The last 24 hours have been the ugliest in my technical life (as in to do with computers and stuff).
I was to fix up two videos for the OCF. One was to be a promo for E-Nite introducing the committee and the other is basically a recap of Winter Camp. Time was really short and I had a really long week.. the busiest I had since I got to Australia.
I started on the Winter Camp video last Tuesday, but the lack of codecs prevented me from proceding further as I couldn't edit the clips for some reason. I then reformatted my computer on that day.. putting in a fresh copy of Windows. I'm telling you this to get a bigger perspective of the grimness of things.
So, prior to Friday I've been working on the two videos.. with attention swinged to the E-Nite Video.. as I felt it was more important. First up - On Friday morning the Internet crashed. I needed some sound clips from the net.. and was halfway downloading Adobe Premiere Pro (my copy of Adobe Premiere 6.5 wasn't working for some reason) and was hoping to get a newer version of Windows Media Maker 2. But all that was thrown out of the window cause of Optus.
So I worked with what I had at hand (After Effects and Media Maker 1). After some hours with much ground covered I was browsing through the songs I had in my external harddisk .. then.. IT DROPPED! (I was lying down on my bed and accidentally pulled the wire or something.. another long story here). And to my darkest-pitched-oh-so-black fears.. THE HARDDISK WASNT WORKING!!!!
Aih. All my pictures (all my pictures in Melbourne and other pictures & videos for the past 4 years). Songs and soundtrack (over 5000 files). My downloaded programmes and application (Photoshop, MS Office, Frontpage and over 30 applications). All my videos and entire Heroes Season 1 files. My entire My Documents folder (with all my BB files, records, Monash files and so on - recall that I reformatted my com? I haven't copied the files back).
Haih. Talk about spiritual attack. During OCF things didn't get any better with the LCD projector not working in the beginning.. gave me a fright. Thank God it was okay in the end. About the videos, I wasn't able to finish one of them.. but at least one was completed. I really think the devil was trying hard to discourage me. I'm just glad that in the end things worked out. How I'll pull through with the lost of my harddisk.. I'll figure that one out later =P
Here's the video by the way. The OCF is doing a Evengelical Night (E-Nite). This semester we're doing up a big production.. a musical! If you're living in Melbourne.. do come for this event.. and bring a friend!
Argh! My new timetable this semester sucks.. mainly due to the fact I hate morning classes. So have a look at the first three days. Not that I mind a 9am class.. the problem is I need to be awake by 6am in order to dress up, have breakfast then catch the 7.15am bus. The next bus to Berwick departs at 9.30a. Therefore, I don't have a choice. At least I got Friday free again..
Praise God! My results for Semester One 2007 turned out well. Organisational Behaviour (MGW2230) - 53 - P Macroeconomic Policy (ECW2730) - 64 - C Managerial Communication (MGW1100) - 73 - D Tourism Economics (ECW2600) - 75 - D
Sydney! The prettiest city in Australia.. in fact the prettiest in the world (voted best city by some survey). I've been there once in 2003.. four years later I'm back to attend the Hillsongs Conference.
I came with my bunch of OCFers, around ten of us who decided to go for the more cost effective option - the train. It was a gruelling and uncomfortable 11 hour ride from Southern Cross Station to Sydney Central.. mainly due to the poor vantilation (stuffy and hot).. otherwise we could've slept throughout the trip. We got to Sydney at about 7am or so.. making another transit from Central Station to Town Hall. Checked into a fair backpackers hostel called X-Base. Some of us slept in while others walked around.
Hillsong Conference 2007 was AWESOME! The atmosphere created.. the lights, sound and sights were just extrodinary. Imagine worshipping with thousands of people from different nations and churches under one roof. God was truly awesome.
There were many high profiled guess. Of course the Hillsong team were there with people like Joel Houston, Darlene Zschech, Reuben Morgan and other famous Hillsong worship leaders and writers. There were additional worship leaders from abroad this year such as Chris Tomlin, Israel Houston and Steven Curtis-Chapman. There were also several high profiled speakers such as Bishop TD Jakes (which during this conference became my all time favourite speaker), Louie Giglio, John Bevere, Joseph Prince, Ed Young and of course Brian Houston.
