I'll keep this relatively short because I've personally become rather tired of churning out long extended recollections of my life in camp. I would love to have a detailed and edited record of it on my blog, but that simply takes too much time away from me, so at the very least, for this week, things will be a tad bit condensed.

10.07.12 - 14.07.12

Genesis 48:15 - "God has fed me all my life long to this day"

One must cling on to hope, always. Jehovah Nissi - that was what the sermon on Sunday (8 July) was about, and it was a crucial and timely reminder to claim the victory that God's care would offer me, despite the everyday battles. I needed it - it was a long week, with all that was done for the preparations for the battalion's 50th anniversary parade.

Interestingly, I started off as being a reserve fella for the parade, where it was only in the event that people failed to turn up that I would be activated. I can't say that I didn't think I would eventually be roped in to participate in the actual parade, but I did hope to be excluded from it.

Rehearsals (for anything) are tiring. Rehearsals for marching parades are more than just tiring, especially when the scorching sun (pardon the cliched phrase here). It drained your mental resolve and your physical spirit. Thankfully, moments of respite came here and there, as there were some mornings that proved to be less less than sunny, and some afternoons where drizzles or showers proved a balm.

I was in the end drafted to be in the parade contingent - the rate of people taking MCs in the camp is simply remarkable. Personally, I haven't taken (a proper) one yet, especially not to escape my duties as some people do. Because of that, I wasn't free to merely sit by and watch the parade contingent do their rehearsals (the reserves have it really good - they sit out of the sun, and for some companies, they are even allowed to rest in their bunks). But the Lord was my refuge - the official army (in-camp) week came to a close, and all that was left was the NDP parade duties on Saturday.

Saturday, like the week, proved to be quite challenging, especially towards the end. The beginning part was fine; (most of) the of the day was ours to spend (our duties were at night). I caught a movie - Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter; if you're intending to watch it, don't. The storyline is simply atrocious, the only saving grace of the movie is its visuals (Tim Burton would probably be the one to thank for this). Midways through the movie, a section-mate called me, asking me to take over his duty slot - he really should have asked earlier; he has this tendency to try to offload his responsibilities at the last minute, much to the inconvenience of others. Needless to say, I told him it would be really difficult. Had he told me the reason of him wanting to spend time with his girlfriend (as he only did later on), I might have reconsidered. But at the very least, give me a reason, if not earlier notice - the duty schedule was out at the start of the day. Some people really must learn to plan. Regardless, I felt quite bad upon finding out later on. That aside, the real tough part of the day was the long hours - due to certain communication hiccups between the SAF and the F1 planning committee, certain barricades we had placed had to be removed; we only left the place at 11.45pm, and we had to book-in the next day at night. It wasn't exciting. It was a frustrating moment.

16.07.12 - 21.07.12

God will provide - that was what the sermon on Sunday was about. Which made this verse that I had discovered the week before rather pertinent:

Romans 8:25 - "But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."

Trials come and go, but throughout, God will provide, albeit in rather unexpected manners. This week was one such provision - it was a week of respite.

The parade was on Monday evening, and because of that, we had to return to camp on Sunday night; it wasn't pleasant, but it was justified. Preparations had to be done Monday morning, as did a last minute rehearsal.

It came and went, finally, and the parade was a lot more manageable as opposed to the 10+ full-run rehearsals that we did prior to the actual one. Perhaps it was the sense of anticipation in getting it over and done with that offered this sense of comfort.

The rest of the week was really, (pardon the bad pun) restful. Apart from IPPT training on Tuesday (which led to my thighs hurting like mad), and IPPT on Wednesday (which I conveniently didn't pass - I just can't do it), things went really smoothly. We booked out Wednesday afternoon just after 1pm, and that gave me a good time of rest till the next day. Thursday was Battalion Cohesion day - we were all at Sentosa - I don't have much to say about that other than the fact that everyone was just waiting for the activities to be over such that they could book-out and rest till their Saturday NDP duties.

And basically, that was the week, in a nutshell.

Next week won't be as forgiving as this - with the 50th Anniversary Parade over and done with, we now have our Section Battle Course to focus on. I'm not looking forward to that, but God is my source of help. I may have wrote that "everyday, no matter how relaxed or easy it may seem to be, will undoubtedly be a struggle", but I must trust that I am not alone in my struggles, and I must learn to gain from these struggles - consciously.