Church events

CERC does not have special services, but that does not mean that Christmas Day and New Year's go unnoticed.  On Christmas Eve there is caroling.  Members are asked to open their homes for church groups to come and carol.  The purpose is to invite your unbelieving family members, friends, and neighbors.  Along with the caroling is an "exhortation," so this is a good opportunity to witness to those people.  Although we did not have anyone to invite, we were asked to open our home this year.  There were three homes besides ours, so the whole congregation was split into four groups and sent to these homes.  We sang, and at our house Aaron Lim gave the exhortation.

The songbooks look a little bit different than our caroling songsheets at Faith! :-)

After the caroling and a time of refreshments, everyone met at church for more singing.

So that was the Christmas celebration.  Yesterday was New Year's Day.  Each New Year's there is a "Prayer & Praise" meeting.  There are seven different Bible study groups at CERC, with attendance mostly based on location.  For example, those who live in eastern Singapore meet together for a Bible study.  Another group is called "Central."  Each of these Bible study groups sang a song to start the meeting, with someone from the group giving a short introduction before the song.

The Covenant Keepers & Covenant Keepers Seniors 

(like our Young People's and Young Adult's Bible studies)--a very large group!

After singing and a time for prayer requests, the church theme was introduced.  Each year the Session (council) chooses a theme for the year and presents it on New Year's Day.  This year's theme is "Doctrine According to Godliness."  Before the official presentation, we played a game.  We were split into groups and had to find objects that began with each of the letters in "Godliness."  Most of us chose things like an iPhone for the I, the door for D, employment pass for E, etc.  One group had Megan's "golden hair" for G.  And one group of young people came up with animal names for each letter, then acted like a gorilla, an orangutan, an elephant, etc.  We had a lot of laughs.

One of the groups presenting its findings for each letter

After the game, my husband gave a short speech on "Doctrine According to Godliness." Then he and Elder Wong presented a slideshow with the goals the Session has for this year, based on this theme.  The day concluded with lunch together.

We pray that all of you will have a blessed new year, knowing that our sovereign God is in control of all the events of our lives.  

The man who once has found abode

Within the secret place of God

Shall with Almighty God abide,

And in His shadow safely hide.

I of the Lord my God will say,

He is my refuge and my stay;

To Him for safety I will flee,

In Him my constant trust shall be.

Thou shalt beneath His wings abide,

And safe within His care confide;

His faithfulness shall ever be

A sure protection unto Thee.

                        --Psalter #248, stanzas 1, 2, & 4

Back to Malaysia

On Christmas Day we went to Malaysia again, this time with a different group from church. As we were heading to our destination just north of Malaysia's capital, my husband said to me, "I never thought I would spend a Christmas Day stuck in a traffic jam heading to Kuala Lumpur!"  Isn't that true!! :-)

On the way there we stopped at a couple of rest areas (R&R, they call them) and saw signs like the one pictured below.  The bathrooms here were kept clean by Malaysian standards. We were told that if you find an R&R with a prayer room, you know it will be clean, because the Muslims need to wash up before they use the prayer room.  There were even showers there, and it was strange to be using a Muslim shower when one kid got sick all over another kid in the car and I had to clean them up! :-)

The next two pictures show Kuala Lumpur, including the Petronas Twin Towers, which were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998-2004.  The other tall building is the Kuala Lumpur Tower.  The reason I show the second picture is that it seems to us that Malaysia is a land of huge contrasts.  There are such nice places there, and such run-down places.  The second picture was taken right after the pictures of the bright, modern Twin Towers.

Our destination was the Genting Highlands--some of the mountains of Malaysia.  What a beautiful place.  We stayed in a hotel for three nights, with our room on the 23rd floor. Often the clouds were so thick around us that we couldn't see much out our window.  When it did clear, the view was amazing.  The picture doesn't quite do it justice.

On Wednesday we went a little higher up the mountain to a theme park.  The temperature there was in the low to mid 60s, which felt so good after weeks of hot, humid weather!  The place was packed with people, but there was not another white person in sight.  So we really stood out, and all day long people were coming up to our kids, wanting to touch them or take pictures of them--and even have their pictures taken WITH our kids!

(The girl holding Jason is part of our group.  We didn't give him away to strangers. :-) )

The following day we went to an elephant sanctuary.  The kids got to feed some elephants, and then we took  a walk through the jungle.  God's creation is so incredibly beautiful!

 A variety of mushroom

Some berries in such a bright blue color!

After this we went to a place called Deerland, where we could feed deer and hold snakes. Jason played with the snake's tail. :-)

On Friday we had to head for home.  First we stopped at a strawberry farm.  I include a picture so you can see how strawberries are grown here.

