Since I am working more than fulltime, I thank God for Yi Ping who had been helping with a lot of things such as doing the registration form, retreat booklet
and name tags; liasing with the speaker and the resort; buying things and bringing them up to the retreat; arranging the t-shirts to be printed, etc etc etc.
I also want to thank the following people for their contributions.
1)The Senior Pastor and ministry team leaders for their prayers and support.
2)Ps. Steven Teo for flying all the way from Down Under to be our speaker and deposited valuable insights into our life as well as making the retreat an inflection point for some of us.
3)Tuang Pei Yun for designing the logo and manning the OHP.
4)Alice Hiew for arranging the P&W sessions and the worship team.
5)Quek Lip Kie for logistics.
6)Jerry Ho for the PA system.
7)Those who fetched people to and fro the resort.
8) Songleaders – Andrew Tai, Ng Lee Fong, Kenny Lim and Alex Liau.
9) Alex Liau for being the photographer.
10) Shelley Chew and Mimi Quek for the food during tea breaks and supper.
11)The American guests who helped with the children.
Without the help of all the people mentioned above, I am sure the retreat would not be possible.
I also thank God that though I did not sleep a wink last night, I could lead the treasure hunt and did not feel like a zombie at all. Like Saint Paul, I can say 'For when I am weak, then I am strong'. (2 Corinthians 12:10b) Thank God for His strength and enablement.
The chalets that we were staying at cost RM600 per night ie. average of RM150 pax. But the resort only charged us RM262 per person including all meals for two days and two nights. They were losing income by allowing us to stay there.
Woke up after 6a.m. and before Corporate Prayer at 7a.m., I managed to check the clues I had stuck outdoor the evening before were still intact despite of the strong overnight wind.
The Corporate Prayer was led by Elder Fung and Yi Ping led the P&W. There were not many people attending since the cool weather was so nice to have a sleep in. I would have done that if I was not expected to be up early.
After Corporate Prayer, I started to get things ready for the treasure hunt and continued to stick some of the clues and the locations I chose were downhill, which meant I had to climb back uphill before I could have breakfast. Half way in climbing the hill, I saw Elder Fung’s car coming down and I waved goodbye to him and Ps. Steven.
By the time I reached the dining hall, I was famished. I ate more this time as compared to yesterday. After breakfast, I had to continue to stick the clues and it was a difficult with everyone being everywhere. The rain started to come down and I prayed that it would stop as we commenced the treasure hunt. While I was still sticking the clues, most of the people gathered inside the conference hall to chit-chat. Jacob Dalager was providing the entertainment.
Since I had been to Celyn Resort previously, I wanted to organise a treasure hunt that was both fun and challenging at the same time.
I was extremely ambitious in this matter and created a twenty clues treasure hunt using five different colour schemes – pink, blue, green, yellow and purple for five groups.
I allocated different people into different groups so that each group had a spread of young people and mature adults.
From the start, I gave them the rules of the treasure hunt. By then I had no problems in talking through the microphone. PTL!
I told them that all the clues were in place as I checked but if they had any problems in looking for any of them, they could come to see me and I would be glad to assist.
1)John 15:5 – “I am the vine and you are the ________es. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.(FIND OBJECT)
2)Genesis31:1-_______heardthatLaban’ssonsweresaying, “ _______ has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.”(FIND CLUE)
3)Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the _______ of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.(FIND CLUE)
4)Ephesians 4:11 – It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be _________s and teachers, … (FIND CLUE)
5) Luke 15:22 – “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ________ on his ringer and sandals on his feet.(FIND OBJECT)
6)Matthew 5:23 – “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the ________ and there remember that your brother has something against you, …(FIND CLUE)
7)1 Samuel 17:40 – Then he took his staff in his hand, chose ________ ________ ________ from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. (FIND OBJECT)
8)Daniel 10:13 – But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then ________, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. (FIND CLUE)
9)Exodus 3:5 – “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your ________, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”(FIND OBJECT)
10)Amos 6:5 – You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on ________ __________. (FIND CLUE)
11)One person from the group memorize Philippians 1:21 to Spinxie.
