By Adeline
Growing up, I always looked forward to Christian fellowship retreats and church camps. So, I was excited to take Friday off from work to attend this year’s YAM retreat! The retreat was memorable for many reasons, from my roommates bringing a mini-mart equivalent of snacks to share, impromptu girls’ night heart-to-heart talk with Korean beauty masks on our faces, Willic encouraging Martin by saying “YOU ARE A BLENDER” as Martin was trying to chew and swallow a mouthful of peanuts in one of the games, and enjoying refreshing sessions by our very animated speaker Rev. Dr Tan Soo Inn.
The sessions were a great reminder of 2 very important themes. Firstly, spiritual friendship. As adults, we simply do not have time for everyone. Perhaps we should mimic what Jesus did in having 12 close friends and within that circle, choose 3 core spiritual friends who will journey with us in life. It is important to have the courage to reprimand our spiritual friends when they go astray and be open minded enough to listen when we get reprimanded.
Secondly, being Christians in the workforce. It was a timely reminder that we do not stop being Christians on weekdays. We tend to separate the sacred and the secular – work is secular (ife we are in the marketplace) and spiritual matters are sacred. But everything should be sacred, even work. So, as young adults, we should continue to be testaments of God’s goodness and faithfulness wherever we are.
I was encouraged by the friendliness and openness of everyone in the heartfelt conversations. Also happy to say I made at least a few new friends (Hi Jin-Mae, Zie and Ann) and grew closer to old friends. Overall, it was a good time and break from my routine to make connections with new people and God.
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💻 Watch a recap of YAM Retreat.
🧑💼 Are you a young working adult looking for a community beyond work? Consider a Cell Group (CG). Reach out to Pastor Yu Yong to find out more.