Blooming.

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet several young, energetic and passionate youths from a Christian organization known as 'Youth With A Mission' (YWAM). They are currently undergoing a 6 months Sports Discipleship Training School (Sports DTS), a programme under YWAM. Part of the course is to do sports mission work at certain countries. How awesome is that??!! I was blessed enough to have the chance to work with them.

The sports ministry of Gateway City Church, Gateway Sports Network (GSN), had the privilege of hosting this vibrant group, all from seven different nations - Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Egypt, America, Singapore and our very beloved, Malaysia! The feeling of having different people from different parts of the world with different background coming together as one and worshipping together to the one same God is indescribable!

I've come to believe that whoever steps into Penang Island has got to try out this sport... otherwise, their journey here to Penang would be equivalent to that of not tasting the famous Penang Char Kuey Teow or Penang Asam Laksa... Where can like thaaatttt... Must try wan ma... Correct? :P So yea, if you ever do come by Penang Island, make sure you try this sport out... Yeah, you know what I'm talkin' about. What else...

Floorball, baby!

The moment the YWAMers' came in contact with GSN, we did not waste any time as we shared with them the good news of floorball! ;) We brought them to floorball school on Thursday afternoon for a quick 'crash course'. We also shared with them a little background on floorball and the vision behind it. It was great to see how keen these young bunch were and gosh, they were good! But little did they know, floorball school was just a warm up.

The following day, we arranged another game of floorball for them... And this time, they were in for a little competition against our very own local youths!

Bukit Jambul School (BJ) vs. YWAMers!

Both teams just started playing floorball, in fact, it's the second time for both teams to be picking up a floorball stick! So if you view it as that, then the game should be balanced out... Should be larrr... Aih, but we forgotten to take into account that Godzilla tagline -

'Size does matter'.


The guy on the left is huge and he's only 20 years old!!!!!
How can that be???!!!!??
Alien I tell you... Alien!!!

I believe the YWAMers' had heaps of fun. For me, I'm glad I was able to hit two birds with one stone - I got to connect with both the YWAMers and also the BJ'ians. It was my second floorball session with the BJ'ians and I'm glad we're all slowly beginning to connect with one another. I'm excited for them as they begin their journey of pioneering their very own floorball club in their school. Could see that the students really enjoyed the company of the YWAMers!

Who won in the end?
I can't remember.
I think it was the locals.
Hahahaha.

If they weren't playing on court, they go nuts off court! ;)

It was sad that the YWAMers' could only be in Penang for a few days. The BJ'ians' wanted them to come again but oh well... All in God's timing I guess. The YWAMers' did leave a certain mark behind even though it was just for a few hours... No doubt they helped ignite the passion for floorball amongst the students.

GSN, YWAMers' and the BJ'ians!

Apart from floorball, GSN also took the opportunity to bring them for our running activity at Bukit Dumbar park. One of the strengths of the YWAMers' is street evangelism, thus, we gave them the opportunity to utilise it. It was really encouraging to see everyone taking the initiative to go up to somebody and strike up a conversation! Two of them even managed to get connected with a veteran group of runners. Awesome! I'm not sure if it's just an Asian thing but I always find that foreigners have it easy when it comes to talking to strangers. If a Malaysian goes up to some random guy or gal just for a chat, that person would probably just freak out or give you a 'You're-weird' look. Then again, it could well be a pre-conceived notion or plain old mental tak kuat.

GCC invited the YWAMers for prayer meeting and Sunday service too. It was truly a blessing to have so many of them with us! Most of them are between 19-21 years old, the oldest being 25 years of age. As young as they were, they possessed spiritual maturity and depth anchored by a firm relationship with Christ. It's good to know that young leaders are rising up in the sports arena.

Being around this bunch really helped me fan the flame in which God has sparked within me. Their presence, sharing and testimony gave me a certain assurance of what God is doing in the sports arena. It's always reassuring and good to know that there are people out there who runs alongside you, people who also believe that, as cliche as it may sound, there is more to it than just winning medals.

After spending 4 days with this bunch, it was time to say goodbye. It was really a bummer that they couldn't be with us a little longer. Looking back, I can only thank God for bringing and partnering GSN with YWAM. It doesn't matter how small we are, God can still use it for His glory.

As I was driving back home after sending the YWAMers off, I reflected about the whole experience and He gave me an insight that made me went "WOW". Relatively speaking, GSN is still at its infancy stage but yet it's jaw-droppingly amazing to see how God's favour is upon us because not only did He provided us with an organization to partner with... He gave us the opportunity to share and to partner with 7 different nations all within the span of 4 days! WOW! Andddddd... 7 is a perfect number. What more can you ask. ;)

Thanks, Dad. You're amazing when you work your magic! Although we may still be young, it's always good to know that we're blooming in You :)

P.S.: To the YWAMers, looking forward to be working with you people again!

Making God famous through sports!