on the greater thing. I have to agree that this year's work on imagine side really took a toll on us. Things need to be worked out and better improved the next time round so we don't see a repeat of this. I felt perpetually tired throughout the camp and I was one of the most relaxed imagine members this time round. I didn't spend much time praying this camp outside of the sessions, compared to how I used to wake up early in the mornings and stay up later at night during camp to seek God. Just simply too tired. Rest is spiritual and while working hard for the glory of God is important, it should not be at the cost of other important things.
There are many other things I could talk about but it would take forever. At the end of the day, words can never be enough to express the goodness of God. Primarily, I am just feeling really thankful, humbled and hopeful. It has been said so many times that it already sounds stale, but still I will say it: this has truly been a divine camp.
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Also, really proud of this last minute poster I made hehe =p.
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