SWEEP Day 1: Well Hello!

Jason and I on KLIA Transit

Jason woke up late today. He blamed his new iPhone 5 for not sounding the alarm. I'm pretty sure he loved my bed. The journey to KLIA 2 via KLIA Transit was an adventurous one. As an engineering student, I can't help but be fascinated by the speed that it travels at. We left the house at 6:20am, we arrived at about 7:30am.

It was good to see Sue Min again. After leaving USM KKJ CF about 2 years ago, I missed her dearly. She is as lively as ever. Sue Min put me incharge of the boarding procedure. I panicked. I have not done this before. Oh well, I guess it's time to learn.

SWEEPers from West Malaysia (from left): Joash (myself), Ruby, Hui Zhie, Jolene, Rachel, Jason, Asher and Philip

Philip Jude was the first I shook hand with. A smart looking fellow, he is the definition of tall, dark and handsome. Dark, of course, given his Indian heritage. When I saw Rachel, for an instance I almost called her Ruth. A sweet looking Indian girl with gentle words. Standing next to Ruth, I mean Rachel, was Jolene. She looks youthful, sweet and kindhearted, with a tingy bit of excitement and passion. It took me a while to get Hui Zhie's name. She has a typical Chinese profile with a pair of charmingly beautiful eyes. She was shy and embarassed when I tried to pronounce her name properly. Ruby came with her parents (was it?). Her fair skin tone really caught the spotlight. Top that off with a pair of sweet smiling eyes that can steal any good soul away. I don't need to introduce Jason, do I? My object of envy and jealousy, he is lean, dark and handsome, save he's short. I'm the exact opposite: I'm tall, save everything else good. Asher arrived later. He is fairest among the West Malaysians, yet never ceased to give a strong sense of charisma, leadership and charm. He brought a very lively vibrancy to the team and his care-free attitude is really contagious!

Meeting Joyce

Meeting Joyce at the same flight was a pleasant surprise. The last time we met was at Camp Cameron. She was my senior back in Form 6. We had so much to catch up. Some of the SWEEPers recognised her. She sprang into conversation with them. Joyce was going to attend a conference where she will be one of the speaker. See, how much we have all grown.

The flight to Kuching was thoroughly pleasant. As a law student, Asher shared his great insight of the current politics of our nation. Philip never ceased to amaze me with his quick-witted jokes. The boys got familiar really quick. Halfway through Philip had to be knocked down because of motion sickness.

Our arrival was warmly embraced by Su Jian and GJ. They immediately took the famished bunch of us for lunch near the FES office. I was surprised by David and moreso by Ruth. Speaking of the devil huh. It was nice seeing her again after 2 years. Oh, I must mention about Peter. It's hard to miss his unique Penan hairstyle.

Welcome to Kuching! GJ (top left) and Su Jian (2nd top left)

Awaiting our arrival was Fadricks and Kenny. They are both Sarawak locals. Fadricks generally shy away from conversation. His English is not that fluent but I was okay conversing with him in Malay. Kenny has a typical Fu Chow accent but he can speak Iban, Fu Chou, Malay and etc. Oh my, I lost track. Aaron came a bit later. Young looking fellow with a sense of professionalism and confidence.

After our registration at 3pm, we began our briefing session at 4pm. But as we all arrived at the activity hall early, my awkward-silence-intolerant kicked in and I started the ball rolling. We started introducing ourselves and we had some spontaneous Ice-breaking game. We had fun. I am glad I brought my Ukulele. We even had a spontaneous worship, where I terribly failed, LOL. This was where I met the rest of the girls: Sandra, Arryca, Miko, Lynereny and Shally.

Ice Breaking Session with Sape

Jane, our program lead coordinator, was pleased that we started without her. After we ended, Ruth took over and we had some proper ice-breaking game. We were broken into groups of 4. We were asked to create poems or raps with the company of Sape played by Peter and GJ. Our group: Philip, Arryca, Jolene and myself, did exceptionally well. I really enjoyed the rap I made for Jolene and myself. The session ended with Jane's briefing on camp rules and reminders.

Coordinators doing their Pantun.
(From left): Richard, Jeremy (hidden),
Su Jian, Ruth, Julia and Jane

Aaron and I spent our rest time in sharing our mission experience. He displayed a passionate heart and excitement for mission. He mentioned that he has yet to go on a mission before. I encouraged him to start whenever a chance appears. It was great sharing our hearts and passion. I must mention that Aaron has a great talent in music and can spontaneously sing a harmony to any songs. Dinner time drew near silently.

Time for worship

The coordinators were busy setting up the stations while we rest after dinner. I couldn't wait for worship to begin. It is always refreshing to worship God in songs. To be honest, my worship life had been pretty dry for the past few weeks as I rushed my FYP and exams.

SWEEP Opening started with station activities. My first station was to find marbles in a pool of cold water mixed with sand, detergent and stuffs. It was painful to put my hands in freezing cold water. We then proceed to the next station where we exchanged our slippers with a partner and walked around the streets holding on to each other. There was an awkward gay moment with Philip and people were staring at us like weirdos. We were told to observe people, but all we saw was "Grilled Chicken Chop, Lamb Chop, Bak Kut Teh..." LOL

The next activity involved a broken pot. We were instructed to continue the repair work from the previous group. I found it pointless but after a while it was actually fun to do. The last station was a chore. Cleaning the public staircase was really a pain. I tried to protest and negotiate. Oh my lazy bones. While I was cleaning, my scouting spirit was back and singing the medley was empowering.

Richard shared what each activity meant. Ruth also shared how some seniors inspired her to be involved with social work. David retold his encounter with the two most significant person that continues to remind him that social work involves getting our hands dirty and it is urgent.

The night ended with Jane's briefing for tomorrow's activities and a heart-warming supper.

It's the first day today, there's a lot of resting. So much rest, I'm getting restless. But again, Richard mentioned something that settled me down: sometimes, social work involves not doing anything but listen. So God, I'm listening, what's next?

God's Character, My Encounter.