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.

A Day in the Life of a Toddler

First we must take a walk. Walking is so good for you and lots of fun when you haven't done it much yet.


And of course we cannot forget to peruse the sales in our paper.


Snack time will always be the best time of the day. Especially now that my hands are bigger and can hold so much more food!!

Getting Used to Grass

The grass in our play area is quite long. It is hard for tiny feet to step over. But we manage as you can see.


Aaron's first ride in a swing. He liked that very much.


He liked looking up as the swing came forward. It is a new point of view.


Just taking it easy. Hang on to that ball!

Singapore History 101 - Part 4

Today we will take a short trip to Labrador Park. This park used to be called Labrador Battery, built in 1878 by the British. Labrador is located at the southern tip of Singapore, at the mouth of the Keppel Harbour. The British built here to defend the harbour. Command posts, observation positions, machine-gun posts, and ammunition storage bunkers were well concealed under thick, jungle vegetation.

In 1942, guns at Labrador Battery fired on advancing Japanese forces coming from north of the park. England assumed that Japan would attempt an invasion of Singapore from the south via the sea. However, Japanese soldiers came across bridges from Malaysia (north of Singapore) on bicycles. The British had no defense against this unexpected entry point. The guns at Labrador were not very effective pointed north due their flat trajectory. The Japanese did occupy Singapore during World War II.

Many relics from the battery remain at the park. Singapore keeps them to remember that wrong military strategy can lead to ruin. Winston Churchill called the fall of Singapore "the greatest disaster to British arms which our history records."

Here you see our group at the end of the park. The island in the background is Sentosa Island. It also has a fort, Fort Siloso, that was used to defend the harbour at one time.



Here is the group outside the tunnels used to house ammunition and troops when the park was an operational battery.

End of Year Push

The year is quickly coming to an end, only six more days of school!


Please continue to pray for the students and staff that are leaving at the end of the year, or that have many friends leaving, pray for peace in the midst of the turmoil of transition.

Pray for continued blessing in the finances at ICS as we are working to get renovation complete to prepare for more growth next year.

Pray for our Bible teach Les, he went into the doctor on Friday and they found a growth. It was removed today and scans of his whole body didn't find any more, but this tumor was cancerous so he will be going through some mild radiation therapy. Les is married with two little girls (about 2 and 4 years old).

Pray also for the father of one of our second grade children. He had a massive stroke over the weekend. Apparently he is doing reasonably well now, but still has a lot of work before full recovery.

One more request is for one of the other NICS schools. They just found out that some of their payroll taxes were not paid to the government as required. The government is charging them fines (which they understand and know they need to pay). The government is also imposing a penalty of revoking the visas of the 7 teachers hired this past year. It will be a big work for the school to find the replacement teachers in time for next year as this is a sensitive country. Pray that God will change the hearts of the government and/or that He will provide the many teachers necessary to fill the holes!

Thank you so much for all your support and prayers! Aaron is doing wonderfully, finally has another tooth on the bottom (he has 4 back molars, 4 top-front and 3 bottom-front teeth now) and another is close behind.

Enjoy the pictures and the history lesson.

Our little boy

Aaron helping Mommy with watering the plants.
Story please!
Now I'll make my own words.
Bedtime, I like my sports pajamas!

Singapore History 101 - Part 3

Arab Street


This first picture is of the Sultan Gate, the seat of Malay royalty in Singapore. Sultan Hussein Shah was given this land by Sir Stamford Raffles to be passed down to the Sultan's descendants. Sultan Ali, the son of Shah, build the palace and gate (photographed). Shah's descendants still receive $70,000 annually from the Singapore Government, even though the Court of Singapore ruled in 1897 that the land belonged to the Colony of Singapore. The palace has been refurbished and is the home of the Malay Heritage Centre.


The next two pictures are of the Sultan Mosque. The first picture is a sign giving information about the mosque. For example, this is the principle mosque on the island. The original building was constructed around 1824. The current building was completed in 1928 and designated a national monument in 1975. The second picture shows the mosque in the background.

Singapore History 101 - Part 2

The Waterfront Area


We are standing around the memorial stone of Agnes Joaquim located in the Armenian Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator -Memorial Garden. This woman is famous for discovering the hybrid orchid called Vanda Miss Joaquim, Singapore's national flower. This Armenian Church was built in 1835 and was the first permanent place of worship in Singapore.



The statue below is that of Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore. It is believed that this statue marks his landing site in 1819. Raffles came to Singapore because he wanted to establish a British port that would be a stopping point for traders traveling between India and China. It would seem that he succeeded. Singapore now has one of the largest shipping ports in the world.


The fountain you see behind us is called the Merlion. It has the head of a lion with a fish body. The lion head represents a lion seen when a Malay prince rediscovered Singapore in 11 AD. He named the island "Singapura", meaning lion city. The fish tail represents Temasek, the ancient name of Singapore, which means "Sea". This commemorates Singapore's humble beginnings as a little fishing village. The Singapore Tourism Board designed the Merlion as a symbol for Singapore in 1964. This statue was installed at Marina Bay in 1972.

God With Us

The International Baptist Church (IBC) put on a concert called "God With Us" on May 5th and 6th. Betsy was blessed to play her oboe with the orchestra and 60+ voice choir. Two church members gave their testimonies between songs and narration. God worked greatly through the musicians and speakers. Join with us in thanking Him for the lives He touched. Betsy is the last orchestra member on the right side of the photographs below.

Singapore History 101

Fort Canning Park

There were three stops in Fort Canning Park during the Car Rally. The first picture shows a sign about the Battle Box, underground corridors and rooms that the British built in Fort Canning in 1936. This was an important site because the decision to surrender to the Japanese during World War II was made here in 1942.

The most impressive site was Fort Gate. Fort Canning was used as a military base by the British (who built it), the Japanese (during World War II), and Singapore’s armed forces (once it became a country). The government of Singapore demolished the fort in the 1970’s to make room for a reservoir. This gate and the adjoining wall are all that remain.

In the 14^th century, Singapore was part of Malaysia and ruled by Malay kings. The third picture you see is information about the last of these kings, Iskandar Shah. When Sir Stamford Raffles came to Singapore from England in 1819, the Malays indicated that the hill that Fort Canning was later built on was called the “Forbidden Hill”. When the hill was cleared of jungle, ruins were found. It seems this was the place where the old kings had their palaces. A “keramat”, or tomb of a holy person, was also found. The tradition is that this tomb is for Iskandar Shah, who died around 1420.

Birds and Grass

On Friday afternoon Daddy took Aaron to explore the playground equipment at our condo. He wasn't very sure about the grass, or the riding birds.

True Wisdom

It says in Proverbs that the fear of God is wisdom. I'm not sure we really understand what this fear is. It also says in Proverbs that to fear God is to hate evil, pride and arrogance. Even this is harder to live out than to read and put into our heads. I've (Betsy) been reading the major prophets on my journey through the Bible. Ezekiel tells the Israelites that their captivity and extreme losses are all due to their abominations and idol worship. He tells them that God brought these evil things so that they will know that He is God. He says this phrase over 60 times in his book. And you know what? All those horrible things cured Israel. Ever after, they worshiped God alone. They still acknowledge that there is only one God, Jehovah!

What will it take to cure me of my pride? My prayer is that God will only need slight nudges, not extreme measures to kill that side of me. He is an amazing and merciful God, after all. I can never thank Him enough for His death that brought me life.

On that note, it has been an exciting year teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) at the International Baptist Church (IBC). God gave me an opportunity to tell my students about His plan to reconcile the world to Himself. One of my students was very moved and this week accepted God's death as payment for her wrongdoings. She has become a child of the King of Kings! What a great God we serve!!

Danny is in the final stretch of this school year. The last day of school is May 30. The staff and students are pushing to finish everything. Please be praying for wisdom and diligence as they prepare and study the materials. Next school year will bring many, many changes. About half of the current Junior class will be moving away over the summer holidays. This changes the entire dynamic of next year's Seniors. Though students will be moving on, the school is growing very quickly. The administration has already hired about 12 new teachers. Please pray for them and their families as they prepare to move overseas. Pray also for the students and current staff. It is always hard to say goodbye!

Betsy is looking forward to the coming weekend. She will be playing her oboe in a concert held at IBC. It is called "God With Us" and will have singing and narration. She invited many people, Christians and non-Christians to come. Pray that God will be glorified and exalted at every performance.

Be watching our blog in the coming weeks. We will be posting pictures of famous sites all over Singapore. Our church put on "The Amazing Singapore Car Rally" (like "The Amazing Race" TV show). Danny, Betsy, Aaron, Sam, Noelle (teachers at ICS), and Jerry (fellow Church member), teamed up to tour 20 places all over the country. We were given a list of places to visit and questions that could only be answered at the locations. Envelopes with Bible verses could be opened after visiting and photographing our group at the site. We will take you on an historic tour of Singapore in the coming posts! Are you ready??? It begins soon!

More Aaron Antics

Daddy, do I really have to go milk the cows now????????
My favorite pastime---digging for basketballs!
Help, this beach ball is stuck and it won't come off!!!!

Cute! Need I say more?