Day 7 PLUS 8 - A Cameronian Crossover

WOW. WOW. WOW.

2 days have passed, and so much has happened. Must as well get started then.

Some of you might have been questioning why I haven't been posting yesterday and the easiest reason would be that I was more than one thousand five hundred kilometres above the sea level. That's right, I was a participant in my cell group's retreat to Cameron Highlands, and the only adjective I can use to describe the whole experience is incredi-extrava-super-ultra-walaowei-magnificent. Although only five of us could make it to this retreat, we overcame the lack of quantity with abundantly intensifying quality.

To those who think I'm on a holiday, I wasn't. This is a retreat.

Holiday (Noun) - A period of cessation from work or one of recreation; vacation.
Retreat (Noun) - A retirement or a period of retirement for religious exercises and meditation.

See the difference yet?

Anyway, we left for Cameron yesterday by bus, and the trip there was insanely long and tiresome and (at times) dark and dank and dizzying. I sat next to Kevin in the bus, and I was and still am glad and exalted that I was blessed with the time to talk, bond and learn more about him. I mean, he was completing his TESOL course in Ipoh so I rarely met him these days. And so we chatted all the way till we reached our destination while the rest attempted to sleep (but failed thanks to our conversation) or stared out the window in boredom.

The bright lights in Tanah Rata completely restored my energy the way a Morning Glory opens up in the morning. We then had a simple but satisfying Chinese sit-down dinner for the first time ever together, after which we bought our breakfast supplies and headed to the hotel. We stayed at the Equatorial Hotel at the peak of Cameron, which was where I stayed at during my previous trip here with my family. Our room had a fantastic view, although the only thing you could see at night is total darkness with rare sights of minute cars moving far below as well as the stars up in the skies above. We also had a bonding session among all members before we jumped into bed, and I am so happy that I was able to know each of them better, and they know more of me in transparency.

Devotions

is something new to me. But it is something very exciting, very inspiring, and very revelational. We had our first session late at night in our rooms due to security factors, and I had a very distraught and distracting first episode. Fortunately, the next day, when we had our second session on the mountainside surrounded by lush flora and irritating fauna a.k.a. mozzies. This time, there were no distractions, and I received more powerful messages in the middle of nowhere (Including the amazing and unexpected birth of pastor's son Ethan!!!!!). There is something I want to share with everyone:

When I asked God why we are given challenges and difficulties, I got a voice telling me this:

'But you had fun, didn't you?'

Whoa.

I didn't get the conventional 'Because it makes you stronger' or 'Because that is the thing that spices your life'. Instead, I got the:

'But you had fun, didn't you?' (Deja Vu.)

After checking out of the hotel, we shuttled back to Tanah Rata for lunch. We ate lunch at T-Cafe, which served impressive homemade food in a completely homemade setting. The desserts however (Cream Scone, Chocolate Cake and Apple Pie), did not satisfy my sweet tooth. Since most of us were still hungry, we went to eat fantastic pancakes with ice-cream at a stall owned by a dumb (as in 'cannot talk' not 'stupid') couple. The pancakes completely owned Paddingtons pancakes or even A&W waffles with ice-cream.

Then we had to send Kevin off because he was travelling straight to Ipoh and we'd be on different buses. Depressing.

On our way back, Hazel had a stomach ache, and we had to stop the bus for her to use the nearest bathroom. The bus driver would have drove off if Alison did not start shouting at the driver, begging him to wait for them running up the hill. I felt really guilty for not doing anything. STUNNED. I mean, they could have been left there! Thankfully, they boarded the bus safely. I really thank God for that.

We got back and ate at Williams. Hazel's chicken chop was like 2 times bigger than Ally's. Maybe there was a face problem somewhere. KAKA. We then went our separate ways towards home sweet home to rest, and to keep and treasure all those memories and wisdom we acquired in a distant place from home.

It's not about the ways in which you can serve, it's about the ways you sacrificially choose to commit your life to Him.