And finally...God keeps His covenant in Malaysia too!

Youth Camp

This week was the annual Youth Camp for the Covenant Keepers and Covenant Keepers Seniors--basically all the young people.  They do this every December, staying together at a place in Singapore from Monday through Friday morning.  Since my husband was the main speaker, our whole family was invited to attend.  We all stayed in the Cranwell Bungalows in eastern Singapore.  There were three bungalows--the following picture is the one our family stayed in.

Quite honestly, I am not the best person to write this blog, because I ended up in our "bungalow" with Jason during many of the speeches and activities!  Three of the speeches started about the time some of our kids were going to bed, and Jason needed naps early a couple of the other days, putting it right during speech time.  But I can tell you that the theme of the speech was the book of Judges, "Deliverers from the Lord."  My husband gave speeches on Othniel, Deborah, Barak, and Jephthah (Deborah and Barak separately); Elder Chan gave a speech on Gideon; and Aaron Lim gave a speech on Samson.  (Aaron is from Singapore but lives in the Grand Rapids area as he prepares to enter seminary next year, Lord willing.)  Besides these speeches, there was a short one to close the camp, and an introductory speech by Prof. Hanko via DVD.  That was the one speech I heard.  He had Rev. VanBaren tape him at seminary.  His love for the youth here was very clear, and I know the people here have a great love for Prof. Hanko also.  So it was really neat that he was able to do this for them.

Besides all the speeches, there were times of singing and devotions, and then time also for games.  On the last afternoon everyone went dragon boating, except for my four youngest kids and me.  Only those ten years old and up are allowed to go dragon boating.  I'm not sure I had ever heard of that before, but a bunch of people sit in a long, narrow boat and row with oars.  The youth were divided into five groups and had a race, and it sounds like they had a great time.  On the last night the three youngest kids and I went home, but Jessica and Eric stayed up with all the youth until 3:30 a.m. playing games and having water fights.

Here is one thing we never did at our young people's conventions:  one evening each of us was given a big piece of paper with one glossy side, and given instructions on how to fold it to make our own dish for suppertime.  I am not good at that kind of thing at all, so I was really glad that at future mealtimes the dishes were made in advance. :-)

Then, just a couple pictures of the youth spending time together:

We pray that the youth are blessed by the speeches and activities of the week.

A trip to Malaysia

On Thursday morning, bright and early, we headed for Malaysia with a group of families from church.  First we went through customs, which is different from the U.S./Canada border crossing in that you go through Singapore customs first and have your passports checked, then you drive a little ways down the road, and then you go through Malaysia customs and again have your passports checked.  The roads in Malaysia were lined with palm trees, often as far as we could see in all directions.  At one point, some monkeys ran across the road in front of us.  That's something you don't see every day!  We thought it was great!

Our first stop was a crocodile farm.  Here, a tour guide came along with us and fed the crocodiles.  He would tease them with whole chickens held just out of their reach so that they would jump up and try to get them.  After everyone got all the pictures we wanted, he let the crocodiles eat!  

Before we left the crocodile farm, everyone was given a chance to hold a baby crocodile.  My husband went first, and Eric went last--but the crocodile suddenly went crazy in his hands and tried to escape, so Eric's turn was very short! :-)  Then we got some group photos by some crocodile skulls.

After this we headed to a nearby seafood restaurant.  This was unlike any restaurant we'd ever seen, but the food was good for those who like that kind of thing. ;-)  I had some good chicken and noodles.  I'm still not a rice fan, but the noodles I've had here are good!

The outside of the restaurant

Inside the restaurant--You can see the waitress by the dishes, 

stored out in the open right next to the tables.

The view from our seats 

The restaurant was open to the outside, as many things are here.  As long as it's 

covered to protect from rain, they don't ever have to worry about it being too cold here! :-)

After lunch we went to an ostrich farm.  There, we were given a presentation on ostriches, including how large their eggs are.

After the presentation we were allowed to feed the ostriches, touch them, and even ride them.  Megan and Eric were the brave ones who rode the ostriches.  Megan absolutely loved it.  She still talks about riding the Bouwkamps' horse at our church picnic this past year.  Now she can add riding an ostrich to her list!

After this we checked into our resort, where we had breakfast overlooking the South China Sea the next morning.

At the resort there was a waterpark, so we spent a couple hours at that in the morning, before checking out and eating lunch in a Malaysian kampong.  This is a little village with some restaurants and shops on the main street. A couple of the men from church told us that this is how Singapore was when they were growing up.  Things have changed so much in Singapore in the last 25 years!

