a gagillion mosquito bites later...

i'm back home again - a tad itchy, a little bumpy, a whole lot darker, and very much blessed. this past weekend was our church family retreat, held at the KOA Campgrounds in Barrie. after several long months of continuous planning, freaking out, and hardcore praying over this retreat, it's a little surreal coming to terms that it's finally over. it's been quite the whirlwind of a weekend, but 'twas one to remember, and also one church family retreat that was very rewarding and impactful for everyone that attended.


hfbc family camp staff 2005 (i am incredibly indebted to these phenomenal people!) with our guest speaker, pastor nelson estrada, and his wife, mitzie



while the rest of the camp is at play, the camp staff is bbqing away - and i of course, am taking pictures and... um, "supervising" ;o)

even with the fickle weather, everyone still enjoyed themselves and remained enthusiastic throughout the full 3 days - the amount of enthusiasm was actually more than i had anticipated, which was quite wonderful to see coming out of everyone.


and even with the rain, the campers were still all smiles :oD

our theme this year was "the amazing race", inspired by acts 20:22-24 - a good reminder that life is short and opportunites pass us by if we don't pay close enough attention to them. there was just the right balance of free time and "God" time. the worship and fellowship were awesome, and though it wasn't blantantly obvious, God was moving throughout the entire duration of the retreat.

i admit, i was a little (read: a heck of a lot) hesitant about taking on the responsibilities of being camp director this year, especially with all the different elements and changes i knew i would be bringing into the scene, which were in some ways a little drastic from the traditional way the camp was normally run, but i am indeed thankful that everyone was so open to it all. there's also the slight factor that for the most part, i litrerally had no idea what i was doing or getting myself into. but i suppose that's when having a huge chunk of faith helps :o) - faith that things would eventually fall into place as they should, and faith in and from my committee that we would see this whole thing through together, which was certainly a blessing and encouraging all on its own.


portrait of complete calm nature... um, sure? ;oP

it's amazing really what a little change can do - this weekend i've seen change bring out rather fascinating sides of people i never really knew existed - give filipinos a reason to lip synch, and anything is possible :oP it was definitely a nice change to see so many new shining stars among the group for once. hopefully this camp won't be the last time we see them come out of their shell!


... the things i make these poor innocent people do: team lip synch competition



noah unleashes the rapper within... ;o)

all in all, a fabulous weekend full of awesome worship, good laughs to last a lifetime, great insight, a myriad of new memories, and fantastic fellowship! :o)