Twelve months in a year can easily whizz by without much thought. Hectic schedules and personal commitments get the better of me – but we, both Terence and I have made it a point to purposefully set aside some days in our allocated annual leave to go out and do something meaningful – give back, in short.

In previous years we have travelled around Malaysia, Thailand, Acheh, and Indonesia helping local communities by way of capacity building, skills enhancement, education and even physical labour. Days in our early youth we spent many hours under the hot sun digging holes for bamboo piling to build new shacks, hours in the kitchen helping women cook and time with young ladies teaching them handicraft and social skills. We organized and put together children and youth rallies for local schools and universities and witnessed the joy and excitement we brought to them.

Little did we know that the act of giving back became a lifestyle, something we cannot simply ignore. We’re made mindful of the tiniest blessings that come to us daily and of the greater call that God has entrusted us with – this is the very least we can do. It helps put life into perspective. After all, if life is a selfish journey, what a lonely road it will be.

This year we will be going to Cambodia, at the end of August for a medical mission trip. The team is made up of a doctor, 5 medical students and 9 professionals. We will be visiting a village in Battambang, Siem Riep to give medical aid to over 500 villagers. Due to the impoverish state of the village, local communities barely get medical support or attention unless a severe situation calls for it. We’ve been alerted to pack our day bags with muesli bars, munchies and bottled water as the villagers often come in throngs leaving little room for the medical team to rest or have proper lunches.

We will occupy a vacant school to set up the make shift clinic. Prepared for the most basic amenities (eg. an empty building with minimal furniture), we will have to improvise to create different stations for registration, blood & sugar test, vision test, doctor’s consultation ‘ward’ and a medicine dispenser unit.

On the Sunday we will be there, we will be visiting the local church and sharing a Sabbath with them in fellowship, singing and word. My heart thumps with anticipation for the great things we will encounter and the lives we will touch – because the Great Commission really matters to my Father and therefore it matters to me.

It’s easy to be swept away by demanding schedules and run on adrenaline before crashing to bed every night – but this is one milestone that deserves a highlight… Sel 7’ 21st anniversary! This year Terence took up the Senior Commander role with much prayer and discussion prior. It was a leap of faith for the both of us, him as the SC and me as his support. On top of that, I took up the challenge to lead the Adventure Girls outpost.

In retrospect, God has been so good. Time and again I see His wisdom & strength steering the RR ship through Terence. There’s been incredible favour and camaraderie amongst the leaders and rangers – surely if you have been in ministry long enough, you would know that the latter cannot be bought instead it’s earned and often unmerited.

The AR girls growth is another milestone to shout about. In the short 10 months, I see timid personalities crawl out of their shells, new friendships made, trust established to be able to talk about  pertinent youth and of course… crazy girly fun. All this would not be possible without the help of my fantastic commanders that care as much for the girls as I do. So I continue to dream big and prayer harder for an even better year in 2010…

Snapshots from the anniversary (courtesy of Josh)

More than 6 months of planning, weeks of meetings, hours in prayer and footprints of faith is what it took to make Camporama 2009 a reality. 10-12 churches and 700 people from all over Malaysia participated in this awesome experience. If there were more bunk beds, there wouldn’ve been more people! Kudos to the camp committee for making Camporama 2009 a lifetime experience.

I’ve grown up in Rangers for as long as I can remember and Camporama is one of those camps I look forward to whether rain or shine. There’s almost a 100% guarantee that it’ll be mind blowing, this time it’s no different. 700 people made up 4 cities – Australia, India, China and Japan.

Since we were team India we spent 3-4 months reading about the country, culture, culinary spread and people. We visited Indian Street in Klang several times and made umpteen trips to the Global Indian Fair at Mid Valley. We went on a shopping spree for bangles, bells, oil lamps, lanterns, sarees, punjabi suits, jeepas, Bollywood movie posters and tupperware full of Indian sweets. With professional help from engineers and self made architects we build an archway made of steel and screws, lined it with hand drawn posters and wooden boards and lited it with running bulbs. We even had our very own lifesize Taj Mahal made of frigde boxes and pipes. The energy and life in our city was contagious – dance broke out every minute or so, food was served to every visitor, laughter roared as “Indian” stand up comedians took the stage.

Above all, at camps like this – the night rallies are always filled with a sense of expectancy. When I was a Ranger my very real experiences with God were always at camp. Now as a leader – it is undoubtedly so that I pray the same prayer for rangers who come. God showed up in a very real way to many of the young ones. I have been extremely touched to see God being real to the Adventure Girls (the ones under my care)… at 13, 14, 15 they’re being filled with a relentless pursuit for God. And I know that this experience will last them till eternity.

Seeds were sown and a declaration of faith was made – that this NOW generation will recognize their position and destiny in Christ and they will do greater things!

Pictures on the life and pulse of Camporama 2009… here!