I wish I could list down the details of every worship session and sermon.. but there's really just too much to tell! Surfice to say, each session was beneficial and impactful. I've never got so much out of a week before. But the time slots were demanding.. it literally took the whole day. Session 1 (9.00-10.30am), Session 2 (11.00-12.30pm), Elective 1 (1-2pm), Elective 2 (2-3pm), Session 3 (4.30-6.00pm) and Session 4 (7.30-9.00pm). Some of us got sick.. cause we came just a day after Winter Camp.
What I got out most from the conference was that seeking God first above all things is crucial towards.. well.. everything. It is also important not to ignore Gods calling when He calls us to do something.. it may not be church, but can also be stuff in the workplace, studies and all other aspects (John Bevere). For instance, God may have called you to be an accountant but you choose to be a pastor instead, therefore compromising Gods plan (perhaps His plan was for you to reach the lives of your collegues in the firm?). How will you then be judged? The only way we would know what He truly wants us to do is by seeking Him first and He'll reveal His plans for you.
TD Jakes gave a massive sermon. Each of us are given the chance to soar like eagles thanks to the sacrifices Jesus has made. We must not be pulled down by "chickens" cause we as eagles only click with other eagles who soar high in the sky.. instead of the chickens who can only hop off the ground for a short period of time (so his first session was really a BGR topic. Haha) He also talked about reaching new levels and not be comfortable where we are. Everytime we're established with something, it's best to move on to something bigger.. and bigger. This ties in well with what Brian Houston spoke off about being predictably unpredictable.. that we need to keep up with the times and not be stuck at a certain level. Tradition and laws which in the past has brought success may not be able to duplicate the same results and can also potentially be a hindrace towards God's plans (Joseph Prince). Keeping ourselfs focused on God not being too comfortable.. keeping our cages rattled will bring us "to a whole-natha-level" (Ed Young). There is a season for everything. Sometimes we may be sowing during the wrong season.. that's why we are not getting the harvest. So best do a reality check - is it the right season?
Another session done by Louie Giglio was presented in an unusual way where be spent half the time talking about astronomy. It was almost like science lecture.. so much so till someone in the crowd screamed "what about Jesus??" However, most of us knew it was a build-up towards something big. It was to put into perspective how big our God is. He created trillions of stars and He knows them by name - He knows each and everyone of us by name. Undescribable.
Sounds all good from the conference isn't it? Sign up for next years one. =)
Prior to this conference, I've been asking God if He really wants me to initiate the OCF at Monash Berwick. Through Bevere's session, it came quite obviously.. that if I don't do it.. someone else will.. so why not me? After that I asked God how He wants me to proceed. The answer came quickly - Seek Him first!
After a 5 day conference we have only a couple of days left to explore Sydney. We covered several places like Darling Harbour. The visit to the Sydney Fish Market was one of my favourite.. typical Malaysian.. can only think of food. Though the place was small, it had cheap and very, very fresh seafood which I was unfortunately allergic to. But I tried those which I could eat.. like the raw salmon (ichiban!!!!) and varity of oysters. Man, nothing beats eating them fresh. The sights and smell from that place really knocked my socks off. I don't mind going there everytime the next time I'm in Sydney.. cause it's that good!
Here are some lame-o shots of me and Jeffrey. He's the vice president of OCF Clayton.. pictures by Jeremy Ye.
Hanging out at the Parkvillian OCF bunk
Sydney Town Hall next to QVB
An estatic experience post conference happened on Sunday hours before we were to leave when I paid a visit to the USS Kitt Hawk, a US aircraft carrier which so happened to be visiting Sydney. You see.. since I was very young I admired the US military. Watched many war movies, brought many books and looked up millions of picturs over the internet. Never in my life I thought I'd be able to see one of these things.. so when the oppurtunity presented itself there was no bloody way I was gonna miss it.
