Diary of a Grumpy Mom : Faholo Retreat

me wearing keep calm t-shirt to keep myself calm 

Hello, Hola, Spadaa, Apa kabar ? My name is Cica Chan.
I am a stay at home mom with three kids; 
melancholic 11 year and energetic 9 year old boys , 
a cute but needy 5 year old girl. 

my 3 kids, three years ago

Everyday I do what a stay at home mom does
which is feeding, cooking, cleaning, washing, folding, 
vacuuming, driving, tutoring , and ( at the end of the day ) screaming.

My family is one of the tiny congregations 
of ICC Michigan Church. 
These days the active members 
are about 6 families, and several students.
At the end of February, the church organized 
a retreat in Jackson, Michigan. 
Should I go to the retreat? 
To tell you the truth, in this seemingly endless,eternal winter, 
I retreat almost every day. 
I only come out for the basic need, which are school, groceries , or doctor
( winter is virus’s favorite season ). 
Do I need another retreat ? 
No, I need a vacation at the beach. 
But the retreat will provide a childcare which is a big plus. 
And it’s from Friday night to Sunday evening, 
so no need for hubby to take a day off work. 
Our family decided to join.

retreat schedule

On Friday February 28th , after packing , 
we drove to the Faholo Christian Camp and Conference. 
I think it’s a weird name, Faholo. 
It rhymes with a negative word that starts with G 
( which I don’t need to mention here ). 
Upon arrival, we paid the retreat fee 
and get two sets of key cards of our room. 
There will be a $10 fine if the keycard’s lost. 
In the regular chain hotels, there is no fine if you lost one. 
But, after all it’s a retreat not a vacation.

stands for faith hope love...not negative at all

Some ladies brought yummy Indonesian snacks such as ;
lontong ( rice with meat filling wrapped in banana leaves) 
and ketan bumbu ( sticky rice with shredded coconut ) . 
Bless their generous heart and diligent hands. 
I only had store bought snacks like chips and cookies. 
Sorry people, but I only cook for my own family not public. 
There were also many kinds of drink, like bottled water, 
boxed juice, hot choco, tea, and COFFEE. 
Thanks God Almighty. I need my coffee… like all the time. 
It will help me awake during the session. 
Kudos to the refreshment people of the retreat committee.

coffee time

I get to know some new people from Toronto, Ohio, California and Michigan. There were about 100 people joining this retreat. 
( Where are guys during our Sunday Service )
They seem rather nice. Hopefully they all stay that way .

There were two speakers in this retreat. 
One is Dhany Hariman from Toronto. 
His name reminded me of a traditional Irish song , 
“ Oh Danny boy.. the pipes the pipes are calling, “. 

Mr. Dhany "boy" Hariman

The other was a Californian dude, Pastor Mike Obaja. 
In my opinion, he’s too young to be a pastor. 
He still have braces on his teeth. 
I bet he is the oldest patience in his orthodontist. 

never too late for ortho treatment

Dhany talked about transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly. 
Oh no, is this a children storytelling session or what ? 
Hello ...The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle ? 
( I thought I can forget kid related stuff for a bit ). 
Dhany challenged us that if we want to be a beautiful butterfly 
instead of caterpillar, we must let God do the transformation. 

a book by Eric Carle

Pastor Mike spoke about being a channel 
instead of the container of the Living Water. 
If we let God cut our weakness, pride, ego, lust, etc 
( all the negative that hinder us from our true self ), 
we could be a blessing for others 
without being empty and drained. 
Empty and drained ,those words are familiar to 
a stay at home mom like moi.

We were also divided into small groups which made me worried .
I hope my group would not be irritated by my grumpiness .
Thanks to God. They were not. They were very nice to me instead.

these happy ladies were not my group

After the session we had a lunch break.
The food in the reatreat were served in a cafetaria 
The meal were American style ,heavy,but well balance meal. 
There were carb, protein, fiber, vitamin, mineral, 
and ICE CREAM ! Hallelujah ! 
After being separated for about 2 hours during the
session, I kinda missed my kids.

The kids had a fun time in the retreat. 
It’s a rare opportunity for them 
to get away from my prying eyes. 

The kid ministry did a great job. 
Salute for Ari, Ita, Jeremy, Marcel, Esther, and Evelyn. 
They could tame so many kids.

wild kids being tamed

Then it’s time for the next session : The Highest Purpose. 
Pastor Mike opened up about his childhood.
His childhood was either ideal or happy. 
He was frustrated. He did some illegal stuff 
when he was in high school 
( might be the reason why his orthodontic treatment got delayed ). 
He was a loser. But Jesus Christ reached him via his girlfriend’s mother. 
He was changed into a new person. 
He explained that the highest purpose 
was to be in community of God and each other. 
The Highest Purpose had to be the core of every activity in the church.

The discussion in the group made me tear up 
since we talked openly about our childhood .
Thank God someone in the group brought a package of tissue.
…………………………………………………………………………….

One of the sessions was titled the Hot Christian. 
I often heard about devout, sincere, dedicated, or
radical Chrsitian. Rarely about hot, though. 
I was not so sure about that session but the music was hot.

I bravoed Praise and Worship team. 
Raymond, Sean, Hendrik, Hutomo,
Kenny, Ci Dewi and David Y’all rock! 
Glory to God who gave y’all the music talent.

Hot music

Why did I suddenly use Y’all ? 
Because Pastor Mike often said y’all…

Accidents happened in the retreat too. 
One of the preschooler got a severe nosebleed. 
Another one puked during mealtime. 
One lady named Sandra lost a diamond from her ring. 
How sad. Thank God I did not have a diamond ring.

that's how Sandra's clothed in retreat, no wonder she lost her diamond

On the second day , there was an open swimming for 1 hour.
The kids had a blast. The parents had a chat with one another 
while waiting for the kiddos. 
Continuing the spirit of community that
was practiced in the small group.

wild kids in swimming pool

A girl from California, shared with us her childhood story. 
It really touched me , how God could transform anybody
who willing to receive His grace. 
To be honest, I need God’s grace too. 
Need to get out this grumpiness .
………………………………………………………………………………….
Sunday, March 1st was the last day. 
Snow was heavy last night. 
The Californian people were happy. 
They took pictures in the snow .
I sighed. God, will you let Spring come to Mid-West ! Please ?

I'm not in the photo

There were two sessions in this last day 
ended with a Holy Communion.
Pastor Mike and Danny talked about people
being made into a stone house.
There were lots of new ideas that I got from the sessions.
Hopefully I could implement those in my life.

Dhanny asked us, “ Do you want to be transformed into a butterfly ? “

Yes. I want to be a beautiful butterfly. 
I am sick of this hungry caterpillar in myself. 
I want to fly and bless others.

I remembered Pastor Mike sang, “ Do you want to build a new man ? “

Yes Pastor Mike, I want to build a new man. 
I want to help others transformed. 
I want to be a channel of God instead a container.
I need the power of Holy Spirit 
to change me, myself, my grumpiness.

The bags were packed. The rooms were emptied. 
The key cards were returned ( I’m glad I did not get a $10 fine ). 
Byes and hugs were exchanged .W’all left.
Hopefully the memories and messages stayed forever
our heart. Be Blessed y’all ! Peace

PS : Faholo called. The Diamond was found. Sandra’s happy. Praise the Lord.