Being the Old Guard Ain't Bad ...

so a few months ago, i was fretting about being the old guard.

but it ain't bad. in fact, it's great.

in fact i'm really relishing this role and i covet the remaining time i have left. the year is gonna go by fast. only 4 years as a university student. 3 years have already gone by in a blink. one more year to come. oh that i would be a good steward of this remaining time!

i feel so privileged to be able to serve with the people i get to work with this year. not only are they men and women in pursuit of the highest calling, but they are visionary, hardworking, fun and good looking people.

this past weekend was our ST retreat -- and i'm gonna throw the guantlet down and say: it was the best servant team retreat ever.

ever.

we were gonna camp it up, but because the weather didn't permit it, we stayed @ Jordi's place instead (on a beautiful lake in Smith Falls); we made awesome food (props to the cheesecake and roast), chilled, groaned as Max shot torpedo farts (J's dog), laughed uncontrollably (me???), played "would you rather..." and taboo a (resulting in exultation as adam, heidi and i taboo'd to victory).

not only that, but we went on Jordi's yacht, shared feelings (awwww!), went swimming, went island hiking (sort of), and tried to translate Avril songs into Chinese ("hen duo hen duo de weeeenti" ... "weishenme ni yao qu zuo hen mah faaaaaaan?!")

oh yea. and we did work. heh.

some pics ...

this is where we did our team building session. we saw loons while we were praying. beautiful creatures. i have a new respect for our dollar.

i couldn't ask for a better bunch of guys to work alongside. (l-r): nate, jordi, me, adam and danny (or "shermy wermy" haha)

nor could i ask for better sisters (in the Christian sense). andrea and heidi -- props for looking like you're posing for an ad for camping wear or something. (missing: Marilee or "M-slice")

swimming was cold times. and good times. danny's lips and hands turned blue at one point. i thought he was going to die. but he didn't. yay.

this guy enjoys long walks on the beach, underworld and k.b. he's quality and looks like a superhero when he hangs off the side of a moving yacht.

i'm looking forward to a great year guys! what an honour it is to work with nimen!

dlu.

ps: and how the heck are you all so fun and good looking?!