Church Camp: A Week of Godly Fellowship

CERC's annual church camp, held this year from June 17-20, is the highlight of the year for the congregation. The theme of this year's camp was "Growing in Godliness," and was developed in four speeches.  We saw how godliness must be an all-consuming goal, and how it is fueled by God's Word, strengthened through prayer, and served through godly fellowship.  There was a lot of time spent with God's Word and in godly fellowship throughout the week.

(Thanks to Daniel and Yang Zhi for some of the pictures on this blog.  I have to give credit where credit is due!)

 

After each speech there were discussion groups (above picture).  During the discussion groups, there were classes and crafts for the kids. 

There were also group games for three hours on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons.

One of the games was writing a song that included a line about 

every person in your group, then singing that song.

There was also time for fellowship over meals.

Nichelle Wong and Jessica

And we got to see the Americanizing of Singaporeans. ;-)

Two Michigan fans

My husband, Eric, and a couple of the youth that just visited the U.S. introduced the game of baseball to other members of the church during free time one afternoon.

Ticket to Ride has become a favorite game among the youth here.

The large group that attended this year's camp

We enjoyed our first church camp here and had a blessed week of fellowship with these brothers and sisters in Christ.

Church Camp: Location

We have just returned from CERC's annual church camp, usually held in Malaysia.  This is a big event for the congregation, and has a very good turnout.  Not only do members of CERC attend, but some of them bring family members or friends from other churches; and some of our regular visitors attended this year also.

This year's camp was held in the Genting Highlands, which is a beautiful location and a welcome relief from the heat of Singapore.  It was a good time to be away, as pollution levels in Singapore reached record highs this week.  Farmers and plantation owners in nearby Indonesia set fire to their land to clear it for cultivation, and the smoke from those fires has gotten out of control and blown over to Singapore.  The PSI (pollutant standards index) hit a record high this week of 401.  At numbers over 100 it is considered unhealthy, and 300 is considered hazardous.  The following picture is the view from our balcony this morning.  We've been told to wear face masks especially outside, and keep all our doors and windows shut--but homes here are not fully sealed, so it was plenty smoky even inside our flat.  Face masks were sold out in Singapore days ago, but a woman from church found some as we were traveling home together.

(The record of 401 came after this newspaper was printed.)

But at the church camp five hours north in Malaysia, we were given a break from all of this heat and pollution, and were able to enjoy the beauty of God's creation.

The tower where most of us had our rooms

The view from our room

I'd like to say a few things in this post about Malaysia, and write more about the church camp itself next time.  Malaysia has its own language (Malay).  Some of their words ("universiti teknikal") are easy to understand.  Others you can use context clues to figure out.  Sometimes along the road we would see big "Awas!" signs, which means "Caution!"--but we had no idea what we were being cautioned against. :-)  

No "Deer Crossing" signs around here, just "Hati-hati memandu," which we
think is quite fun to say :-)  The last two times we were in Malaysia
we also saw monkeys along the roadside! 

We can figure out what "Berhenti" means!

Something else we saw along the roadside--someone selling ice cream from a
motorcycle on the side of the highway

But the real reason I wanted to write about Malaysia is to tell about the religion there.  It is a very Muslim country.  On our way to church camp we passed a Muslim cemetery outside Kuala Lumpur.

Every morning at 5:30 a.m. I was awakened by the Muslim call to prayer, and I heard it a couple other times throughout the day as well.  It works similar to the way tornado sirens in the Midwest work.  It is "broadcast" through the tower (minaret) in the following picture. But instead of the siren sound, it is a man's voice singing/chanting in another language.  I don't know how to describe it, but there was something very eerie about it.

In each bedroom there were green arrows on the ceiling.  These point the way to Mecca so that Muslims know which way to face when they pray.

Looking up "kiblat" online, it seems that it means "direction,"

specifically the direction to Mecca

The rest areas along the highways have prayer rooms.  (A little side note--even the Ikea in Singapore has a Muslim prayer room!)  My husband heard that Muslims wanted to have calls to prayer broadcast in Singapore too, but the government here, which wants all religions to get along together, said no.  Whew--I can't say I enjoyed waking up early to that noise every morning!

Thinking about the Muslim call to prayer all week put the words of Psalter #348 in my head. I wonder if Muslims ever think "With joy and gladness in my soul I hear the call to prayer..." The religions we see here are more religions of fear and bondage than of joy and gladness. As we all go up to God's house tomorrow, let us go before Him with joy and gladness in the freedom from that bondage that He has given us in Christ!  

