Posted on 30-Nov-2014
By Lance Corporal Mark Lim of the 10th Kuala Lumpur Company
Published November 30th, 2014
My life with The Boys Brigade begun four years ago in 2011. I followed my two brothers, Timothy and Paul Lim to attend a BB meeting. Although it was four years ago, I remember clearly how I felt on my way to my first ever parade. I felt unenthusiastic. I wanted to stay at home and sleep comfortably on my bed and wake up when its bright out. I arrived at Sekolah Sri Sempurna , the home ground of the 10th Kuala Lumpur Company at about 7.30 am.The day started with band practice. I was offered choices of musical instrument that I had never seen before and I chose trumpet.
After band practice, it was Company fall-in at 10.15am in the car park. I remember hearing the bugle call for the first time and everyone stood in attention. Not knowing what to do, I just followed what everyone was doing. Immediately after that, everyone rushed to fall-in. We sang the Negaraku and the Anchor Song before proceeding to fall out. Up next was worship and then games. As it was the first parade of the year, the NCOs organised a Fun Day event for all members to have fun. I really enjoyed the games. After that first meeting, I thought BB wasn’t too bad after all. Little did I know what I was about to face.
Three months later, the time came for my first Boot Camp. The camp was held at a campsite called Outbac, near Broga Hills. As it was my first time attending a camp, I didn’t really know what to expect from it until all campers including me received countless punishment as a result for breaking the camp rules. The five camp rules were; never complain, be punctual, know your manners, always keep your premises clean and lastly, be smart. The week after Boot Camp, many of the first year recruits left BB because they think it’s too harsh. However, I remained.
As Boot Camp came and gone, I finally got to experience Awards Day. I received the Target award and the Safety Basic. Not only that, I was no longer I recruit, but a Private. I was happy because I received all the badges that I worked for. However, seeing some of the NCOs and other members getting more than 10 badges one shot made me envious. Thanks to that, I had a goal for 2012 which is to get 5 badges and above.
Sadly, when I was a year two private, I started to dislike BB. The intense discipline and strict rules often made me feel like giving up. Not to mention harsh drill practice under the scorching sun, push-ups on the sun baked tar road. The biggest disappointment of all was not being able to get 5 badges or more. So, that year of BB was my worst, but for some reasons I still remained in The Boys Brigade.
The following year at April, a group of year three privates and I were appointed by the NCO Council to be a probate of 10th KL as a stepping stone to become an NCO. That was a life-saver as I came to have a heart for Boys Brigade. During Awards Day 2013, I was promoted to a Lance Corporal and I felt really glad and happy about it. From that moment on, I felt like I will definitely stay in BB for as long as I can.
Currently, I’m still a Lance Corporal in 10th Kuala Lumpur Company. Although I didn’t obtain my Corporal-ship this year, I am still pretty glad to be in The Boys Brigade. I felt that I have grown a lot throughout the past few years. Without Boys Brigade, I’d probably be a random teenager who spends time doing nothing. I am truly grateful for the BB and I thank God for Sir Alexander William Smith who founded it. I hope The Boys Brigade will continue to Advance Christ’s Kingdom among members and promote habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-respect and all that tends towards a true Christian character.
God Bless The Boys Brigade.
Page Created: 30th November 2014
Last Updated: 30th November 2014