7 cabs rejected me because they had no idea where was the destination I wanted to go. It was frustrating and it completely ruined my morning. I felt very bad that I was late for the SERVE camp. By the time I arrived, they were in the midst of worship and there I was still catching my breath. I saw some of the youths singing unto the Lord with much sincerity and even when they didn’t know how to sing the song, they tried to sing along, making sure that the words that come out of their mouth matters. It encouraged me because on Sundays, when I am tired due to the lack of rest, my mouth move because it has become an implicit memory. How terrible to not be aware of who and why we worship. It was an interesting change to be observing for a few minutes.

Initially I did not want to go for the SERVE camp, but since Vee needed help, I decided to go ahead. Boy am I glad I went for it because I met my secondary school classmate and got to know 2 girls really well. In fact, we had a fantastic time together through the hours spent together!

Honestly, I thought I just had to ensure the kids’ safety on the ground. It sounds manageable right? Until Pastor Samuel told me that I will actually be going on the rope course with them. This would be my 4th rope course, and probably one of the easiest courses because it was not that high. However, i started to get butterflies in my stomach as we put on our harness. It is a great responsibility to be a guardian of youths you barely know, and more so because I am not 21 yet. On top of that, it has been 3-4 years since I last went on such a course so I was pretty uncertain about how well I would be able to handle it. As a helper, I could not show my fear too because the kids were rather frightened too. So I ended up talking to them about SERVE, O levels, boyfriends, and lame jokes. We bonded so well that, by the end of the day besides forging good friendship, they bullied me. And Kerine even screamed that she love me on the way down the last flying fox. What a cupcake! Haha.

It was physically and mentally tiring. At the last station, after checking their safety and giving them the green light to continue on, I forgot to check mine!!! Thank God for his mercy that I realized halfway while climbing so I quickly climbed down to hook myself up.

Nonetheless, I thank God for the opportunity to mix around with all these young people. Love their energy, their perseverance, their immature games and jokes and the amount of fun they gave me. They remind me why I am still serving in SPY and not in SPI or Desire.

I resolve to not be involved in any MIMBY committee this year because I felt that doing so shifted my priorities from the young ones to the older ones. Of course the older ones were easier because they are my peers so we share similar likes and expectations when it comes planning for events for our friends. Being heavily involved in MIMBY last year taught me much but it also left me hanging in between.

Hopefully my involvement in SPY this year through Marchilorian and RTTP will be just as meaningful and joyful.
Helping out with the SERVE boot camp reminded me that every youth is precious and if guided well, accompanied by God’s grace, they will blossom to be instrument of His.

With aching arms, I will still thank God for yesterday’s experience and renewed perspective for the youths.