Pulau Ubin

Our friends Laura and Kelly Kaptein just visited Singapore for a couple of weeks.  One of our outings with them included a trip to Pulau Ubin with some other members from church. Pulau Ubin is an island of Singapore which retains the feel of how Singapore used to be, 40+ years ago.  To compare, here is a picture of Singapore today:

And here is what Singapore used to be like, as seen on Pulau Ubin:

A short boat ride takes you to Pulau Ubin, where you can rent bikes or walk around the island.

Changi Point, where the boats leave Singapore

People renting bikes on the island

We walked for two or three hours.

Noelene and Emily 

At the home of the village chief

When rain started to pour down, we took shelter under a canopy along the way.  While we were there, some wild boars came up to us--first just one, and then she brought back a whole family! 

 

Some of us stood on the benches to "escape" from the boars, 

and hadn't come back down yet. :-)

From there we continued to Chek Jawa, on the tip of the island.

Low tide

We finished the day with dinner together on the island.

Singapore's popular chili crab

We caught a boat ride back to Singapore at sunset.

Some Recent Events

We live in an HDB flat--public housing run by the Housing & Development Board of the Singapore government.  Right now there are renovations going on in our building and the others around ours.  The main thing is the replacement of all the bathroom tiles--which is a big project, since the entire bathroom (including walls) is tile, and the buildings are made of cement.  While bathrooms are being redone, each flat is given a temporary shower, and residents have to use bathrooms set up below the buildings.  We were very glad that the owner of our flat opted out of these renovations. :-)

A shower and some other work materials, ready on the balcony

outside our flat for a flat down the hall from ours

Toilets downstairs for people to use

Old toilets and sinks sitting outside our flat

The work is extremely noisy, so that for a couple of days we were not able to have school. We did have a couple of classes outside by the condo of another family from church one morning.  Another day the kids and I met Dorcas and her kids (from church) at an indoor playground.

The two-year-olds

Another recent event here has been the worst drought in Singapore in over fifty years. One of our outings during the days we couldn't have school was to the Botanic Gardens, where streambeds were completely dry and lake levels were way down.

We were all excited to hear a thunderstorm during church two Sundays ago, and since then God has sent rain several times, for which we are all thankful!

A women's Bible study meets at our place on Wednesday mornings twice a month.  The last time we met was my husband's birthday, so the women brought a cake, and we all sang together.  A couple of women brought their homeschooled children, and a couple of extra youth were here, so we had a nice big group to sing Psalter #55 together.

This past weekend were were very happy to welcome our friend Josh Hoekstra from Hudsonville PRC to Singapore.  He stayed with us for four days before moving on to Malaysia for business.  I think we managed to cram quite a bit of sightseeing into those days, and he really enjoyed meeting the people of CERC and worshiping with them.

 Singaporeans laugh, but to us Americans it is great fun to see monkeys in the wild! :-)

(They can be very aggressive, but a couple of sticks in our hands held them back very well.)

There were at least eleven monkeys along the roadside as we headed to a reservoir.

 A Sunday evening gathering--"Behold, how good and how pleasant

it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Ps. 133:1)

One Holy, Catholic Church

Because Singapore is such a business hub and also a tourist destination, we have been able to meet many people from all over the world since we moved here.  Besides worshiping each Sunday with Singaporeans and Filipinos (who live here for work), we have had the opportunity to meet people from the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Malaysia, Australia, and Nigeria.  Most find us on the internet, although a few are brought in by personal contacts.  Many pass through on their vacations, and we don't see them again.  Some come to church at CERC for as long as they are in Singapore.  The most recent has been a family from Germany.  The husband had been here for work before, and worshiped with us.  He just came back for four weeks of work, and brought his wife and two young children.  Although the children hardly spoke any English, they joined the youngest Sunday School class all the weeks that they were here, and we had a couple of opportunities to get together with them outside of church.

Other recent visitors were a couple from Texas, Jonathan and Mary, who moved to Singapore for two years of work the same day that we left Grand Rapids to move here. Jonathan's father is a retired Baptist minister in Texas, who was a missionary in Mexico when his children were growing up.  Jonathan told me that they met for church in people's houses in Mexico, which were one-room houses with dirt floors, and chickens and dogs running through the house during the middle of the service.  Besides that, often only one half of the couple in whose home they were meeting was a Christian, so the spouse might be in the room making himself a meal while the service was going on.  It is so interesting to hear about and see the different ways in which God gathers His Church throughout the world!

We also just met the family of a Baptist minister in England.  His son lives here for business, with his wife, who is from the Netherlands, and their two children.  Pastor Hartley and his wife were visiting them.

Last summer we had two women from the Netherlands visit us.  They were in Singapore for the weekend, on their way to a vacation in Malaysia.  They joined our women's Bible study, then stayed at church for lunch and the second service.  They were moved to tears at finding a church here in Singapore with which they were one in the faith.  It was such a joy to get to know them, even though on this earth we may never see each other again.

