Settling In

Moving day on Saturday went very smoothly. 13 friends came to help us with the move. We are so thankful that God has blessed us with such kind friends.

The last three days have been crazy with unpacking and setting up the home. Things are going well, and we think maybe they will slow down in a couple of weeks! (In time for Danny to go back to work.)

Here is a look at our apartment from the outside. One of the common features of HDB housing is the laundry sticking out from the windows. As you see we have joined that crowd. Those are our sheets hanging out from the 10th story window.
Even Aaron has been helping with the unpacking.

Though not everything makes it exactly where it is supposed to go! He tries.

Moving

We are in the process of moving into our new apartment over the course of the week. We plan to move our furniture and things on Saturday, then to spend a couple days next week doing a thorough clean in this place. Part of the moving process will include transferring our phone and internet service to the new place. As a result we will be without internet for 10-15 days. This will be our last post until early August. Please continue to pray for us!

I've tried to fill your picture desires for a couple of weeks. There are 20 new pictures from two different parks, fourth of july photos, and eight pictures of our new home.

Enjoy!

BottleTree Park

These first pics are from June 23rd. We went with our small group to a little park that had facilities for fishing.

Here is the fishing pond for the youngsters. This little pool was stocked with thousands of little feeder fish. Kids could spend $10 for 30 minutes of fishing and the ability to take home the fish they caught!Next to the fishing pool was this pool for prawn fishing. This is not for the kids as it requires quite a bit of patience. This time I think it was $15 for an hour. The boys at the end are from our church, they tried hard but didn't catch anything, though some of the adults that were there caught quite a few.
While the fishing was going on, Betsy, Aaron, & I went for a walk around the "lake".
Aaron enjoyed his first time in the sand. Behind us you see the lake where people can pay to fish.

Fourth of July

We spent the Fourth of July at Clementi Woods Park eating a McDonald's picnic and playing with frisbees.

Here is Aaron in the car on the way there. Aaron pointing out where his favorite disc is. Danny had a lot of fun throwing discs and Aaron enjoyed watching Daddy.
And following Daddy.
And throwing them himself! Nice Putt!
Then Aaron decided it was time to go home, so he got the stroller!

Moving in

A couple weeks ago Aaron saw Daddy working on lesson plans, he wanted that BIG book!We watched a cat for some friends. It was a lot of fun having a cat in the house. Aaron enjoyed this close encounter with the animal kingdom. But we were glad to return her to her owner yesterday. Cats can also be a big mess!
OK, here is your first look at our apartment. We are on the 10th floor of this building.
This is a nice little storage room just off the main entrance.
Yes, the apartment it two stories! The bedrooms are upstairs with the living space downstairs.

We have a tub!!!The owners left a little tent and some balls. Aaron has been enjoying them while we have been unpacking.
The apartment is partially furnished and come with this nice couch.
Here is the view out our living room apartment. Lots of housing in all directions, but some trees too which is nice.
Aaron helping Daddy push the dolly back to the lift.

Talk to you again soon! Pray for us during the craziness of the next two weeks!

The Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Now that we have a car, we have been exploring all over Singapore. Some friends recommended this wetlands reserve in the far north of the country, so off we went! This was a beautiful jungle area right off the Straits of Johor, the waterways that separate Malaysia from Singapore. There are boardwalks that allow access to all the tidal mudflats which are home to much marine life and the unique mangrove trees. We learned that mangroves are mostly used for wood, but some species also have medicinal value.

The picture below is of Danny and Aaron near the entrance to the park. We are constantly amazed at the gigantic size of tree ferns!


We let Aaron wander along the boardwalks during the day. He was fascinated with the dead leaves scattered about. It seems he is a "neat freak", at least at this age. His favorite pastime was taking every leaf he could and pushing it through the cracks between the planks. He was headed to a leaf in this picture.

The Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve (continued)

Here you see one of the many mangrove trees. The root system is under the sea when the tide is in; it is exposed and muddy when the tide is out. We joked that the trees were confusing us. We couldn't tell if the branches were going up or down!


