Janice and Greg left for Christchurch this morning, then arriving in S'pore in a few days' time. I'll still have the chance to meet up with them there, but for others like Ray and Mich, last night was the last time we could have dinner together THIS YEAR.
So we, self proclaimed food lovers, decided to have a little get together again before everyone left for the summer. As Michelle had the Full Monty play rehearsal and Alex was on duty until 11pm, dinner (or shall I say supper?) started at around midnight. Ray and Greg made super delicious roast chicken, kumara/leeks, really yummy (and oily) gravy for the chicken, and spaghetti.
Dinner was (as Ray would say) SUPER AWESOME. (thumbs up sign)
We rubbed our bellies and talked for a while... until the 2 cakes were served. =P
The 2 cakes were meant to be early birthday cakes for Sam (Dec baby) and Alex (Feb baby), but somehow everyone started mock blowing the cake ("flame" provided by Greg, haha!), then each of us cut the cake once. We had to mock blow as the candles weren't even lit.
So in a way, we celebrated every one's birthday at one go last night. It was really significant and meaningful as it meant that by next year, we can no longer celebrate each other's birthdays all together, like how we've been doing for the past 3 years.
It's sad to see so many of you guys leaving: the Pancakes (Sam & Alex), the Grapes (Greg & Jan), and May May; and it's so hard to let go of friends so close I can call family, but we can't all stay in Dunedin forever =P We came here to study, built bonds, took care & cooked for each other, graduate, then leave this town with life-long memories (and gigabytes of pictures). And of course, we'll keep in touch by calling and annoying each other 24/7 hehehe. I'm also counting on that proposed ski trip/Hillsong next year- I've been here for almost 4 years now and still have NOT skied!
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Last Monday during cell group, we planned a special "leaving" ceremony for those who are leaving. EVERYTHING was super emotional, haha. From praise and worship (the guitarists playing together at cell for the last time), to giving testimonials, and to full on crying during the lighting of the candles.
I came prepared, knowing that I'll cry when I see others cry too. What I didn't expect was to see the grown men cry too =P I went from just shedding a tear to full-on sobbing when Alex and Ray spoke. The tissue box had to be passed around the room as more and more people cried. I compiled a video of the history and memories of Lighthouse Fellowship from 2006 to 2008, and I'm glad it did touch the hearts of some. After all the crying and hugging sessions, we stayed around for food, more chit chat, and ended up leaving only at 2.30am. I think we broke the record for the longest cell group session ever.
At times I take this amazing cell group for granted. But looking back at how we started, and how much we've grown over the years, and the seeds that we've planted even in the hearts of non Christians- all the planning and sleepless nights (especially during shine 08!) were so worth it.
There's about 34 of us now in 2008, compared to just 6 in 2006 when we first started. At least 9 would be leaving next year, which brings the number down to 25. 2009- a new year, who knows how many more new members we'd get to include in this family?
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