On 27 October 2008, I was appointed to the post of Camp Commander for Canaanland Retreat 2009 to be held from the eve of the Hari Raya holidays until the second day ie. 19-21 September 2009.
On 24 May 2009, Sharon Lai informed that she emailed two persons to enquire if any one of them would be available to be our retreat speaker. One person was not free while the other person Ps. Steven Teo (www.pssteventeo.com & www.dream4enations.com) accepted the invitation. I have never met Ps. Steven Teo nor heard of him before.
Request for quotations were sent out by Sharon Lai to Perkasa Hotel (venue for last year’s retreat), Borneo Golf & Country Club (venue for 2007 retreat) and Celyn Resort. Perkasa was not available while the latter two were available.
On 24 June 2009 during the Leaders Meeting I was told to get quotation from other different venues so that we will have more choices to choose from.
On 28 June 2009 I emailed to the following to ask for availability and quotation.
1. Kasih Sayang Boutique Health Resort & Spa (www.kasihsayang.com.my/)
On 29 June I received their quotation. On 9 July I received a phone call from them and I told the person who called that we had decided not go to to their resort.
2. Kinabalu Rose Cabin (www.kinabalurosecabin.8m.com)
On 29 June I received a reply from them to say that the resort was unavailable.
3. Strawberry Garden Hotel (www.borneostrawberrytours.com)
There is no reply from this hotel up until today.
On 29 June I emailed to the following to ask for availability and quotation.
1. Beringgis Beach Resort (www.beringgis.com)
On 30 June I received their quotation. On 9 July I emailed back to say that we had decided not to go to the resort. On 12 July they emailed me and noted my decline.
2. Nexus Resort, Karambunai (www.nexusresort.com/new)
On 30 June I received a reply from them asking for my address and I gave them on the same day. On the next day, they emailed me their quotation and followed up by a phone call.
On 10 July I emailed back to say that we had decided not to go to the resort. Within 4 minutes of sending the email, the Sales Manager Freedie Solibun replied asking the reason why. When I did not reply his email straight away, he called me on the phone. I told him we decided to go to Kundasang because of the cool weather and he insisted on dropping by at my office to see me. Eventhough I told him I would be too busy, he still insisted on coming and said that it would only take 5 minutes of my time.
Freedie arrived with two of his junior colleagues. He told me competition is very stiff nowadays especially during the fasting/Hari Raya period. Resorts would try their best to close the deal during that time. He also mentioned that if we do decide to have another retreat next year, he would like to come and brief the leadership team on the resort. (talking about persistency)
3. Kinabalu Pine Resort (www.kinabalupineresort.com)
On 17 July, I received a reply from them to say that the resort was unavailable.
4. Celyn Resorts & Hotels (www.celyns.com/celynresort/)
On 29 June I emailed Celyn Resort asking them to revise their quotation to exclude tea breaks and supper as we would bring our own food and beverages for those times to save cost. On the next day, I received a revised quotation from them through fax.
On 2 July during Sharon Lai’s Canaanland Celebration farewell dinner at Royal China Restaurant, all present deliberated on the theme. After much deliberation, we adopted Rebecca Poong’s suggestion on ‘Living for Christ’.
On 8 July Yi
On 6 August we received the rates for children who are 5-12 years old for meals only if sleeping with parents.
Registration for the retreat started on 9 August until 30 August for early bird. The last day of registration was 6 September.
On 9 August 10 people registered for the retreat.
On 11 August Yi Ping received an email from the speaker saying that he had to leave the retreat early on the final day to catch a midday flight to
On 12 August I revised the retreat schedule.
On 16 August I did not turn up at Canaanland Celebration because I was sick and therefore did not collect any registration forms.
On 23 August 12 people registered for the retreat.
On 30 August 15 people registered for the retreat.
The total people registered up to closing of early bird registration was 37 excluding Rev. Lee Tak Vui, Ps. Steven Teo, Yi Ping and Alex.
On 2 September Yi
On 5 September I faxed the resort our tentative room list.
On 8 September I decided on the backdrop.
On 14 September Yi Ping texted me to tell me Rev. Lee would be leaving the retreat a day earlier to catch a flight to
On 15 September I emailed the resort our retreat schedule and they emailed me our room list.
On 16 September I received from the resort their floor plan which I needed as a guide for the treasure hunt. I forwarded to Yi Ping the room list and floor plan to be included inside the retreat booklet.
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