While preparing for a Bible study last week, I ran across Article 28 of the Belgic Confession:  "This holy church is not confined, bound, or limited to a certain place or to certain persons, but is spread and dispersed over the whole world; and yet is joined and united with heart and will, by the power of faith, in one and the same Spirit."  What a wonderful thing it has been to meet all these believers from all over the world, who are "joined and united" with us "in one and the same Spirit."  May God continue to gather His Church until the day when we can all be together in glory!

More Visitors

We've been enjoying some more visitors during the last couple of weeks.  First Jim VanOverloop came and stayed with us.  During his last couple of days here, Rev. Koole and Elder Dave Kregel from the Contact Committee and Grandville Church also came to Singapore for the annual church visitation and for family visiting with our family.  It was wonderful to see them all again!

Showing Jim the wet market by our house

Jim and Jessica by the sign for the southernmost point of continental Asia

Jim with our family at the zoo

I have posted pictures before of the Buddhist temple in Chinatown, but after taking Jim there I have a video to post, if you are interested in hearing and seeing some of their worship.

Another interesting part of their idolatry

Besides sightseeing, we all enjoyed fellowship with people from CERC.

A Saturday afternoon Bible study at church

Dinner with the Lims

Dinner with Peng Lan and Daisy

Dinner all together at Lau Pa Sat

Out for seafood with the Teo family--Rev. Koole and Elder Kregel

were the first to get their "bibs" on for eating the messy crab!

The delegates at church last Sunday

All three men have very much enjoyed their time spent with members of the church in Singapore.  The bond between brothers and sisters in the PRC and CERC continues to grow. To God be the glory!

Chinese New Year 2014

Chinese New Year is a very big holiday each year, lasting fifteen days.  Because it is connected to the lunar calendar, each year the dates are different; this year Chinese New Year (CNY) was from January 31-February 14.  This year is the Year of the Horse. There are beliefs about what your personality will be like if you are born in the Year of the Horse (or any other year), how successful you will be, your health and your wealth, etc.

Decorations in Chinatown

For the first two or three days of CNY, many of the businesses on the island shut down. You need to stock up on groceries before CNY, as we found out the hard way--we needed hamburger buns for a meal for some visitors, but the stores were all out because there had been no bread deliveries for two or three days!

The following pictures show an area below our building that is usually bustling with people eating and shopping.  These pictures show how deserted things become during Chinese New Year!  A stray cat had taken up residence on one of the tables that is usually used for eating.

A big part of CNY is reunion dinners.  People gather together with family members and friends and have meals together.  I wrote last year about some of the traditions that go along with these visits.  This year we were invited to the home of Yoon Chuan and Jee Fung and their family, along with Roy and Poh Choo and their family. 

Ready to mix the "yu sheng," a traditional Chinese salad usually 

made with shredded vegetables, toppings and sauces, and raw fish

Yu sheng before mixing

Those we celebrated with

 

Poh Choo with my girls and me, all wearing cheongsam, 

a traditional Chinese dress often worn during Chinese New Year

Each year the church has its own Chinese New Year celebration.  Different homes are opened to the church members for singing, an exhortation, food, and fellowship.  This year we went with quite a few others to the home of Elder Wong and his wife Wan Teng.

The first Sunday of Chinese New Year, my husband preached on Revelation 6.  In the New Testament, every year is the year of the horse--the years in which the four horses ride forth to accomplish God's counsel and work for the second coming of Christ.  "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever" (Rev. 5:13).

CK/CKS Anniversary

The Covenant Keepers (CK--young people) and Covenant Keepers Seniors (CKS--young adults) celebrated their anniversaries on January 25--14 years for CK, and 6 years for CKS. I was home with sick kids, so once again all the picture credit goes to Daniel, and the details come from another of the young people, Bernice.  Of all the pictures I could have chosen, I tried to choose people you may not have seen before on my blog, so that I can introduce you to more of the youth here.

The celebration began with the singing of some Psalter numbers, and an exhortation by Elder Felix Chan, based on Romans 11:36-12:2, in which he spoke of using everything in this life to serve Christ.

Next was an address by one of the youth, Marcus Wee.

Following that was a welcoming of new members to each group, and the giving of gifts of appreciation to Bible study leaders and committee members.  (CK & CKS have a committee that plans activities and discussion topics.)

New CKS member Ming Hui with committee members Noelene and Bernice

Lisa Ong and Daniel Tang

Deacon Lim Seow Thong with Jemima Lee

Christine Ong

Iva Chan

Two of the men from church own a brownie shop, and they provided the "cake" for the celebration.  There was time for group pictures too--first the committee members and their advisors, then the CK/CKS members, and then all who were present for the anniversary celebration.

The evening concluded with dinner and a time of fellowship.

Shang Ren

We are thankful to God for the zeal of the youth here, and their love for the truth.  May God continue to bless them!