9th Round Up – From a Parent
I would like thank the Lord for the opportunity to attend the 9th Rangers Round up held during the June holidays in the MOE Dairy Farm Adventure Camp. Though I have never been part of the Ranger’s program, I have been blessed as I sensed the dedication of the commanders in leading the children in the camp. It is no wonder how God is using the Royal Rangers program through the commanders to build the physical, social, mental and spiritual life of every child. God speaks in many ways to individuals in the camp. For some it was through the nightly services where I saw many young Rangers giving themselves to God’s service. It was great to see God working through the lives of the campers from the very young to the older ones.
As for me, it was a lesson on being bold and courageous. One of the evenings, we had a night activity where we had to walk through the very dark track to evade “enemies”. Along the way, we had to find words along the trail, use the words to form a phrase which was part of a verse in the bible. The verse was from Deut 31:6 where Moses exhorted the Israelites to be strong and courageous to enter the promised land. The verse did not mean anything to me until I had to go through zipline the next day. Going through the zipline was fun for most people but it was not for me even though I have done it a few times before. This is probably the highest zipline I have experienced with a sharp vertical drop when you launch off from the tower. God taught me a few lessons from the experience. First, I learnt about what it means to be strong and courageous by experiencing what it felt by being weak and scared. I admit feeling weak in my knees just standing at the edge of the opening where I was to launch off the tower. I was so afraid of dropping off the tower when the instructor was fastening the Karabiners that I held on to the pillar. I understood how Joshua must have felt when God asked him to attack fortified cities with his smaller army. To overcome the fear I need to be bold and courageous by trusting God. Second, to go down the zipline I must launch off from the tower. I remembered the instructor telling us at the top of the tower that we only need to lean forward and let our weight become the momentum to carry us forward. In fact, jumping out from the tower may result in injury. It was really something very simple to do on the tower. Part of being bold and courageous is to launch forward, do the things that I am afraid and allow God to carry me through. God will give us the momentum as we rest our weight fully on him. I thank the Lord for the verse and experience to understand what the verse meant. There will be situations in our lives when we may feel afraid, weak and incapable. It is during these times that God wants us to be bold and courageous and allow Him to carry us through if we launch forward.
I would like to thank the Royal Rangers commanders for allowing me to be part in the Round-up as it has been great experience for me spiritually, socially, physically and mentally. I felt refreshed after the Round-up. I am thankful for the opportunity to interact with many kids especially those in my patrol as I learnt what is meant to be a Royal Ranger.
God Bless.
