Follow-Up Dinner

Last Thursday evening the church's Follow-Up Committee (for following up with visitors to our services) planned another dinner at our place for a few newcomers and several of our members.

Joshua Teo of the Follow-Up Committee leading in opening devotions

Meryl, Tze Yan, Elisa, and Chew Lap Meng--

Meryl and Lap Meng are two of about sixteen people 

attending the pre-confession class right now!

Kuang playing a game with three of our kids...

...and Marcus reading to the other two

We celebrated two birthdays with the traditional singing and cake-cutting.

Group photo at the end of the night

C.I. Outing

Each March, during a week of break for Singapore schools, our church has its C.I. outing.  "C.I." stands for Covenant Instruction--the classes that are taught to the children and young people each Sunday.  So this is an outing for the children and some of the youth, as well as their parents.  This year we went to the Singapore Science Center.

The first stop was the Human Body Experience, a special exhibit at the Science Center.  You enter a set-up of the human body by entering the mouth and climbing up the tongue, then slide down the throat and walk around inside the body.

The boys entering the mouth

Inside the body

The girls and Jason in the brain

After that, the group split up to go separate ways throughout the Science Center, including the water play area on a very hot day!

Jael and Jason having fun together

Some spent a little while on crafts.

The girls played games when they were finished inside.

We met back up again at lunchtime for a meal and devotions.

Kong Wee led devotions, trying to talk over 

at least 100 other people who were sitting near us!

And a couple more pictures taken before we left for home...

Church Visitors

Each year CERC requests a delegation of church visitors from the PRC to meet with the Session (council) of CERC.  This year the delegation was Rev. Koole and Elder Dave Kregel, and their wives were able to come with them.

The church visitors, our family, Jim VanOverloop, and two couples from church spent a day in the historic city of Malacca, Malaysia.

The streets of downtown Malacca

These colorfully decorated rickshaws are everywhere.

Buying the popular dessert cendol from a small shop along the street

Walking along a narrow street in Malacca after touring an old home

The ruins of St. Paul's Church

Malacca was ruled by the Dutch for about 150 years beginning in the mid-1600s, and the Dutch influence is still seen in the city.

We saw this Delft inside a museum.

A windmill in the center of town

All this Malay language--and then "Jonker Walk"!

Another day our family went with the Kooles and Kregels to Gardens by the Bay.

Inside the Flower Dome 

(a rare opportunity for Jason to wear a sweatshirt, so he took it!)

Great place for the owner of a landscape company and his former employee

The Flower Dome was decorated for Chinese New Year.

It's the Year of the Monkey.

Mary Kregel and Jessica

That's the walkway from which I took the previous picture.

Rev. & Pat Koole

Their last night here there was a farewell dinner at church for the church visitors and Jim VanOverloop.

 

Elder Kregel and Rev. Koole had to read poems 

to their wives, written by one of the young men here.

One verse of the Kregels' poem

Rev. Koole spinning a wheel to discover what his prize was for reading the poem

Jim had to do Charades and chose Joanne and me to guess.

The visitors also had other times of good fellowship with the people here.

Visiting at Lee Yang & Joanna's wedding dinner

Visiting and playing games in a family's condo

Dinner with the Teo family

(Notice the cake--Pat Koole had at least four birthday celebrations while she was here!)

We are thankful to the Kooles and Kregels for coming to Singapore and also to the PRC for sending them!