Furlough (1)--Out West

Our second furlough since moving to Singapore began on June 6.  A few of our friends from church came to see us off at the airport.

 

Tian Loong and Eric

 

Watching us go

 

Our plan had been to spend a couple of days with my brother-in-law's family in Redlands, then drive to my parents' house in Loveland.  However, the plans changed because of sickness in Redlands, so we started our road trip a day early.  Our first big stop was the Hoover Dam, which we enjoyed in spite of 110+ degree heat and losing each other (half of the family and the other half) for 45 minutes. :-)

 

 

On Wednesday we saw the amazing beauty of God's creation at the Grand Canyon.  We rented bikes for a while and saw three elk along the path, and spent some time just looking out over the amazing views.

 

 

The next day was a big day.  First on the list was Mesa Verde National Park.

 

 

Cliff dwellings

 

Next we back-tracked to Four Corners National Monument, after getting there six minutes after closing time the previous night!

 

 

In four states at once!

 

We ran out of time to see Canyonlands National Park as planned, but the best was yet to come anyway:  Arches National Park.  The kids had the time of their lives climbing on the rocks there.  As one of them said, "There are no words to express how fun this is." :-)

 

 

Balanced Rock

 

 

 

On Friday evening we met my parents in Grand Lake, Colorado, and drove through Rocky Mountain National Park with them.

 

 

Grand Lake

 

We saw three moose on our drive through the park.

 

There were many deer and elk as well.

 

"Praise ye the LORD...Let them praise the name of the LORD:  for he commanded, and they were created...Mountains, and all hills...Beasts, and all cattle...Let them praise the name of the LORD:  for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven" (Psalm 148).















Recent Activities

Two weeks ago my husband and I met with another minister and his wife for lunch.  Pastor Willy, as he is known, is the pastor of Criswell Tabernacle, a small Presbyterian church in Singapore.  He and his wife Kim got to know the Korterings well during their years here and have worshiped with us a couple of times recently while Willy is on sabbatical.  Before we met Kim for lunch, Willy took us to a couple of places in Singapore that we had not seen before.

One of the oldest churches (or the oldest?) in Singapore--During 

World War II it was hit with Japanese bullets while people hid inside.

Singapore is very integrated now, but when the British ruled, the races 

were segregated.  Willy took us through the old Malay part of Singapore.

A huge mosque

Inside an Arab perfume shop

View of the mosque down a side street

This past Friday was our monthly homeschool outing, this time at Gardens by the Bay.

The boys playing soccer

Jael, Megan, and Jochebed

The older kids planning a game

Moms, younger kids, and Grandpa Fai Chong

We watched the music/light show in the Supertrees at the end of the night.

And one random picture:  we stopped to fill up the car with gas, and I took this picture at the gas station.  Someone left their coffee hanging on the fire extinguisher!

More Pictures from the Wedding Days

While choosing photos for my last blog, I found quite a few miscellaneous pictures from the wedding days that I would like to share.  They are not all of the couples themselves, but many of them are of other church members.  I hope that some of you see some familiar faces, and others are "introduced" to some of the saints in Singapore!

I only have one additional picture from Josiah & Hui Qi's wedding day, but it's one of my personal (very biased!) favorites--love the yawning 3-year-old (now 4) on the end. :-)

The bridesmaids and groomsmen all sit during the wedding.  

These are Josiah & Hui Qi's sisters, with the flower girl and pageboy.

From Zong Jie & Julia's wedding, with thanks to Julia's sister Lisa for the photos:

Joanna, Tze Yan, Elena, and the couple

At wedding dinners, a lot of the newlyweds' time is spent walking 

around talking to people and having pictures taken with each table 

of guests.  These are the couple's parents and several of the youth from CERC.

Here are a few more pictures from Lee Yang & Joanna's wedding:

The bride with two bridesmaids, two flower girls, and Dorcas, Jael, and Noah

Megan and Jochebed

The whole wedding party

Lee Yang & Joanna's wedding dinner was a barbeque at a rented chalet in eastern Singapore.

The youth cooking the dinner

Visitors Dave Kregel and Jim VanOverloop are also in this photo.

Our daughter Jessica's friends, Nichelle and Zi Hui

Shang Ren and Joshua

Kelly Kaptein from Faith PRC, Jemima Joy, and Joanne

Back row:  Hui Yi, Cassia, Beverly, Tze Ling

Front row:  Jemima, Phoebe, Samantha

Poh Choo and Jee Fung

2016 Weddings

This year three couples from CERC have gotten married.  The first was Josiah & Hui Qi at the beginning of January.

The groom's dad and sister before the wedding

Waiting for the wedding to start

Flower girl and pageboy

The bride with her father, Cheng Chye

The happy couple

Next was Lee Yang & Joanna in February.

Joanna with her bridesmaids

Saying their vows

The marriage license is always signed during the ceremony

by the couple and a parent of each; then a photo is taken of

the couple, their parents, and the officiating minister.

The couple always leaves the auditorium after being pronounced 

husband and wife, then comes back in again for more of the ceremony.

A choir of youth from CERC sang, as they do at almost every wedding here.

The third wedding was of Zong Jie & Julia this past weekend.

Julia with her bridesmaids

Their smiles were this big all day long. :-)

The couple with her parents, Daniel & Eunice Ong

At their formal wedding lunch, held two days later on a public holiday

The toast

We are thankful for these marriages in the Lord among the youth of CERC.  May He bless each of these couples as they "go down life's pathway together"!