I'm back at last. It's not that I've been too busy to blog earlier than this, it's just that I've been really tired, too tired at least to log in to Blogger. Oh well. Here goes...
My army course went alright. The day I reported, the base sergeant major made me get a haircut at the camp barber. I wasn't the only one to befall this fate, so I wasn't really bothered. Anyway, with my hair shorter, my course began. Due to MINDEF regulations, I can't really say anything specific about my course. Suffice to say, I am now qualified to operate a shoulder-fired cannon. I actually got to fire it on the penultimate day of the course. It's rather different from firing an M-16. I think I prefer firing the M-16 in fact. But it's not everyday you fire a cannon that's sitting on your shoulder.
Anyway, with the course over, I had completed my first high key reservist training. Only 9 more to go! Whee!
It was nice to make some new friends during the course. One of them's named Joseph. I didn't know who he was at first. The first inkling I had of his identity came about when I was standing in line with someone else's rifle waiting for that person to claim the rifle and return it to the armskote. But nobody appeared and I ended up having to check with the armskote assistant as to the rifle's owner. It was a Corporal Hong Kar Fai also known as Joseph. I hadn't actually seen a Corporal Hong around (nobody there had corporal's stripes and Hong for a surname). Anyway, Corporal Hong appears and I realise why I haven't seen a Corporal Hong. His camouflage uniform didn't have any indicators of rank on them.
Anyway, I started talking with Joseph and found out that we both went to the same JC, though we are 4 batches apart. I had some interesting conversations with him which helped lessen the monotony of the course. Anyway he's the one real friend I made during the course, probably because of the similarities in background.
That brings me to a question. Do we necessarily have to gravitate towards people of similar interests? I guess that's just human nature. However, I believe that the Christian nature can help a person to make friends with just about anyone.
The course over, it was back to mission trip preparation. I could actually have attended the two meetings that I missed during my course, but I thought it would be good practice for Doreen, the assistant leader. Come to think about it, I never ran a mission trip meeting before when I was an assistant leader. Anyway I'm glad I made the opportunity possible for Doreen to try leading not one, but two meetings.
In the first meeting I held after my course, our Bible reading was Romans 12:1-8. I chose this passage so that the mission trippers would remember that they each have a part to play in the trip, just as we all have parts to play in the body of Christ. I'm glad that at least one person was really spoken to by this passage. It means that the Bible reading served its purpose.
The past two weeks have been rather eventful. Two Saturdays ago, I met Doreen to go jogging. We ran a route which took us from Maplewoods to Old Holland Road to Holland Road to Sixth Avenue and back to Maplewoods. We made pretty good time, even though I limited my pace so we could keep pace with each other. It was a reminder to me that even as I seek to help Doreen become a better leader, I have to be careful not to go too fast.
We got back to church, tired but more or less satisfied. A CG that was meeting there invited us to share their pot luck dinner, and we did. During the dinner, something happened that changed the course of the evening. You see, Doreen had left her bag outside #1-07. When we finished dinner, she found that her bag had disappeared. We searched high and low for it but couldn't find it. In the end, I brought her to make a police report and sent her home. One thing I wish I had done - I should have asked her to put her bag in a safe place, just as I had done with my bag, i.e. in my car. One thing I would have liked to have done - I wish I could have caught the thief in the act. I have always wanted to make a rugby tackle on a runaway thief. Oh well. I will have mixed memories of that night, mostly good though.
I spent a good part of last week assembling furniture that my mum had bought from Ikea. Two wardrobes and a TV bench. It was quite fun but it was also a lot of work as some of the pieces were quite heavy, especially the TV bench's pieces. I like doing assembly work, whether it's a scale model of a tank or a piece of furniture. I still remember a job I did with Luke and Jared at a children's home. With my power tool, we put together a playground set which is made of metal and plastic. To this day, when I pass the children's home, I see the playground and feel a sense of achievement that will never go away (the feeling, not the playground).
A lot of last week was also spent sorting and packing the clothes and toys which the church members had donated for the mission trip. It was hard work but thanks to the combined effort of the mission team, it was all finished by Friday.
Sunday was really busy. Went for 7:30 service as usual, then taught Sunday School for the last time at 9:30. I'll be on sabbatical effective from next year, and I don't know when or if I'll be going back to the Youth Department. I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to serve with the Youth Sunday School over the past 6 years. It's been a long journey since October 2000 and now it's time for me to let go and let God lead me on.
I had to leave my class alone for a while to attend the Mission Team Commissioning. Before that, I saw Doreen in a white dress and asked why she had not followed the dress code. More about the dress at the end of the post. It was the first time we had the Commissioning done in the new format. A lesson I learned, if I say "meet outside the chapel", I should specify which door we will meet outside at. Anyway, the Commissioning went pretty well. Then I returned to my class to finish up my final lesson. I had chosen to teach the lesson called "Bearing one another's burden". This was the one final thing that I wanted them to remember. Of course, I have no control over whether they will put what they have learned into practice. Still, God is sovereign.