I’ve been camping for most part of my life but only recently did I come across the term “responsible tourism (RT)” – or “responsible camping” in my case. Not only did I stumble on RT, I now have to wrap my brains around it to get a handle of RT for Wild Asia’s Responsible Tourism Award.

As rangers it was ingrained in our heads that camping should always be friendly to the environment. Throw waste in the garbage, carry the garbage with you until you see a rubbish bin. Don’t chop down trees and branches, use fallen twigs to build fires. Leave the campsite better than we found it. Well now I know that there’s actually a term for it – Responsible Camping!

This weekend a bunch of us are off for another outta-this-world kind of adventure. We’d be kayaking from mainland (PD) to a little unknown island, then parking our kayaks and staying the night on the island. No electricity, no toilets, no water source (except from the sea), no luxury of bed or mattresses – it’s back to the wild!

Since reading up on RT, I thought I should share some interesting pointers on how to camp responsibly leaving minimal impact on the environment.

• Camp on durable surfaces and place tents on a non-vegetated area.  Do not dig trenches around tents. (In Malaysia however, it is sometimes unavoidable since rain gets everything drenched in the dense rain forest)
• Don’t create new routes or expand existing trails.
• When building fires – use existing fire rings. Use fallen twigs & branches. Do not cut standing trees. Clear a 6ft diameter area around the site by removing any grass, twigs, leaves and extra firewood. (Rangers taught us well – we’ve been doing this since we started camping!)
• Detergents, toothpaste and soap harm fish and other aquatic life. Wash 200 feet away from streams and lakes.  (There are a lot of environmentally friendly washing agents out there)
• Pack out what you pack in. Carry a trash bag and pick up litter left by others.
• In areas without toilets, use a portable latrine if possible, and pack out your waste. If you don’t have a portable latrine then bury your waste.  Dig a shallow hole 6-8″ deep at least 200ft from water sources. Cover and disguise the hole with natural materials. Pack used toilet paper and carry out!
• Keep noise to a minimum especially in the early morning and evening hours (Oh! this has been hard especially with when camping with children!)
• Avoid “spooking” livestock and wildlife you encounter and keep your distance (The only wildlife we ever “spooked” were the nasty monkeys that crept into our tents!)

I’d be the first to jump at an invitation to visit a zoo if I was traveling in another elsewhere. I’ve been to several in Aussie, one in Central Park, NYC and another in Singapore. Ironically, at the mention of Zoo Negara, I can’t help but cringe and pass on the offer. Sadly my past visits there were a let down with poor facilities and maintenance and sad looking animals resonating a sense of deprivation.

I had a change of perspective last weekend when we (the Discovs) visited the Taiping Zoo and night safari. I was bewildered by the sense of pride the zoo keepers had for the place. I was mesmerized by the amount of info provided at every stop. The Taiping zoo has a rugged feel to it. It’s not as “clean” as the Singapore Zoo, with shrubs growing on the pavement and moss carpeting some rocks but there was no indication that the place was poorly maintained. The animals looked hale and hearty (whoops I wasn’t planning to eat ‘em when I said hearty!)

What surprised me was the absence of the “zoo stench”! If I think of Zoo Negara, the first thing that comes to mind is the stench that greets you at the entrance. Needless to say it was repulsive. However magically or not, I was not greeted with the same stench in Taiping. It wasn’t entirely absent through as we caught a whiff of it as we approached the deer sanctuary… thankfully the air cleared after a bit. The Taiping Zoo and night safari was a hidden treasure we stumbled upon. I’m glad the government taking the effort to keep this hidden treasure alive; at least children will have a chance to visit a proper local zoo.

Here are some snapshots of Taiping (taken by Josh Chan). For more pictures and a virtual walk thru the zoo – click here and here, otherwise these are my favs:

One of the few colonial building in Taiping town. The weather was awesome too! What a great shot – reminds me of Christchurch, NZ.

At the zoo.. just girls (p/s Jirene we missed you!)

All pumped to go in!

Chimps – this was my first time seeing a real life one. I was amazed at how BIG they were!

Spotted Civet although small in size can be quite ferocious..

Up close and personal with the deers but not for long because they poop really stinks!

King of the Jungle – I would pay a million bucks just inch close to it!

How odd to be standing on only one leg – reminds me of my ballet training years ago!

I wonder if the world upside down would pose a better view? Hmmm….

The most friendly animals in the zoo!

Time for a dental appointment?

Trip to the zoo was almost a family affair

After the zoo, we stumbled upon a great ride – the giant slide at the park!

First up – Hannah, Esther & Lydia

You’re never too old for some fun!

Weeeeee………

Swish…

Then the guy commanders had a go!! They went berserk!

Sarah… such a gem!

Hannah – the rugged lil gal!

Isabelle – my lil monkey

Spot the “animals”

Finally a decent shot…