Living Spring 活泉-Vol8-2016

nature. All beginnings are hard, but as Chaim Potok also
says, we survive our beginnings. So if anyone of you can
get your arms around my rotund girth, I’m open to hug
practice any time.
A Fall Worth Taking
During one of the games, I literally fell
victim to a mighty butt from a gentle
lady half my size who I had erroneously
thought I could easily vanquish simply
by bending over (mass times velocity
and all that). Instead, I flew headlong
into the pebbly earth and collected
a mouthful of dirt, a cut forehead and
upper lip, and unexpected demonstrations
of gentleness and concern from people who
were hitherto strangers.
Several hands immediately helped up my 60-year-old,
220-pound body, and I quickly received medical attention
from Sis. Charmain and later on from Bro. Mark. But
throughout that day and the next, lots of individuals
whom I didn’t know, young and old, stopped to ask about
my welfare. How (and especially why, considering how
very minor the injuries were) the news had so rapidly
spread from a remote corner of the Centre to numerous
people in such a short time, I shall never know. I can only
assume that the young people, in particular, took to heart
the mention from the pulpit that they should look after
the senior citizens during the games. That spontaneous
show of concern from so many was a surprise to me.
It’s a memory that’s etched into my mind and I happily
look at my unexpected fall as one that was well worth
taking.
Sometimes, we never truly see beauty until a price has
been paid for it.
Originality in Action
It was plain to me that much
work had gone into planning the
retreat and never was it more
obvious than during the second
night of the Camp. I was blown
away by how creatively the
Prayer Night session was put
together. Almost all the built-up
public spaces of the Centre were
used to full advantage. The sheer
breadth of the prayer site took my breath
away. Talk about being dynamic!
The entire session began with a perfectly timed and
sombre introduction and invitation to the night, with
minimal instructions on what to do and an assurance
that we would find those out on our own. The next hour
and a half saw an unusual mix of silent individual yet
collective prayer. It was guided, specific and focused,
yet wide-ranging and open to choice. Our hands were
clasped in prayer, yet they drew pictures and wrote words
too. We stood still but we also moved, climbed stairs and
walked. We interceded for others and people groups half
a world away, but also engaged in inward self-discovery
and unutterable pleadings from the depths of broken
hearts in the quietness of the chapel.
I walked back to my room that night with a spring in my
step, having witnessed the inventiveness of the young
planners to do things differently in a refreshingly novel
way. They gave the concept of praying with our whole
being an entirely new meaning.
I didn’t have the chance to personally thank every single
person who had put so much effort into making the three
days and two nights such a success, so I do so now.
Thank you!
TESTIMONY
Living Spring
21