There was "no mercy" shown.
'Shoot to kill' was the order of the day.
It was brutal.
It was a war zone.
It was muddy.
The field was covered with blood... turns out, the blood was orange in colour.
That was the scene at Padang Brown on an early Saturday morning. My church Young Adult Connect Group took part in a paintball outing. We wanted to get a taste of what it's like to be Rambo for a day. Yea, time to put those action movies we've been watching to some good use.
I think for most of us, it was a dread waking up early on a Saturday morning. But I guess the thought of gunning down a friend was a good enough reason to do so. To add a little "action" to the activity, the night before it rained cats and dogs. Apa lagi.. The field was all out muddy. Yea, talk about getting down and dirty. Some of us even had the thought of executing those ridiculous Matrix/Max Payne/John Woo-type slip and slidin' action moves. Well, let me assure you it never works in real life. You'd probably slip without much luck on the sliding part.
As you can see, it was all soggy and muddy out there.
Anyway, we were divided into four groups respectively led by Jeffrey, Kenny, Chris and Natasja, a new friend but dangerously experienced. All in all, each team were given a fair chance of 4 rounds. Most of us were pretty new to this whole paintballing thing while others were deemed veterans. Some were afraid of getting shot due to the much talked about aftermath bruises and pain. While others were just thinking about how to get a head shot. Teams were strategising on how to cover the field as wide as possible and as efficient as they can. Just look at this team...
"Ok, lu orang lari sana.. Kita orang lari sini.. Jangan bagi muka tau..
Nampak apa-apa yang bergerak, tembak saje!"
And of course, there were others who were just trying to look good even in the midst of a war...
"Yea, let's show em' the real terminators...
No 'Salvation' for them!"
(Pun intended).
By the end of the fourth round, we were all pretty much smeared with orange-coloured 'blood'. Amazingly though, some remained 'unblemished'.
Still so clean... Must be hiding behind those obstacle barriers...
Tsk tsk tsk..
Itu macam baru betui... Brutality wounded.
And there were some who enjoy getting shot at... Like James...
"WEEEeeeeee... I got shot in the face! Let's do it again!... Mmmm.. Taste pretty good too!"
At the end of the day, we all had a great deal of fun. For us as a Connect Group, it was an added joy to have so many new faces joining us for the activity. Indeed, they have been a blessing to us not just as team mates in the war zone but as new friends who have taken time out to join us on a dreadfully early Saturday morning. Thanks guys! It was a pleasure shooting you! I mean knowing you... =P
The day ended with Penny, our paintball coordinator (thank you for the very well planned outing!), summarizing the lesson behind the activity. As she puts it, we as human beings will always need some sort of support from family and friends, be it at home or work. Illustrated in our game of paintball, strategies didn't work because we get to absorbed in protecting ourselves so much so that we forget to "cover" our team mates, leaving ourselves as well as our team mates wide open in a deadly war zone. Likewise, more often than not in our daily lives, we get strayed away in doing our own personal agendas that we neglect the people around us, not realizing that we deprive not just them, but even ourselves of support.
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return in their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls down and have no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken".
Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 (NIV)
Penny debriefing all of us after a satisfying session of shooting each other down.
Poh Sim had her fair share of sharing... Hers was a little... er... unique...
"Ok, everybody.. My name is DIANA Saw... Now, say that really fast...
Di-ana-sawww!..."
It was a good reminder to all of us that we all need a certain kind of support. Ultimately, as Christians, we realize that our reliance of support in our Almighty God is of the utmost importance. In the little things, in the big things, whatever it may be, He will always be there to guide us, support us, correct us and love us. What separates us from God is that He never leaves us, humans do. In times when we give up on somebody and yes, even ourselves, God doesn't. He is always there ready to pick us up. The question is, are we willing to receive His helping hand?
Truly, God is by far the greatest support we can ever have!
He will cover you through and through for sure! :)
All the Rambos wannabes!
Paintball, 4th April 2009, Padang Brown.
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