Alright...we've finally come to te final 7 hours of the survival camp...and I'll be taking you through a series of events that happened in those final closing moments...
2.00 am (final day) : Everyone seems tired out after a very very trying day...so they all decided to call it a night...all of them stayed together under the leader's shelter. This was done not because their shelter was poor. In fact, they all had pretty good shelters erected. This was done with the safety of the campers in mind. Some decided to keep the fire going and continued to cook their dinner...Always keep the fire going. A very important rule in Survival Camp...and also in life!
12.30 am : In the silence of the night...all of a sudden, Cheryl wakes up and asks loudly, "What time is it, ha?" And as expected, we all shouted..."Sleeeeeeep lar!!!"
12.45 am : So far so good...everyone seems asleep...the silence of the night was broken by an eerie noise which sounded like wild boars. Those who heard it...kept silent...waiting to see if something would appear before us...to our surprise, it was Cmdr. Jeff's snore. And then another snore came from little man, Daniel. And then another...and then another...it was like...an orchestra! We have the high-pitched ones...as well as the low-bass ones...amazing. Gave each of them a whack and the kept silent...
2.00 am : I was awaken by voices nearby to where we were sleeping. Apparently, some of the ranger girls were awake..and they were trying to keep the fire going. Phaik Joo, Lisa, Cheryl, Amy Joy...they were all there...as expected. I guess they couldn't really sleep with all those noises and not forgetting...the smell of wet socks all around the camp.
2.15 am : Tried to sleep but was awaken by a comotion. Lup Yan was looking for a buddy to follow him go do his..erhmm..'small business'. Many were invited...but neither wanted to follow him as the rest didn't feel the need to. Not too sure what happened after that. But I guess he managed to force someone to follow him....threatening to pee all over the campsite.
4.00 am : Practically everyone was up...Cmdr Kenny was clearly disturbed by the noise. Heard Phaik Joo clearly saying how sad she was that it hadn't rain during the camp. She even said a prayer...asking God to let it rain...cant really blame her. After all, she hasn't taken her bath yet, played with a chicken all day long, and started to smell funny too. Let me tell you...God certainly has a funny side in Him...and those of you who thought our prayers weren't powerful....think again.
6.00 am : Thanks to Phaik Joo's prayer, it rained. And it started to rain elephant and cows! Everyone started scrambling and headed back to their shelter...desperately looking for their ponchos. The night was cold...and when it started to rain, it began to freeze. Most of them were shiverring...I was...all we could do was to wait and pray that the rain would stop, hopefully.
6.20 am : Went to check on the other campers...to see how they were doin. The girls seemed fine. The guys...not too sure. Found Lup Yan stranded in one corner of the jungle. He had no idea where his torchlight is...and thus, couldn't go very far. And so he decided to just stand in the rain, under the trees. There were supposed to be 7 guys across the river in their shelters...from a distance, I could only see 5 of them. Began to get worried. But then I realized...Daniel and Joshua were doing their 'natural camouflage' thingie...looked for them carefully, and I finally saw their eyes.
6.45 am : The campers began to start packing up and dismantling their shelters. The rain had finally stopped. Things got a bit brighter as the sun began to rise. What a comforting sight. After going through a night of darkness...finally there's light at the end. The campers slowly made their way out of the forest...all wet, but glad and satisfied that the testing is finally over.
7.00 am : Everyone's now gathered at the car park...the girls made a make shift 'changing room' using towels and ponchos. The guys...as usual...there's a tarzan in each one of them....had no problem changing in public...Now that we've changed and freshen up, we're ready to go home! Everyone loaded up into the van and car...and as we left that place, we cant help but feel that this camp has taught us many things and showed us many things about ourselves.
7.15 am : There was an eerie silence in the van...everyone was finally asleep and finally charlie's angels we're QUIET! Not bad...another golden moment in life. The drive back was uneventful. Had the usual suspects Shaun and Daniel Raj keeping me awake and entertained. Thank God for William as my co-pilot...he seems to know his way around this area quite well...
8.45 am : Reached Klang safe and sound. After much prayer and consideration...looking at our adverse condition..we decided to give ourselves a treat by going for Bak Kut Teh for our breakfast. Klang BKT...simply lovely! And after what we've been through, even the tea tasted soooooo good! Everyone ate till they could not contain any more. Oh btw, our dear Cmdr Jeffrey decided to bring home a little surprise back from the jungle...to his amazament, a huge fat leech pooped out from his shoes and decided to go for a walk after such a heavy meal. Full of blood, this leech could hardly move around freely. What a sight...
9.45 am : Reached church compound. Unloaded all the stuff back into the cabin, cleaned the van...and we were on our way back home.
The past 24 hours has been life-changing...looking at the Expedition Rangers...when they entered the jungle, they were merely boys and girls. But as they left that forest, they came out as young men and women...The obstacles they faced during the camp..hunger, stress, tiredness, giving up, stretching ourselves, going the extra mile, frustrations....these are some of the things that will continue to hinder us in our lives. But as I looked at their response, they countered all these challenges with determination, team work, dedication, a spirit of togetherness, never giving up, always keeping their spirits high, and most of all...showing the will to succeed.
I personally believe in this type of training methods. There's always something for me to learn after every survival camp I attend...it helped me become a simpler person, less complicated and most of all, it made me cherish the things we take for granted. And we constantly need to be reminded of these basic things in life. It has also reminded me time and time again, that I need God. We need to learn to put our trust in God...trusting Him in ALL things. God...He's in church on sundays, he's in rooms when we pray, and I knew for sure that He was watching over us that night in the camp. I pray that this camp will change the lives of the rangers that went through it...just as it has changed mine. Keep a lookout for the 7th edition of Survival Camp...God bless!
"Do you have what it takes to be a Survivor?"
