All Church Retreat 2022

 This year's All Church Retreat... 又告一段落。 

It started 5 months ago when the Elders invited the MA's to help with planning.  It was a weird transition... because the mantle was not clear upon passing.  Were the elders running the show... or the MA's.  Be that as it may... I did my usual backseat driver mode and eventually started running the show. Will be glad to step away from these leadership roles in the coming season.

Some afterthoughts... 

• One church... many cultures.  It's so hard to please everyone.  We're all so different. 
• Being the voice of the team... I inadvertently got CS all the prime spots.  Dinner.  Rooms. Adventures. Games.  I have my allegiance. And when the other congregations fall silent.. the loud voice prevails.
• Rally of Church - a little dream of mine that I nearly nixed.  But ultimately secured my spot in SJCAC history.  It was obvious when the song was blasted that my finger prints were all over it. 
• CS performances are simply one notch above the rest. We take it for real.
• MS dancers are a force to be reckoned with... they don't share the same pomp and circumstance as CS does... but when they're on stage... they bring a presence.
• MC-ing the event. I MC'ed the 40th anniversary event... and I knew there was no one else better suited to MC this event.  Finding a partner to match me was tough billing... but MS did it.  Joyce Tran matched me stride for stride. 
• Saturday night... as everyone was turning in... we hear this chorus of singing from a fire pit.  Everyone looked around and wondered what was happening.  Me being me... I approached our MS brethen who, with opened cans of budweiser, were singing Chinese folk songs from the 1950's. They were not ashamed. And I was proud to stand in their midst.
• As great as I think I am... my inability to control the Mandarin language was too apparent. I need more practice.
• The All Church Games and Ultimate Tag was a hit. Kudos to Roy and Warming for their creativity and pursuit of togetherness.
• CS takes the lead.  Snack Team.  Adventures Team. Activities Team. For some odd reason... we ended up running the entire program.
• In the midst of my pompous triumph... I can see that ES and MS all have their own ways of doing things.  People Bingo... Spiritual Dancing... Hiking... they have their own thing and they execute well. 
• Rest. Recreate. Reconnect. The theme for the retreat was perfect.  And for SW and NN... they had a chance to reconnect with their peers from pre-COVID.  SW and Daniel were inseparable. To a point where Vivian and Eric reached out to say... we gotta get together more often.  NN... in her own way... was a magnet of attention.  On the last day... I approached one of her Jr. High peers and said, "You should come back to E2.  NN really misses you." And that girl.. couldn't control it but she let out a huge smile. And that night... she messaged NN to reconnect after 2 years of ghosting.
• Never did I think I will be reading the bible with Dad.  And after that happened... never did I think that I will be praying aloud with dad.  Leveling up!!
• Speaking of dad... he for sure is aging.  He's slow. Senile. But still full of energy.  正能量。
• Watching dad play ping pong with PAL... I think that was the highlight of dad's weekend. 
• The church office team... they act behind the curtains, under the radar, to which no one notices.  But I noticed.  They're top notch servants of Christ.
• My sister Maria.  She doesn't stop.  She's a voice of truth.  She (and Mark) love this church.  She did more for this retreat than anyone would realize.  And she will go down as having zero accolades because I get the spotlight and she doesn't.  
• Age old taboo... Maria admits to me... that she dare not speak against the elders.  And she doesn't dare speak out cuz she's a woman.  I quickly admonished her for that.  Never, in my eyes, should a woman feel subservient to men.  But the truth of the matter is... we're still a male dominant church. 

There's so much more... but those are my thoughts for now.  And after this is all said and done... I have a huge withdrawal.  I find myself lost... without anything to do at nights. I need to stay busy. I need to plan.  And execute. And tell people what to do.  This stage of rest... is so restless.