Blue Ballad

Last week, I participated in a
TEENager retreat held by teenager fellowship of Methodist Imanuel (okay, I know
I’m not a teenager anymore, but was there anything wrong with my joining that
retreat? I don’t think so!) and… it was great… why? Now, dude, here we go
again!

Initially, we would get on the bus on seven or something, BUT due to some
misunderstanding, it appeared that the bus couldn’t come and whether we liked
it or not, we had to look for other buses which were available during that day
causing our schedule to be late for like two hours. To add the excitement, as
the buss was too full, I had to stand all my way from Jakarta to Puncak, which
was great… very very great… and soon as I arrived, I found myself put in a
room filled with bunch of naughty kids… whew, what excitement!

Okay, so basically, during the retreat, everything was okay, meaning that
everything was not too bad, but everything was not too good either… that’s
what I thought for the first two days. Even though those kids there were
naughty, they were actually quite obedient, and everything went smoothly…
games, sessions, discussions, everything… but I still didn’t find anyting
good. However, things were different on the third day. It was the last session
in which the preacher challenged us to take some commitments and as the priest
did so, I prayed that the Holy Spirit would knock on each person’s heart… and
you know, I was moved to tears… after my tears dried up, I opened my eyes and
saw a lot, and by a lot here I mean A LOT of teenagers moved forward to take
those commitments. I was speechless… I wanted to praise God for His mercy and
love, which is far beyond my comprehension, but I couldn’t! I was too happy
even to open my mouth… then everything just went hectic, hehe… 

The next day, during the testimonial time, a lot of teenagers testified and
at the end of that, some people were moved to tears, and among those people
was… Jackson (okay, dude! Forgive me for putting your name here without your
permission or consent, just let it be, okay? ^_^). Man, if I look far behind, way
back then when I wanted to attend my study in Yogyakarta, this Jackson boy made
a promise to me… that he would be a better man when I came back, and it
happened! He has come to know what the reason to cry is, which is good. Okay,
to shorten things, we (all the participants) went home and due to some circumstances,
once again I had to stand all my way from Puncak to Jakarta. Whew! What a
retreat! Full of fatique, and also bliss…  

You know what? Everything brings me to one big conclusion, that is… I
just love this place, the teenager fellowship of Methodist Imanuel. I was born
there (spiritually), I found my friends and community there, I met my most
special person there, and above all… I got to know my God there, and I can’t
deny the fact that I just love this
place too much. You know what? Those people there are like my lil’ bros and
sis’. I love ‘em, I’m glad my existence means something for ‘em. Out of all
happiness I’ve ever got, knowing Jesus might be the best, but the happiness of
seeing those teenagers knowing Jesus comes second.

Man… in the end… His love is so wonderful, and His grace is so
bountiful… let all glory be His! GBU guys!