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Not since 2006 had we attended 2 church camps, back-to-back. But this year, we did! Back in 2006, we had 5 children and this time around, we had 7. And to complicate matters, we had to bring our own food along for the 3 of us due to our food sensitivities. It was…complicated…and tiring! (The last time I had to bring food along during a Church camp was for one child, back in 2012, Travelling on a restricted diet).

Manning the book table with a cheerful attitude
Manning the book table with a cheerful attitude

When Henson accepted the invitation to speak at Bartley Christian Church‘s zone camp in Batam and at the annual church camp organised by Hakka Methodist Church in Bintan, our food sensitivities were mild. Therefore, when we were offered a chance to tag along, I didn’t hesitate to say yes and thought that we would just wing it, as we did on family vacations. But in the weeks leading up to the camp, the skin rashes turned aggressive and even one meal out (for a birthday celebration) caused much discomfort. What made it worse was that the usual dose of antihistamine failed to stem the itch, which of course led to broken skin, which in turn led to much screaming and crying during shower time. Sigh. One meal.

The littlest 2, kept occupied with the stiff I brought along
The littlest 2, kept occupied with the stuff I brought along

So the thought of us eating 7 to 10 meals out scared me! I purposed then to cook, freeze and bring along food for the 3 of us who suffered most : the 6 and 8 year old, and myself. And we made it! We actually enjoyed our meals and it was manageable. To me, it was worth the hassle and stress of planning and cooking in bulk, and then freezing all the food, including snacks, the week before. To not have them scratch incessantly and scream in the shower was really worth it.

Our official photographer
Our official photographer

For the little ones, attending the camps was like a mini vacation 🙂 Due to the way the camps were structured, we would all sit in for Henson’s teachings in the mornings and get the afternoon off, either playing in the pool (younger ones) or playing table tennis (the older ones). During the teaching sessions, the young ones either sat with me and did stuff I brought along (Bartley) or watched movies (Hakka MC).The older ones also had fun playing games with the youths of Hakka MC after each teaching session. The children also helped by ministering in worship and/or manning the book table, and looking cute 😀 It was tiring for Henson and myself since we were both working but it was such a privilege to have the whole family ministering together.

For more photos, check out The Lim Tribe : Serving the Lord Together.

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