Friend or Blocked: A Spectacular Concert with Juwita Suwito: KL State Boys' Brigade

Written by Private Henry Chay of 1^st Kuala Lumpur Company. Photos by Corporal Naaman Foong of 1st Petaling Jaya Company.

August 3rd, 2013

WESLEY METHODIST CHURCH, KUALA LUMPUR – Once again, Saturday has come after a good long week and around 9.30-10.00am, several BB Boys would already be in sight around school or the church compound. The Boys who arrived at 9.30am were mostly Boys who would be going for swimming lessons as part of their Swimming badge requirement, while the 10am Boys were the ones going to attend a seminar at church. Indeed, 1^st KL members’ Saturdays are always teeming and bustling with life, even when the day’s still young.

Left: "Friend or Blocked" concert tag. Center: An auditorium filled with guest and BB Boys. Right: Worshipers singing and praising.

Apart from that, the Boys who were involved in neither of the activities still came to attend the regular Saturday meeting tirelessly at 12.30pm. So here’s my story in the role of a Boy, a Private to be precise, who was involved in neither of the activities.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon with the sun beaming radiantly in the middle of the sky. Birds could be heard chirping away but time and tide wait for no man, I knew. I hastened to grab for my instrument just like my friends and settled down at long last for band. It was a typical BB band practice that started off with warm-ups, more warm-ups, and ended with some advice and some changes to the songs we play.

After band, parade took place with its familiar bugle calls, march-ins, and the prayer for the rest of the day to run smoothly.

But for this Saturday, there were some changes to our programme. Activities had to be cut out so that we could be punctual for the most exciting event of the day, the “Friend or Blocked” concert which is to be held later at the Wesley Legacy Center auditorium. Nevertheless, we had award classes after parade.

After the award classes, there was a surprise activity, a squad evaluation session. The activity let every Boy voice out how he feels about his squad, the NCOs, the Officers, the band and at last, the company. The main objective of this activity was to collect suggestions given by Boys so they can be taken into consideration at the Officer’s Retreat next Saturday to improve the company.

At long last, the clock struck 5.00pm. Cheering could be heard as the Boys scurried into the auditorium. “Friend or Blocked” was about to start any minute soon. Starred by Juwita Suwito, the event started when the auditorium resembled a concert and Juwita shook the place with her band, leading the congregation which sang along into a deeply amazing time with God.

Left: Juwito Suwito keading the songs. Center: A skit about God and temptations. Right: Torn between choices.

In between her worship one of Juwita’s guitarists told us about his mournful past. He was born the youngest child in the family and never had a chance to make his own choice in all of his life up to the end of his primary school. In Form One, he mixed around with the wrong company and began doing unrighteous things but they made him feel cared for, powerful and awesome. One day, when the gang leaders asked the pack about “making it serious” by becoming a life member of the gang or get kicked out, the guitarist made the right choice by quitting. One day, he decided to get to church after much of his sister’s persuasion. However, his attitude remained the same: feeling void and having a desire to be the worst jerk in the church. That stayed for quite some time until he finally felt touched by the worship songs and accepted Christ.

His story was very touching. After Juwita and her crew finished singing, there was a short skit which pictured God leading a girl around, showing her the beauty of nature. Suddenly, the story took a different turn. It showed the temptations of the world - riches, fame and insincere friends. Finally, Death appeared asking her to take her own life away. All this while, God was waving at the girl but was blocked and covered by the temptations. The girl almost killed herself but stopped at the last second and the temptations suddenly pounced on her and the knife, trying to kill her. Now, she could see God trying to break her free but to no avail, as there were too many temptations. Finally, God jumped to her aid, bore all the temptations and she was freed from their grasp. She praised the Lord and felt relieved. God battled and returned victorious, welcoming her once again when all the temptations have fallen down dead.

Left: Death's attempt to take away life. Center: Mr Jonathan Chan as emcee of the night. Right: Boys taking a photo with Juwito Suwito.

The performance was so touching that it almost moved me into tears. The emcee of the event, our company’s very own lieutenant, Mr. Jonathan Chan, explained about the skit, about sin, and a short story about himself. Without getting into too much depth and detail, he ended the event with a series of prayers. First, he prayed for the people who were with God but felt more distant after chasing their worldly desires. This brought me to lift my hands in desperation as I realized had not pursued for God’s touch or read of God’s word for a long time. Next, Mr. Chan prayed for people who have not accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. The event concluded and there were throngs of people rushing out of the auditorium to get to the aroma of fragrant food wafting through the air at the cafeteria of The Wesley Legacy Center. I sat down and had a hearty meal with my friends. At 8.00pm, I headed for home with dad driving and me snoring away in the back seat.

It was a tiring day but an enjoyable one too.

Page created: 16th August 2013

Last updated: 16th August 2013