The trees grew right up around the boardwalk. We enjoyed the lush green jungle and relative quiet. This park is far away from city noises (if you can believe it in this packed place).


The buildings across the water are all located in Malaysia. It is hard to believe we were so close!


Monitor lizards like to lounge in the murky water. I don't know if it is cool, but at least he's in the shade.


We surprised this fellow while he was sunning himself on the trail. Danny whipped out the video camera and we did the tourist thing! We filmed him as he ambled off the trail into the brush.

Singapore History 101 - Part 8

This is the final installment of our history lessons. Hope you have enjoyed them!


The East:

The first two pictures were taken at the Johore Battery. The British built this gun site in 1939. There are three monster guns capable of firing 15-inch rounds. To store ammunition and get gunners to their posts, they dug a maze of tunnels. This site was completely secret and left undiscovered until 1991 when the Singapore Prisons Department found the guns.


Here we learned that the Johore Battery is the only site of its kind left in Singapore.



Below is the Changi Chapel and Museum. It is a memorial to the 50,000 civilians and soldiers who were detained during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore during WWII. There is a replica of one of the many chapels that POW's built at the various camps.

There are also replicas of murals painted by Stanley Warren, a British POW, in St. Luke's Chapel. He painted five scenes from the New Testament to thank God for keeping him alive during the occupation. No paint supplies were available, so Mr. Warren used whatever he could, including human hair for brushes and pool chalk for blue colors. The first painting he did was of the ascension of Christ. He chose this scene because he was so ill with dysentery that he was afraid he might die before completing his work. He felt that this was the most important event in Christian history and wanted to be sure it was done.

We were not allowed to take photographs inside the building, so you can see us standing right outside the exit.

Singapore History 101 - Part 7

Kent Ridge Park

One of the last battles for Singapore took place on this hill. It is called Kent Ridge Park, but has another name as well, Pasir Panjang Battle Site. The Malay Regiment fought against the Japanese for two days before they finally surrendered, after most of the men were killed.


Kent Ridge has a wonderful view of the vast harbour in southern Singapore.


A canopy walkway connects the hill of Kent Ridge to another, called Bukit Chandu. This boardwalk is raised to the height of the trees and gives the hikers new perspectives on the jungle below.


Here is the group at Bukit Chandu. It used to be called Opium Hill because the British owned an opium packing plant located at the foot of the hill in 1910. However, it has a more sinister past due to the last stand of the Malay Regiment fought on Kent Ridge and Chandu in 1942. 2nd Lt. Adnan Bin Saidi led 42 men against 13,000 Japanese. When the Japanese finally defeated the Malays, the prisoners were all brutally murdered and left on this hill.

An American Boy

World History 101

We are taking a little break from Singapore history to discuss something that I, Danny, have been studying in the Scriptures lately. I have always been fascinated with numbers, so when our pastor began a study of the book of Matthew with a discussion of the genealogy in chapter 1, I became inspired to do a study of mine own on the different genealogies listed in the Bible.

Here is a basic table of data concerning the line of men from Adam to the Great Flood:

Name	Meaning	Age	Year of Birth	Year of Death
Adam	Man	930	0	930
Seth	Appointed	912	130	1042
Enos	Mortal	905	235	1140
Cainan	Sorrow	910	325	1235
Mahalalel	The Blessed God	895	395	1290
Jared	Shall Come down	962	460	1422
Enoch	Teaching	365	622	987
Methuselah	Death Shall bring	969	687	1656
Lamech	Despairing	777	874	1651
Noah	Rest	950	1056	2006
Great Flood			1656

A couple of things that I noticed while looking at this list:

1. Note that Adam died when Lamech was 56. Thus, the story of creation and the fall could have been passed on firsthand or secondhand to most of those that were alive at the time of the flood.

2. Enoch lived only 365 years, then he "walked with God; and he was not." (Genesis 5:24) At that time Seth, his great-great-great grandfather was still alive!

3. Methuselah died the same year that the flood came. Apparently Enoch prophesied the Flood when he named his son. Methuselah also lived longer than any other recorded man, 969 years. This longevity is another example of God's patience and love for each one and his desire to give every man a chance to repent.

