summer camp @ wapo

28 May 04

hi people, did type out an email just now but it kinda got lost..hope this reaches u.

sending u a hello email from the states. well, me settling fine here and meeting lotsa people from different places during my orientation at chicago 3 days ago and now i'm here at my campsite at lake wapogasset. those kids wont be coming in till 2 weeks later and my training starts on monday. anyway, my 'family' now is a mexican girl heidy and columbian girl karol. we had our orientation together. weather's kinda chilly for now but getting warmer by the hour. but my throat's giving a bit of problem. a little phlegmy as well. but i'll be fine. trying to prepare myself mentally for the upcoming weeks but am sure they are gonna fly in no time. hope u people are doing fine.

some stuff for u from banter for ya reading pleasure.

Being old :

A reporter asked a 104 year old woman,"What's the best thing about being that old?" She replied," No peer pressure."

Trained mouse :

A mouse returned to his cage from the laboratory and told a fellow mouse,"I've finally got Dr Snooker trained."

"You have?"asked the other.

"Yes, explained the first mouse. "Everytime i press down a bar, he gives me food."

In God's loving hands

jermaine

26 June 04

Hi friends,

how have you been doing? hope this email finds you well. hm...just an update. it was THE most tiring but fulfilling week i ever had. for a week, i was at the Journey of the Cross camp and i biked a total of 60 miles, canoes 15 miles, hiked, swam, bitten by unbelievable swamp of mosquitoes, didnt shower for a full week, my sleeping bag was too thin to withstand the cold at night, fell down from the bike, cycled in the cold cold rain...and there was one part i was so far behind the rest i thought i would never be able to make it. with the pain in my knee, tired legs, cold rain and long long way to go, i nearly teared. at that point, i felt a little bit of what it means to really struggle, perservere, deal with pain and still carry on. but songs such as "be bold be strong", "you are my strength" came to my mind.

it's totally not cool that as a counsellor, i couldnt catch up with the campers! :) but they were so encouraging. i felt bad though i kinda held them back. so i shared that night at campfire that in the same way, while it's not cool for a counsellor to 'seem' weaker than campers, how cool is it for Jesus, the Son of God to die on the cross for us, He was willing to be at His weakest point on the cross because He loves us. and what i went thru was only a small experience of what Jesus went through. what a journey.

anyway, just showered after the camp and getting ready for a new batch of kids next week at wapo campsite (the more comfortable one). pls pray for renewed strength for me for the coming week. thank you friends.

jermaine

16 July 04

Hi one and all,

Tis me again? How's everyone doing? Time flies. It's been more than a month since i've been here in the States. I've got some interesting stories to share if you have the time to read this. Gonna be a long one :)

CAMPERS : Last week, I had a record high of 18 campers to take care of with one one other co-counsellor. This week, I only had 6 campers. But 2 of them had to leave early and so i was kinda left with 4 campers by the time it was the last day of camp. It was great as it was not that stressful. It was an awesome week. And the girls were wonderful. I thank God for them. The girls usu like to stay up after lights out and talk. And since all of us stay in the same cabin, it's kinda hard for me to sleep if they don't. But from time to time, they would ask if i felt tired. Nice girls.And guess what, they wanted to play a prank on me yesterday night. They wanted to tie me to the bed but they confessed this morning they didn't manage to wake up during the night to do so. I'm glad they were comfortable enough with me to play a prank on me :) Indeed, it's important that we build relationships with people and not get too caught up with tasks and agendas sometimes such that we dont even have the opportunities to share Christ.

PRAYING : Well, this happened last week which was rather embarassing. See, we were having a short devotions time whereby we hear each other out and then pray for each other in a big group. And we stressed the importance of being serious. Well, the first girl shared and of all things, she wanted us to pray for her chickens, they were not feeling well. Just then, I couldnt stifle my giggles. The american kids are really big on animals. Anyway, then a 10 year old camper sitting beside me in turn told me to be serious. Ain't that funny? No wonder the kingdom of heaven belongs to kids. Then something else happened this week. Usu i would ask a camper to open us with a word of prayer before bible study. So one camper did. Guess what i did, i said 'Amen' as if the prayer has ended, but actually she was in the middle of it. Either she was too soft or i was sleeping :)

CHRIST HIKE : During this programme which is about 45 minutes, we enacted some parts of the life of Jesus. His healing ministry, baptisms, the last supper, betrayals by Judas and Peter, trial with Pontius Pilate, His death on the cross and finally His resurrection. We actually used different parts of the campsite for different scenes. In fact, we literally had a big cross by the campfire site whereby the male actor had to climb up and pretend to be crucified to the cross. It was so impactful that some weeks, some campers actually cried. It was almost real. I was acting as one of the disciples this week and as i followed Tony who acted as Jesus, i felt as if i was transported to the time of Jesus' ministry. It was awesome.