12)Luke 5:6 – When they had done so, they caught such a large number of ________ that their nets began to break.(FIND CLUE)
13)Genesis 8:11 – When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was afreshly plucked olive ________!(FIND OBJECT)
14)Psalm 23:5 – You prepare a ________ before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.(FIND CLUE)
15) Titus 1:6 – An ________ must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. (FIND CLUE)
16)Proverbs 31:15 – She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her _______ and portions for her servant girls.(FIND CLUE)
17) Mark 12:42 – But a poor widow came and put in ________ very small copper ________, worth only a fraction of a penny.(FIND OBJECT)
18)Matthew 9:12 – On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a ________, but the sick.(FIND CLUE)
19) 1 Corinthians 3:8 – The man who _________ and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.(FIND CLUE)
20) Proverbs 4:23 – Above all else, ________ your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (FINDCLUE)
Site Plan of Celyn Resort
Legends for Site Plan of Celyn Resort
Upon finishing the treasure hunt, they were supposed to complete the following.
Can you find the names of 25 books of the Bible in this paragraph? This is a most remarkable puzzle. Someone found it in the seat pocket on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping himself occupied for hours. One man from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Roy Clark studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Victs mentioned it in her column once. One woman judges the job to be so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help calm her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot...that's a fact. Some people will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. The truth is, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have. Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation may help, books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. And punctuation or spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete. Remember, there are 25 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph.
By the time the treasure hunt started, PTL the rain stopped. And in spite of my fault in mixing up some clues, everyone had fun and said that they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. A person told me I was wicked in having them ran all over the place. Haha And this person is the oldest and fittest of the lot. And he happens to be a medical doctor.
The treasure hunt took longer than I expected and all the teams did not manage to finish looking for all the clues. Some teams blamed others for sabotaging their clues.
The people from the resort told me that some of their guests had already arrived and therefore we needed to start packing. Based on what each team could solve, I had to make a decision to rank them accordingly to give out the prizes. The doctor’s team won and everyone dispersed to their room to pack their things.
After packing we all met back at the conference room. Some people helped to clean up while others proceeded to the dining hall to have lunch. By then I was relieved that everything was finally over and I could breathe a sigh of relief.
Everyone ate more during lunch due to the energy used up in the treasure hunt. I also ate slightly more.
After lunch, most people came to thank me for a job well done. I told them I did not deserve all the credit as Yi Ping did most of the work.
The doctor’s wife asked whether I lost any sleep in organising the retreat. I told her I did not except I did not sleep a wink last night. She thought I was thinking too much about the treasure hunt.
As I reflected upon everything that had happened during the retreat, I remembered the words of Ps. Steven when I was introduced to him as the CampCommander on the eve of the retreat. ‘So you are the person who gets the blame if something goes wrong or when someone wants to complain about something?’ I had to nod in agreement. And I was glad none of that happened.
At 5p.m. I had my shower and after that proceeded to the conference room to get ready some clues for the treasure hunt tomorrow.
When I started to stick some outdoor clues, the rain started to come down. Altogether I managed to stick four clues – two outside and two inside the conference room.
Before we started to have dinner, I gave thanks for the food.
Alex Liau led the P&W for the Final Session. He was also the photographer as well. After P&W, he passed the time to Ps. Steven.
During the Last/Final Session, Ps. Steven shared on the following.
The Other Side
Mark 4:35-41
v.15 Let us go to the other side.
Mark 5:1-20 Story about the other side
The Decapolis – ten cities on the other side of the lake. The place was displaced, perverse, unclean. Their emblem was on a shield with pig.
Jesus knew what was going on the other side. A demon possessed man turned up to welcome Him. He was Jesus’ mission.
The other side, ugly side, not welcoming side, people whom other people do not want to associate with.
We need to know God’s mission on earth.
Jesus came for those who had lost the plot.
1. Jesus saw the potential.
One person but still one soul. Do we see potential or problem?
What do we see in our colleagues, neighbours, peers?
God brought transformation into the man’s life. The pig owners chased Jesus out because they were counting the cost.
We need to reach out, not ostracise people who are not on the right side of the law. We are meant to reach out to the world.
2. Jesus saw the need.
The demon possessed man was in desperate need for healing. Jesus saw true societal prejudices. Jesus was driven by the needs of one man.
We often hear people say, ‘My church does not meet my needs.’
Tithing – 10 % obligation Giving – out of freewill Lending – by reaching out to the poor. God owes and will pay us back.
Need to be outward looking. We do not merely exist but to serve.
It is not that we do not care. It is that we do not care enough.
The other side is about living for the poor, disadvantage, dysfunctional.
3. Jesus saw the future.
He knows the demon possessed man upon being healed would follow His instructions.
Jesus told the man to go back to his family to share what God had done for him.
