THE SURE RETURN!

KGH YF had a camp from the 24th to the 27th of May at HCC in Cameron Highlands, which is exactly three days ago. Man, I miss camp! Klang is so hot, wery varm XD Haha. Below is a camp photo:

DAY 1

We left Klang at 11am, and reached HCC after 4pm. The campers were divided into four groups: Amethyst, Chrysolite, Sardonyx and Topaz. My group was Amethyst. Leader was Jonathan and my fellow members were Joel, Wei Lyn and Kah Why. We had free time before that. And the guys spent that time playing ping pong. After that, we had ice breaker where we played two games.

That night, we had our first talk. Speaker, Uncle Chandran first asked us to think of a nickname for each of our groups. Amethyst came up with Eureka, which in Greek means "I've found it", Sardonyx (Metamorphosis), Chrysolite (Time Machine, which was a movie we just watched in the bus) and Topaz (Hakkunah Matata). Then we talked about "Signs of the End of the Age". It was such a factual talk where we could see how the Bible's prophecies really matched with the things happening around us. Indeed, the Word of God is mind-blowingly accurate in every single prophecy that is made about the future. He also talked about the false prophets such as Jim Jones, David Koresh and Asahara.

The groups were each given time to act out a news broadcast based on the signs of the end of the age according to our passages. Me and Joel argued about the name of our broadcasting company. I wanted BBB and he wanted YNN. Jon shut us both up by arguing with us. In the end, Joel's YNN trumped my BBB. AND I got the lousy name: Bimbo Hoi and Joel's name was, Joel. I know, so unfair. Lol. Jon was our reporter in Baghdad where there were wars, Wei Lyn was in South Fafrica (XP, Joel) covering famines and Kah Why was in Osaka, Japan interviewing the false prophet, Yoshi. At the end, me and Joel get caught in earthquake and he gets hit by a rock or something

DAY 2

We started off with devotion. My group was led by Ruth and included Wei Lyn, Lydia, Beatrice and myself. It was a wonderful quiet time. After that we had our own Sunday worship meeting and then our second talk.

The second talk was about "Future Fears". Uncle Chandran gave us each papers with questions pertaining to our hopes for our future in 10, 20 and 30 years. As we shared our answers, we were reminded once again that we could hope and plan but in the end, we CAN'T really know what our future holds. It is unpredictable and uncertain. We have absolutely no guarantees that our hopes and dreams will come true, in fact, we don't even know if we will still be alive in the next 10, 20 or 30 years. But being a child of God is an amazing privilege, for we can trust God with our future and one thing is certain, heaven awaits for all who believe.

Me and Kym

Me, Mervy and Kym

Jo, look at your smile!

The smiles say it all

After lunch, we were given the chance to roam the town. The one thing on my mind was scones. Haha. Before I got to eat scones, we went to a store called Excellent and it was in a food court-like area. Excellent serves Western food which is really affordable and tastes just as good. I ordered a Banana Honey Ice Cream Pancake, which is made differently, because usually pancakes are the kind that looks like ricotta hotcakes, but this one is more like a crepe.

Kym and Michael

Me, Kym, Jon and Michael

Joel

Lamb chop

Chicken chop

Beatrice

Me and my pancakes! (The other two belong to Joel and Mervy lah =D)

We then headed to the field for games. We played captainball, and then it started pouring. But in Cameron Highlands, it only rains for about three minutes and then it stops. Michael and Wei Shern had to return to Klang because they have college to attend.

Gloves?? This is the first time I've seen anyone wear gloves in Malaysia!

Randy, Jo, Jerry and Jon

Kym and Jon

That night, we had our third talk, about "The Day of Reckoning". Through the Bible, we have faint glimpses into the future. It is enough for us to know that these things will happen. There are clear warnings for us to see, for example, past judgment in Sodom and Gomorrah and future judgment, that is the Second Coming. As we see the Day approaching, us believes must build on the Word of God, pray in the power of God and remain in the love of God. And God's promises to us at the present is that He will sanctify us and in the future, He will present us blameless. This really strikes me because He will present us blameless, not sinless. Only through our confessed belief in Jesus Christ, can we be called blameless, our sins no longer condemning us.

