You know the more I look at army life the more I see my schooling life. Every single week you dread monday, and look on in anticipation at the company of friends at the same time. Every single week you learn something new, you forge new bonds, you take tests.
Nothing much has changed. And thats the surprising thing. I'm still me, I'm still doing the same things, I'm still learning.
Highlights of the week:
1. 16km route march
Didn't look forward to it at all cos 12km was a nightmare for me. (Thanks to those blisters) Took extra precaution against blisters just in case. (Which I didn't need actually) So no injuries sustained at all. The pace at the first and last 4km was crazy. We were practically fast marching. But the good thing was that we kept singing random well known boyband songs to keep our morale up.
I was marching somewhere at the front, helping the weaker ones catch up. Kept having to lift bags for people to help them chiong to close up the gaps. I think I did a good job. =) The last 4km ended with a detour... We were nearing our company line when the conducting officer decided to bypass it and go one round. It was quite demoralising but nothing we couldn't handle.
2. Shooting
Went to the live range. Was the first platoon to shoot. Honestly it wasn't as tough as I thought. The weather conditions didn't make it much different from the situation experienced in the arcade range. The targets were bigger than in the arcade.
But the surprising thing is the recoil of the weapon. If you're not steady you may get knocked off your feet when you shoot in squatting position. Other than that we did a lot of bumming around and waiting for our turn. After the shoot we reached back at 2am and slept at 3am. The good thing: get to wake up at 10am and stay in our bunk while the other platoons went to shoot. Heh.
3. IPPT
Silver! The first time in a long time I've ever attained that standard. Ran 11:03. Not too shabby IMO considering I've always ran 12+ in JC. I'm just glad I made the cut. Proud of my section. All of us got silver and above. 8 pull ups, SBJ of 234cm, 10:2 for shuttle run and 49 sit ups.
Dreaded IPPT when it came, but God definitely pulled me through. And I'm really glad for that.
***
Ok so back to the civilian world. Went for class outing at PS yesterday. Had a BK snack, then proceeded to Paradiz for pool. Did considerably well, shot pretty accurately, broke nicely, but sometimes got careless. Didn't place the ball that well, but happy with my performance.
So after that we went back to PS to browse books. Saw a couple of interesting fiction books that I may buy. And also want to get some Jap learning books as well as a cookbook soon. I think that will be during my block leave.
Went to JJ's birthday celebration afterwards, then to join Gerald, David and Benedict at the Hilton to listen to the singer at the coffeehouse. She's really good. The pianist too. But most of the songs I didn't know. The song I requested was Meaning by Gavin DeGraw... Really like it. But she didn't sing it.
***
Reading the book "Leadership Excellence" by Phil Pringle. Learning a lot of things that I'm trying to apply to the decisions I make pertaining to the worship ministry. And one thing I believe in is being firm in our standards.
All along YE worship ministry has been recruiting members based on who wanted to serve. That we can still continue, but for the musician to "make the cut" I think we now have to enforce a certain level of spiritual understanding the person has to have.
How to handle hubris, how to handle disappointment and stress, the heart of God for his people in worship, the significance of the act of worship, the attitude of worship, a spirit of Godly living and the undying perseverence that will bring you through from YE worship to main service and even beyond has to be there before we can allow someone to play. And thats something we have to start teaching now and be adamant about.
Well I know that most Christians should already know the things above. But as leaders, we have to make absolutely clear our expectations and God's expectations from a musician, and ensure that the person adheres to that.
Thats the first thing I would like to put firmly as a leader. We haven't enforced this before, but for the sake of the future of the worship ministry, now is the time to do it, even if we're hard pressed for musicians.
So God's dear musicians, if you're reading this, try to keep in mind the things you need to be clear about when you serve. May your heart be right every single time your hand touches your instrument. I pray for the worship ministry, that all we do may be for God and God alone.
Nothing much has changed. And thats the surprising thing. I'm still me, I'm still doing the same things, I'm still learning.
Highlights of the week:
1. 16km route march
Didn't look forward to it at all cos 12km was a nightmare for me. (Thanks to those blisters) Took extra precaution against blisters just in case. (Which I didn't need actually) So no injuries sustained at all. The pace at the first and last 4km was crazy. We were practically fast marching. But the good thing was that we kept singing random well known boyband songs to keep our morale up.
I was marching somewhere at the front, helping the weaker ones catch up. Kept having to lift bags for people to help them chiong to close up the gaps. I think I did a good job. =) The last 4km ended with a detour... We were nearing our company line when the conducting officer decided to bypass it and go one round. It was quite demoralising but nothing we couldn't handle.
2. Shooting
Went to the live range. Was the first platoon to shoot. Honestly it wasn't as tough as I thought. The weather conditions didn't make it much different from the situation experienced in the arcade range. The targets were bigger than in the arcade.
But the surprising thing is the recoil of the weapon. If you're not steady you may get knocked off your feet when you shoot in squatting position. Other than that we did a lot of bumming around and waiting for our turn. After the shoot we reached back at 2am and slept at 3am. The good thing: get to wake up at 10am and stay in our bunk while the other platoons went to shoot. Heh.
3. IPPT
Silver! The first time in a long time I've ever attained that standard. Ran 11:03. Not too shabby IMO considering I've always ran 12+ in JC. I'm just glad I made the cut. Proud of my section. All of us got silver and above. 8 pull ups, SBJ of 234cm, 10:2 for shuttle run and 49 sit ups.
Dreaded IPPT when it came, but God definitely pulled me through. And I'm really glad for that.
***
Ok so back to the civilian world. Went for class outing at PS yesterday. Had a BK snack, then proceeded to Paradiz for pool. Did considerably well, shot pretty accurately, broke nicely, but sometimes got careless. Didn't place the ball that well, but happy with my performance.
So after that we went back to PS to browse books. Saw a couple of interesting fiction books that I may buy. And also want to get some Jap learning books as well as a cookbook soon. I think that will be during my block leave.
Went to JJ's birthday celebration afterwards, then to join Gerald, David and Benedict at the Hilton to listen to the singer at the coffeehouse. She's really good. The pianist too. But most of the songs I didn't know. The song I requested was Meaning by Gavin DeGraw... Really like it. But she didn't sing it.
***
Reading the book "Leadership Excellence" by Phil Pringle. Learning a lot of things that I'm trying to apply to the decisions I make pertaining to the worship ministry. And one thing I believe in is being firm in our standards.
All along YE worship ministry has been recruiting members based on who wanted to serve. That we can still continue, but for the musician to "make the cut" I think we now have to enforce a certain level of spiritual understanding the person has to have.
How to handle hubris, how to handle disappointment and stress, the heart of God for his people in worship, the significance of the act of worship, the attitude of worship, a spirit of Godly living and the undying perseverence that will bring you through from YE worship to main service and even beyond has to be there before we can allow someone to play. And thats something we have to start teaching now and be adamant about.
Well I know that most Christians should already know the things above. But as leaders, we have to make absolutely clear our expectations and God's expectations from a musician, and ensure that the person adheres to that.
Thats the first thing I would like to put firmly as a leader. We haven't enforced this before, but for the sake of the future of the worship ministry, now is the time to do it, even if we're hard pressed for musicians.
So God's dear musicians, if you're reading this, try to keep in mind the things you need to be clear about when you serve. May your heart be right every single time your hand touches your instrument. I pray for the worship ministry, that all we do may be for God and God alone.
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