We took a ferry to Batam from Harbourfront. From the Batam Centre, a passenger van brought us to a wharf, about an hour away. En route, we stopped at a bridge to take pictures, and to “watch” local hawkers peddle their food. From the wharf, we took a small boat to the kelong, just a few minutes away.
The kelong is a big structure, with many rooms, a big community space, and a fishing platform. The food was nothing to rave about. The warm fellowship among us more than made up for what was lacking on the kelong.
What did we do there? Fished, played chateh, lazed around, talked. And of course there was the infamous werewolf game that got Tryan all excited (and addicted). Some of us played a few games of mahjong too – not to gamble, but to prevent early memory loss. On the second day, we were brought to another island to see the sun rise (but the clouds obscured most of that), and in the afternoon, we went to another island to snorkel, swim and play beach games.
On the serious side, Pastor Andrew shared with us in 3 sessions - our call and responsibility as BB officers; the BB object, focusing on true Christian manliness; and living and modelling Christian manliness. The sessions were on done the walkway at the side of the kelong, with a cool breeze blowing. Nice. On the second last night, Mr Chin led us in a session of reflections – on the BB object (what we already know and what we just discovered), and what we need to do or can do better to improve our service in the BB.
Before we boarded the ferry back to Singapore, we had lunch at A&W in the Megamall just opposite the Batam Centre. The younger officers/primers have not tried A&W before.
Next retreat – someone suggested going for a cruise. Any takers?
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