Thanks for letting me share and keep in touch with you. Let me know if you would rather not receive my updates yah? No worries :) God bless your day/week. Jermaine

23 July 2004

Hi one and all, greetings from USA! It's been another week. 6 weeks already! cant believe it! another month or so and i will be back in singapore. time flies.just wanna share something real quick about the bible and some passages that kinda made an impression on me.

1 Kings 3 : (Solomon asks for wisdom)

God was pleased that Solomon asked for wisdom. And because He was pleased with Solomon. He gave Solomom not only what he asked for but also a whole bunch of other things! Isn't that cool? Indeed, seek ye first the kingdom of God. Do not strive only for His gifts but know that real joy comes from knowing the Lord's heart

1 Kings 19 : 9-13 (The LORD Appears to Elijah)
Elijah stands on the mountain. Then there was the wind, fire and earthquake. But God was in none of these. Finally, a whisper came from the Lord. Isn't it true that sometimes we look for God in the wrong places? Sometimes, God just needed our soul to be sensitive to His voice.

May it encourage you as you live each day to the fullest. Jermaine

22 August 2004

Hey folks :)

Tis me. How's everyone doing? It's been some time since i've communicated with you guys. Thought i'd share some stuff for your reading pleasure.

VBS : Vacation Bible School is a ministry that reaches out to churches. So Lake Wapo (where i'm at) sends out a team of counsellors to a different church each week and we run a vacation bible camp that lasts a week for the little children there. And counsellors stay with host families. It was a great experience for me. I stayed with the Petersons. They had 2 lovely children. I slept in a little boy's room. It was really nice of Gavin to give up his room to me. Gavin looks like a character in Harry Porter. Large round eyes. Some other interesting happenings : One other boy named Spencer called me 'Singapore' the whole time at camp, until even his mom calls me that! :) During arts & crafts, somehow the little kids (6 & 7 years old) i had in my group started talking abt who gets to go to heaven. Then suddenly this little gal emily who's usually quiet, by herself and likes the color black spoke up. She said it's the way you live your life that matters! Whoa! That blew me away.

Farawells : Lotsa counsellors have left already to get ready for college. So the farawells were hard to do. This week is the last week of counselling and thereafter i'm leaving for my travelling. Would probably stay in the midwest area though.

Durian candy : I gave these out to my campers every week. One week, a group of girls were chewing them in the new building over here, while having dance practice. Then some counsellors thought that it was a gas leak! :) Isnt it funny! And there are some other descriptions for the taste : baked beans gone bad, tacos, etc. I have a tape recording of a camper eating the candy!

Peanut butter : The Americans really love peanut butter! It's everywhere! In candies, chocolates, cereals, ice-cream, etc!

Pictures : i think i have taken near to 1200 pictures so far with my digicam, aint that crazy?

Next email : akan datang

God bless one and all. Jermaine

31 August 2004

Hi friends,

Last week :

It was a great week. However, one camper cried alot and she's got a tough family background. She wants to try to be good but surrounding her are nothing but bad influences. My heart ached at the fact that she gotta go back to that kinda environment. I will save on the details. Another camper puked on the last day of camp and that woke me up at around 7am. The whole week was totally fulfilling just because i know God has touched the campers in His own special way. Though i cant see it with my naked eyes but I know our God works wonders. So many prayers to offer up to God.

Whereabouts :

I was in Milwaukee the past 2 days and my friend drove me to Chicago from there just yesterday for a one day tour of chicago. It was about 1.5 to 2 hours. Me currently at Milwaukee Airport and will be in NY in about 5 hours time. Will be meeting up with some friends there before i return to Milwaukee on 4 Sept.

Sightseeing Trivia :

Was at Navy Pier at Chicago and my friend and i rented a twin-cycle, thinking that we could cycle on the pavement leading to the inside of Navy Pier, in the end we had to cycle by the lake front instead where lotsa boats are parked. It was pretty anyways. It was hilarious because our twin-cycle was kinda big and takes up lotsa space on the cycling lane. Anyway, we walked for about 6 hours getting to places in Chicago downtown after parking in a rather affordable carpark. Some parts looked a little like Orchard Road.

