Words A.L.I.V.E. (ICC Chapter Malaysia): SQUABBLE(1) + SQUABBLEx2 + (3)SQUABBLE = LAUGH >.<

Written by Charis Chen
Edited by Eliza Tan

What do squabbles have to do with laughter? Read on to find out!

"You need a swimming pool for your patients to relax!"
"You need an octopus to juggle!"
"You need glue to glue your ladle handle back!"
"You need donuts to catch criminals!"
"You need gym socks to clean your flute!"

We began the meeting with a tantalizing tea of vegetable sticks with hummus, marbled cake, and-- would you believe it-- warm scones with rich cream and tangy strawberry jam! Delicious! Also, this meeting was exclusively for the YSGers. ;)

After tea, we went to the living room for a video call conversation with Coach Dicky, Coach Vency (she just underwent an eye operation), and baby Samuel. As a chapter, we prayed for God's favor and protection on their family.

The icebreaker was up next. Speaker Nathanael gave us each a sheet of paper and a pen. We were told to divide the paper into four boxes and write one cherished item in each box. Next, we were to cross out one of those four things, thus giving it up. It was a difficult decision! However, the following decisions were even harder. We were to cross out two more items, leaving ourselves only one item to keep. Which would it be?

As each person finished making their decision, Nathanael invited several speakers to share with us the item they had chosen to keep and why. Jaeriel chose to keep his toy collection of action figures. Ian chose to keep his clothes because "after I lose everything, I can still go out and purchase them. But if I don't have clothes, I can't purchase anything." That certainly made sense! Last was Eliza. She decided to keep her computer, because the data inside held many irreplaceable memories for her.

Photo by Eliza Tan

After the icebreaker, Coach Choong Ming and Speaker Ranen led our devotion. One particularly memorable part was Ranen sharing the story of how God put a set of missing house keys into his grandmother's hands, and how it strengthened his faith.

GOD PLACED THE KEYS IN HER HANDS!

Photo by Eliza Tan

Hmmm...

Photo by Eliza Tan

Next up was the Salesman Squabble. We definitely didn't expect such an epic session! Eunice and Jern Ling were the first pair to go up.

Photo by Eliza Tan

A cab driver wondering how to sell a swimming pool to a dentist. :D

Photo by Eliza Tan

An excited dentist selling a stethoscope to a cab driver...

The Result:

Photo by Eliza Tan

Aggressively promoting a stethoscope to a

terrified cab driver

The next pair was Nathanael and Jaeriel. Nathanael was a librarian selling an octopus to a juggler; Jaeriel was a juggler selling a pillow to a librarian... :)

Photo by Eliza Tan

You need it!

Ranen and Jern Yoong were up next. Ranen, an animal trainer, attempted to market glue to Jern Yoong, a chef; Jern Yoong tried to sell him ice-cubes.

Photo by Alfred Chong (Coach)

Ranen: "Uhhhhhh.... You can use glue to glue back your 'thingy' (ladle handle)."

Jern Yoong: "Uhhhhhh.... You can keep your penguins nice and cool!"

The second last pair was Eliza, a rat catcher; and Ian, a detective. Eliza's assigned product was donuts, while Ian's was birds' nests.

Photo by Nathanael Chong

>.< Catch greedy criminals with donut crumbs... uh, throw donuts over their necks to trap them...

>.< Rats are going to LOVE your birds' nests... they're comfortable... makes your job easier...

The last pair was Jemima, a flutist; and Charis, a pirate :P. Jemima's assigned product: a flashlight. Charis's assigned product? .... drumroll for a strange final product....

gym socks!!!

Charis: (wondering) "WHAT ON EARTH ARE GYM SOCKS???"

Photo by Eliza Tan

Jemima: "A flashlight is the most powerful thing in the world; it can bring you

round the world and helps you search for underwater treasure!"

Charis: "Errrrrrrr.... Gym socks are really useful 'cause you can tweak them into

gloves to absorb sweat from sweaty hands so you don't stain your

instrument! Uh... clean your flute(gym socks absorb moisture), cushion

your flute when you forget your flute case.... uh...?!?"

Some responses to the Salesman Squabbles:

Photo by Eliza Tan

Photos by Eliza Tan

Photo by Eliza Tan

Photos by Eliza Tan

Following the Salesman Squabble, we had a session of coach-guided Limited Prep. Each speaker chose a coach pair to partner with. The speaker then chose the two topics that he/she wanted to speak on, and the coaches would offer suggestions and share stories to help the speaker prepare for his/her Limited Prep speech. We were allowed several minutes to discuss and prepare, then Coach Joseph called us up one by one to deliver our Limited Prep speeches. ......pressure.....!

Jern Yoong was first, speaking on the topics "Is sadness always bad?" and "Talk about forgiveness."

Each of us went up in turn. Soon, it was all over. Phew! Mission accomplished(for now)!

Photo by Eunice Tan

Ranen's response to Limited Prep... :P

Photo by Eliza Tan

Errrr....Deep contemplation...

Photo by Eliza Tan

Ummm... You see...

Photo by Eliza Tan

Confident!

Photo by Nathanael Chong

Chocolate ice-cream!

Photo by Nathanael Chong

He ran...

Photo by Nathanael Chong

Hmmm....

Photo by Nathanael Chong

Help... mind blank!

Photo by Nathanael Chong

It is a...

Photo by Nathanael Chong

... not always bad. It's just...

Photo by Eunice Tan

Phew!

As the IMPACT Conference is coming up soon, some of us have begun to prepare our speeches for the IMPACT Tournament. Nathanael was the first to practice his speech.

Photo by Eliza Tan

His confidence and calm composure was exemplary to all of us, especially those who tend to get very nervous. :D Great job, Nathanael! Harimau Malaysia!!!

Coach Joseph took over after Nathanael finished making his speech, and discussed with us the logistics for IMPACT 2015. A mixture of apprehension and excitement is in the hearts of everyone!

Photo by Nathanael Chong

Checklisting...

Coach Joseph also tacked an empty roster onto the wall for us Speakers to fill up.

Photo by Eliza Tan

I'm bagging this date!

Photo by Eliza Tan

Spaces got filled up pretty quickly!

Last of all was the movie discussion! All the speakers present piled into Eliza and Eunice's study and sat in a circle on the floor.

Photo by Toh Jern Yoong

Note: notice the dramatic changes in expression in some of the speakers. :D

The discussion was animated, with people calling attention to distracted people, rubber balls bouncing around, a bustling little crowd pushing to see the laptop screen.... :) but it was fun!

After everything was over, everyone went home. It was a long, though thrilling day!

Oops, looks like I've written too long an account. Sorry! But hope to see you again the next time we meet. And who knows, maybe things might get even livelier!

More memorable shots!