DAY 3

Started the day off with devotion again. After breakfast, we had a workshop where we were given an hour to write down 10 characteristics we think will be present in the world in 10 years and five goals or steps the church should adopt to face this. Then we had our fourth talk, which is about "A Futuristic Lifestyle". We looked at Revelation. As Christians, we must be encouraged, for in due time, there will be a 'new Heaven and a new Earth'. There will be renewal and restoration, not recreation. The words of the angel says that God Himself will mingle and minister to His people. The words of the Almighty is that He will be Father to the saved and a foe to the unsaved. We must also be ready. We read Matthew 25:1-13, which is the parable of the ten virgins, or bridesmaids. They were unprepared to meet the bridegroom, and so when they arrived late at the banquet, the door was closed shut and even when they called, the bridegroom's answer was, "I tell you the truth, I never knew you." This parallels with the story of Noah and the ark where God shut the door and it was not opened although the people cried out to Noah to open the door as the flood began to rise. So it will be when Jesus comes again, the door will be closed and no one will be able to open it for God will say, "I never knew you."

In that session, Uncle Chandran gave us each a bookmark where we were to write down the things in our life that were hindering us in our spiritual growth. As "Jesus Take Me As I Am" was played, he asked whoever wants to rededicate their lives to God to step in front. Almost all of us went in front and almost all of us were in tears and Uncle Chandran prayed. After that, Mervy and Jon stayed with me as we practiced for my songleading tonight.

After lunch, games was cancelled and the groups were each given time to rehearse for the Stones Summit where every group had to perform a skit. Because Topaz and Chrysolite only had four people and Sardonyx and Amethyst had five, Topaz combined with Amethyst and Chrysolite with Sardonyx. After much arguing with Joel (as has been the case since the beginning of camp), we settled on Joel's idea. Haha. We would be basing it once again on Bimbo Hoi. This time, there was Baby Hoi and Bobby Hoi, child and father respectively. We separated the skit into three parts, showing a day in the life of Baby, Bimbo and then Bobby in the year 2028. After the performances, we headed downstairs to the dining hall to play Poison Parcel (or as I call it, Puzzle Parcel or Dart & Mix). Each of us is given three darts and we throw it at a dartboard which is unconventional because it has names of icky, yucky ingredients instead of points. The three ingredients are then mixed and the person has to drink it all up.

My musicians!

Bimbo Hoi

Joel suddenly appears, unscathed, saved for a few bandages from y'day's earthquake at the YNN studio

Wei Lyn in New York City, covering a riot/protest consisting of 4 people

Chong Han and Kah Why ("We're gay and happy!"), Beatrice and Jon ("Say YES to teen pregnancy!")

Bimbo Hoi, being a Christian, looking absolutely astounded by the news in NYC while Joel talks about oil

Joel and Bimbo

Bobby being asked by a friend to cheat the company (Jon: "I work 5 years adi, mah 5 million lah, correct what")

Bobby being seduced by his secretary

Three of us mess up our last line, haha

Me and Beat

Lydidi and me

Lydidi and me again - with specs

Kym playing Poison Parcel

Beat is upset that she got double chilli sauce

The guys at camp are so gay (namely Randy, Jo and Jerry)

Joel and I

Me and Jerry

Me and Jon (and Randy, haha)

Me and Mervy

Panchin and family

Baby, Bobby and Bimbo Hoi

Amethyst!

Group leaders

Me, Kym, Mervy and Jon

Four of us

Four of us again

=D

Vultures!

Vultures, Matrix-style

Kym, Uncle Chandran and I

Mervy, Uncle Chandran and Jon

Group photo

Group photo again

DAY 4

On the last day, I did not wake up for devotion, so devotion did not happen. So sorry! After breakfast, we had our last talk. Uncle Chandran spoke on "A Future Hope" based on the text in Acts on the Stephen, the first martyr. We learned two important things: 1. Being heavenly minded helps us remember where our home is. Home is where our treasures are, therefore the things we do during our lives reveal what we treasure and 2. Being heavenly minded helps us deal with the 'rocks' in our lives. So we have to identify our 'rocks' and there is the assurance that heaven is our future, hence it should be our source of strength. In this session, we were each given three cards shaped as rocks and we were to write down the three main things that we feel really hinders us in our walk with God and we're sure these rocks will come right at us when we go back to Klang. Then we were asked to paste it on a "Hanging On To Heaven" thingy.

After lunch, we were allowed to go around town again. But it started raining so we were stuck, we couldn't go anywhere further. We left Cameron Highlands about 2pm and arrived in Klang at 6.10pm. Truly, this camp was such a blessing. And I made a new friend (Beatrice) and rediscovered old friends (Joel and Jerry).

Randy and Jon

Mervy and Randy

Wei Lyn and I (in a kinda lomo effect shot)

Dorm girls!

Me and Uncle Chandran

Uncle Chandran and Jo

Jo and Lydidi

Sis and bro

Jerry and Jo

Me

Beatrice

Jo

Joel, me and Jon

Jon and Jo

Kym and I

The girls!

