Social Work Exposure and Embracement Program (SWEEP) 2011 was a meaningful 2-week program with a good mixture of students coming from various courses & language backgrounds. The students were exposed to a variety of communities with needs, who are not commonly noticed. It was an eye-opener for students to listen to firsthand stories from these different groups of people. Students went through for themselves too - what life really is like, being in their shoes. God challenged all of those present, in how we view others and what kind of people are out there in society. Truly it was a personal encounter of God in our lives. Not only did SWEEP leave an imprint in the people we met, but it has also changed the lives of our students!  The ripples of SWEEP are being seen in many of our campuses, in how they are living and planning out their CF programmes.

Inter-Varsity Students Training Retreat
Lutheran Lakeview, Cameron Highland
(27-31 May 2011)

IVSTR (Inter-Varsity Students Training Retreat) is a Mandarin-speaking camp held once every 4 years. During the July 2011 holidays, 57 students (from 16 campuses) and 14 personnel came together to form 4 chalet families. At the camp, students looked at campus issues and holistic growth.

It was a good training retreat for many leaders as they were given the space to rest and talk to many good speakers. Many of them felt their passion to serve being renewed. Students were challenged with many thoughts in camp e.g. instead of asking “who is my neighbour”, they were told to ask the question “to whom am I a neighbour?”; “What are the assumptions or values that shape our worldview and affect our faith?”; “Can we learn to show ‘grace’ to people in this consumer culture world?”; “Are you a diamond or the stone that God intended you to be?”

We also had Bible study on selected passages from the book of Acts and a series on relating to self and God. Many broken lives have started the journey towards healing and trusting that God will bring hope to their families.

Students were glad for the opportunity to make new friends from different campuses, exchange ideas about CF and see a bigger picture of the student movement in Malaysia. We pray that these students will bring back the vision and lessons from this camp and bless their own campus.  

FES 5th National Conference
Bayu Beach Resort, Port Dickson
(29 November - 4 December 2010)

It was a RIUT!!

450 participants consisting of students, graduates, internationals and working committee.

More than 60 campuses were represented.

Students from all over Peninsular and Sabah and Sarawak. A gathering of National Student Movement in Malaysia. Those 6 days and 5 nights were an unforgettable experience.

As the Word of God was expounded from 2 Timothy, many hearts were convicted. Issues regarding our lives, campus and nation were brought out in the open and all were challenged to respond. And by God’s grace, many a ripples had started since then. Indeed, all were called to Risk It. U-Turn… for God’s glory."

FES 48th Anniversary Hi-Tea
Petaling Jaya Gospel Hall
17 July 2010

‘1 Dream, 1 Journey’ was the theme of this year’s celebration of FES’ 48th anniversary. A gathering of students, staff and graduates from different walks of life, to come together and remember and celebrate with us. Guests were invited to recall and remember what God had done for them during their student days, and write it down and place it on a dream wall. As the wall was being filled up, others took the opportunity to catch up and mingle with friends from both the past and present. After a good Malaysian tea, all were ushered into the church sanctuary for the celebration service. During the service, we were all reminded of God’s faithfulness to the student ministry in the past 48 years. At one point, the current FES staff were all invited to the stage to share some of their own dreams for the ministry. All who were present were also invited to shout out, who God has been for them. Overall, it was a good, and encouraging moment to come together and celebrate the 48th anniversary of FES, and also start preparing for Jubilee in 2012! God has been faithful in these many years and for many more years to come!

Students Together On Mission Partnership (STOMP)
Ulu Skrang, Sri Aman, Betong
(12-26 June 2010)

11 Semenanjung students and 10 Sarawak students came together with one heart to share the good news with the people in the longhouses in Ulu Skrang, Sri Aman and Betong, a small area in Sarawak. The students had to take a challenging 10-hour journey to the longhouses: 5 hours’ drive from Kuching to the Ulu Skrang’s port, 2 hours by boat and 3 and a half hour on foot. Some cried, some thought they couldn’t reach the longhouses. But with God’s grace everyone made it. Staying in the longhouses was a new experience to most of us. We helped them to build a church, went to the jungle to look for some food and went to the river to catch fish. At night, we had fellowship with them – we had dinner and a time of praise and worship together. To sum it all up, STOMP was mainly about JOURNEYING together with the people from the longhouses and the team.  It was about PARTNERSHIP as well as becoming God’s living testimony in the “unknown" ground.

Camp Cameron
10-29 May 2010
@ Lutheran LakeView

81 students and 19 personnel came together to form 6 families for 3 weeks in the heat and coolness of the Lakeview campsite in Habu(Cameron Highlands) for Camp Cameron 2010.
The 1st week, full of new experiences, went by seemingly ‘slowly’. Introduced to the Chronicles of God and His Kingdom series of talks, invited to redeem different relationships, brain churning sessions of Wordilicious Investigators (Bible Study), time to recreate self with different activities and games, students learned to appreciate ‘enforced’ siesta in the afternoons.
As the days went by (by 2nd week, it was ‘whizzed by), it became clearer that God has been working behind the scenes in everyone’s life. Before camp, and now, during camp, many encountered Him directly. God spoke through the sessions, spoke through morning Lectio Divina (even through the mist of sleepiness of many), and spoke through the experience of living with the same ‘family’ for 3 weeks!
As both participants and personnel bade each other farewell, it was with many wishes that each would stay and hang on to the work God has been doing. Many went home with commitments to renew and redeem difficult relationships in their lives. May lives which were touched, continue to be changed as God continues His moulding.