DECEMBER HAS ARRIVED!

Hi everyone! So have you thought of your answers for the questions posted in the previous post? Anyway, from the 21st to 26th November, a bunch of us Dj-ians went to a camp called NSCFl camp. I'm sure some of you have heard about it. It's a camp organised by Scripture Union. And the book that was focused on during the camp was Philippians. The theme was " GET, SET, GOD " and our games group names were named after famous Christian athletes.

The writer of Philippians is by none other than Paul. And the Philippians was written at the time he was at house arrest to well...the Philippians. =D

So anyway, this camp really taught me a lot. And so it has to everyone as well. Jia Min, a dear Cf-er has spent her time writing her testimony about her experience in NSCFL. So yes, here is a glimpse of the camp through her eyes. =D

The Camp To Remember

I’ve never been to NSCFL camp before. It’s my first time and I was feeling a little giddy and afraid being surrounded by hundreds over people. I was also very reluctant to leave my comfy bed at first but looking back now, I have totally no regrets signing up for camp. Everything in camp was great. The people were warm and nice, the campsite has a natural-ish feel, you can see the clear blue sky in the morning and the stars shining at night. I am blessed with a very friendly roommate and also getting to be part of a very sporting and noisy group – Kaka.

The people in my group was extremely nice, especially my group leader, Emily, who took unpaid leave to be at camp to take care of us. She was a great listener and guided us throughout camp. She was also very open with sharing her life with us, she even bought us Seremban Siew Pau! We simply love to eat. Every morning during quiet time and every night during post mortem, all you can see, is us, EATING. The activities in camp benefited me a lot. For the workshops, I signed up for worship and peer counselling.

I learnt a lot from the worship workshop, led by Patrick Leong. His singing was splendid. He not only taught us what we should prepare mentally as a worship leader, he also gave us a chance to worship in a random band during practical sessions. Besides gaining more knowledge about worshipping and music, I also learnt how to coordinate and respect each other in this workshop.

The one part of camp that touched me the most was prayer and fasting. I’ve never been fasting in my whole entire life. Even in this short 5 hours, I’ve learnt so much! The station ( there were 5 stations that we could choose to go. For a few hours, we couldn't talk to anyone but just fast, pray and basically have quiet time with God ) that got us all in tears was the one where everyone can take a stone, think about all the burdens, pray, and leave the stone together with all our burdens before the cross. I wept as I was kneeling down before the cross, and I walked out of the room weight-free. And for that instant, I felt so relieved.

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ Such a precious affirmation and promise for all of us, but why is it that we don’t seek for God first in hard and happy times? And that led me to the next station, we were showed a video about the gift of worship, and it really struck me. What is your motive when you worship God? I sat in the hall and watched the video again and again for more than 8 times. I am a worship leader, but sometimes I still do question myself, why am I worshipping?

The video was like a wake-up call for me, slapping me in the face, telling me it’s time to put God first in everything I do. In the video it says, Worship is a huge thing. We look forward to worship each week. When the music includes one of our favourites, we say, "The worship was great!" When the music stinks, we yawn and wonder why the worship wasn't very good. We leave churches because of the "worship style".

Have you ever wondered why we're more concerned with what worship does for us and less concerned with the object of our worship? It seems like it's more about what we GET not what we GIVE. It would be like taking a gift to a friend's birthday party, but keeping it for ourselves.

Worship is all about GIVING our lives to God. Worship is not about the feelings we receive when we sing. Worship is not about convincing God to bless us. Worship is not about whether or not the guitar is too loud. Worship is not about what's happening on the stage. Worship is not about entertainment, lighting, or sound.

Worship is not about us at all. IT'S NOT ABOUT US. It's about Him.

And we enter through the gateway of the cross.

At the cross, we surrender love cry dream give up shut up kneel confess

We look at God, and place Him above all else because He is worth it! Life gets crazy and painful. No one can deny that. JOB STRESS DIVORCE DEATH ADDICTIONS PARENTING LONELINESS

No one is asking you to pretend that those things aren't affecting you. You're just being invited to bring that stuff to the cross, and to simply gaze at Jesus. And as you look at Him, allow your response to be worship

Besides growing up and being more mature spiritually, I made a lot of friends and had so much fun. DJ-ians have been really encouraging, feels like it is God’s calling that I should join CF next year. I’ve been swaying around in other curriculum activities for three years, feels like it’s time to go home now. I pray that everyone who joined NSCFL this year and those who benefited from it will bring the knowledge back to their respective CF’s and YF’s to serve God better and to glorify God’s name. I also hope the bonds and friendship between the campers will not be just a 6 days thing, but will grow stronger as we grow up together as brothers and sisters in Christ. For those who didn’t join this year, I urge you to join next year! Toodeloos!

God bless (:

Jia Min.