042: Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens: 25th Feb 2012

Today we enjoyed a unique day as the primers of the 12^th, a glorious walk in a lovely green garden. What garden? The Botanical Gardens of course! It was our way of welcoming the new primers into our family. We kick started the day by dedicating the day to God with a session of praise and worship, led by our two vice – head primers, Sophia and Thaddeus. It was a good way to start the day seeing the spiritual bonding between the new and old primers :D

Before the games

Worship and briefing

Off we go on our adventures~

Following the praise and worship session, we were split into our individual teams and introduced ourselves to one another. My team, group 5, comprised of several familiar faces and some unfamiliar ones, nevertheless, we introduced ourselves to one another so that no one would be a stranger. We took our time with the race so that everyone could enjoy themselves rather than stress out over the number of stations we completed. As such we started our lovely day in the botanical gardens after solving the devious clues left to us by the masterful games master Kenneth (Peanut). Somehow or another though, the park didn’t seem to like us being around as it greeted our group with a falling branch, causing some members of the team to jump, at least we were awake after that hehe.

 Hello Audrey Podgie Pudding and Pie

....hehe...

After that, we decided to pay a visit to the Eco Lake for the next station as it was near another station anyhow. Thus began our relatively long walk to the lake of ecology which was filled with cheery laughter, even if it did involve a relatively large amount of uncertainties and asking “where are we now?” The relaxed pace and atmosphere helped us interact with the new juniors more as well as chat freely with our friends.

Group shot!

 Local residents of the botanic gardens :)

Swan, tortoise, bird, Sophia the Stitch.

We decided to visit the station near the symphonic lake first as it was relatively near to the starting point and easy to find, unlike some stations (CK). There we met the awesome QYJ and the wonderful Zenn, the station masters for the turtlefish station. We kinda had an idea of what was to come considering we saw noel running around the lake bouncing around screaming turtle so the task wasn’t too much of a surprise.  We split our team into 2 so that we had 6 people bobbing up and down with their hands above their heads going turtle while the other 6 went around making a fish with their hands and going blub blub. I think the residents of the lake approved of our actions as we saw them imitate us (or was it the other way round?). Anyhow, when we met at the center of the lake, we sang old mac Donald loudly so that QYJ and Zenn could hear us, thus clearing the station.

Yes Sebastian???

Do not feed the swans!

Kenneth.. the ninja.

Lari the tai-tai sitting with her bimbo friends and fanning herself with a leaf-fan

At the Eco Lake, we found the station masters Lydia and Brian who ran the bring-food-up-the-hill-with-weird-parts-of-your-body game. We took it in turns to randomly pick a type of food and method to bring the food up the hill and then executing the picked choices. Some of us picked weird foods that we could bring up ourselves while other had to work together with other in order to bring the food up the hill, because really, how do you carry unpeeled bananas up a hill by yourself? Nevertheless, it was hilarious simply because of the problems we had bringing the food up the hill and the ways in which we had to do it. Memorable events include PAM carrying Jian Rong up a hill :D
 

Debbie playing Brian and Lydia's disgusting food game

 Dean and William catching ducks

 (From left) Celeste, Jia Hui, Valyrie, Sophia

 Penelo-PEA!

After disposing of the food that really couldn’t be deemed food anymore, we made our way to the next station at the red brick road, it was long and windy, just like the yellow brick road in the wizard of Oz, just that it was red, not yellow. At the end, we came across… a dead end. Turns out our resident Taiwanese decided to hide in the herbal garden for her station which we later found out via the magic of the telephone. We backtracked a little and found her and Leon at the station which ran a find and retrieve styled game. The team, save for two members, were given 5 minutes to look around the herbal garden and find 10 tennis balls and 1 ping pong ball but were not allowed to touch them. Once the time was up, the two members (Jeanette and I), were blindfolded and were led around to find the balls and ended up finding 1 tennis ball and the ping pong ball. That earned us a substation amount of points but that was only half the game. The next part involved tossing hula hoops a distance from the balls to try and hoop them to gain bonus points. Once again we took it in turns to throw the hoops and in the end, we ended up as the team with the largest gain in points for that particular station.

