It
all began on a cold dreary London afternoon, as three friends
reminisced about old AC days, whilst peering out into the wintery
mist. A vision emerged - a desire to gather ACSians living in this
foreign land, to rekindle endearing memories, to rebuild
friendships and to revive an event that had been shelved for the
past three years.
Thus, ACNight
UK'06 transpired. No, it was not just another excuse for starving
London students to have a nice meal together, but a night to
gather ACSians from all over the UK, from across the generations,
to celebrate 120 years of God's provision and the AC heritage!
After three months of hectic preparation, multiple hitches and
unexpected glitches, God's sovereignty prevailed over an
enthusiastic but naïve committee. This group of strikingly unique
and gifted individuals, who were brought together and sustained by
God, now bear testimony to the amazing grace experienced
throughout the planning of the event, having learnt that God is
glorified by the perfection of His strength, in the weakness of His
people. (2 Corinthians 12:9).
The
event was held at the contemporary Cumberland Hotel, where 120
guests came from all over the UK, Europe and even America,
spanning across graduating batches of 1988 to 2004.
Gracing the occasion as the
Guest of Honour was Professor Lawrence Chia, Principal of ACS
(Independent) 1988 – 1993, and his lovely wife, both of whom
travelled all the way from Singapore, bringing greetings from the
ACS family back home.
The
evening started with the hymn “To God Be The Glory” and a prayer
of thanksgiving. Organising Committee Chairperson, Ong Chong Wei,
then greeted the crowd, and whetted their appetite for an
unforgettable evening ahead.
Guests were treated to a gastronomic feast, with a delectable and
unique menu, that even saw soup served in shot glasses, specially
designed to satisfy the (hungry and) discerning ACS taste buds.
They were also amused with multiple video presentations that were
peppered with old school photos, thoughts from current students of
ACS and greetings from Mrs Kelvyna Chan, Dr Ng Eng Hen, Dr Ong
Teck Chin and Mr Lenn Wei Ling.
In
true ACSian revelry, there was an introduction of a new game: ”The
ACSian Taboo”. This involved three self-proclaimed “True Blue
ACSians” who were chosen play Taboo (think the old “Pyramid
game”), and here is the catch - in Mandarin!
Imagine describing the word
“attitude” in Mandarin, without being able to say the word itself!
Well, their commendable efforts and a host of other words resulted
in much sidesplitting laughs.
Finally, the event ended with the address from the Guest of Honour,
Professor Lawrence Chia, with a sincere and heartfelt message,
reminding us again on how special it is to be an ACSian, and
sending us off with words of encouragement as we rounded off a
very blessed time together.
The
evening ended with the worship team singing praises to the God of
heaven and earth who made it all possible. It was a time for
rejoicing and the three friends who got the ball rolling could
only hope that the same rejoicing were in the hearts of ACSians
who came, and that they would go into the rest of life's journey
representing members of an institution created for God's glory,
and as a people touched by His grace. For the best, is truly yet
to be!