Cultural Tid Bits :

I ordered an iced green tea from a cafe during lunch after a church service (my friend Jim brought me to his church in Milwaukee) 2 days ago and it was so sweet! Nothing like green tea at all! Guess they dont really like bland stuff :) i ordered a chicken noodle soup too but again it's unlike what i've expected but it was still good.

God's Provision :

For some reason, i received more allowance from the camp than i thought i would be receiving. I think i miscalculated on the number of weeks they should be paying me. It was a pleasant surprise. Still, i need to be prudent. And God has been so so good to provide for my needs. Especially this counsellor friend Jim Loduha from Milwaukee, at whose house i have been staying at since camp. Also, i think my flight ticket to NY from Milwaukee is one of the cheapest i could find online.

Will write again :) Good day to one and all. Jermaine

4 Sept 04

HI One and All,

Greetings from the big apple! Me will be leaving NY in 4 hours time and so i'm just making use of the free internet access at Time Square. More sights and sounds for you.

Appearance : I've had some 100 or more strands of my hair wrapped in a bunch with colourful strings. Nope, i didnt have a tattoo. Neither did i get a nose ring though i was at a tattoo parlour some weeks back.

Chinatown : Was at chinatown 2 days ago. Sat at one of the playgrounds just chilling. Lotsa chinese people. Different dialects, accents etc. Strange to be hearing accented English among these people. Made friends with some of the kids. I wonder how their lives are like living as Chinese/others in America. Hm, i had some dumpling soup and i tried to talk to the lady in mandarin but she didnt understand me. See, she's from china and spoke in a dialect i didnt understand.

Peanut Butter & Co : Remember how i told you that americans are crazy over peanut butter! Found such a store to prove my claim! All sorta flavours in that store. Spicy, cinnamon and raisins, white and dark chocolates etc. Yum!

Roamers : Sometimes in the subway trains, some poor and homeless people would walk through the carriage either with a sign board or self intro to appeal for money. And late at night, you'd see some stragglers just sleeping, slumped on the seats. Mostly aged male folks. Imagine it in NY - an affluent and glitzy city. Much like what i saw in Japan subways in Tokyo as well. Rich cities have their needs too.

Main sites : saw WTC site, statue of liberty from rather far away, central park, broadway etc. Central park was my favourite, spent almost a whole day there yesterday. There was a shakespeare garden in there and i witnessed a wedding couple taking pictures there. What a beautiful sight.

Take time to smell the flowers! God bless your day. Jermaine

12 Sept 04

How's everyone doing? This would probably be my 2nd last update. Enjoy!

Road signs in Milwaukee - Interesting that i saw these signs : Yield. Right lane must turn right.

Travelling from Chicago airport to hostel - I cant believe myself. I actually took the bus to get to the hostel instead of getting a cab. But i'm glad cuz that means i could manage my load. Though it was not too bad but it was no joke either. Passed by elm street on the way and made me think of 'Nightmare on Elm Street', also, was thinking of having some donuts and guess what when i alighted from the bus, dunkin donuts was right in front of me and 2 donuts for 99 cents somemore!

German girl - got to know a german girl yesterday at the hostel and hung out with her since. went to german fest with her today. how cool! also hung out with her at chinatown!

Just wanna let one and all know that i've probably read ya emails but i cant reply the past few days due to the limited time i've got on the system. in any case, just so u know i didnt skip them. See ya soon. j

17 Sept 04

hey friends!

yeah, my last email to all of you before i get back to singapore in about.. soon :) hm, before i carry on, take a look at the link below. that's the korean friend i met while i was in NY. Picture was taken at NY times square :) http://images.earthcam.com/yahoo/tsq/2019/201995.html

Yesterday when i stepped on to Seoul after alighting from the plane taken from Chicago, it felt as if it was just yesterday when i left Singapore for the States and was at transit in Seoul. Wow! Can't believe it. Time and tide waits for no man indeed.

Before I leave my adventure trail totally, I just want to thank you my friends for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers, and for responding to my emails, without which i'm sure i would not be able to enjoy my adventure as much, Where's the joy if you can't share it and can't have friends who appreciate it right? :)

It will be another week before i return to work, before i do, i guess i would take some time for reflection as reflection is good for the soul. Till we or when we catch up, please forgive me if i'm experiencing some withdrawal symptoms but i assure you that i wont be weird :) just dont be alarmed if you see me smiling or singing by myself :) that's just cuz i may have thought of something or someone during my past 4 mths. see, it happened to me too while i was there and thinking of you guys :) i actually did bring a photo album from home, for myself and to share with the kids and counsellors!

think i've said enough :) u keep well and God bless. j