We have run a church camp in June every year since we started. Except for the first camp in 1999, all of them have been held in Malaysia. As we prepare once again for the annual pilgrimage up north, I feel so thankful that I have not had to miss a single one of the fourteen camps.

This unbroken record is especially remarkable in view of the 4 children that God has graciously blessed us with in 8 years. At times, going for the camp has been rather challenging. My second child was born in mid-May, which meant driving all the way up to Genting Highlands with a one-month-old baby. I still shudder when I think back about negotiating our pram through the countless escalators and stairs for moving anywhere in the hotel. My third child, on the other hand, was due for delivery in late June. As my first two children had both arrived early, there was a high likelihood that he might decide to make an entrance during the camp itself if we went ahead. When my wife’s obstetrician realised that he could not dissuade us, he advised us to register first at the local hospital in Subang just in case, which we did. It would still have been very tricky if my wife had gone into labour on the long drive there or back. I actually know someone whose place of birth is indicated on her birth certificate as “in a vehicle along Bukit Timah Road”. I suppose I would have had to substitute that with “in a vehicle along the North-South Highway”!

Why had we gone to such great lengths, put up with so much inconvenience, and borne significant risks to maintain this record? I’m sure it was not because I was the pastor (actually I was still a layperson for the first 3 camps). After all, we had guest speakers at all the camps, and my absence would not have made all that much of a difference. I have no doubt the church members would have been enlightened enough to excuse me if we had really felt the need to stay home. I’m also confident it was not due to a misplaced pharisaic zeal to fulfill some legalistic requirement I perceive to be a yardstick of spirituality. This is not primarily a moral or spiritual issue. Otherwise, we would appoint church leaders based on the number of church camps they have consistently attended.

So why did we do it? I think it was simply this: all of us do certain things in life which we consider so important that we doggedly carry on doing them, no matter what the challenges involved, and no matter how the circumstances change. We will find ways to work round new obstacles, mitigate additional risks, and put up with any extra inconvenience, but by God, we will keep on doing them. Most of us view our jobs that way, and raising our children too. We have decided long in advance that that’s the way things are going to be, and we no longer entertain the option of reconsidering or compromising on such matters.

The last thing I want to do is to lay any guilt on anyone. It was not so long ago when my children were still at the stage of utter dependence and helplessness. Believe me, I feel tremendous empathy whenever I see young parents struggling with their babies. My point is simply that when we decide to make certain things non-negotiable because we desire to honour God, however hard that may be, we begin to discover that his grace is sufficient for us. God certainly will not judge us when we feel that we really cannot cope. On the other hand, he will certainly uphold and bless us when we decide to go ahead anyway and cope in his power.

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Blessings,
Senior Pastor Wang Tiak Kweng