Youth Camp

The week after Vacation Bible School, the youth held their annual camp from Wednesday-Saturday (December 17-20).  This year's theme was "Faith of Our Fathers, Living Still."  This was developed in four speeches.  A speech on Patrick, missionary to Ireland, had application to the possible mission work that CERC is investigating in India.  A speech on Ulrich Zwingli, reformer and Christian school board member, had application to CERC's work of starting a Christian school.  A speech on Heinrich Bullinger, a reformer whose confession of faith (The Second Helvetic Confession) united many churches, had application to our unity with the Covenant Protestant Reformed Church in Northern Ireland, as CERC and the CPRCNI work toward establishing sister church relations, Lord willing. And a final speech on Herman Hoeksema, contender for the faith, showed how he defended the faith against many errors and how it is our calling to do so yet today.

The camp location, in eastern Singapore

The outside of every VBS and youth camp :-)

The second speech, on Zwingli

Singing before the third speech

The other half of the room during the third speech

The fourth speech, on Hoeksema

There were also discussion groups after the speeches and time for group devotions each day.

One discussion group

Morning devotions

Another group having morning devotions

This year there was an outing to Pulau Ubin, an island where the group rented bikes for a couple of hours.

The group filled a city bus to take them from the campsite to the ferry!

Renting bikes on Pulau Ubin

Nichelle, Zi Hui, and Jessica on the boat heading back to mainland Singapore

There was also a lot of time for games and other fellowship.

Group game

Zi Hui trying to shoot the pop can off Joshua's head

A group of youth singing together

The last night, there was a barbeque to which the whole congregation was invited.

Grilling Singapore-style

The youth camp group photo was taken that night.

(Photo credit for this and many others to Yang Zhi!)

Finally, on an unrelated note, our family wishes you a blessed new year.  Thank you for your prayers and support in the past two years since we moved to Singapore.  May God continue to guide each of us by His counsel in the coming year (Ps. 73:24).

Vacation Bible School

Last week Tuesday-Friday, CERC held its annual Vacation Bible School.  This is a three-night, four-day event that the kids really look forward to each year.  This year, besides the children from CERC, there were quite a few visitors from other Singapore churches.

One highlight of each VBS is the water games, and there were also many other activities to enjoy.  (Thanks to Wan Teng and Yang Zhi for many of the pictures.)

Megan, Charis, and Emily dressed up for a game

There is also an outing each year.  This year it was held at the Forest Adventure area of Bedok Reservoir Park.  

I had to laugh when we got to the park to watch the kids and saw a 

monkey cross our path and head for the trash.  Where we lived during 

seminary, we had raccoons getting into our garbage.  Here there are 

monkeys getting into the garbage. :-)

At the Forest Adventure there were three different treetop courses, based on age and height.  The youngest kids enjoyed an easy course so much that some of them went on it eight times!

The next level up was a much more difficult course.

Finally, there was one more course for the oldest group, which concluded with a long zip line across the reservoir.

The oldest group, with their assistants

But of course the most important part of VBS, which required a lot of preparation by a lot of people, was the Bible lessons.  This year's VBS theme was "The Army of the King."  It was a very fitting theme this year, since only a couple of months ago we finished a series on Ephesians in church, including the armor of God.

Dorcas teaching the youngest group

Ah Moi teaching a group

 

Jean teaching the oldest group

Yang Zhi leading in devotions

The children all really enjoyed their week at VBS, and we pray they may grow spiritually from it too.  "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (Eph. 6:13).

Visitors from India

For the last week, CERC hosted Emmanuel Singh and his wife Sonali from Kolkata, India (formerly known as Calcutta).  First a picture of them, then the story...

Emmanuel was raised in a Christian orphanage.  Later he spent some time as an instrumentalist with the musical group Caedmon's Call.  While playing with them in John Piper's church one day, he picked up the book The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink.  He read it and became convinced of the truth of God's sovereignty, and began to read more and more Reformed literature.  I'm not sure of the timing of all this, but at some point he also went to a seminary in India, which taught Arminianism.  He was also married to Sonali, who had been raised Hindu but is now a Reformed believer also.