Funerals

Funeral traditions in Singapore are very different from those in the States.  We still have a lot to learn about the funerals of other religions, but we have observed some from a distance and will share what we have seen, and also describe Christian funerals.

Funerals here are held outside.  The first floor of each building, called the void deck, is left open to the outside.  This is where funerals and other events are held.  We have seen four funerals right by our place since we moved here.  I'll attach a picture of where the most recent funeral was set up so that you can understand the "void deck" concept.  This is the view from our living room window.

Funeral wakes go on for days (usually 3-4, it seems, although we've heard they can last up to 7).  Visitors are allowed to come at any time during the day, and the family is expected to cater food and drinks for those visitors.  To help with the expenses of that, those who come give a cash gift to the family.  Because the funerals are held outside, someone must be with the body 24 hours a day to guard it from vandalism.  When funerals are held for members of our church, the young men from church stay overnight to give the family a break.

The wakes for some funerals get very noisy.  In addition to the traffic that may be going past, the neighborhood noises, a building project going on at our flat during the last funeral, and maybe even a little white baby yelling "Hi!!" over and over and waving at you from his 6th-floor flat :-), Buddhist and Taoist funerals have rituals that include a lot of drums and other instruments.  Below is a video in which you can hear the noise of the latest funeral by us, including a little bit of the construction noise.  What you see is the view from our balcony outside our flat--I didn't want to videotape the people at the funeral.

The band leading the funeral procession at the end of the funeral

At the first funeral we saw by our building, there was a lot of chanting in addition to the instruments.  On the last night people in white shirts or white robes walked around in a circle, banging on instruments and chanting.  When we asked someone about that later, we were told that they were probably saying prayers for the dead.  At one funeral we saw an idol with offerings in front of it set up in front of the casket.

And then there are Christian funerals.  We've had one below our building, and what a nice change from the others!  At night we could hear faintly the singing of "Amazing Grace" and other hymns, and they also sang "Amazing Grace" as the casket was taken away.  When the casket is taken away (from all funerals, not just Christian ones), the family and friends follow on foot, with those closest to the hearse putting their hands on it and "pushing it" along.  Everyone else follows for a little ways.  Then the hearse goes to the cemetery (or to the place where the body will be cremated, I guess), and chartered buses take the funeral-goers to the cemetery.  Not only family goes to the graveside--everyone who was at the funeral goes, and stays after the graveside service until the backhoe has filled the grave with dirt.

The cemetery in Singapore is surprisingly large, with a Chinese cemetery, a Malay cemetery, a Muslim cemetery, a Christian cemetery, and other sections as well.  The gravesites are very, very close together.  We have heard that because of the large number of people in Singapore, you are promised your gravesite for only 15-20 years.  After that your body may be dug up and cremated to make room for others to be buried there. Because of this, many people (although not among the Christians that we've heard of) skip burial and are cremated right after death.

Notice how close together the graves are.

So, are there ANY similarities between funerals in the U.S. and funerals in Singapore?  Yes. Each night of the wake at funerals for members of our church, a service is held that is almost exactly like the funeral services in the U.S.  The same songs are sung, and the same Word is brought.  All these speeches are a good opportunity to bring the gospel to relatives and friends who may be living in idolatry.  Thanks be to God for the hope and comfort of the gospel!

Vesak Day

Each major religion in Singapore is allowed by the government to choose two of its holidays to become public holidays. This past Friday was a Buddhist holiday, Vesak Day.  According to a website about Singapore public holidays, Vesak Day is the most important day of the year for Buddhists, as they celebrate the birth, enlightenment, and death of Gautama Buddha, the prophet who founded Buddhism  On Vesak Day worshipers bring offerings of flowers, candles, and incense to statues of Buddha in the temples.  Also, "Buddhists believe that performing good deeds on Vesak Day will multiply merit, and it is often a day when Buddhist youth organize mass blood donations at hospitals and other Buddhists perform acts of generosity that can include releasing of caged birds and animals, taking goods to the poor and needy, and making gifts to charity." Some Buddhists are also involved in a ritual in which they travel in a procession to a temple, and "devotees take steps on both knees, bowing at every third step as they pray for world peace, personal blessings, and repentance."  