Audrey: "Hi Hsu Ying!" *HUGZ* <3

 Alex: "Wow that's a fascinating specimen of a Jeanette."

As time was running out for the amazing race, we proceeded to the field near the symphonic lake to run around and relax. There we met up with Michael and Justin’s team where we played Frisbee and chatted with whatever time we had left. We had a good and enjoyable time as it was fun watching them play Frisbee only to throw too hard and have the Frisbee fly into the lake. This time of relaxation and fun not only helped the year 5 primers bond together but also helped us year 6 primers take our minds off the hectic life of IB and unwind for a while.

 Keri: the next Soph.

Relaxing and Unwinding

At the end of the race at midday, we walked back to the entrance of the botanical gardens for debrief and for transport back to school. As we departed from the Botanical Gardens, I felt a sense of happiness as not only did we have a good and enjoyable time at the Botanical Gardens but we also were able to facilitate in the bonding between the year 5 primers. In addition to this, we old primers were also able to spend our remaining time in primers together meaningfully and create more cherished memories that we can share together.

Here’s hoping that we never forget our good times like this together!

Debrief

 

Zenn:"I'm so cool, that I want to watch movies with myself."

All hail the Game Master: Kenneth Yu!

~Written by:

SCL/6 Sebastian Kam

1 Thessalonians 5:8

"But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation."

041: Company War Games!!

Company War Games!!: 18 Feb 2012

Today marked the first parade of the year with the whole company gathered together as we welcomed the new Year 1 boys, Year 3 scholars and the Year5s. We started off with Live! Praise organized by the Year 5 Primers followed by a brief overview of the object of Boys' Brigade. We were also reminded that the object of Boys' Brigade was crucial and as primers, we need to constantly reflect on whether we are displaying the attitude of obedience, reverence, discipline and self-respect to the Juniors. It was heartening to see the enthusiasm of the boys as well as the primers as we came to sing the company theme song together.

Some of the Year 5 Primers

Following that, we were split into wings and proceeded on the ice-breaking session. Having gathered together with my fellow Galatians pretty much reminded me of the fond memories during Coy Camp. I was also glad to have new Boys and Primers around joining the wing. After introducing each other's name, we played the game "Blowing Blow" and "Pass the Parcel". The interesting part of the latter is that the parcels are actually layers of newspaper wrapped nicely. We were also supposed to shout out the name next to us before passing the parcel. The last person holding on to the parcel would tear the outer layer of the newspaper and carry out the forfeit written at the subsequent layer. The best part was when Nic, Jia Hui, Moses and Zi An had to do chicken dance for their forfeit.

Bonding with the Year 5s!

After that, we proceeded on with the awesome company game. The 4 wings were split into different bases all around the school and the objective of the game was to capture the flag of the other wings. In addition, each of us was assigned to a rank and we could only snatch the life of a person whose rank was equal or below us. The ranks were Private, Sergeant, Major, Captain and General. There was only one General for each wing. The rule was only General could capture the flag and only Privates could take away the General's life.

AHHH MR IAN GOH!!!

Soon after the game had started, our base was ambushed from different direction. It was quite chaotic at first but after a while, the Galatians began to strategize and had a good control of the game. I still could recall an amusing scene of Daryl, whose rank was a major, being 'killed' four times by the same Galatian boy whose rank was lower than him at the Galatian base. The innocent look of the boy after seeing Daryl's reaction was priceless. :D We were also surprised to discover General Lydia's enormous power after she managed to break the flag into two.

 Run! It's Mark Yung!

Even though it was tiring, I am sure that this company game was a special and enriching experience for everyone of us as we got to know some of the Juniors from other wings. And of course, it was great to learn that Galatia emerged as champion with the only wing having points with positive numbers :)

Some people went about taking pics rather than playing...

All in all, today's parade was an enjoyable experience for all of us. It is quite sad to find out that it will be one of our last company game as Primers. I hope we can continue to cherish the time and friendship we have in Primers.

~Written by:

SCL/6 Aldo Wenedy

Revelations 21: 3-4

"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

040: POP 2: 'The G.A.M.E.'