4. If you just read down the line of meanings you find an abbreviated tale of the Gospel story.

It is amazing the things that you learn looking at the lists of names in the Bible! I'm looking forward to my deeper look at the later genealogies.

VBS Update

The VBS program finished wonderfully last week. We had 15 kids on Tuesday and the number grew to 20 on Friday. Three of the twenty had never attended church with us before, and six had visited only once for Easter. We had lots of fun playing games, making puppets and capes, and learning about our best superhero, Jesus. Pictured below are the kids performing for their parents Friday night. In the back is Chloe the clown, she helped with many of the lessons throughout the week.

The kids quite obviously enjoyed themselves, and on Sunday two of the visitors joined us for church! Praise God!

On another note, the pool is almost done! Yesterday evening they started filling it up again. We are supposed to be able to use it again starting next Monday!


Love you all, thanks for your continued prayers!

Singapore History 101 - Part 6

The Sook Ching Operation

We were surprised to learn that some of the beaches in Singapore have a dark history. The picture below was taken at Changi Beach on the east coast. The Japanese military executed tens of thousands of Chinese during the occupation, between Feb. 18 and Mar. 4, 1942. This series of mass murders was known as the Sook Ching Operation. The first site of executions was right here on Changi Beach. Many Chinese civilian men and boys were executed because the military believed that they were anti-Japanese.


Here is another killing ground. There is a jetty at the end of Punggol Road. On February 28, 1942, about 300-400 Chinese civilians faced a Japanese firing squad.

Graduation

Last Wednesday 21 seniors graduated from ICS. These students will be covering the globe by this time next year: two will be in Guatemala, four or five will remain in Singapore, one in Australia, one in Korea, one in China, one in Japan, one in England, and several scattered throughout the US. In addition to these 21 students, we have many other families that will be leaving Singapore and taking their kids elsewhere in the world: one family will be serving God in Lebanon and two others will be working in China. What an awesome reminder of God's ability to impact the world from little Singapore. People from all walks of life come here and God speaks to their hearts. Then, He returns them to their home country or sends them elsewhere in the world to be a light for Him. We consider it a great privilege to be a part of what God is doing. Thank you for your prayers and support. God is using you too!


Construction
On another note, construction continues in our backyard. The pool seems to be nearing completion (was supposed to be done at end of May). Work was also begun on the bar-b-que pavilion. You can see an orange crane poking through the trees. That is the cement truck (down on the road) pouring concrete.

Singapore History 101 - Part 5

Going North


The Kranji Commonwealth War Memorial is found near the northern border of Singapore. It honours the memory of soldiers from many countries who gave their lives for freedom. 4,498 graves surround 12 columns. These columns contain 24,000 names of men whose bodies were never recovered. The cemetery was originally a hospital burial ground during the Japanese occupation. After the war, the cemetery was changed to the Kranji War Memorial. Singapore's first two presidents are also buried here. Our group is standing in front of one of the columns.


Here we are walking past the graves on our way back to the car.


This last picture was taken at a Japanese cemetery, also in the northern part of Singapore. We were surprised to find it in the middle of a residential area. Among those buried here are 135 Japanese war criminals. These men had participated in the Singapore Chinese Massacre (more on this next week). Field Marshal Count Terauchi, the Supreme Commander of the Japanese forces in South-east Asia is also buried here.

Vacation Bible School

Today was the first day of our Holiday Kids Camp at church. Fifteen kids attended, from 7-12 years old. Our theme this year: 'Jesus is our Superhero'. The kids had lots of fun with songs, crafts, superman clips, games, and lessons about how "Jesus is able to save completely." Hebrews 7:25

Danny had a lot of fun working with the kids and leading the song time. This was the first of four days. On Friday we will meet from 10-8:30, ending with a program for the parents. While most of the kids attend our church regularly, 5 or 6 of the kids are new to our church program. Please pray that God will be real to these kids and that their parents will be able to come Friday evening to hear God's good news.