Stephan Regnerus

Those who follow Sharon Kleyn's blog know that Seminarian Stephan Regnerus has been in the Philippines this summer to work with Rev. Kleyn.  Stephan flew down to Singapore for eight days also, to meet the people of CERC.

Visiting in a home of one of the families from church

On the Sunday that Stephan was here, the youth hosted a dinner for him.

Divided into teams to answer such questions as:

The seminarian vs. the minister in a Bible quiz :-)

Group photo

Our family took Stephan to Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Bay area on Monday evening.  

  

Stephan and my husband dressed alike both on Sunday and on Monday, and a lot of people were getting them mixed up at church on Sunday because they looked so much alike, at least from behind.  From the following picture, maybe you can see why:

Stephan's last day in Singapore was Hari Raya, a Muslim public holiday.  Our church gathered together for a sports day at a park near our house.  I plan to do a separate blog on that, but here are a few pictures of Stephan's involvement in the day:

Captain's Ball

Part of a Chutes & Ladders game

Foong Ngee (Mrs. Lau) fulfilling the requirements of the Chutes & Ladders game 

Megan landed on that space too.

Stephan had to pose for pictures with a couple of the winning teams.

We really enjoyed having Stephan in Singapore and hope that he was blessed by his visit as well.

Sunday Dinner

Before I move on to other events here, I would like to share some pictures of a dinner the youth hosted for Prof. & Lori Gritters and the Kamps family.  These dinners always begin with games that have everyone laughing!  A few miscellaneous pictures of the group first:

Prof. & Lori Gritters with Megan and Emily

Elisa and Jason

The first game this time was a classical exam for Prof. Gritters so that he could get a feel for what the seminary students go through at Synod. :-)  His "professors" were three of the youth, who quizzed him on things such as "How much does a Toyota cost in Singapore?" and "Describe the Merlion."

Prof. did a great job on his exam. :-)

Next up was "Blake's Enlistment."  Each Singapore male is required to serve two years of National Service (army) beginning when he is 18.  Blake Kamps is a few years from being 18, but he was enlisted into National Service anyway!

Getting painted by Lee Yang

Four-person push-up

Titus wanted to give it a try too.

Charlynn and Lori had to taste soy sauce, vinegar, and something spicy, and their husbands had to guess by the looks on their faces what they had just eaten.

After the games we headed into the sanctuary for the customary group picture, devotions, and singing of a Psalm 121 medley (selected stanzas of three Psalter numbers).  Then we closed the evening with dinner.

We are so glad the Gritters and Kamps were able to spend time not only with us, but with the members of CERC too.  What a blessing we share as sister churches!

Kamps Family

From July 2-9 Titus & Charlynn Kamps from Faith PRC, with their four children, visited us in Singapore.  We managed to fit 13 people into our flat for a week and had a great time with them!  We did NOT manage to fit 13 people into our car, so they got a good taste of Singapore's public transportation.

On the train

On the bus

Walking from the bus stop to our flat

The Kamps got to see a lot of Singapore's great sights while they were here.

We did a river cruise one afternoon.

Aubrey, Eric, and Blake on the river cruise

Emily, Ashlyn, and Megan at Clarke Quay

(Emily and Ashlyn are just two days apart in age.)

Kong Wee and Titus with the little ones

 

Aubrey and Jessica (former classmates) at Gardens by the Bay

Gardens by the Bay

Adventure Cove waterpark with some of the youth

This doesn't qualify as a "great sight," but an eye-opening one, for sure.  

We showed them a mosque and Hindu and Buddhist temples.  This is a Hindu priest.

This is the best picture I have of any of them with durian.  The ones where they were 

eating it...let's just say they weren't smiling at the time. :-)  But at least they tried it!

They went biking with a few youth one night.

Although they really enjoyed the sights of Singapore, the highlight for them was getting to know so many people from church.  They were here for the family seminar that I wrote about last time and enjoyed a very long day at church on Sunday, as we had a dinner after the regular Sunday activities. They also visited with a few people throughout the week.

After the family seminar

Meeting some of the people on Sunday

Sunday lunch

Dinner during the week

Visiting by the pool

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"  (Psalm 133:1)