POP 2: 'The G.A.M.E.': 11 Feb 2012

Today was a marvelously exciting day since it was our second parade with the new Primers! We started off with some drill, and the Year 6 girls joined the new Year 5 girls as they started on the first drill session of their life. Noel and Joshua Chee taught the Year 5 girls the basics of drill (quote Noel: ‘’manly dancing’’), where they learnt the importance of executing the moves smartly and in sync with one another, so that they can look cool and sound cool when they stamp.  The Year 5 girls made remarkable progress, learning how to dress their ranks and do stationary turns very quickly.

For CE, we continued with Timothy Keller’s Gospel in Life series, and the theme for today was: Community. I was struck by how important a Community is to the growth of a Christian and even the advancement of Christ’s kingdom, and could not help but feel incredibly blessed that I have such an encouraging and loving community in the Primers. As we moved into our CE groups, we continued to share about our experiences in the different communities that God has placed us in and reflect upon how the communities that we are in have impacted us.

Adi and I proceeded to give the new Primers a brief presentation on the basics of BB, introducing things like the Object of the Boys’ Brigade, Vesper, BB handshake and the Company theme song :D The Year 5 Primers were so excited upon the introduction of the Company theme song that they spontaneously started singing the theme song while Slow played the guitar. They were also terribly insistent that BB was founded in Wahchee XD Jokes aside, Adi and I sure hoped that they paid attention and learnt a little something from our presentation, because it would have come in handy for…

THE GREAT AND MESMERISING EXPERIENCE!!!

I.e. The G.A.M.E, whereby all the Primers were split into four groups for station games about the basics of BB. The station games brought back so many good memories of sitting around the IB fountain trying to remember the Object, coming up with the most punny of actions to complement the company theme song, and hunting for the lyrics of the Vesper. Even while moving from station to station, we had to be alert just in case Mike and Noel ninja-ly sneaked up on the groups to make us do ‘’weird and strange stuff’’. For my group, trying to run away from Mike didn’t exactly work out too well, because we kinda ended up bumping into him, which then again wasn’t all that bad because at least we didn’t have to sing Old Macdonalds in Chinese, but instead we produced the following masterpiece:

A.D.I.

All in all, The G.A.M.E. was a really fantastic time of interacting with the new Primers while they got to know the basics of BB a bit better. Even as we continue to interact with our juniors over POP and PLC, let us continue to keep them in prayer, to share our experiences with them, and to encourage them as they embark on a very exciting journey in Primers ^^

~Written by:

SCL/6 Quek Jia Hui

Philippians 1:18
"But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice."

039: POP begins + IPOD

POP begins: 4 Feb 2012

CCA recruitment was just over and a rush of texts and calls were sent out that same night, thus leading the new Year 5 primers to join us for parade the very next morning. This was the first parade for the new Year 5 primers, and marked the beginning of the Primers Orientation Parade (POP) for the primers cohort of 2012/2013.

Following flag raising, the primers headed downstairs for a wonderful time of worship led by Thaddaeus and Sophia (while the other cohorts had drill, hurhur :p). The worship session was a great start to the day, as the voices of the primers came together to praise the Lord.

After an hour of worship and brief introductions to the Boys’ Brigade, the primers rushed down to the koipond area for games! We started off with a mass game of Blow Wind Blow involving all the primers at once! At each round, the “blower” would introduce some interesting facts about himself/herself, allowing the primers to get to know each other better. Many random, amusing and cool things were said, ranging from ‘I want to be a Broadway singer. (#: ’ to ‘I’m the female adventure chairman! :D’ and even  ‘Actually, I’m quite a boring person )’: ’.

After an entertaining half an hour, we then moved on to the next segment of the games: group games! The primers broke up into three smaller groups, getting to know one another through games of whacko. Everyone participated enthusiastically and shrieks of laughter (and yelps of pain :o) emitted from each of the groups as the rolls of newspaper found and missed their targets time and time again. xD

Once the groups were acquainted, the whacko sticks were thrown aside to make way for station games! There were three incredibly fun stations around the skate park for the primers.

