Singapore

Roy and I went to Singapore last week to renew our visas and meet with some folks who work there.  I had heard lots about this city, state, country, island from others, especially my friend Karen who has fond memories as a child of going there.  The city is really clean.  Even the sidewalks and subway systems! Everything is compact because the island is quite small.  I was surprised at how cool it was. Singapore is in the same time zone and has a similar climate as to where we live but the temperature was a good 10 degrees cooler.  

It is a similar culture as our own city although there are some differences.  There is more freedom in terms of religion but still no freedom of speech.  Like England there is a Speaker's corner, but in contrast to the English corner you have to have your speech text approved by the local police and get a license and the topics cannot be religion or race.  

We took a hop on, hop off bus tour which was quite nice.  We saw this really cool building.  It looks paper thin, doesn't it?  But it isn't - just the way it is designed.

The bus dropped us off at the Botanic Gardens and we spent a lovely hour in the Orchid garden.  Asia has wonderful orchids - there are so many varieties.  Did you know that vanilla comes from an orchid!  






Later in the evening we took a river cruise which was really nice.  We got to see Singapore from a different perspective.  Here is a shot of the old and new supreme courts - no that isn't a flying saucer!
Without any natural resources, Singapore has become a big financial city/country.
The Merlion is the symbol of Singapore.  He sits at the entrance to the river at the harbor.

The boat captain said Roy could steer for awhile!  

The sun was setting as we came back.  This is one of the many quays on the river. There are lots of restaurants and shops along the river.  

Here is a photo of our boat.

Of course we also ate lots of interesting food in Singapore as well!  Their specialties are chili crab and black pepper crab.  Oh my, they are really good.  On Friday of our trip we went to the Asian Civilizations museum.  That was a fascinating couple of hours.  They have galleries on the different countries and regions that influence Singapore's history.  I highly recommend a visit!

For such a time as this...

This last weekend, our church had its annual church camp.  They alternate between the beach and the mountains.  This year we went up to the highlands which is a very cool part of the country.  They grow strawberries and tea in this area.  The jungle is all around as well and as we climbed the hill in our car we saw a lot of durian stands manned by the locals.  On the way up we also stopped at a waterfall to take some photos.  

The first evening the hotel served a "steamboat dinner".  This is a favorite of many of the church members.  Each table has a pot with boiling liquid in it.  Our pots were divided and the liquid on one side was chicken stock and the other side was tom yam broth which is very spicy. On the table were plates of fish, chicken and tofu as well as vegetables and two kinds of noodles.  The fun of steamboat is taking it slow and adding things a little at a time.  You start by adding some of the fish, seafood and chicken to the pot.  Once it is cooked you scoop it and some broth out and enjoy.  Then you add some more meat and start again.  The waiters add more broth as you need it.  Eventually you begin to add green veggies and mushrooms.  Finally you end with the noodles.  The church members said that the point is to fill up on the fish, seafood and chicken and veggies and then only eat the noodles as filler.  It was quite a delicious dinner.

I mentioned in an earlier post that hotels post signs about durian.  Here is one at our hotel.  My cell group members had me take the photo as they said I needed to add it to my blog!  A couple of people had purchased durian on the way up and they had to enjoy them in the parking lot!
On Sunday afternoon, everyone was divided into teams for the "Amazing Race"  We had to accomplish certain tasks at each point.  It was a fun afternoon even though we did get a bit wet.  
Then after a BBQ dinner, we watched the gold medal match for badminton.  It was quite fun even if the crowd's favorite didn't win the gold.  
The theme for the camp was "For such a time as this"  and the teachings were from the book of Esther.  Apparently every year there is some kind of talent evening.  So Sunday evening after watching badminton we were given scripts and costumes and each team was assigned a role in the story.  We were given an hour to practice within our teams and then at 11 pm we put on the play!  It was quite fun.  Here is a photo of Esther.  Hmmm, she looks a little like a friend of mine.
Our team was assigned the role of the scribes.  Here is Roy and the others practicing their penmanship.  
Well this photo is a bit small, but here is the whole group from church!  Thanks for a wonderful time.  

Just Life

Our container finally arrived a week ago today.  It was so nice to see some of the items we've been missing.  It took 9 1/2 weeks to get to us but it had been 4 1/2 months since we had packed everything.  We still have books to unpack and some of the knickknacks, but most everything is done.  We had a couple from our cell group over the next day and it was nice to have the dining table.  We had been eating off of a desk that our landlords left and I had put a tablecloth on.

Lots going on lately which has been really nice.  We have had some great meetings about working with college/university students.  We are excited about the possibilities.  We took a couple of students out to lunch to get to know them better.  Some of the students move here from other states to do their A-levels.  This is the equivalent of the last year of American high school and the first year of junior college.  This allows students just 3 years at University and gets their basic courses out of the way.  So some of the students are just 17.  Some live in hostels (dorms) and others rent apartments.  We will be meeting with volunteers in a couple of weeks and then starting a new program in September.  It is encouraging to see how interested the students are in having a weekly meeting.  

Our team has an intern that is working in the region.  He arrived last week and will stay here until the end of the month before he moves on to South Asia.  He is staying with Roy and I right now.  He'll go to another part of the country on a STM later this week with another church and then come back here for awhile.  I was thankful that the furniture for the spare room arrived in time!  Unfortunately he broke his foot on his trip over to Asia. He is hobbling around at the moment but seems to be doing well. 

Roy and I are looking forward to going to church camp this weekend.  We'll be headed up to the highland area - about 5,000 feet above sea level.  It will be quite nice and hopefully cool.  

Petaling Street

On August 2nd we went down to China Town with our cell group.  It was a great adventure.  They wanted to make sure that we tasted everything that they love!  

We started out at a beef noodle restaurant.  This is apparently a great breakfast dish.  But, I'd eat it for any meal.  It was delicious.  Our favorite noodle restaurant in Atlanta catch touch this stuff!  

The main street is filled with shops and stalls.  There is everything for sale down there, most of it of questionable authenticity.  Lots of fake purses, shoes and t-shirts.  But it was a fun atmosphere and we enjoyed watching people and making a few purchases ourselves of fruit.  
This is our friend Mei Sin.  She wanted to buy some BBQ duck for her family.  Apparently this stall is one of the best.  They cook the duck whole (yes the head too) and then chop off the head and cut the duck into parts for you to take home and enjoy.
Besides the beef noodles, we also tried some rice cakes rolled in sesame seed, a pancake dish that had peanuts insides, a drink that translates something like "cat's eye", and porridge!  We had to pace ourselves and only eat a bit at each place.  My favorite was the beef noodles, but everything was great.  The "cat's eye" fruit drink was too sweet for me, but the actual fruit is quite good.  A nice vendor let me try some.