After Sunday School, the mission team met for lunch. It was meant as a fellowship lunch, for the team to work towards a sense of true unity. I reminded them of this before the lunch began, and I hope that we will all manage to put words into thought and deed.
The lunch went alright, it was interesting to eat pizza and popiah together. Then again, I don't consider pizza from Oishi Pizza to be real pizza. Ha. After lunch, we ran through some songs in a sing-along format. Too bad the mime practice was going on concurrently. Anyway we'll be singing the songs a lot next week.
After practice, some of the mission trippers headed to town. I would have joined them, but I really wanted to play soccer. I'd been itching to play some soccer. I thought it through, and decided to play soccer, since if I went to town, I'd have to rush back for English class. I wasn't to know it till after the event, but things worked out for everyone in the end.
15 minutes after the mission trippers headed to town, it seemed as if my decision was wrong, as the heavens opened and rain poured forth from the sky. I got changed anyway and played a game of carrom with Joel. It'd been quite a while since I had last played so well, making my shots automatically. Then again, I was once the king of carrom in my YF days.
The rain stopped, and soccer was on. Too bad the pitch was waterlogged. Nevertheless, the 9 of us who turned up began to play. It was a 5 v 4 game, which naturally isn't the best way to play, especially if you are on the shorthanded side. Well, I wasn't on the shorthanded side, so I decided to compensate by not playing at full speed defensively. Instead, I would work on the attacking side of my game.
I opened the scoring, sidefooting home from 10 metres after I had latched onto a loose pass by the opposing team. I went on to score another 3 goals after that, one being a near post drive after I had robbed a defender of the ball. Another one was a volleyed effort from close range. I seldom attempt this kind of shot, where the ball has been crossed from the flank. It takes timing and accuracy. Naturally I was really happy to score this way. My final goal came when I controlled a long pass before unleashing a snapshot which deceived the keeper because of the speed of my action.
Other highlights: Heading a long ball sideways to a teammate whose shot was saved. Deceiving the opposing defence by crossing immediately with my weaker foot instead of turning round and crossing with my stronger foot. This unexpected action resulted in a goal being scored by my teammate. I also used my left foot to square the ball across goal for a tap in by my teammate.
I love the team aspect of soccer. When I score, I always show my appreciation for the pass that put me in position to score. Even when I miss or have my shot saved, I thank my teammate for the pass. It's nice to be able to score, but you have to remember it's not a one man effort.
After soccer, I warmed down by walking back to church from Ngee Ann. It was further than I had imagined but I was glad I did it. Conducted the teachers' meeting then went to take a shower. While waiting for the classes to finish, I stood on the slope to welcome the mission trippers back (we would be presenting an item at the Thai service). Taeho's son, David, had this toy which fires a spinning wheel into the air. He asked me to show him how to use it properly. I had some fun firing the wheel up the slope for him to retrieve. Unfortunately he fell on the final firing, and tore a hole in his shirt. For a moment, he looked like he was going to cry, but he didn't. I was so proud of him at that moment. It's too bad he will be leaving in a month together with his sister and parents. Although I don't usually like playing with children, I will fondly remember things like showing him how to use his toys properly and pushing him on the swing one Sunday.
Dinner provided a big incident. I was tired and was a little unguarded in my speech. I said something which someone took great offence at, and in return, that person threw rice at me. Rice that fell on my head, my shirt, my pants, the person next to me, and of course, the floor. I regretted saying what I had said, even though I honestly meant no offence when I said it. Time seemed to stand still at that moment, as I pondered the rice on my body.
At the Thai Service, the mission team presented "yuu nay phra thay phra ong" which means "living in God's will" to the congregation. Before that, I gave a short introduction of the mission team and what we would be doing in Thailand. Presentation over, I had a sermon to interpret. I find interpretation a stressful job and hopefully I did alright.
Once the service was over, I was walking down the slope when I said goodnight to Junyong. When Taeho leaves, Junyong will still have 6 months of English classes to attend. He have fewer familar faces around him so I guess I will try to make some time for him. I told him we could play tennis at my place when I get back from Thailand.
Took a cab back. For once, the driver was a Christian. That was not expected.
Anwyay, back home, I went online. Ended up talking to Doreen about the dress. It's a nice white dress that looks like something good girls wear in Korea. Wear that and stand in the sun's rays, and you will look like an angel (of course this is directed at the fairer sex).
In this week before the mission trip, I hope to do a few things: get some proper sleep, go for a long walk, drop by at the YF camp. As the days go by, I'll probably be a little more nervous, but it shouldn't be a problem.
There were many other things I could have written on in this post, but if I had covered them all, I wouldn't know when I'd be able to stop. Perhaps in the next few days, a parallel post will appear overlapping the time period of this post. Ha, as if I'm so free.
No comments:
Post a Comment