Firstly came the amoeba game, where primers formed a cell-shaped structure with people linking hands to form a circle, and others standing inside that circle, blindfolded. They were then tasked by stationmasters Jeanette and Lydia to navigate around the concrete structures of skate park in a figure-of-eight. The groups all communicated well together to plan their movements as a “cell”, finishing their task amazingly quick. One group in particular bonded very closely, as the four blindfolded men in the center of the “cell” hugged each other tightly as they moved around. n_n

Next, there was the chair game, managed by Mark Yung (and friends Brian)! This game was based upon the river crossing game, where groups had to move from one place to another suspended above the ground by chairs, without touching the ground. Chairs provided were limited, and the primers had to work as a team to support each other from falling off!

The last game featured a homemade version of charades. Thaddaeus and I had a good laugh watching the groups act out difficult phrases through wriggling around, attempting to spell out the letters of the word, and waving their arms around madly, while the rest of the group threw out many creative answers. ‘Lame jokes’, ‘Girls’ Generation’, ‘Prawn rolls’ and ‘Sunshine’ were some of the most amusing charades played that day. ^^

Kudos to all my station masters for their help! Thank you Jeanette, Lydia, Brian, Mark Yung and Thaddaeus! <3

All in all, the parade today served to be a good introduction for the new Year 5 primers, as they bonded together with their fellow cohort mates and Year 6 seniors, amidst much fun, joy and laughter. I pray that even as we carry on with the POP and PLC, the Year 5s would continue to draw closer as a cohort and have an amazing time serving God and the company as primers!

~Written by:

SCL/6 Aaron Chong

Romans 10: 9-10
"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

Inter Primers Olympics Day (IPOD)

“If you get first place, I’ll buy all of you lunch.”

These were the words of Mr Kang Guo Quan on the morning of the Inter-Primers Olympics Day to us fifteen fantastic fellows. Unfortunately, no such lunch ever came our way, as the 4^th of February marked a rather disappointing campaign for our boisterous band of brothers, results-wise, with group-stage exits for all 3 teams. (BUT we had LOADS of fun!). Anyway, now that I’ve successfully killed any suspense regarding the results of our little skirmish, I’ll now properly narrate the events of the day.

So, on a bright and cheerful Saturday morning, we met together at the bus stop outside Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Us, fifteen brave souls upon whom the hopes and dreams of the 12^th(I) Primers contingent rested. Sort of. To be honest, I had mixed feelings about IPOD at this time; on one hand, I welcomed the chance to relax and play football. But on the other hand, it meant missing out the chance of being there for POP and all the various exciting stuff in school! Nonetheless, there I was, and I wondered what God had in store for me that day.

Led by Kenneth, we conducted some simple briefings and had a prayer to dedicate the whole day’s events to God before we set off to meet the rest of the teams. The briefing was done by the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Primers and Captain, and even contained a simple and exciting ice-breaker which involved getting to know the names of the other Primers who were participating in IPOD. We found out that there were 4 main groups present; the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Primers (NP), the Singapore Polytechnic Primers (SP), the Nanyang Polytechnic Primers (NYP) and the HQ Primers, which we were part of and was also the smallest group. Nonetheless, there was hardly a sense of bitterness between the companies, but instead an atmosphere of friendliness and warmth. After several opening formalities and briefings for the games, as well as a touching minute of respect for the passing of one of the SP Primers, we proceeded to begin IPOD.

The first event lined up for us was the Telematch! This little competition contained a host of strange tasks and activities which were just…strange. Most worthy of highlight, though, would be this section that’s name was something like “Shake Your BumBum like a DumDum”. Yeah. Two Primers from each team had a tissue box tied against their back. In this tissue box were about half a dozen ping pong balls, and the Primers were supposed to jump around to get them out. BUT, our most venerable masters Chan Keen and Gregory Kylon, decided to do HANDSTANDS to get them out! =O  This unprecedented strategy was not only surprisingly effective, but also left the other participants rather shell-shocked. That said, we still finished the Telematch in last place XD

ANYWAY, we then proceeded for the various sports! As you may know, we submitted 3 teams for the competition – 1 Basketball team and 2 Football teams. All the sports took place in generally the same place though, so we could easily see how each team was doing, which was nice =)

