And BEHOLD!!! I'm back for the weekend!!! Booked out of camp at 12:50 yesterday. How's the first week of camp, you ask? well, its been great so far, but its still only the first week. I expect the second week to be hell on earth, so.. yeah. But hey, whatever they throw at me, i'll be doing my best to comply with all demands. Last week, i have managed to most of what they threw at me. My pushups were ultra bad, considering when i flex my muscles there's absolutely no bumps. But still, i tried my best, and managed to hold my own. I am luckily not the worst in my company, though i will say i bring up the bottom of the averagely unfit people. The fit gruop Malays with six pacts and ability to do 12+ pullups but are there because they didn't bother to take their NAPFA test(I could never understand that. They ALREADY are fit, and can pass their NAPFA without problems. but decide to skip their test and enter 7 weeks early). The averagely unfit group failed 1-2 portions of the NAPFA(*cough*edwinonlyfailedsitandreachand
nowthereisnositandreachinNSmuahahahah
soheissufferingfornothing*cough*). i bring up the bottom of the averagely fit because i failed pull-ups, 2.4km run. I could have passed my shuttle run, but i dropped the little weight thing. then there's the ultra-unfit group, who never do excercise in their life. So, at least i'm glad to know i'm not the worst.

This week was also a very trying week for Edwin, Linus and me. When we talked to our instructors, they refused to let us have our Sabbath off, so we went one step up to our platoon commander. Each platoon commander refused to let us off, as we found out in nightly meetings at the phone booths when we are free. Then each of us went one step up to our commanding officer, to the same response. Seventh-Day Adventists are not allowed to worship and keep their sabbath during training. After many talks with our superiors, we found out that we had to make a decision : either we keep our sabbath, thus defying orders with the option of being sent to detention barracks(which is worse than hell on earth), OR we comply with our superiors, taking the easy way out, listen to them and disobey God.

It may seem like an easy decision, but believe me its not. I was confused, and very, very frightened. The picture they painted was horrible, and the three of us were scared like hell. After a long discussion with Faith and Nathaniel, we decided to take the stand and defy our officers. We were prepared to take whatever comes, whatever they give us.

So the next the day the 3 of us went down during the morning excercise training and talked to our physical training instructor(PTI). At first, it was bad. We explained what seventh-day adventists were, and politely requested that he let us off. He ask us what our platoon commander said, and we told him all 3 of platoon commander and commanding officers said no.(oh, by the way, the 3 of us are in 3 different companies, Edwin is in Alpha, Linus in Bravo and i'm in Charlie) He said he needed to follow their instructions, and couldn't let us off. We explained to him that our sabbath is very important to us, an we want to keep it, and are willing to do anything. Then, a miracle happened. By the power of the God, the PTI just told us to stand one side while he trained the rest for a while. Then he talked to us and asked us what we wanted him to do. We requested to have training off on Saturday, and he said all right, but he will train us extra hard on weekdays(something i'm not looking forward to). Then he let us sit one corner. Talk about God's hand working. We could really feel the prayers of everyone. We quickly went off to one side, and knelt down and thanked God for working such a miracle.

The rest of the day was a miracle as well. During area cleaning, all 3 of us requested if we can not do area cleaning because its out sabbath. None of our superiors got angry, and allowed us to sit and worship at one side. During the next excercise that day, all our superiors allowed us to do the same thing. Any pushups our platoon/company had to do, they allowed us to pay them back during the week. At the end of the day, they let us go off at the same time as everyone else, without penalising us for keeping our sabbath.

I have never seen God work so miraculously before. Never. This is truely a miracle. I am in awe and amazement at what God can do. All 3 of us have grown tremendously during this weekend. The decision to stand for the sabbath was one of the hardest decisions any of us had to make, with possibly one of the worst consequences any of us have ever faced. Some of us, including me, were almost worried and scared to tears. But the consequences didn't materialise, and we were let off. God is truely awesome.

This is in the first week. All we can do now is pray that the same will happen on the second week, and the third and so on. It's all up to the corporals, seargents, drill instructors and PTIs to whether they will let us off. Pray for us, please. We need your prayers. For all that prayed, thank you so much. We still need them this week. Whatever comes our way, we will stand for God and not waver. By God's strength there is nothing we cannot do. For if God is for us, who can be against us?

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

-2 Corinthians 4 : 7-18