When Jesus returned to that city, the people welcomed Him.
We need to see a future in people.
God’s will is not static. It has to do with how we tap into the future right now.
It depends on how we respond to God at present.
Doing church is wonderful but our primary calling is to share the Gospel.
We have to watch our lives align with our doctrine.
Be steward tomorrow for the other side.
After Ps. Steven finished his sharing, he passed back the time to me. But then he said he was willing to pray for those who had not been prayed for by him yet.
A lot of people went out and some second or third time.
I was the last one to be prayed for and he had the following to say (word by word since it was recorded).
‘More prayer for your Spinxie? Hahaha. Hallelujah. Thank you. I love it when people are hungry for the touch.
Father in the name Jesus I want to thank you for Spinxie.
You know the spirit of Ruth is on you. Ruth in the Old Testament. You know the story of Ruth right? What is the essence of the story? Ruth(‘s mother in law Noami) actually made huge sacrifices for everyone – for her husband, for her sons, for her daughters-in-laws. She is a giving person. She is a sacrificing person.
And because of her spirit, God came and blessed her and restored her. And out of nothing, out of brokenness, out of having lost everything, lost wealth, lost husband, lost daugters-in-law or sons rather and one daughter-in-law went off. She released her. Out of that God transformed her into a lineage from which came King David and Jesus.
God is going to do that for you. There will be significant things coming out from you, generationally, legacy things that gonna come out from your life cos you are a sacrificing person.
Don’t give up on that. Keep doing (3x), keep looking forward (3x), don’t look back alright?
Keep looking forward and as you do, as you unfold, God will allow you to have a story to tell one day, increasingly the story gets better and better, an inspiration to give, a legacy to leave behind.
That’s for you. Amen.’
Everyone who went to the retreat went out at least once to be prayed for by Ps. Steven except one of our members and the whole American contingent. I really praised God that through those prayers we would be able to reach the destiny God has for each of us.
After the ministry time, I thanked Ps. Steven and some of us spent some time to seek some clarifications on his sharing during this Final Session. After that, he went to someone’s room to minister to the person.
On the way back to our room, there was a slight drizzle and the wind was blowing.
I spent some time in making some final preparations for the treasure hunt tomorrow.
Went to bed around midnight and this time I did not sleep a wink because the rain was coming down and the wind was howling more than the night before.
Before we started the next session, it was almost time for Rev. Lee to depart for Kota Kinabalu and therefore we had to take the group photo.
After our group photo session, Rev. Lee requested Ps. Steven to pray for him and I stood beside them.
For the next session we were priviledge to have Alice Hiew to play the piano, Andrew Tai on the guitar and Jacob Dalager on the trumpet.
Kenny Lim led two songs for P&W before I passed the time to Ps. Steven.
During the Third Session, Ps. Steven shared on the following.
The Eyes of the Heart
Bible sees our heart as the source of faith, hope, love.
Prov. 4:23 Guard our heart
The heart can be wounded, broken, faint, coward, melt like wax, forgetful, dull, stubborn.
The heart can also be glad, merry, true, upright, pure.
The heart is the eyes of the soul.
If we messed up the eyes of the heart, then we mess up with our lives.
It is important to look after the eyes of the heart. If not, we are missing the plot. We all carry a destiny. None of us is accident.
1. Things are not what they seem.
We focus on what we can serve.
Gen. 28:12 There is more going on in Jacob’s life. v.16 surely the Lord is in this place and I do not know it. Jacob was empowered by what is in the future.
Why are you placed there in your work place? Life is not default, it is a design.
Rom. 4:17
2. Never ignore the burning heart.
Luke 24:17-21 The disciples could not see beyond the eyes of their heart.
Luke 24:32-34
We live in one world with two parts. One part we can see and another part we cannot see.
We miss the subtleties/service God has for us.
3. There is battle/war under way.
The eyes of the heart see our world in our heart. In the Christian life, we are in the spiritual world.
We are living in desperate times.
Daniel 10
Do you see your problems or your solutions?
God works from the inside out.
When we serve from inside out, we will serve unconditionally.
Step out in obedience.
Employ pull situation instead of push strategy.
May our lives be a magnet.
After the third session, Ps. Steven spent over an hour ministering to those who went out for prayers. There were some others who wanted to go out but refrained themselves because the time was already after 1p.m. and the food at the dining hall was ready to be consumed.
I gave thanks for the food before we proceeded to the dining hall.