On the basketball scene, I often saw Justin, Alex and Kenneth fighting valiantly against guys who were MUCH bigger, stronger and more experienced than them. They worked insanely hard and Kenneth’s shirt was totally drenched by the end (but that’s not much of a surprise I suppose). Team Alpha (Dean, Leon, Gregory, Pheng Hwee, Daryl, Jian Rong), from what I could see, were also having lots of fun across the field in their own matches, and were really positive in spirit. However, I was part of a truly gallant group of guys known as the ADI BUDDIES!!! (kudos to Zenn for the name), and thus didn’t really get to catch the action on their matches.  So it’s on our tantalizing travails that I shall furtively focus on! ^^

 Team Alpha

We began our first match with much excitement and enthusiasm. We concocted a grand strategy. We had intense warm-ups. We had melodramatic pep talk. We were Game. But our first opponents, Singapore Polytechnic, put up a fierce fight and had us on the back foot many times. Fortunately for us, Gabriel seized a golden opportunity in the face of a defensive blunder and headed the goal in from just a few yards out after a rebound of the keeper. That would prove to be the decisive goal in a game that saw some intricate exchange of roles between Chan Keen, Weng Shian and I and, needless to say, a superb performance from captain ADI CLEANSHEET RAHARJA!!! =D

Unfortunately for us, the second game began almost immediately after the first, and we were somewhat taken aback by our opponents from Ngee Ann Polytechnic who seemed to be much more experienced and stronger than us! Perhaps owing to our tiredness and lack of creative spark, we failed to create enough chances and were often pushed back by their very controlled play. Eventually, a well-taken corner saw them claim the only goal in the match through a clean header at the near post.

That said, we did gradually begin to come to life! In particular, the chemistry between the outfield players was growing immensely! One particular moment of glory came when, after Weng delivered a short goal kick to me, I returned the pass, which he then fed to Gabriel only for our prolific striker to DUMMY it to me (intentionally, of course) who then scuffed the shot wide of the post. Nonetheless, the unprecedented fluidity made us celebrate like men who had just found tehping! ^^ We were then granted a short reprieve during which we chatted with the Basketball team and Team Alpha whilst enjoying a nice light lunch. During this time, Mr Kang Guo Quan and Mr Caleb Lin too joined us in our very mirthful and light-hearted conversation. 

However, it was soon time for the decisive last match of the group stages, against Nanyang Polytechnic. By this time, a sort of team strategy had been built, with Gabriel spearheading our team while Weng and I swapped offensive and defensive roles depending on the need with Chan Keen taking up the unoccupied flank. Moreover, morale was high! =D  Our near-tribal group huddle before each kick-off left the officers and other participants in a state of  O_O 

This last match was certainly a very open contest. An early goal helped keep our hopes up, as Noel somehow found himself in a 1-on-1 situation with the keeper, and though his first shot was saved, the rebound was slotted in. Gabriel then doubled the lead, but I can’t remember how exactly because his later goals just blew my mind away (as you’ll see later!), but NYP were far from docile, and created numerous chances which almost ended in goals were it not for some out-of-this-world keeping from our ADI. Eventually, though, they did manage to pull one back before half-time, making it an edgy 2-1.

Knowing that we had to widen our goal difference, we sought to create more chances in the second half but to no avail. No clear opportunities were forthcoming, and both sides appeared unable to score.

Then Gabriel played. For real.

Receiving a short goal kick in our own half, he used his speed to get past the first oncoming NYP defender who was caught wrong-footed. Soon faced with a second defender, Gabriel made a tricky feint to the right before darting left, causing the defender to trip and fall to the floor. Then came the third defender. By then, Gabriel had cut in to the right and was near the centre of the pitch. With sublime deftness, he PIRHOUETTED on the ball, got round the stunned defender with apparent nonchalance, and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner. 

His victory celebration looked something like this:

\o/

[ ]

/ \

The fourth goal came soon after, following some fantastic pressure and hold-up play from Weng Shian, who provided the ball for Gabriel to once again drill past the keeper. And so we eventually won 4-1. Interestingly, though, 3 of the teams were level of points AND goal difference! As such a 3-way penalty shoot-out was played! Unfortunately, Gabriel’s kick was saved and mine missed, and as such we failed to reach the semi-finals. However, we all celebrated a truly remarkable performance and I was really grateful to God for letting us all have such a great time.

 Adi Buddies! Muscling up!

