Monday, May 23, 2016

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!




Thursday, May 12, 2016

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




Monday, May 2, 2016

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"!






Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Woodlands Waterfront Park

Last Friday we had our April homeschool outing at Woodlands Waterfront Park on the Straits of Johor, the narrow body of water between Singapore and Malaysia.


The playground


Looking across the Straits of Johor to Malaysia


If you look closely you can see a long line of cars on the bridge 
between Singapore and Malaysia.  They are waiting to go through 
customs and enter Singapore.


Heliconias

The kids loved the playground.


This playground really was not designed for 4-year-olds, but other
than a few scary moments here and there, Jason was okay on it. ;-)




Jessica, Emily, and Jael




Elder Leong with his grandson Noah

We had pizza delivered for supper and took a group photo of the kids afterwards.





Beautiful sunset over Malaysia