A Winter to Remember

Alhamdulillahi rabbal aalameen, all praises due to Allah, Lord of the Heavens and the Earth. This winter has been one of the most fulfilling and satisfying mid year break for me thus far. If somebody asked me what I did throughout the 3 weeks of holidays, I probably wouldn't know where to begin. Not a second of my time was wasted doing unbeneficial things, so it really got to me when I saw people posting up "BORED" or "BOSAN" on Facebook, MSN and YM. If only they planned their break well and preoccupied themselves with good activities, they probably wouldn't even have time to post up such things.

Some of my friends went back to Malaysia, some of them went to Europe. Some of them went snowboarding (jealousnya), and some of them went skydiving. As for me, I didn't go to many places and I didn't do many interesting things. I didn't even manage to catch Wolverine, Star Trek, Transformers, Angels and Demons etc. I was probably one of the last to know about MJ's death. But I know for sure, I wouldn't trade my experiences I gained this winter, for the world. I met so many good people and made so many new friends. Allah knows how grateful I am to have met these people, for it is He who has decreed this for me. I just wonder how it was possible I didn't meet these people earlier.

Meeting new people, living and working together with them has taught me heaps. There were many things I thought I knew about dealing with other people, but truth be told, it's different in practice than in theory. I guess I could say it all began with JUNZ in Christchurch this year. The program was attended by more than 100 participants from Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin and offered a wealth of knowledge not easily found. As the person in charge of Palmy, it was quite hectic for me in the days leading up to the actual event. Sorting out information and funds for a small number of people was already difficult and time consuming, a lesson in itself. Alhamdulillah, despite the outbreak of influenza, we managed to pull it off successfully. Campfire, obstacle course, frisbee, composing, singing, sketch, product design, essay writing, treasure hunting, riddles, praying and all.

In Christchurch, Hafezz and I stayed with Arul at Ilam village. Thank you Arul, you didn't have to accommodate us and stay up for us. You didn't have to send us, pick us up, bring us around, cook for us or wait for us. But you did, and we really appreciate your warm hospitality and generosity. May Allah bless you. I also got the chance to visit Chuang and see her house and I managed to meet Terence and Merlin too. A thousand thanks to them for having us over as well.

Back in Palmy, I delivered a sermon regarding Muslim youth in the Massey musolla and I led the prayers that Friday. I had lots of help from Bidi preparing for it. Thank you Bidi, for the rehearsal and time check. Nerve wrecking would be an understatement the night before. Thank you Hafiz for the emotional support. Alhamdulillah, after all was completed, I received a "well done" from Dr. Ibrahim, a "good lecture" from Br. Jawad and a "wonderful speech" by Br. Aamir and Br. Saqib. I think I received at least 50 handshakes, smiles and jazakallahs too. But most importantly, I received a hundred odd attentive pairs of eyes and ears from the congregation. When that happens, satisfaction is guaranteed.

Being the host for Bersatu Games didn't help ease the commotion either. I had to take photos throughout the event and make videos for the closing dinner in limited time. Being the only MUMSA photographer, I had to be at all the sport venues at all times. Thankfully I had Safwan, Sheng, Haizat and Nadly help me out when I wasn't around. And God knows how time consuming it is to create even a short video. Luckily Shah was there with the awesome videos he made previously. This time around, I didn't win any medals. And I didn't win any video competition either. But the greatest win for me, is engraved on every single Bersatu 2009 medal out there, stitched to every sleeve of MUMSA's jersey, and inscribed on the banners around Massey University. My medal is in the photos of hundreds of people, and in the memories they have. My contribution is the Bersatu Games logo itself. It took 10 minutes to design, and my motivation was not liking the other design. Haha! Double thumbs up to MUMSA, the best Bersatu Games ever! 12 months in the making, comes down to 4 days. A job well done. The bar is now raised so high, I doubt anybody would beat that anytime soon.

The UMNO debate organized by Mimi was another interesting event. It was conducted concurrently to the Bersatu Games at Kingsgate Hotel, where the participants stayed during the games. It was in Malay, and my proficiency in my mother tongue is embarrassingly low. Simply said, we lost. But that's OK for me, as I wasn't there to win anyway. I volunteered to gain experience, to throw myself out of my comfort zone, like a fish out of water. Not many people dare do that I'm sure. And I have no regrets, except for letting my teammates, Iswandi and Jeffrey, down. Since the topic of debate was PPSMI, I was also there because I honestly wanted to know other people's opinions on the subject, and yet be in a position where I could comment and not just be a spectator. I learned a lot that night. And I apologize to the judges especially Pn Siti, and the audience for not putting on a show like Amir's team. Thank you for those who came to see me that night. I truly cherish it. Looking on the bright side, the debate paid for my Bersatu Games dinner (won $50) and got me a certificate (still pending). No loss there.

All this was happening while housemates Hafezz, Afnan and I were having fever, cough and flu, on and off for 2 weeks. All this was also happening while we were having countless visitors to our humble home. Friends from Australia, friends from UK, friends from around New Zealand. What a trying time. Alhamdulillah, I now realize that the more guests I have, the happier I feel serving and spending time with them. The more we give, the more we get. One of God's peculiar laws of life, experienced first hand. From Pn Siti, Ustaz Lokman, Abang Razif, Mimi, Ida, Zaid, Haq, Ridhwan, Fauzi, Shazwan, Roslan, Abang Izzu, and many more. We apologize for our shortcomings, please forgive us. Do come visit us again, whether it's just for lunch, dinner, supper, sleepover, chat or train ride. Our doors are always open. Thank you also to Kak Sharina and Kak Yusma for the supper. Thank you to Fairuz for the souvenir from London.

I could go on forever with this entry, but I have to stop somewhere. And I think it would be fitting for me to end with a verse from the Qur'an:

وَيَرۡزُقۡهُ مِنۡ حَيۡثُ لَا يَحۡتَسِبُ‌ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلۡ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسۡبُهُ ۥۤ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بَـٰلِغُ أَمۡرِهِۦ‌ۚ قَدۡ جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدۡرً۬ا

Which roughly means:

"And He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine. And if anyone puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is (Allah) for him. For Allah will surely accomplish His purpose: verily, for all things has Allah appointed a due proportion." [At-Talaq, 3]

Thank you everyone for making my winter an awesome winter, you know who you are!

Photos by Shoradhi.