Doing our "fur" sign

Me and Kym at our dorm door

Kym wearing Jon's shorts, as a dare

Joel's already bitten burger (before everyone prayed)

Our last lunch, burger and porridge

Mervy's flattened burger (victim of Mervy's fat hands =P)

Randy and Beatrice

Told you they were very gay

Jo and Beatrice

Me and Mervy in the bus

Jo, me and Beatrice

Jon and Beatrice

In the bus, on the way home

To my dear anchorman, after seeing this photo, I know you'll strangle me or hope that I get caught in an earthquake. Haha. But I want you to know that your special eyebrows are really, well, special. Hehe. Because I know that if I see you again, you would kill me, I am contemplating whether or not I ought to go for your Teen Scene Fest. I will go if you promise not to injure your fellow anchorwoman. Regards, Bimbo.


Throughout the four days of camp, me and Kym taught the girls to dance "Low". Then we video-ed it in the toilet. The girls are so cute! Here's the video:


We also got Mervy and Jon to do backup for me and Kym. They were so sporting. And Mervy had that excited childish look on his face. Haha.


Lastly, a video of our dear camp speaker, Uncle Chandran playing Poison Parcel:

Got tagged... See, I did it, Jessica... Proved you wrong... Haha...

BASICS
1. Real name: Amanda Hoi
2. Nickname: Manda, Mandy
3. Married: No
4. Male or Female: Female
5. High School: MGS (I love)
6. College: Junior college, hopefully
7. Short or long hair: Long
8. Are you a health freak: Not at all!
9. Height: 5'3"
10. Do you have a crush on someone: David Cook XD
11. Do you like yourself: What's not to like? =P I am God's creation!
12. Piercings: Two
13. Righty or lefty: Righty, tryna be ambidextrous

FIRSTS
14. First surgery: I've only got my big toe nail pulled off, but that's not really surgery
15. First piercing: When I was five
16. First person you see in the morning: Pepper, though she's not a person, she's a dog
17. First award: First place, Standard 1, haha
18. First sport you joined: Bola baling (goalie, Standard 6)
19. First pet: None, there are pets at home but they don't belong to me
20. First vacation: Australia at 7
21. First concert: Switchfoot 2008

CURRENTLY
22. Eating: Nothing
23. Drinking: Nothing
24. I'm about to: Put American Idol songs into my iPod

YOUR FUTURE
25. Want kids: Three, and they'll be on leashes if they misbehave
26. Want to get married: Yup
27. Careers in mind: English, Astronomy or Oceanography/Marine Biology (damn ambitious, lol)

WHICH IS BETTER
28. Lips or eyes: Eyes
29. Hugs or kisses: Dunno lah
30. Shorter or taller: Taller
31. Romantic or spontaneous: Nice balance of both
32. Sensitive or loud: Hard to choose
33. Troublemaker or hesitant: Neither

HAVE YOU EVER
34. Kissed a stranger: No
35. Drank bubbles: No
36. Lost glasses/contacts: No
37. Run away from home: I wouldn't last a day
38. Liked someone younger: No
39. Liked someone older: Yeah
40. Broken someone's heart: Yeah
41. Been arrested: No
42. Cried when someone died: No
43. Liked a friend: Yes, my gang!

DO YOU BELIEVE IN
44. Yourself: Myself with God working through me, definitely yes
45. Miracles: Ye....ah
46. Heaven: Of course
47. Santa Claus: I did. I put a sock, a cookie, a milk and my wish list on the table beside the TV and it was untouched the next morning. That was when I stopped believing in Santa Claus
48. Angels: They're all around! =D Visible and invisible...

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY
49. Is there one person you want to be with right now: Maybe
50. Do you believe in God: Yes

TAG FIVE PEOPLE
None

i was already informed by the teacher that we (meaning 4D) would have to hand in our moral project by the end of march. when the end of march came, only one person completed. teacher gave us a long and tiresome lecture, then she extended the deadline to the beginning of may. being the extremely last-minute person that i am, i did not value the extra one month i was given. the last deadline is today, and i started y'day. i only did 3 tugasan harian and i had 5 more tugasan harian and 4 kerja amal to do. plus, i started physics tuition at eternal matrix under miss tan y'day so there was no way i could skip to finish up my moral project. but i did it! i don't know how, but i did. haha. with a lot of help from my dear younger bro. i love you, jo! you're so helpful! i only slept at 1.00. but now it means i am free from this whole moral project thing as i don't even have to think about it in form 5! haha. i present to you, my moral folio! i realised that it matches the colour of my bedsheet. haha. anyway, the pics below are the ones i took for kerja amal. and this i have to thank jessica. thank you, jessica! for printing for me the pics and also the front cover. =D the pics below depict me doing house chores, but i didn't actually do them. haha. i got dad to sign the surat akuan first, then only i told him that i didn't really do it. he was like, "ey, where can wan? i shouldn't have signed." lol.

