Asif jiddan for not updating the blog recently. It has been a few busy months for all of us. We have had our finals in April and then we have some activities going on in May and June, although it was summer break. For some of us, we got to go back to Malaysia and meet our loved ones. For some of us, we stayed here and are taking summer class or summer job. No matter what it is, there is no rest until we do what we have to do. InsyaAllah, hopefully we will istiqamah in this Deen, doing what we should do and not just leisuring around although it is summer break.
Alhamdulillah, Dz and I have recently be able to attend the Summer Training Camp in Natchez Trace State Park, Tennesee. Finally, I was in Tennesee. It was a lovely park with lots of trees and greenery and a big lake. The Summer Training Camp is actually an annual summer camp jointly organized by the MISG (Malaysian Islamic Student Group) and IMSA (Indonesian Muslim Students Association). Alhamdulillah, after much discussion, online meetings and some brainstorming that went on for weeks among the committees, we have successfully put together the whole plan into action. It was a learning experience for me. :)
So, what is the camp all about? Firstly, it is a summer camp with the theme 'Contemplating the Vast Creations, Comprehending the Greatness of Allah'. It is about Muslims brothers and sisters being near nature, and remembering Allah SWT.
Since for Purdue sisters, we have classes in the afternoon, we ended up departing around 3.00pm from Purdue. Before that, we dropped by UIUC to pick twos sisters who are joining us from there.When we arrived at the park, it was already over 11pm. We were tested, as we got lost and the GPS kept giving the wrong direction to us when we tried to locate the cabin where we were going to stay. It was dark and there were no other cars beside our two cars and we were in the middle of nowhere in the wood. Luckily for us, after we tried to call some of the committees, we finally got through one, who came for our rescue and showed us the right way to the camping site. As we arrived it was over midnight, almost one in the morning. It had been a very long journey and we were very tired but alhamdulillah, after performing our congregration prayers, we finally got to sleep. We sisters were all assigned to sleep together in the bunkhouse with double beds and dorm-like feel. It was, alhamdulillah, cosy enough although there was not enough bunk beds and some of us have to sleep on mattresses on the floor. Finally, we only got a few hours of sleep. At 4 something the masulah of the program came to wake us up for the Subuh prayer. Apparently we have missed the Qiyamullail at 3.30 am because we were too tired. We got ready for the prayer. After the prayer, mathuraat reading and short tazkirah, we got back to sleep for some rest. At around 8 am we woke up again and got ready for breakfast, which was a nice porridge cooked by the IMSA mothers.
After breakfast, we did some morning exercise and stretching. Then we left for the Cub Lake area for our hiking activity. We were divided into groups of about nine to ten people. We MISG sisters and brothers have decided that we were going to take the long, two hours trail. Apparently, it was longer than we expected. The whole journey took about three hours and it was really tiring. And the weather was really hot. And most of us only took a bottle of water with us so we got thirsty half-way. To make things harder, the route kept going up and down the hill. Nevertheless, the journey in the wood was a good experience for all of us. At the end of the day, we finally reached the endpoint and all of us got out safe and sound. We learned a lot from that activity. Firstly, I learnt that, just like the path in our lives, sometimes there will be obstacles that will be in our ways but we need to overcome that in order to move on. And life, itself is not easy, there are ups and downs but in order to survive we need to go through it all. And when I got thirsty, I thought of Allah and how much he have bless us with abundant food and drinks that sometimes we forgot what it feels like to lack these blessings. Another thing is there was one time that we got lost in the wood and then we turned back and was finally on the right path again. The moral of the story? In life, there might be times when we will be side-tracked and got lost but if we do not try to find the right path again, we will be lost forever. But if we try, insyaAllah, we will find our ways. Also, there are times when I wanted so much to walk out of the wood that I walked too fast and I began to stop appreciating the greenery and beauty around me. May Allah SWT forgive me for my impatience. May in this life, I will take my time so that I can appreciate the little things around me. Last but not least, I learn that teamwork matters. For example, when we were in the wood, we have to make sure we help each other and that no one is left behind so that we would all come out of the wood safe and sound. The same goes in life. We should always help one another and not leave one of us behind. That way, may all of us survived and insyaAllah, see each other in Jannah. :) <3
After the hiking activity, we went back to the cabin for shower, lunch and prayer. And then the MISG sisters and brothers have a session with Akh Rashdan, a brother from UK who gave a talk on the Rise and Fall of Andalusia and Constatinople. Although we were all tired from the hiking, it was a really good talk and we learn that it was our responsibilities to made sure that Islam which was once one of the greatest civilization on Earth could rise to the top again. Ignorance, betrayal and selfishness could lead to our downfall. Thus, we must always have the courage and confidence to bring back Islam to the top.
After the talk, the sisters and brothers have their own separate games. All the sisters went to play War Game using water balloons. Although it was a little chaotic because some kids were joining us and it was hard to explain the rules to them, we got the game going anyway. Alhamdulillah, my team won and we learn that we have to have a good strategy to win. Just like what we have heard form the talk earlier. Later on, since we still have remaining time, we decided to play galah panjang.
After the game, we went for shower again and then we have our dinner, prayed and later that night, we have a Jeopardeen Game. Alhamdulillah, my team won again. :) We brought back a huge hamper of food which we shared among our team.
That night, I got to spend time talking with Dz and Aqilah from ISU. We got into this pillow talk and it was nice. Though I did not stayed long because I was feeling sleepy, it was really nice that I got to catch up with both of them again.
The next day I was woken up by program Ameerah at 4 something. Again, I was feeling so sleepy to get up but I got up and went to pray anyway. And then we recited the mathuraat and have a short tazkirah. After that, we went back to sleep. I woke up at 8 and then got ready for breakfast. After that we left the camp site and went to the lake again. This time the sisters played volleyball and throwing slippers whereas the brothers played water game at the lake. After those games, we went to the lake for boating in the fishing boat and the paddle boat. It was really fun and we got to spend time with each other and got to know each other closer.
Around noon, we went back to the camp site. We took our shower and lunch and then we have another session with Akh Rashdan, this time a topic on "Wahai Pemuda". We learnt that the four characteristics that all "pemuda" should have are: faith/confidence, sincerity, spirit and sacrifice. With these four characteristics, we could insyaAllah contribute for our religion and bring Islam to the top again.
After the talk, the brothers went to play soccer whereas the sisters have a cooking competition called "The Iron Chef". Unfortunaely, my Purdue sisters and I have to miss the game because we have to head back early so that we could reach Purdue early and none of us have to miss the morning class. We also have to miss the talk show, entertainment night and a great supper of grilled lamb and smorses but I gues there was a hikmah behind it all. After saying goodbye to everyone, we left.
The journey back to Purdue which supposedly took 8 hours ended up being twelve hours as we got lost afew times, have to stop for fuel, food and praying. We left at 5PM and arrived at 5AM in the morning.Not just that, some of the sisters have to drive with their body aching from all the activities we have done at the camp and some with headache from the heat and some with feeling sleepy. Alhamdulillah, we arrived safely. It was a test for all of us but we supported one another and survived through it.
For some of us, we have exams the next day. For some, we have assignments due. Some of us overslept and ended up missing our class. Yet, we got our assignments done on time and our readings for the exams too. No matter what, we did not regret coming to the camp. We learnt a lot and this is part of our sacrifice in order to gain both the knowledge of dunia and akhirat. May Allah SWT bless our efforts and sacrifice and may all of us gain benefits from it all. InsyaAllah.. Amin.. :) Hopefully, we will get to join such program again next time.
