CtYF NTM 4 - Beginning of "Plague" ???

Rise and Shine at 4.30am and Morning Devotion at 5am......2nd day and we made it! James continued on to Psalm 64 exhorting us to follow David's example of prayer and joy in the midst of his enemies.

At 6am, a few of us went back to take a short nap and i concluded on this morning that it didnt work for me. I woke up feeling more giddy and sense of being unwell.... as in not being alert and of sound mind :( Shall not do it again for next morning D.

Breakfast was my usual 2 slices of bread and yummy yummy soup!!!! Mmmmm....hot soup cooked by aunty Leah never tasted so lovely, tasty and warm.

Eld Boon continued with the Leadership training while the rest of the YFers went back to fence making and the deco team set to work with the stuff we bought the day before. Joanne was the i/c and their team had planned to put up a star, 3 wise men and silhouette of Jerusalem buildings set in a starry night. Empty boxes from Warunee and the shop next door to BDC were being wrapped up as presents placed at the edge of the stage to spice it up.

Sis Boon Choo from Truth arrived the night before and she helped with the deco.

James used the white rope and spend hours making this....beautiful right?

Here's the completed look of the stage deco:

WHere were the fence-making team and how was their progress? They were so fast and efficient that all the bamboos previously purchased by uncle Chalo were all used up and had to wait for fresh purchase and supply :)

We had our Cantata practice in the afternoon without the 3 boys who were scheduled to come on 5 Dec. Isaac was to sing together with JJ The Holy Night song and he needed JJ to sing the high notes and parts....and so i believe he prayed real hard for JJ & the other 2 boys to make it. Initially it appeared as they would not be able to come due to the airport siege, but we were told airport would be opened in time for King's Birthday (5 Dec) and so the rest is history. They made it!! (read more of this in previous blog for details). James & Shing did a duet together, Jia Hui & Eld Boon did a solo each.

At 4pm sharp, the bell rang and YFers gleaned with joy..... Volleyball time. I continued to work with James and Shing for a while before they went off to play. Thereafter i recorded the voices of some girls in BDC and Billy. This was for the Cantata narration and story in Lahu.

Eld Boon was feeling very full that night.... how not to after eating so many goreng pisang in the day and so he skipped his dinner. The rest of us ate our meal albeit an early one at 5.50pm. The 1st caroling session were to start at 7pm and we had to be ready by then. BUT I had not gotten a shower yet. Argh..... and the girls went crazy over the styling of hair style. Well actually it was Joanne who started it, as in she asked me to tie her hair. I did the 2 french pleats thingy and so it was suggested CtYF girls go in pleats for the night. I had only 1 pair of hands and time was running out....managed to do for Simone and Jia Hui....hmmm cant remember if i did for Xiao Fen and Jolene... oh man, my memory is really bad. The girls were enthusiastic about this idea and so they decided and requested that i do the same thing for them in the next caroling session and this time, for all of them!

Then Sheryl told me she felt unwell. i tested her temperature. It was 38 and since she brought her own fever medicine, i didnt have to dispense my supply. I remember vividly last year Hilda was the one who fell ill on caroling night and aunty Leah or some lady stayed with her in BDC while the rest went caroling. Looking at the stuff i had to prepare, especially for the next day treasure hunt (got to print out photos of the compound as clues), decided to stay back with Sheryl and let the adult ladies in BDC participate in caroling.

Waved good bye to everyone, checked that Sheryl was fast asleep, and finally i went for a quiet hot bath. It would be a long night as they had about 100 homes to cover (not sure if they did complete it) and so i had plenty of time to print out the photos in colour prints... thanks to Amy whose trusty Canon photo printer was on loan to me. Set to work immediately after the bath, carefully taking out the printer and couldnt wait to print. Alas, the photo paper was not in the box... they were purchased by Hong Kim before we left and he has handed to Jia Hui (JH). How hard can it be for me to search the girls' dorm, right? I did. Looked around her bag, under her bag and then all over the floor.....erh the dorm was super messy.... I COULDNT FIND IT. Oh boy, i really didnt want to waste the night away. Called Warunee, Billy and then Eld Boon... all no answer. Send a message too and all i could do then was to wait. I felt restless and hopeless.... blaming myself for not remembering the papers werent in the box (Amy has specifically told me to get the supply). SIGH.....there was nothing i could do except to wait for response from them. Took out my bible to read.

Nearly 45 mins after, Warunee returned my call and i asked to speak with JH and she told me it was in the dorm!!! HUH? WHere? Oh boy, tucked neatly at one corner on the only table in the room was the plastic bag of photo paper. Why didnt i see it earlier??? I really searched....blah....must have been too anxious to want to finish and so eyes were blinded. Thankfully, i loaded the papers and attached the camera to the printer. Made my selection of clues from the photos shot by Xiao Fen and Joanne earlier on in the day. Some i couldnt even made head or tail out of it and so decided not to print all but about 60-70% of it.

At 10.30pm, i felt like sleeping but i told myself i got to wait for their return. Guess i was too tired and started to doze off, only to be awaken at 11.50pm or so by the noise of vehicle and humans. I woke up to open the dorm's door for the girls to come in (it was latched from the inside). They were so happy, faces beaming with joy.... it must have been fun for them all, esp Jolene being her first time. Besides bubbling with so many stories to tell, they were hungry too.... and so permission granted to eat instant noodles and then retire to bed. Did i eat? Nah.... i went back to sleep. And it was amazing that i didnt hear the girls coming back from supper, neither the sound they produced while getting ready to sleep and the little talk they always had! Was it the weather or what...i slept thro all the noise.....hmmmm...perhaps credit should be given to the girls who were considerate and much care taken to make minimal noise??? I dont know and will never know but i do know my sleep pattern changed in BDC and i was thankful to God for the blessings of sweet slumber :)

What else happened today? I was told by the girls (a few days later) that an incident happened in our dorm. EEW... i was so glad i didnt know it that day or night. One of Eld Chalo's cat slipped into our dorm....wait... something very harmless and common.... yah.... but she PUKED!!!! Oh man, it must have been hideous and sickening with the cat's vomit. Xiao Fen, the one who let the cat into the dorm, cleaned up the mess and shooed it out. She must have done a fantastic job in the cleaning up coz i didnt smell a thing that night.... hahaha.....

Hmmmm.....VOMITING.....was the new plague that hit CtYF.....stay tuned for more to come.