The rest of the day was generally quieter. Some of us participated in the mixed captain’s ball games, while the others watched the semi-finals and finals of the soccer competition. Overall though, I was really happy that there was no bitterness or disappointment; all of us really were in high spirits and were glad for the experience! We even made friends with many of the Primers from the other companies and polytechnics, which I found a rare and treasured gift which God had granted, because the opportunities to do so are few and far between.

 Adi Buddies! Sexy and I know it~

So though I was pretty tired by the end of the day (and after only 3 games of soccer!), I was glad that God not only gave us the opportunity to come for IPOD, but for His Presence throughout the whole day which helped to wash away any anger of unhealthy competition from our hearts, for we all know how easily those things slip into sports events such as these. Much gratitude too to the various polytechnics and companies who participated, especially Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Primers who spent so much time and energy planning the whole event!

We even got a souvenir from McDonalds to commemorate the event!  XD

~Written by:
SCL/6 Noel Cheong

Acts 16:31
"They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." 

038: Combat Skirmish!

Combat Skirmish!: 28 Jan 2012

28 January marked the 4^th BB parade of the year 2012. From the moment I stepped into the school, I knew I was in for an extraordinary day of activities. Not the least because I found myself, clad in PT kit, standing out awkwardly among everyone else dressed properly in their smart brigade attire during flag-raising. Blame it on my STM. 

After falling in at the space frame, the first activity in store for Year 6 primers was the OIC talk by Mr Caleb Lin. This was the second last parade he had with us before he leaves for Australia for university. In the talk, he first gave us an overview of the events we have had in 2011, as well as some important dates in 2012, such as POP, PLC and BB week. Looking through the list of activities we had been through as a cohort in Year 5, fuzzy images of the fun and wonderful fellowship we had enjoyed in BB in 2011 rushed to mind. And as we look forward to the upcoming events this year, I couldn’t help but feel mixed sentiments of both excitement and loss. No doubt there is a line-up of fun and challenging activities ahead of us this year, but the last item on the list – handover – also remind us poignantly how all these will abruptly come to an end in April. 

The sentiments aside, Mr Lin then moved on to a brief guide of IB core requirements, especially CAS. I think it served as a timely reminder and briefing for us to refresh our memory and understanding on the IB core requirements. Mr Lin’s detailed breakdown of the CAS hours, plus his tips on writing AEF forms, gave us a clear bearing on how to clear CAS hours in an efficient way. Next, he talked about university options. It was indeed a highly relevant topic for all of us, especially the girls, who will most likely have to apply for universities right after IB. Again, Mr Lin provided us with the essential information, including the application requirements, timeline and a rough guide on choosing your dream course. 

One of the things he mentioned was to seek God’s will in choosing our college courses. That was a very strong reminder for me because I realized instead of looking to God’s will, I have instead often asked Him to help me in advancing the various decisions I have made myself. Mr Lin’s little reminder thus helped me to see things more in perspective. 

Next on his agenda was National Service, which perhaps stays more on the minds of the guys than universities currently do. Though it was not directly relevant to me, it was interesting to find out how NS life will be like for fellow primers. Finally, Mr Lin reminded us to lead by examples as we welcome the incoming Year 5s. In summary, Mr Lin gave us very practical and useful information regarding our IB journey and future options. In fact, before I found out OIC stands for Officer-in-charge, I actually thought it meant Oh~ I Seee. 

Ending the talk, Mr Lin officially informed us that he will be leaving Singapore to continue his university studies in Australia, and that he will hand over the charge to Mr Tim Toh and Ms Pet Laim, who will become co-OICs. Looking back to all the memorable parades, events and camps he had gone through with us, the precious knowledge and skills he had imparted to us, and the time and effort he had put in for us, I know we will all miss Mr Lin dearly. It warms my heart to know that in the loving BB family, there are officers who genuinely care for us and are willing to sacrifice their time for our sake. The OIC talk was an excellent example, in which Mr Lin actually exceeded the time because of his detailed presentation.