mum said i looked like i was arranging the leaves, haha

OK, now that the moral folio is the least of my worries, i need to focus on the dreaded mid-year exam starting next monday. i seriously doubt i will do well, but i seriously need to do well. my kesedaran is already here (at least more than a quarter) but i can't seem to make the most of my time.

=/

oh yes, i think that miss see is a good teacher. haha. i can imagine most of you going =O now. lol. she's a good teacher but she gets lost in translation. that's her only problem. haha. lin kee wrote the ques for today's class. and there was this ques that went like this, "an apple was thrown vertically upwards..." so i asked her to change to "a mango" just for the fun of it, so she did. then miss see came in and was reading the ques, then she said, "ey, why mango? i thought i wrote apple," and all of us started laughing. she taught us gravity. she's so funny. quote: "you can never know this value wan, but actually, you can know," and all of us burst out laughing. haha. even with less than half of 4D, we still make a heck of a noise!

alryte, i gtg now. add maths tuition at 5.00. signing off...

went to church this morning and got to see Michael again after a month. had breakfast at modern. then went for Bible study. i do miss Bible study, after being AWOL for a few weeks. and, and, and, MERVY'S BACK! yup! he was s'posed to be back a day before my b'day but instead he's back a day before jon's b'day. hehe.

had lunch with family at Funa Zushi. we ate in a private room. it's pretty cool. it's nicer to dine in privacy. salmon sashimi is still the best sashimi.

at close to 4.00, Michael came to pick me from my house. me, Mervy and Michael went to Aeon JJ with plans of watching "Iron Man" but the queue was so long and we were late (we also saw Vincent, man, I haven't seen him in so long) so we jalan-jalan and my sandals broke. my precious Nine West sandals which have served me so long broke T_T dragged my feet all the way to FOS and bought a pair or slippers.

we had an early dinner at Pizza Hut. i only had two slices of pizza. we talked and talked about all sorts of things. and no, Mervy, i will not blog about everything we talked about. i will not let your prediction come true. haha. after that, we walked upstairs to the food court to talk somemore b'cos the tables at Pizza Hut aren't round. lol. we got distracted b'cos there was this plate of sizzling yee mee on our table that was left by the person who sat there before us. no, we weren't distracted b'cos it was enticing. haha. so we talked and talked somemore until 7.00 then we left Aeon JJ. sent Mervy to his grandma's house and Michael sent me home. i had a great time eventho we didn't watch a movie. we just spent 3 hours walking and talking.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GAVIN!

=)

i had a really amazing dream. a really amazing, strange but exciting dream. i woke up trying to recollect everything about it b'cos i started having thoughts about making it into a book or a movie. and then a few hours passed and those dreams kinda went, "poof". for a moment there, i was really excited. lol.

anyway, woke up at 11. ko went to office at 12 and mum went out at 2. me and jo were left alone at home and we had nothing to do. i was reading biology and he was just walking around the house bouncing his basketball OR sitting in front of ko's laptop playing mahjong at viwawa.com (don't check it out, you might get hooked).

i realise that when i'm bored, i eat. it's a very bad habit. like when i'm studying and i get pretty tired of it, i either have some chocolate or ice cream or open a pack of chips or something. it's OK to eat, but not when it's really unhealthy food like those that i've mentioned and i keep eating them without realising how much i'm eating. if i feel like eating, i should have a glass of milk or a cereal bar or something healthy. but in my house, we don't have organic, low fat, sugar-less food. haha. and when i go to the supermarket, i always buy things that i feel like eating, and this does not include organic, low fat, sugar-less food. i should just drink water.

today was s'posed to be a productive day where i stuffed lots of information into my head and they stay there permanently until may 12. instead, i can barely remember what i've read from biology and i still can't master a single cello piece.

you know when you get a holiday and you determine that you're gonna wake up and then just study the whole day? they never work. seriously. you need discipline (which in Usha's case is waking up at 6). and i wasted today. sigh. but i'm a last min studying kinda person. i'll do better if i study a day before the paper. or am i just trying to convince myself?

OK, i have to go and do my reports if not i'm gonna get scolded in accented english with a tinge of malay slang at tomorrow's editorial board meeting.