Life is either a daring adventure or nothing

DREAM, TEAM, FIGHT, WIN!!

Had the opportunity to travel up to KL, Malaysia a week ago and linked up for a friendly mini Futsal competition with the fanatic soccer kakis over there. The Futsal competition was of course the main highlight of this 3D2N whirlwind trip, but we definitely got more than we bargained for.... great hospitality from our dear Malaysian friends of Glad Tiding Petaling Jaya (GTPJ), tasted wonderful local delicacies (Yong Tau Foo Chee Cheong Fun, Malaysia Yummy Chicken Rice....etc) and most definitely interacting and knowing more friends!!

One thing that rose up in my heart during this trip was the strong sense of brotherhood as we played together in the Futsal games. Guess espacially for guys, a strong bonding and relationship is really forged when we go through battles and rough times together... and in this case was the Futsal game!

- Being a team game, we had to communicate with one another on the pitch.. thus even the quietest person in the team was "forced" to open his mouth.

- Being a tiring game, we had to push and encourage each other to press on and persevere.

- Being a fast paced game, we had to discipline ourselves and each other to not slacken, but to constantly fall back and cover for each other in the game.

- Being a physical game, some of us got injured, bruises and scratches through the game. But it was the time where we cared, showed concern and carried each other through. The "battle scars" goes to show that we have conquered a challenge!

Coming back to reality, it was a good time of reflection for me too. In the walk of life, one cannot be a loner or else he will never learn anything. And with friends, family and loved ones around, there will bound to be times where we rub shoulders or quarrel.. but these are times where we learn to communicate. There are times where people feel like giving up, but we encourage each other on. There are times where we become lazy, that's when we discipline ourselves or need people around to discipline us. There are times we fall down and hurt ourselves, that's where we learnt to love and care for each other. All these make friendships stronger and families united!

I was particularly amazed with three youths whom came along with us on this trip.. Weihao (13 years old) Godfrey and Khai Wen (both 16 years old). They came as boys, but left as young men with their heads held high! So proud of them as they played together with us.. these lads really played their lungs out and put up a gutsy performance even in the face of opponents who were much bigger size than them. But they never shyed away and took on the challenge with great gusto! It was simply astonishing watching them play with that tenacity in the hearts. Guys, if you are reading this.. just want to say that i am really proud of you all! Thumbs up!

Personally for me, of course there was a couple of first time experiences too.... 1st time taking the KTM Singapore-KL train, 1st time representing Singapore in playing futsal overseas, and 1st time getting bitten by bed bugs!!! Hahaha.. and so the saying is true: "Be careful of the bed bugs when you sleep!"