ASK-ing back

It was during one of the newly elected committee meeting back in 2013, the thirteen of us sat around in a circle in the house's living room on a Thursday evening, the announcement by the then-chairperson Jude was made; we are going to organise the Catholic Student's Society 2nd Annual camp. It was there that Jude and Vincent, the vice chairperson announced the organising committee to which would execute the society's biggest annual event. The camp itself wasn't only a point of interest but the journey towards it was what defined how it turned out. 

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Looking back to two years ago, the ASK camp; a name which was decided after a long discussion among ourselves, made me realise how complicated and tough it was leading a group of people whom we sometimes refer to as a family away from home. The indelible mark on our souls and mind left by the camp's journey was a lesson for the fifteen of us to realise that working together for a greater purpose isn't as easy as it was; the challenge, I can say for myself, was that despite organising a camp, we constantly had to keep in mind that the camp was for a greater purpose - to spread the love and message of God. 

The ASK camp was carried out with respect to the Gospel reading of Matthew chapter 7 verses seven to eight; because of the acronym that the word ASK itself represented, besides that, it was a challenge for us to search of what we are asking for, searching for and to which door we ought to knock. To that, the question we asked was about our human purpose in life through God's divine plan in which we spoke about our human body (referencing to St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body). The  "seek-ing" was about what in life that we can search for and how do we attain happiness and joyfulness through Christ. The door which we knock was about the source and summit  of our Christian life - the very sacrifice of Jesus, celebrated every day - the Mass. 

The camp opened up a vista of events that after going through it made me realise that the intentions of the heart if not properly shown by our words and action will only bring a misunderstanding amongst the one we love. The camp as I have seen it was an invitation to really understand that believing in your faith is as important as living it out; I was blessed to have worked with a team which was not only eager to learn about things beyond themselves but also the tolerance and forgiveness they had between and for each other. 

I'm going to be honest and say that working together for a camp in the name of Christ is one of the hardest and most challenging things one can face. First of all, no matter how hard we have to work with the pressure of our studies and social life, we have to put aside what extra time we had for the camp. Secondly, no matter how much we abhorred the work ethics of our fellow friends, we had to continue and  remind ourselves that what we work for is for the greater good. Thirdly, only after working together we realise that some relationships will change after this and it might be hard returning to the way things were. All the nights of discussion and preparation, all the long meetings and the multitude of laughter and tears, was a shared experience we had in growing towards a betterment of ourselves. 

Looking back at 2013 up till the camp in the following year, made me realise how we the CSS was still a community that was very much in growth - suffice to say that what we face today by the newer members of this family will never know the difference in struggle we had a few years back. 

Throughout the time working for this camp, relationship with one another grew stronger and the opposite too occurred. Then again, what is life without its ups and downs? The end result of it was that I believe each one of us, grew in faith and in trust for the Lord. 

Though it has been two years since, I would still like to thank the amazing team which God had put in place; from Megan, whom was wise to see the things that I couldn't see, to Jude and Sarah whose  lesson was that patience will lead to honesty, to Cynthia, whom God has taught to grow and taught me that each one of us are gifted, to Jasreena and Cecilia, whose perseverance taught me to trust God more, to Calista and Emily, whose child-like joy and optimism brought brightness to the group, to Matilda,  that any idea is worth sharing and to be discerned. To Christopher, whom taught me that perspective of how and what things are vital to getting things done; to Vincent, who showed me that once promising to something we stand by it till the end; to Nicholas and Samantha, who showed me that practice leads to new ideas and from new ideas to sometimes surprising ourselves; and Samuel, who taught me that all of us will always have room to learn. 

All in all, each one of them taught me that love of Christ surpasses all (Eph 3:19) the challenges and hardships which we endure. Furthermore that sometimes not only what the mouth speaks shows what the heart is full (Luke 6:45) but our actions and reactions matter just as much. 

This picture was added because notice that the mattress is mid-air.