Our final stop in Malaysia was a fruit farm.  Here we were given a tour that showed many of the different kinds of fruits that grow here, including bananas, water apples, jackfruit, mangosteen, dragon fruit, and passion fruit.  And last but not least--durian!  For those who remember my husband's emails from Singapore last year, he described durian this way:  "If a pineapple went out and got tattoos and a mohawk, it would come home a durian."  Now you can see for yourself!

Touch carefully--it's sharp!!

I can almost guarantee that this is the closest Eric will ever come to eating durian!

Finally, a few more random pictures:

Emily enjoying coconut juice at lunchtime, straight from the coconut

Typical Malaysian bathrooms.  "Wow," is all I'd better say. :-)  We did 

manage to find "Western toilets" almost everywhere!

Oceanfront property!

We had a good time with the group from church.  One of the young people rode with us, and we enjoyed singing Psalter numbers together as we rode along.  The drives were very beautiful, with all the palm trees along the highways.  And now we are back in our flat in Singapore, and it feels like home. :-)

Grace

Earlier this week we had a funeral for a 99-year-old woman from church, Madame Tan Keok Neo.  One of her daughters is also a member of CERC, along with her (the daughter's) husband and children.  I asked one of the grandchildren at the funeral, "How long was your grandma a Christian?"  I was shocked by the answer.  "Three years."  She was converted at age 96!  She had been living with this daughter from CERC for years.  Another woman told me, "My mother-in-law has been living with us for years too, but we can hardly get her to set foot in a church."  These people in their 40s and 50s are first-generation Christians, whose parents and siblings in many cases still live in idolatry.  What a burden!  And what a BLESSING that this family who lost a loved one could have the comfort that their mother and grandmother is now in heaven!  As my husband said during his funeral speech on John 14:1-3, "Jesus does not come to take us to heaven until our place is prepared.  Madame Tan could not have gone to heaven five years ago.  Her place wasn't ready yet.  She didn't even know Jesus yet."  But now her place was ready, and she joined "the spirits of just men made perfect" (Hebrews 12:23).

I have been told a couple of times since moving here, referring to my Christian background, "You are more blessed than we are."  And I know what they mean, because who can deny the great blessing of growing up in a Christian family, with generations before me worshipping God and loving His truth, and myself knowing and loving God for as long as I can remember?  But I think that I am not "more blessed" than the people here--we are just blessed in different ways.  For what an amazing blessing to be chosen of God out of the heathen, idol-worshipping religions, and brought to the knowledge of the truth!  And then to be brought to the love of God at age 96!!  Wow.  That is amazing grace.  Each one of us can truly say, "By the grace of God I am what I am" (I Corinthians 15:10).

We thank God for "the word of his grace, which is able to build (us) up, and to give (us) an inheritance among all them which are sanctified" (Acts 20:32).

Two welcomes

On Saturday, November 17, Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church officially welcomed us to their fellowship following a speech by Prof. Engelsma.  Elder Wee Gim Theng led a very nice program, beginning with the following two slides:

After this and a short letter to our family, read by Elder Wee and displayed on the screen, our family was asked to come to the front to introduce ourselves and have a cake cutting. Apparently cake cutting is a custom here at welcomes and farewells.  The cake and its cutting are shown below:

After we returned to our seats, pictures of each family in the congregation were shown on the screen, and those present were asked to stand up so we could see them and find out who they were.  These introductions were followed by dinner with the whole congregation.

Last Saturday, December 1, the young people had their own welcome program for us.  The "youth" here are made up of two groups.  Covenant Keepers consists of those ages 12-16. Covenant Keepers Seniors are ages 17 and up.  One of the youth, Matthias Wee, gave a beautiful "exhortation," as they call it, on the first verses of Genesis 12.  He spoke of Abraham leaving behind his "country, kindred, and father's house" to follow the Lord's leading, and of God's blessing on Abraham, which was ultimately the fulfillment of His covenant promises in the sending of Jesus Christ.  He concluded that it is Jesus Christ in whom CERC and our family have our unity, and Christ Who makes us one.  It was a wonderful encouragement to us as we begin the work here.

The young people here have been learning to sing in parts, and had practiced a couple of Psalter numbers for us, which they sang after Matthias' speech.  I have included a video of them singing the first stanza of Psalter #367.  The video doesn't quite do it justice, but their singing was beautiful.

The following two pictures show how well the children are fitting in here.  Although they miss their friends back home dearly, they are making good friends with the youth here too.  We thank God for our friends in the U.S., as well as our new friends here!