Retreat

EDIT: As mentioned earlier, I mentioned that I would include more pictures of the retreat. Here are some of the pictures of the retreat from Aiji's camera, including the ones we took at the waterfall. :) For more of these pictures, there is a blogspot account set-up by Steven just for this trip with close to 200 photos from all the cameras that we brought. Juz click here.

I should be paid for advertising Gracehill Orchard Lodge, the place where we stayed. Interesting thing is, I found out that Zoe's dad's friend owns it. Wow! Small world after all!

We had companions in the form of "man's best friend", 2 in fact!

While the guys were setting up the BBQ pit (as shown below), the girls showed their "affinity" for the camera =p

Another pic of Tak Yee's newfound interest in the guitar :)

At the waterfall:

This is going to be my Facebook profile photo for a while...

No, I didn't go into the water... why do you think I'm so dry here? :D

The only three medical students that went for this trip

We were supposed to have a "proper" lunch at Bentong, but we ended up having KFC instead after walking for a long time and finding nothing else that was appetizing

Savouring the cheap & good home-made ice cream

I got back yesterday from a one-night retreat at Bukit Tinggi (which is after Genting). I went with my church friends from FGT including my seniors Dar Ray & Tak Yee. It was a time of fun, a time of bonding, a time of getting out of our "comfort zone", and most importantly, it was a time of spending time alone with God.

There were 13 of us altogether and we went to the place by car... 3 cars in fact! So John drove his Honda City, Steven drove a Kembara, and Tak Yee & I took turns to drive my Honda Accord there and back (well, Tak Yee drove bout 1/2 of the journey back, I drove most of the time :p). We left on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. and it took us about 2 hours to get to our destination from Subang Jaya. The drive up wasn't exactly "normal", we had to step hard on the accelerator when we were going uphill and brake often when we were going downhill. But all in all, it was a great drive with great company, both ways! :)

When we arrived, it was about 3 plus already. We settled in, got comfortable, and admired the beauty of God's creation all around us. It was so peaceful, the air was fresh and unpolluted, we could hear the sound of birds chirping and monkeys chattering. This was a place of relaxing the mind, body and soul. There was no electricity until 6 p.m. You could see butterflies fluttering their pretty wings and the beautiful flowers flaunting their exquisite colours. We were DEFINITELY out of our comfort zone. It was as if we were swept into the arms of tranquility and serenity. It was calm and soothing to the individual.

We were given a lot of spare time, as it was a free-and-easy trip, although Steven, the man behind the trip, did plan some sessions of reflection and listening to God. He conveyed his messages focusing on Exodus 2-3, where Moses fled from Egypt and had his first encounter with God via the burning bush. After each session, we were encouraged to find a spot to spend time alone with God and see if we could hear His voice speaking to us.

We were also encouraged to think about how we could live Godly, Christian lives. Steven shared that in order to do this, there were 3 main criteria:

1. Grow in spiritual maturity

2. Serve God

3. Live out God's purpose in our lives

We were also asked to think about the things in our lives that hindered us from knowing God better and having a close and steady relationship with Him e.g. habits, mindset, perspectives, and sin.

Steven also mentioned that each of us is given the skills, resources, connections (the people/friends around us) and opportunities to make a difference in our world and to the non-believers around us. We were also challenged to think about how we could channel all these things into something that will be pleasing to God and that gives Him all the glory.

Top & bottom: Yes, there was a swimming pool where we stayed!

More pictures of the beautiful scenery that encompassed our surroundings:

This is what the place looks like at night with electricity from the generator

The girls satisfied after enjoying their share of the home-made ice cream... Watching the longer version of the video below =)

Tak Yee unleashed a hidden interest she had in the guitar...

...While Dar Ray discovered his in the drums

The following clip is of Steven, Paul & Buddhi's pool-jumping escapades just before we left...

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I have enjoyed writing about it. God bless!

~Tim~