Following the OIC talk, we had our CE programme, during which we watched two very thought-provoking videos Mdm Pet played for us, and later broke up into groups for discussion. In the first video, titled “Why I hate religion, but love Jesus”, the striking difference between false religion and Jesus is highlighted by this young guy, who, curiously, talks like he’s rapping xP He points out that while religion is man-centred, Jesus is God-centred. Similarly in the second video, the speaker elaborated on the same topic. He draws the vivid example from the parable of the prodigal son to illustrate a common misconception people have on the true meaning of Christianity. He puts the focus on the angry older brother who was upset over the feast his father had prepared for his brother, and talked about the spiritual danger of self-justification and self-righteousness. To me, the two videos drive home a very strong and clear message about the true meaning of following Christ. Indeed, there are times when we confuse the reason behind our obedience to God, when the motivations behind our good deeds turn the wrong way, when we let complacency and judgment seep into our faith. It is therefore important that we recognize we are all still sinners, and that we do the things that are pleasing in His eyes because He first loved us, not because we deserve his love. 

After the insightful CE session, finally came the time for Combat Skirmish. Yes it is the exciting real-life version of Counter Strike everyone was looking forward to! An exciting continuation from the previous parade’s Zovb Ball games, combat skirmish takes teambuilding and game play to the next level! Instead of rolling in giant balls to knock over opponents, this time we have to navigate complicated landscapes, protect our comrades, shoot down opponents, and race against time to save the hostage!

 Tag-team

Kenneth has big guns...

Ephesus!

The enemy of my enemy...SOPHIA!

Before starting the games, the two cohorts, Year 6 primers and Year 3 boys were divided into two large groups according to wings – Colosse teamed up with Galatia, while Ephesus went with Philippi. The staff instructor then gave us a briefing on weapon handling, game rules and objectives. We were to play two games, and basically everyone would start with eight lives, after losing all of which he or she can choose to head back to the medic to ‘respawn’, before he can join back in the fight. Our team objective for the first game, therefore, was to kill as many opponents as possible, thereby increasing their number of respawns. At the end, the team with less number of respawns will win.  In both the games we played, friendly fire was on, meaning we had to take care not to kill our own teammates in the crossfire.  After picking our weapons, and receiving instructions from the staff, we were all set to destroy our opponent! (sounds violent :O)

 Autobots...
 

...roll-out!

In the first game, both groups were subdivided into 3 smaller groups which would each engage the enemy on a different floor in the old block. My group, a combination of Galatian and Colossian combatants, was to fight on the blue level. As the siren went off signaling the start of the combat, everyone took to their positions, their eyes focused on the tiny figures advancing from the other side of the terrain. Before I knew it, the boys around me were already engaged in serious gun battle, dashing across the corridors and shooting the enemy in closer range, despite risking their lives. A total newbie at combat style of games, I was running around aimlessly and shooting futilely at enemy who, I later realized, were too far for my gun’s range. In the end, I had to respawn myself twice, because I was accidentally killed by fellow comrades as well :P

 If you look closely, you can see cool commander Kiat calmly crouching.

The Big Boys..

In the second game, our objective was to bring back hostage from the enemy’s base. Respawns were no longer counted, and the medic was allowed to move with the troop and instantly revive casualties. This meant that we could engage in close fights without worrying losing our lives. Again, the two sides were engaged in intense battles. Aside from the thrill and fun of the game, what amazed me the most was how seriously the boys actually took the games. Fighting alongside them, I could feel the intensity, sheer concentration and fighting spirit oozing from them, spurring me to eliminate the opponents as well, though I still could only manage a few hits. Because of the excellent team spirit and camaraderie we shared, our group, Galatia and Colosse emerged as the overall winner! Yay level up! 

yes that's the way Si Han! Shoot the ladies first!!

And Lydia why are you running into the van?!

pew pew!

All in all, I think this past parade has been both enriching and exciting. It was enriching because we had learnt much from it, whether it be practical information regarding university application, or important spiritual knowledge from the videos. It was no doubt exciting too because the year six primers got to interact and build closer rapport with the year 3 boys through Combat Skirmish. To conclude, I will summarize the whole experience in four letters – DEEP – which stands for Deeply Enriching and Exciting Parade. Indeed, through this parade, we have gone deeper both in our spiritual relationship with God, and in our brotherly relationships with our juniors! <3

 ~Written by:
SCL/6 Liu Hsu Ying

2 Timothy 1:7
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind"