Looking up the center

Daddy waited at the bottom while we climbed to the top. 30 stairs per flight (one circle is one flight), a total of 180 stairs, but the view and breeze were definitely worth it!!

Walking back down

Now a picture as we head back down, I wasn't feeling the best, so I walked instead of running this time! Betsy got a head start, you can see her almost down.

Looking Down the Center

We made it. This time Mama waited at the top to take the picture.

T minus 73 hours

Well, summer vacation is almost here! We've been working hard all summer and are ready for a vacation! In 73 hours Danny's parents arrive for a two week visit. This will be our vacation time as well. Pray that Danny is able to get everything done at the school before Thursday.

Yesterday evening we returned from our housesitting adventure. It was nice to be in a slightly more comfortable home, but we were definitely ready to be home! It was great this morning to be able to leave for work at 8:50 instead of 8:00.

Hmmm, let's see, what else can I say to prolong this post before getting to the part you all really care about. . . Went grocery shopping today, was nice to be able to simply walk home with the groceries, though the 30 lbs were definitely getting heavy by the end of the trip. The swimming pool was a soothing treat.

Thank you for all your prayers and congratulations. Betsy has been feeling much better for the last few days. This was good as we had dinner with friends on Friday and Saturday, then moved back home Sunday. Please continue to pray for us (especially Betsy and LW) during these next 7 months. We look forward to having another look at LW (little Whittaker) when we go back to the doctor August 11.

News You've All Been Waiting For

On Wednesday, July 6, we got to see the heartbeat of our little baby. Now we know why Betsy hasn't been feeling well lately. Everything in the ultrasound looked really good. The doctor set our tentative due date as February 19th. We are very excited! We covet your prayers as we prepare to be good parents. Below is a picture of the ultrasound. Our next visit to the doctor is in a month, we will keep you posted on new developments.

Little Whittaker

Computer Maintenance

Well, I continue working at the school getting the computers up and ready for the coming year. With the 65+ computers at the school, this is a big process. I've been enjoying it so far and have learned a lot from Andrew the IT director for the school. Friday I had the wonderful adventure of helping Andrew at Simlim. Simlim is a mall devoted to computer supplies. Somewhere around 300 separate shops selling all different types of parts, it was an interesting time, about 7 hours of walking around the mall, haggling with shopkeepers, and carrying supplies back to the van. It was fun, yet tiring, didn't get back from the shops until 8 pm.

I've also been growing a bit tired of the commute. It takes about 45 minutes to get to work, and about an hour to get back. After the 10 minute commute all year, that is a long time!

Summer Vacation

Well, we are settling in with our new summer routine. It has been nice being in a new home. We are house-sitting for one of the school families. It is a nice home and much larger than our own. As part of our responsibilities, we are taking care of their dog, and dwarf hamsters. So home life is busy with walking the dog and taking care of our 7 dwarf hamsters (4 of our own and 3 that we are hamster sitting). To fill up the rest of our time, we have been working at the school for 7 hours each day. I've been enjoying the time working on the computers, and even more I've been enjoying not having any homework to bring home at nights or on the weekends!

Betsy has a slightly lighter load at RDA over the summer, only volunteering in the mornings, but is keeping busy by working as a receptionist on Mondays and Tuesdays at the school.

Our schedule will continue in this way for the next few weeks until we move back to our place in the middle of July to get ready for my parents arrival on the 21st.

School's out for summer!

Wow, the school year has come to a close. It is hard to believe that a full 10 months have passed since we arrived here. Today I finished my job of cleaning up after the year and am officially on summer vacation. Tomorrow I start my summer job! I will be helping Andrew with the maintenance of the computers at the school. I will be working through most of the summer doing this, it will be nice having the pressures of teaching gone, but still having a job!

Most of the faculty are in the process of leaving for the summer break. Only a very few of us are staying in the country for the summer. It will be a quiet summer, but Betsy will continue volunteering at RDA, and she will also be working at the school in the office 3 days a week. These summer jobs will help us with our summer expenses, but could also be a bit of a strain. I look forward to the real vacation that will come in July when my parents arrive for a two week visit!

Love you all!

Special Olympics

This last Saturday, June 4th, was the Special Olympics held at RDA. I, Betsy, was given the great opportunity to help in this event. Some of us leaders started the program with a demonstration of the leading technique we use at RDA. Then students performed dressage tests. I had two independent riders take the test. They did well, and I was so proud of their achievements. I was very nervous because I was the one calling out the pattern of the test for each rider. If I had made a mistake, it would have ruined the test. Thank you, Lord, for getting us all through!!

After the dressage tests, we had relay games for other riders. These riders were led to the start line in a trot, dismounted, then ran on foot through the relay. The races were all very close until the end of the second race. One student tripped and bumped his knee. He was the last rider for his team, so the whole crowd cheered as he got up and finished the race. Now that is sportsmanship!!

Lastly, some other students and instructors had prepared a drill ride (patterns on horseback). I was not supposed to help with this because it was with a class on Tuesdays and I don't volunteer that day. But one of the leaders couldn't make it, so I filled in. It was lots of fun!!

I've included some photos of the event with captions explaining each. So, now you can have a glimpse of that great day!!

I led Harley in the leading demonstration. This type of leading is called "Hands Free" because the horse is led mostly with voice commands. With riders, we still attach a lead rope to the head collar of the horse for safety. But as you can see, we did not have them attached in this demonstration. This photo was taken at the end, when we "bowed" with the horses.

This is my first rider performing her test. You can see me in the back calling out instructions for her.

This is my second rider. He was very nervous, but he accomplished his goal of completing the test without a single mistake in the pattern.

My two students came in third and fourth in the dressage test. Well done!!!

Here are two competitors in the relay games. The adults with them are "sidewalkers", people who walk beside the rider on each side to keep the rider balanced. After the riders were dismounted, the sidewalkers ran the course with them.

This relay racer was one of my students on Thursday mornings. I always enjoy her smile!

Time comes earlier here

This afternoon Betsy and I went with a few students from the school and got to watch Star Wars Episode III in an early release. The movie actually started at 4PM on Wednesday the 18th, which was early in the morning on the 18th back there in the states. It's kind of fun knowing that we were one of the first to see the movie. It was a good movie, but it ends the way we expected! It was also an interesting study. The theatre wasn't even half full, I couldn't believe all the empty seats. It was fun to spend some time outside of school with the students as well.

Vinegar

A couple of weeks ago I learned a new use for vinegar, maybe some of you already know this:

I was having troubles with my stomach (use your imagination), wasn't sure if it was food poisoning or bacteria or maybe a parasite, but it lasted a few days. well, one of my coworkers mentioned drinking vinegar to kill anything in my stomach. So that is what I did, a glass of water with a tsp of vinegar. It tasted NASTY! (I drank it in the bathroom in case I couldn't keep it down.) It actually wasn't as bad as I expected, but I won't be taking it up as a regular drink. Apparently what ever was in my stomach didn't like it either, the vinegar cured me!

So, now we have another home remedy!! Yippee for avoiding the doctor!

Sunday School

This past Sunday I had my first opportunity to teach Sunday School. It was a fun time, and I think it was enjoyable for the kids. It was nice to finally get a little more involved in serving at the church. The lesson was on Samuel anointing David to be King, and having a heart for God.

At school, we continue to fly toward the end of the year, only 3 weeks of school left. As always, there is still a lot of things that I would love to cover before the end. Oh well, we have covered much. Pray for wisdom over the next weeks. After the year is over, most of the staff will leave the country for the summer. We look forward to the two months to explore Singapore and enjoy ourselves here, but we also know that it will tend to be very quiet. Of course, when July comes, so do my parents! It will be a lot of fun to have them here for those two weeks.

Betsy had a good week at RDA, she put in a lot of time on Thursday and Friday preparing for a fundraising dinner that was on Saturday, but did not have a chance to speak with her friend. Pray that she will have an opportunity to share with him this week, and that he will be open to God's message.

Answered Prayer

I (Betsy) have been learning so much lately in a Bible Study I attend every Wednesday morning. The big challenge God set before me was to learn to fear Him, as talked about in Kings. We have been studying the period in history when Israel splits into the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Some of the kings did not fear the Lord and faced serious consequences. I want to abide in Him and fear Him but cannot do either without Him. Because of my desire to constantly be aware of God (fearing Him), one of my many prayers lately has been that my countenance and attitude constantly reflect Jesus to all the lost around me. God gave me the answer, "you are," in a most amazing way.

One of my friends that volunteers at the RDA told me last Thursday, "I can see Jesus in you!" He went on to mention that he had known many Christians, but none like me. He asked me if I knew for sure that I would be going to Heaven when I die simply because I believed it was true. I emphatically answered, "YES!" He said, "See, you know it!" He also talked about his not knowing and finding out when he died. I didn't get a chance to talk to him about it at the time. Please be praying for a divine appointment this Thursday. I want God to speak to my friend. I want him to start a relationship with the Almighty, one true God!! Praise and Glory be to the only God of the universe and His great work here!!!!!!

A hawker center

Thought we would give you a picture of a typical local hawker center (yes mom, that is the correct spelling). Many different stalls selling all kinds of different foods.

Dinner with friends

A group of teachers out to eat!

Departing Friends

Saturday evening we had a Teacher Appreciation Banquet. This was a great evening with wonderful food and even more wonderful company. We also honored the teachers who will be leaving after this year. Pray for them in their transition, and also for those who are coming to replace them.

The culprits

Let me introduce you to Florence & David Tan. These are the people who introduced us to Singapore. I often tease Florence that it is her fault I am here, though we both know it was really God's calling!

Five weeks left

It is hard to believe that the school year is almost over. I am busy with the final planning to best use these last five weeks. The students, of course, are getting a little antsy to be done. It isn't quite the same as in the Oregon where this time of year we start to get sunny weather and students start to crave the outdoors. But the kids are still ready for vacation! I am too!

Over the last couple of weeks I was able to help with the PE class and teach a unit on disc golf. We set up a small course behind the school, and on Friday a couple of the students and a few of us teachers went to West Coast Park and played for a couple of hours. It was fun to be out playing again. I'm looking forward to a chance to exercise some more once the year is over. At the same time, it will be a difficult summer as most of the school people will be going home for the summer.

But, on the other hand, my parents are coming in July, so we look forward to that opportunity to show our home off to them!

Thank you again for all your prayers, we truly enjoy your support. Have a wonderful week, talk to you next time!

Morning on Mount Faber

I (Betsy) started to exercise again here. On Mondays and Tuesdays I hike up Mount Faber, walk a loop road, and practice my tai chi. The following 5 pictures are from last Tuesday. I like going up Mount Faber because of the exercise but also because of the fresh, morning smells. And my favorite part is the wonderful a view!

The 6th picture is from when Mom was here. We took her to a polo match. We all had so much fun!! The riders are all at different levels of skill. The game would be slower, then it would get faster with the more experienced players. The horses are switched out every 7 minutes to give them a break. It is hard work and to add the humidity of this climate on top of that is extra difficult. But the horses give the game their all!!

Thank you for your prayers. I still enjoy my volunteer work and tutoring. There are only 5 weeks of the school year left and even my tutor student is starting to get jittery. She is always diligent, but recently a bit distracted. I will continue volunteering at the RDA during the summer but will have different students. Continue to pray that God will use my testimony to reach the lost.

Pretty Flower

Cityscape

Birds

Ships

Harbor

Polo

I recently rearranged the guest room at our house. Now I can catch up on all my scrapbooking.

Singing on Good Friday

Good Friday Setup

I had to take some pictures of the sky today. These clouds were so huge, white and beautiful!!

This one was most unusual!

Endless Construction

As I walked to the school this afternoon, I witnessed more contsruction. It looks like they are changing the drainage system around the intersection by our home. They are putting pipes in by the sidwalk where the monitor lizard lives. I'm thinking he may move on to greener, quieter pastures. I discovered the monitor lizard about 2 months ago. He almost got hit by a car that day. He's about 2 feet long and made several holes going under the sidewalk that goes to ICS. But I haven't seen him for quite a while, and I think he will move on. Sorry Mom!!

Sad Day

We had a couple of very sad days at the RDA last week. One of the horses stopped eating and drinking last Thursday. He had to be put down on Friday. His name was Kublai and he was only 13 years old. The stable master thought he must have hit his head in the stall and the blow affected his brain. He simply lost control over his body slowly over time. I said goodbye to him on Thursday before I left. Friday morning he fell down and never got back up. We had sessions to do so some of the staff put a tarp up to cover his stall. The children never even knew what was going on. Later I asked one of the staff how she was doing. Her response was, "The worst is over." That was how I felt. At least he wasn't suffering anymore. Please pray as I seek to minister to the people who care for the horses. They were the most affected.

Pics by Mom

We've been going through the thousands of pictures Mom took while she was here and found these ones to share with you. Hope you enjoy them!!

Giant clam shell at Tioman

Betsy tutoring Sue

Sunset at Sentosa

Mom on the stairs of death

Computers Class

RAIN!!!!!

The big topic for today is the weather. A couple of days ago we experienced the most amazing storm ever! It got almost twighlight dark, rained a waterfall in wind, and lightning and thunder flashed and sounded simultaniously and constantly. Even these words don't do it justice. I couldn't even see across the road from our apartment. So, I pulled up a chair and enjoyed the show. I had to reset our breaker twice because of lightning strikes.

Meanwhile, after the worst of the lightening and thunder passed, Danny made his way home. I'd been noticing traffic backed up infront of our place. I just assumed the lightening cut power to the traffic lights. But that was not the case. When Danny got home he was wet to his knees. Most of the hard rain was gone so I was puzzled. He said that one or more drains were clogged at the intersection that he must cross to get home. There was a lake about a foot deep covering the entire intersection. The traffic I saw was backed up because each car had to proceed through the lake slow enough to prevent stalling the engine. Danny had to wade home. I imagine he looked a bit like Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain. How bizarre!! He also said that the rain canal nearby, that is usually almost empty, was almost full (about 5 feet deep). It is nice to know those things really are deep and wide for a reason.

We also experienced a similar storm again today. It broke after I got to school to tutor and had worn itself out by the time we were ready to leave. And thankfully no lake to wade in. We did have to reset the breaker when we got home. But we avoided wetness.

Building Update

There were only two bids received and we were the highest of the two bids. The government does not have to accept our bid and can take up to 90 days to decide. Thank you all for your prayers. Please be praying as we wait for God's will. Obviously the best scenerio in our minds is that we win the bid and are told soon. Also, if God gives us this new location, our current enrollment will be too small to support it. Pray for an influx of new students. The school is taking a leap of faith with this new site. Always, we want God's will first!

A Quiet Home

Well, Susie left for home Thursday morning bright and early (6:00 am). It was a wonderful time having her here to visit and we enjoyed being able to see Singapore through new eyes. Dad called to let us know that she made it home alright. Thanks for all your prayers. I must say it has been a little strange to have our guest room empty. Friday morning I woke up and thought to myself, "Well, time to wake Mom up." Then it hit me. Mom is gone. Thanks for coming; we had so much fun!!

New School Building

Here are a couple of pictures of the property we are bidding on for our new campus.

Great Sports Field

One of the great features of this campus is this large field. This used to be a local school, but has been unused for the past year. There would be enough room for 2-3 times as many students as we can hold at the current time!

A week in Singapore

OK, well, Monday #2 in our new weekly update schedule.

This past week has been a busy one. Having Mom here makes for extra activities as we try to show her around. Really it is the weekend where the business really stands out. Saturday we had a carnival/book fair at the school and spent most of the afternoon and evening there. The event was to raise funds for the library, the senior class trip, and the Asia mission team. It was a fun time with carnival games and food and books, and a dunking booth! I even got a 20 minute session in the dunking booth. It was something I would never look to do, but it was fun, and I would do it again. Pictures will be included later.

Sunday was church and Sentosa for volleyball again. While on Sentosa we took Mom on the monorail around the island. The monorail closes its doors on Tuesday to make room for a new and improved train system which will be much more efficient, but not as scenic. I think it will be a good thing, but we were glad to have one last trip on the monorail! We also got to go to the island via the cable cars this week. The view from up there is just magnificent! And mom even made it up the 130+ stairs, and back down as well!

All in all a good week, but we are looking forward to Spring Break next week. I can't believe that the third quarter ends on Friday!

I, Betsy, have added Thursday afternoons to my RDA time. One of the instructors, Bee, asked me to assist her with some students that are much more capable riders in the afternoons. There are 3 riders. I'm in charge of teaching the two beginners. I forgot to put my name tag on this week. I only had one student because the other was sick. The student asked me to repeat my name because he couldn't remember it. I told him, "It's Betsy." He said, "I don't think I'll remember that name, so I'll just call you Mickey. You're Mickey okay?" I chucked inside and agreed that would be fine. During the entire ride he called me Mickey. I actually remembered to respond accordingly. Just wanted to include this humerous tale for you! As a prayer request, while I was teaching my student, Mom got to talk with his teacher. She is a Muslim and Mom had her undivided attention for the entire hour-long lesson. Please pray that God will open her eyes to His truth!

Harley

Mom got to come with me, Betsy, to the RDA on Thursday. She got a picture of me with one of my favorite horses, Harley. I get to lead him on Thursdays. He is a retired thoroughbred racehorse. That means that he reminds me a lot of the horse I used to own, Flight. He is a sweet horse with a willing spirit.

Assistant Instructor

I was asked by one of the instructors at RDA if I would be willing to be an Assistant Instructor (AI) for the month of March. I said I'd be willing to take on the extra responibility for them. This last Thursday I still lead Harley for one hour and assisted for the other hour. You can see me here helping one of the students go to his horse, Django. I helped each rider mount, helped teach the warm-up exercises, helped with crowd control in the arena, and got to help some of the students with their trotting. I enjoyed the morning very much!

The Pirate

The carnival had a piratey theme, so Mom and Betsy had fun dressing me up as a pirate. They wanted to put a tea bag over my eye for a patch, but I told them I wasn't going to have tea dripping down my face from the sweat!

The Dunking Booth

As you can see, I've been in once or twice already, here I await my next dunking!

Taking the Plunge

Water has never been my favorite thing, and the idea of being dunked wasn't exciting to me, but I've been working on it lately, and really had a lot of fun. I don't think I had quite as much fun as Mom did though! The water actually felt really nice after I got used to the process. And I did get used to the process, I had a lot of practice!

Mom's here!

New Eyes

It has been fun these past couple of days having Susie (Betsy's mom) here to visit. We are again seeing Singapore through the eyes of a newcomer! As such, we will probably have more things to share in the next month. Things that have become commonplace to us will be new to her and she will remind us to tell you about them!

Yesterday we took her for her first real adventure, trying to break her in quickly! We started with a 8 minute walk to the bus stop followed with a 45 minute bus ride to church. After church it was a 35 minute bus ride and a 20 minute walk to lunch with some friends from school (we had Mexican!). Then we walked 8 minutes to the MRT for a 15 minute subway ride. Another 5 minute walk brought us to Starbuck's. Then we shared a Taxi with Miriam which dropped us at the bottom of the stairs of death (75+ steps) to return home. Once we got home we changed and got ready to go to the beach. That was a 15 minute walk to the bus stop, a 3 minute bus ride to the island of Sentosa, a transfer to another bus for a 6 minute ride. Once at the beach we met a bunch more friends for volleyball. We were there for a few hours, then we took a 6 minute bus ride to watch the fountain/music and light show. That got over at about 8:10 and we walked a couple minutes to the next bus for a 5 minute ride (in a PACKED bus) to the transfer spot for leaving the island and returning home. Once we got to the departure bus stand we decided to sit and wait a while instead of standing in the huge line. After 6 full busloads of people left we decided to get in line for the 6 minute bus ride back to the mainland. Then a final 15 minute walk brought us home! Showers and bed!

Sentosa

Baseball Season

Well, the long awaited time has returned. Baseball is back! In case you didn't know March 2nd holds the first spring training game of the season, and MLB.com is broadcasting it for free. I'm excited to be up waiting for it to come on. The Washington Nationals playing the New York Mets. Ah, what a wonderful pasttime.

Oh, in case you are wondering, yes, it is 2 in the morning here. I went to sleep at about 7:30 this evening so I could get up early to watch the game. I'm going to grade some papers during the game, then go to bed and sleep a couple more hours before getting up for school!

Love you all!

Rain is back

Well, raining again today. It has been fairly dry lately, but the last couple of days we've had the rain and thunderstorms. Saturday morning Betsy woke up to a HUGE thunderclap. Today, walking home from school, my umbrella kept my top half dry, but my pants were drenched all the way up to my thighs! When it rains, it RAINS!!!

Other things are going well. Looking forward to Betsy's mom arriving this coming Saturday morning. Hopefully it won't rain too much while she is here!

Thanks for all your love and prayers!

A high flying birthday

This week we had a great time celebrating Betsy's birthday. At the top of Mt. Faber (where we live) there is a cable car station that transports people to Sentosa. They have an interesting feature called Sky Dining. We got on the cable cars at about 6:30 and ate dinner! It was three courses which were served each time we returned to Mt. Faber. We ended up making four laps in the cars over the course of about 2.5 hours. It was beautiful scenery!! Pictures coming!

Beautiful Bogavillias at the top of Mt. Faber

On Mt. Faber overlooking Sentosa

If you look in the background between Betsy and the sign you will see the cable cars. Back in the distance is Sentosa.

Riding the Cable Cars

Sky Dining!

Course 1: Cream of Mushroom soup
Course 2: Chicken and Mashed Potatoes
Course 3: Mango Pudding

Good food, beautiful scenery, gorgeous company!!

The Dock and the skyline

The Dock

Night skyline

Beach volleyball at Sentosa

Here is much of the ICS staff hard at work on Sentosa, the sand was hot, but the time was fun!

Christmas Service

For Christmas Eve Betsy got to lead a group of ladies in singing different carols. She really enjoyed teaching this group of ladies who didn't know a lot about singing but were excited to learn!

Betsy directing Christmas ladies group

Here is Betsy directing the group, and I'm even in the picture behind her!

A new year!!

OK, so it has been way too long, I would like to be able to blame it on being busy, and I have been busy, but I still could have taken the time to make a post. . .

Well, how to some up one month of time without taking the pages, here goes:

The year started out with us going to a fellow teacher's home for New Year's dinner. We had fondue, an old family tradition, with some new twisted in. . . potatoes for the cheese dip, and asian fruits for the chocolate. Very yummy!

School started up again on the 10th of January and after 3 weeks of vacation it took a little while to get back in the groove of school. I think I have made it now!

I had almost gotten in the groove until the 20th of January when our school had a Lock-In at the school and I got to chaperone. . . Yes, GOT TO! I love staying up late, and this gave me a great excuse to stay up all night! It was a fun time, but the three day weekend that we got that weekend was all used up for rest!

Then early last week I was asked if I could be a small group leader for a weekend retreat called "Discipleship Now" put on by one of the larger international churches. I agreed. It was a fun weekend, starting on Friday evening I went to the gathering, then I went with my seven 14-15 year old boys to the home of one of the church goers, where the 8 of us would be staying and having bible studies. It was a very nice home, we had fun, but of course stayed up late and got less sleep than we should have!

I got home from that weekend on Sunday afternoon, and have been slowly catching up on my sleep. I look forward to this weekend in which we have no plans, and then even more I look forward to Chinese New Year next week and a 5 day weekend!


On the spiritual side of things, the busy-ness of the past weeks have forced us to rely more and more on Christ. I have been reading through Psalms in my daily devotions, and have multiple times pulled out my Bible to read encouragement to both of us.

Well, about time to get back to work here, love you all, and again, sorry for the delay in the update!