A week and a half before Vesak Day, an enormous tent was set up across the street from the block of buildings where we live.  People worked there for the next week to prepare for Vesak Day celebrations.  We even received a postcard in our door, inviting us to join the Buddhists in their celebration.  The postcard says, "On Vesak Day, Buddhists give praise to the wisdom of our Lord Buddha and our gratitude to His unlimited great compassion." (Wow...how about the wisdom of the Lord God, and our gratitude for HIS great compassion?!!)  We were invited to visit the celebration site or join the Buddhists to pray at any time during the week.  We were also invited to join them in a two-hour "chant for peace" on Friday night.

What follows are some pictures of the celebration site.

The site was well-lit at night, with festive lights 

strung all down the street, far past the tents.

This shows how deeply entrenched Buddhism is in Asia--Buddhists were celebrating Vesak Day over 500 years before Christ was born!

Some themes that apparently play a large role in Buddhism

This sidewalk was put in special for the celebration also--it is usually just a big open field.

Look at all those oranges!  Oranges are a big thing in Chinese culture, and we often see them placed in front of idols as offerings.  They are thought to symbolize wealth, prosperity, and luck.

You may have noticed that one of the signs at the celebration site referred to "The Way." We as Christians know THE WAY--Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. What a wonder that God chose us, to give us salvation through Him!

Bishan Park

A few times lately we have gone to Bishan Park, a very large, beautiful, and peaceful park nearby.  I say "peaceful" because Singapore is a bustling, noisy city--but Bishan Park is very quiet.  People walk, exercise, and ride bikes through there, but the noise of the city is gone.

An interesting tree in the park

There are a few restaurants in Bishan Park.  One is McDonald's.  McDonald's can be found everywhere in Singapore.  (So can KFC.)  Another is a beautiful outdoor restaurant called Canopy Garden Dining--a great place to sit and eat as long as it doesn't rain on you!

There are a couple of different playgrounds in Bishan Park, as the park goes on for at least a mile.  But who needs a playground when you have rocks in a stream?!

 

Here is a picture of one of the people who maintains the park.  I put this in here so you can see how they dress.  It's usually 85-95 degrees and always very humid--I can't imagine working outside dressed like this!  Those who cut lawns here dress the same way--and cut the grass basically with weed-whackers, no matter how large the area they are cutting!

There are two areas of Bishan Park, which are divided by a busy road.  The first time we went to the second area of the park, we were struck by how many temples there were around, just outside the park.  I'm not sure which religions they represent.

Here is an interesting sign we came across in Bishan Park one day.  Let's hope we only come across the SIGN, and not what it is warning about! :-)

Three of our trips to this park have been with people from church.  Kong Wee and Dorcas are the parents of Elijah and Jael, whom I have written about before.  The first time we were joined by one other family as well.  We have very much enjoyed our times of fellowship with them.

Enjoying new friendships!

Church Outing

Last Wednesday, May 1, was Labor Day in Singapore.  Since people have off work, each year there is a church outing on Labor Day.  This year it was at the beautiful Labrador Park on the southern coast of Singapore.

Those who have seen Prof. Dykstra's slideshow on Singapore have seen some of the interesting building designs here.  We passed this one on the way to the church outing, and I have to share...quite the architecture!

Here is Labrador Park:

The outing began with singing and an exhortation by Brother Meng Hsien on fellowship.

Next, we were split up into groups and each given a number of items to work with to depict either the church theme for the year (doctrine according to godliness) or the theme of the day's exhortation (fellowship).  The items included an empty plastic bottle, newspaper, some sticks, a shoebox, a garbage bag, and one "special item" for each group--in our case, a big box.  I was very glad for creative people on my team! :-) After fifteen minutes to put our projects together, we had to explain them to the rest of the people.

A church, where the doctrines of Scripture are explained

A lantern to guide our feet in the paths of godliness

Fellowship of the young people as they play soccer

After the activity we had lunch, which consisted of rice or noodles, along with foods for each team to grill.  These weren't your typical grills though--they were aluminum foil roasting pans with charcoal placed inside, and a thin grate put over the top when it was hot enough.  Worked great!  We might have to make our own grill outside our flat! :-)

After lunch there was free time.  Adults talked, kids played on the nearby playground, a soccer game got going, and through it all we had the fellowship that Meng Hsien had talked about earlier in his exhortation.