wRESTling

That was the theme for the Young Adult Retreat which I went to over the weekend. The retreat was a 3D2N thing at tanjong puteri resort in johor. I was initially quite apprehensive about signing up, afraid of having to meet som many new people, and be sociable and all that stuff. afraid that i would 'mess up' or make a fool of myself, or, conversely, act like somebody i was not.

the night before i spent some time praying before i slept, to calm myself down. to tell God how i was feeling... all the fears in my heart that only He would truly understand... all the insecurities and uncertainties... i thank God for a restful sleep that night.

well, God really walked with me throughout the conference. each time i felt lonely or scared to strike up conversation, He would graciously bring someone to me. people came up to me to introduce themselves, to get to know me. conversations at lunch came to include me, what i did, what i was like, how i met mel etc... and i felt warmed by the friendship.

i was truly humbled to see how God really brought these new people into my life, created opportunities for getting to know some of them better, and kept on reminding me to be 'myself'. =) throughout all this, mel was really a pillar of support. he regularly asked how i was doing, and made sure to make me comfortable among his friends. as he was camp commandant, there would be times when he was busy in a meeting or discussion with the committee, but God never left me alone, and provided someone new to talk to =)

thank God for also giving us all a much needed time of relaxation. it wasn't really "REST" cos the days were packed with activities, games, sharing times and BUFFET meals!!! but the good thing was i totally didn't think about work AT ALL for those 3 days. heh...

the first afternoon, i played badminton with one group while mel joined the group that wanted to play water polo. it was a step out of my comfort zone to 'go it alone', but i had so much fun! and on the second afternoon (we have 2 hours free time each day) we went horseriding with some others. well, it was more horse-ambling - very slow trot and my horse kept stopping to eat grass. greedy Jackie... =b

the second afternoon and night were telematch and other games, and i was EXHAUSTED. haha... i never imagined being pelted by waterbombs thrown by 40-something-year-old pastors! haha!!! but it was good exercise, very wet, and eye-opening, as i saw the amount of energy most of them have! i guess they must be used to these kinds of camps, whereas the last such camp i attended was probably when i was in sundayschool (18 years old). heh

so... all in all it was an awesome time. i'm SO glad i went. and i look forward to getting to know some of these new friends better in the months and years ahead. it's still scary, but i've seen how God led me through unscathed thus far, and take great comfort and encouragement from that! =)