Upon returning to India after finishing up with Caedmon's Call, Emmanuel didn't know of any other Reformed people and felt very alone.  But then one day he heard Rev. Haak on the Reformed Witness Hour.  After some time, he got in touch with Rev. Haak.  That began about a year of weekly Skype meetings with some other Protestant Reformed ministers--Revs. Kortering, VanOverloop, and Woudenberg.  For the last 10-12 months, three men from our Session have also been involved in these Skype meetings.  (So these meetings have been going on for a total of close to two years now.)  The hope in involving our men was that CERC could eventually take over the continued work with Emmanuel--further instruction in doctrine, in preaching, in Reformed worship and church government, etc.

That brings us to Emmanuel & Sonali's trip to Singapore.  It was time to meet face to face with Emmanuel, instead of continuing only with Skype meetings.  CERC's Session is at the very beginning stages of investigating whether someday we will be able to do mission work in Kolkata through Emmanuel.  Emmanuel does a lot of preaching and witnessing on his own in Kolkata right now, but would like church oversight for his work.  He has a gift for bringing the gospel to those around him, including the Muslims and many Hindus in Kolkata. He also has a heart for those in the villages around Kolkata, and loves to teach the villagers God's Word.

Here are a few pictures that Emmanuel had sent before his trip to Singapore, showing a couple of the villages he works in:

And some pictures of his trip to Singapore:

A subcommittee of CERC's Session meeting with Emmanuel

He met with this group twice and with the entire Session once.

Trying on our new Indian clothes from Emmanuel & Sonali

Sonali with Jason and Jessica

Emmanuel with Megan and Jessica

Sonali also sang a song for our family about the beautiful, life-giving Word of God.  This is in the Bengali language, which is spoken in Kolkata.

Yesterday evening we met Emmanuel & Sonali and Seow Thong & Jean (from CERC) at the airport to say goodbye before the Singhs flew back to India.

With Sonali and Jean

Emmanuel & Sonali with our kids

 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."  Matthew 24:14

Recent Visitors

A lot of Americans have come through Singapore lately!  I have already mentioned the Haaks and Kleyns.  Besides the church events that they were a part of, our family got to spend some time with each of them.

With the Haaks at our place on a Sunday evening

With Kleyns at the zoo

Carriage ride at the zoo

The day of my husband's installation here, three men from Hope Church--Dave Jessup, Jonathon Kamps, and John VanBaren--were visiting Singapore on their way to Myanmar.  

 On the rooftop of the building where our church meets

With some of the church members after the second service

Because of all the American visitors that day (those three men and the Kleyns), the youth hosted a dinner after the second service.  Before dinner, we played some games.  The men from Hope had to do pictionary, including such things as "Canons of Dordt" and "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."  The Kleyns had to do charades, including "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."  My husband and I had to do Singapore slang, deciding which Singapore word (Bo jio, Abuden, Swee, or a few others) belonged as a proper response to some given sentences. Finally, there was a math question that one member of each team tried to tackle.

Ivan leading the games

Dave Jessup drawing "Nothing new under the sun"

Charades

We didn't know the Singapore slang, but we gave it our best 

shot and got some good crowd reactions!

Our math question (#1), which 6th-graders here are expected to know how to do

After a few minutes I gave up and watched John VanBaren, while Rev. Kleyn 

waited to write down John's answer as his own as soon as John finished. :-)

This picture pretty much sums up our afternoon--lots of laughing.

Group photo at the end of the evening

The last few days we enjoyed a visit from Justin & Cathie Koole and Gary & Judy Kaptein from Faith Church.

Lunch before a river cruise downtown

Some adventurous ones tried jackfruit, coconut, and even durian!

Lunch in Chinatown

Shopping in Chinatown

Fellowship at a homeschoolers' outing Friday--

They were able to meet quite a few people from church Friday evening.

At the Singapore Zoo on Saturday

Renewing acquaintances--Gary and Gim Theng were elder 

delegates to the same synod a couple of years ago.

At church on Sunday

We had a wonderful time with all of these visitors and are also glad they were able to fellowship with the saints here.