After lunch, I went back to the chalet to try to rest. Some people went out from the resort to different places for sightseeing.
I wanted to wake up a bit later than what I normally do since breakfast would only be served at 8a.m. But instead I woke up at 6.30a.m. I quickly went out to the balcony of the chalet to check whether the whole mountain was visible and this was the view I got.
Tried to sleep again before waking up to get ready to have a shower and to wash my hair. By the time I finished shower, it was time to go to the dining hall for breakfast. When Shelley Chew saw that my hair was still wet, she said I was crazy to shower and wash hair so early in the morning.
I invited Elder Fung to say grace since my voice is too soft without the microphone.
I did not eat much again. :( So unlike me. *sigh*
Canaanland Celebration started slightly later than scheduled as the worship leader Andrew Tai and the worship team were practising.
Kenny Lim was the facilitator and after prayer, offering and announcements, he passed the microphone to Rev. Lee.
Rev. Lee spoke for a while before passing the time to Ps. Steven.
During the Second Session, Ps. Steven shared on the following.
How Not to Forget
Trying to remember, trying not to forget.
Always pay to remember if we are to keep our heart to the very end.
We lost the sense of who we are.
God is the one who gives us the ability to produce wealth.
The devil continually tries to turn our life.
It is so easy to forget where we come from.
Out of gratefulness, we serve God.
1. Be intentional about holding on the truth.
The Benedict monks set 7 times a day for prayer. They recite psalm and leave the world to concentrate on God. They discover they need every hour to remember God.
Contemporary Christian got the theology/doctrine but not the practice.
We need to tap continually to the truth. Stay in the passion/priority of God
Do not be at the end of life, when we come to be face to face, He will say to us, ‘How come instead of welcome’.
God is a desire God. God does not have Plan B.
Never abandon/sell the truth away. The truth will set us free.
2. Purposely reduce the constant noise in our life.
There is more to life than work.
Our life is full of urgency.
We need to unplug from busyness. We need to be being, not doing. God looks for the inside, not to the outside. It is not importing in, it is exporting out. Be at peace on the inside.
Children are great examples of knowing how to rest.
Try to release the noises in our life.
God will not judge us on not what we do but why we do.
3. Have a way to size what God is speaking.
Align your thoughts. Good to talk to yourself. Allow you to tap into God.
We need the inner strength.
Huge difference in knowing about God – knowledge versus
Knowing God – intimacy. God is to be experienced.
To have constant in tune with God.
God was generally angry with Israel for their forgetfulness.
The will of God is as much in the process as it is in the outcome. God took Moses’ deliberation in His counsel.
Experience comfort – Comforter
Experience miracles – Invisible
Engage Him in our lives in far greater and possible dimensions.
Mary treasured up all the things in her heart. Luke 2:19, 51
Journalling reminds us not to forget.
More than half way through Ps. Steven’s sharing, the newly engaged couple David Lam and Joanne Chew arrived to join us. They brought along the guitar for Andrew Tai to play as well.
After Canaanland Celebration, Ps. Steven brought some books for sale. I bought three of them as follows.
Worked in the morning. Ordered lunch from nearby coffee shop. Did not have much appetite and therefore did not eat much as the countdown had almost begun. Went home to do last minute packing and rested in the lounge room for 15 mins.
Jacelyn Chung came to fetch me after 2.30p.m. We went straight up the mountain without detouring anywhere. Jacelyn’s twin sister Elizabeth was in her friend Lisa Ling’s car. There was slight drizzle half way up and as usual when encountering heavy vehicles, the journey was dragged on and trying the best to overtake these vehicles. I rested in the car as well.
We arrived at the resort after two hours and checked in. All the twelve single ladies were allocated to the three out of four chalets available with the balcony facing the mountain.
Outside of the chalets
Outside of the chalet
Inside of my chalet
Inside of my chalet
Inside of my chalet
Inside of my chalet
Inside the room which I shared with Jacelyn
Inside the room which I shared with Jacelyn
Inside the room which I shared with Jacelyn
Inside the room which I shared with Jacelyn
Besides our twin sharing room, there is a queen size bed in the other room shared by two of the American ladies.
The rest of the people were allocated to the Kinabalu Wing with the door facing the mountain.
The retreat programme started with dinner at 6.30p.m. and I invited Rev. Lee Tak Vui to give thanks for the food. I sat next to him and Ps. Steven Teo was sitting next to Rev. Lee. One of the American ladies sat next to Ps. Steven. Alice Hiew came to sit next to me and she told me the problems she encountered as she was in charge of the Praise and Worship (P&W) sessions.
