Seventh-day Adventist Community Church

Church Retreat

The SDACC church retreat, held at the beautiful Sebana Cove Resort in Johor, Malaysia, from June 11-13, was a beautiful experience. Twenty-four persons attended. The aim of the retreat was to foster togetherness, as indicated by the theme, 'Bonding and Unity in the Body of Christ."

After settling into their respective rooms, the group spent the afternoon relaxing outdoors and later preparing for the Sabbath. Those who preferred to splash around in the swimming pool had ample fun. By sunset everyone gathered in Alison Tjhia's suite for sundown worship and a warm hearty meal.

Around 8:00 p.m. the activity shifted to the meeting room where, after some lively singing, attendees were divided into four "families." Each family selected a name for itself based on its unique traits and tastes, and the four names chosen were "Spectaculars," "Merinos," "Sound of Music," and "Ocelots." The families then presented a small skit to introduce themselves; that proved to be quite funny but it showed good teamwork. Finally, each family was assigned a worship-related task to be done over the course of the retreat. This gave them additional opportunities to work together as teams.

The Sabbath morning presentations by Freddie Kee, Tsen Thau Ming, and Pastor Fabien were all interesting. However, Thau Ming's presentation was truly amazing because he helped the group to appreciate so many things-birds, insects, and plants- in the natural surroundings that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.

Sabbath afternoon was a time for quiet relaxation, but at 5:30 everyone gathered for the evening outdoor stroll and sundown worship. This took place at a very picturesque location with the setting sun providing the ultimate backdrop. Later, the group got together at Simon Sim's suite for durian and games before calling it a day.

Morning worship the next day took place on the waterfront boardwalk, and after a hearty breakfast the time was left open for a last session of outdoor fun-mainly swimming. Lunch came swiftly-prepared and served by Alison in her suite. That arrangement not only gave one final opportunity for togetherness and for expressions of gratitude, but it also witnessed the "destruction" of a huge, tasty jackfruit, carved up by the women and served as dessert. It was a sweet way to end what had been a short but pleasant weekend together

Church Retreat Gallery

Seventh-day Adventist Community Church

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Church Retreat