As I approached Mrs Macqurie's Chair (a place).. I could recognise the carriers island tower. Moving nearer and nearer.. the super structure of the carrier rose from the horizon. Man. It was huge! Believe it or not.. it's the smallest and lousiest carrier the US has in it's active fleet.. and this one you see its going to be decomissioned next year to be replaced by a new one. The Kitty Hawk (CVN-63) is a conventional, non-nuclear powered carrier which was based in Yokosuka, Japan. It will be replaced by the USS George W. Bush (I think).
Wow.. looking at this aircraft carrier.. with all it's F/A-18's on board.. emotional. Here are some other pictures of the trip.
Bondi Beach
Night time near Chinatown
People in Sydney see things upside down I guess..
Me posing at Darling Harbour
Clayton OCFers (without some sleepy heads who couldn't wake up in time to take this picture) in Sydney
Finally, had some time to blog about my trip to Merricks Campsite and my part in organising this exciting camp. It was a great experience for me.. handling logistics and all. Though I was the logistics officer in BB.. it was easier in BB cause whatever I wanted I could just get it and keep for myself, therefore reducing the red tape. In the OCF, things work quite differently.. especially if you don't have a car!
Anyways, we left for Merricks on a beautiful Thursday morning of what had been a 3 days and 2 nights camp starting from 28th June.. the day after exams. I had the misfortune of having my last exam paper two days before camp.. but praise God.. the paper was peanuts. I managed to get most of the things needed for camp (last minute) and we were all set. Four cars were to travel down ahead of the rest which were headed down by bus. Mishaps occured before the trip as two of our cars colided with one another (our chairperson was one of the drivers and car owners. Sigh!). Again, God was gracious as the bus could more than afford the space needed for equipment. Despite leaving Monash late, we arrived at Merricks on time with less than an hours drive.
I must say, I thank God for Pastor Ken and our choice in selecting him as our camp speaker. No doubt he had a message for us which made quite an impact. The presence of God was so awesome. On the second (and last) night the worship lasted for more than an hour before the sermon.. it didn't feel long cause all of us just felt the desire to worship the Lord more and more. It was mind blowing, we even had alter calls before the sermon was preached. The spirit of God truly rained down on us that night.
The food was really good.. but my CG suffered from food poisoning.. we suspect it's the tap water. Oh.. introducing my camp CG. Leaders were Ruo and Sandra.. with Char, Lester, Justin, Isabel, Steve and I. Our play kicked ass during skid night.. undoubtly the funniest among the rest. But we didn't win though.. coz our story line was kinda crappy/. though the ideas were good. Heh. Our CG won the overall though.. with the most "cash" collected.
We used a special currency designed by "yours truly"
I can't say I was too happy with the programmes.. really felt it could've been done better. But I guesss I gotta cut Alvin some slack.. I think it's his first time doing this. It'll be a good experience. I remember when I used to suck at a few things.. but experience has made me an expert in those things today.
But winter camp wasn't so much of the programmes.. it really was about the fellowship. Not just the fellowship among man and man.. but also between God and man. It's in this camps we "feel God more".. for some reason.
On the last night and day of camp, I had a talk with Pastor Ken about our mutual desires to start the Berrick OCF. The last day he prayed for me a prayer of empowerment. I really wanna take this oppurtunity to glorify God and do His works! I sure hope this will kick off well..
All in all, it was a good camp. It was really fun working with this committee made out of Jeremy Ye (publicity), Joshua & Eileen (food), Alvin (programmes), Ivie (Chair), Melissa Leong (Treasurer), Rachel (Secretary) and Julian (Worship Cord and Vice-chair). Also would like to thank the camp parents, Graeme, Sue and all helpers and participants. I'm sure God has used tus in this camp to plant a seed among our OCFers. There's indeed more to come.
After the camp.. getting more and sending shifting all my equipment.. I saw a full rainbow in front of my house. It was to some of us a sign that God will and always fulfill His promises if we are faithful to Him.
Let us remind ourselves to be forever faithful to Him.
