On Sunday, 23 April 2023, several Expedition Rangers embarked on the overnight survival camp that was the final requirement for the completion of the Survival Merit. The nine of us had spent many months training and preparing for this. 

Upon arrival at the campsite, we were treated to a meal of spaghetti prepared by the commanders before Outpost Commander Joel Zachariah sent us out into the jungle with only our survival kits and raincoats. We were split into four groups, with some of us camping near the river and the others at the top of a small hill. We were instructed to get working on building our shelters for the night and a fire using only natural materials. We were given until 5.00pm to complete both tasks. 

Taking out our pocket knives, we started exploring to find out what resources we could use. My group found some bamboo to use for the shelter and some dried-out sticks for the fire. We gathered as much firewood as we could to last the night and after setting up the shelters, we collected water from the river and started our fire.

At 6.00pm, we were summoned to the river to collect our food for dinner. Every group was given three live frogs and each one of us was required to kill and prepare a frog for dinner! We eventually managed to kill the aforementioned frogs despite some initial trepidation. 

Unfortunately, some of us were not able to eat much as it began to rain shortly after sunset while we were cooking. We quickly put on our raincoats and took refuge inside our self-made shelters. Having our plans to keep the fire going all night ruined was a damper indeed, and all we could do was to try and sleep. However, some of us could not stay asleep and despite it being wet, we tried our best to start a fire many times. 

Before we knew it, dawn was slowly stretching her pink fingers across the sky and morning had come. We quickly replaced everything back from whence they came. After Councilman Ong Soon Aun shared a quick devotion to encourage us that we can still rely on God even in difficult times, for He is ever our helper, we headed back to the urban jungle.