Although all meals provided were buffet style, once again I did not have much appetite and ate for the strength and energy needed, not for the enjoyment of it.
Before P&W time, I welcomed everyone present especially our American guests. Without everyone being there, the retreat (with the Theme – Living for Christ) would not be possible.
Ng Lee Fong led the P&W for the First Session. Alice was playing the piano. Andrew Tai did not have to play the guitar. Nevertheless we still had a good P&W time.
After P&W, I welcomed Rev. Lee, Ps. Steven and Elder Fung.
Since I had dinner with Ps. Steven the night before and had learnt some personal things about him, I introduced him based on that information which was not written inside our retreat booklet. He is married to his high school sweetheart Dorothy. He has a son and a six months old grandson.
I was slightly nervous and was glad when it was time for Ps. Steven to take over the microphone.
During the First Session, he shared on the following.
Value
Value often changes with time. Life is about what we value. Spend time and value on what is important to us.
Where your treasure is, there your heart is.
Luke 20:45-47, 21:1-4
The Importance of Value
1. Value relationship with God more than anything else.
The widow gave 2 copper coins. By Jewish law, she was not obligated to give the second coin.
Relationship with God is more important than life itself.
The irony is the temple was supposed to look after her but she was totally unconditional. She was unconditional to God and His house.
2. Value generosity for God
Jesus used the word lavish giving. God is not concerned with how much we give. God wants to look beyond what we give but why we give.
God measures generosity individually.
Give as much as we can, sacrificial one.
The widow did something significant.
The widow valued purpose in God.
The widow did not focus on her lack.
She was there to give. She saw strength in her purpose.
We often look at our lack instead of what we have. We have a tendency to look at what we do not have.
Wealth is not a sin.
Excel in the grace of giving.
Jesus talked about money more than anything else.
When there is purpose, there is tenacity.
The widow has her priority in the right place. Her relationship with God dictated her living.
Generosity – inner disposition/character, ability to give, ability to help others.
Purposeful people is powerful people. We should love and serve God and people purposefully.
There are purposes God has for us. We should be history makers for God.
At the end Ps. Steven asked for rededication of lives and at first I saw only Elder Fung and Elizabeth’s friend Lisa Ling who went out. I felt that I needed to go out as well. At the end there were eight people who went out for prayers. Ps. Steven requested Rev. Lee to accompany him as he prayed for people.
If Ps. Steven had followed the order, I would be the last person to be prayed for. But since I had to wrap up the night, I was the sixth person he prayed for. He put anointing oil on my forehead.
What followed was not exat word to word account of what he said but some of the words I remembered.
The breakthrough you have been praying and waiting for all these years would finally be here for you starting from this moment onwards. You will experience the change as you walk out from the door, all throughout the camp, and not when you go down from the mountain. You would be a different person upon leaving this place.
The Lord’s anointing is very strong upon your life. But everything is mangle up to the extent that you should let the past be the past and not dwell upon them. Instead you should look towards the future.I prayed for double portion of God’s anointing to be upon your life.
When I heard of the way he was praying for the first item, I was so relieved and could not contain my tears. Just imagine obtaining the victory for something you have prayed for as long as you could remember ie. decades.
All I can say is God is always faithful, we are the ones who is faithless. He knows every deep thing inside our heart and mind. And to use someone who does not know anything about us to speak the ‘rhema’ word to us is simply beyond words and I can only say God is indeed an AWESOME GOD. And that is why the retreat was an AWESOME RETREAT for me.
After everyone had been prayed for, I wrapped up the night and thanked Ps. Steven. Supper and fellowship followed.
I spent a brief time talking to Ps. Steven and Rev. Lee. By the time we reached back the chalet was after 10p.m. and I spent some time to prepare for the treasure hunt on the last day.
I went to bed around midnight. The wind was howling and I kept on waking up throughout the night. The bed was also very hard to sleep on. Nevertheless I thanked God for everything He had done up until that moment for the retreat.
I believe life itself is a gift from God and in having a relationship with Him.
I am on this earth for a purpose. I do not seek to change the world but to touch the world of one more person if I could, as long as there is breath in me; and to be a blessing to others.
A food lover who totally agrees with the chinese saying 'to be able to eat is prosperity'.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Psalm 84:11
