Grace Notes

Bright Lights Conferences/Singapore and Malaysia

Malaysia Conference, Friends, and Fish :)

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Thanking the Lord for the privilege of working with such special girls for three days. They were SO sweet. So affectionate, appreciative, eager to learn and grow … so much fun to be with!


“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment…” 1 Peter 3:3 Each of the girls at the Bright Lights conference in Melaka, Malaysia made a little reminder to take home of one of the lessons taught—inward beauty. The world chases after a fading beauty and cherishes the “shell.” We, instead, chase after Christ and cherish the pearl of knowing Him. Philippians 3:8 says, “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ…”

Jolynn and Carolynn (Bright Lights leaders in Singapore who both lead a BL group there) planned the theme this year: “Sing a New Song.” They did so much work and planning and did a fantastic job!

This was a fun activity. The girls fill the glasses with just the right amount of water to make five notes on a scale so that when you tap the glasses with a spoon so you can play a song.

Bekah teaching memory verses

Saturday evening we ate a delicious Chinese dinner with the Tehs – leaders in the home school community here.

I don’t know which was more entertaining- seeing Mr. Teh remove the fish eyeballs from the fish head and suck them (a Chinese delicacy) or watching the the reactions of the Americans around him.

After dinner we also went to Jonker street – a popular night market in Melaka. Very neat place to go! Very little “personal bubble space,” lol, but that’s just part of the fun experience. [smile]

Yesterday after walking around and getting some things to eat at the bus station in Kuala Lumpur, we learned that we were going to be there for another hour and a half. So we decided it was a good time for a Sunday afternoon Bible study. Surrounded by our mound of suitcases, we all turned to Hebrews 12 and had such a good discussion. This has been one of the best parts of Bright Lights conferences this fall season…. all the interesting Bible studies we’ve been able to enjoy together in various places [smile]! So fun to “put your heads together” on a passage hear others’ insights.

We continued the discussion this morning and talked for a while about how God disciplines us (Hebrews 12:5-12). Although He chastises us, but He does not punish us (people saved through faith in Jesus) for our sins because Jesus took that punishment on the cross. Later today, Sarah reminded us of a quote from David Brainard that says, “Oh methinks if He would punish me for my sins, it would not wound my heart so deep to offend Him; but though I sin continually, yet He continually repeats His kindness to me.”

I went on a shopping trip last night here in Kuala Lumpur. You really see what you’re getting when you buy fish in Malaysia! And you really smell it too. [smile]

I wonder how to choose which fish to buy? Maybe whichever one looks the friendliest?

Bright Lights Conferences/Singapore and Malaysia

Bright Lights Conference in Melaka, Malaysia

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After a beautiful drive through the Malaysian countryside, we arrived in Melaka a few days ago.

Took this picture after dinner at a little outdoor Indian restaurant near our hotel.

Most of the last two days have been spent doing “teacher’s training” with the Asian girls who are helping us to lead the conference. Here Jolynn (in red) is sharing with the group. She and Carolyn (from Singapore) have done so much work in organizing this conference, and it’s been fantastic to see so many other Asian girls involved as well and rising to leadership. They’re all doing a terrific job!!


Shopping trip for craft supplies for the conference.

The conference started this morning! We have a great group of girls and it has been such a good day. The conference will run three days (ending Saturday).

We keep talking among ourselves (Americans) about how sweet the girls are here! It is so fun to work with them. The girls are mainly from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and there are some from China.

Please pray that the Lord would accomplish much in the hearts of these girls in the next two days!

Singapore and Malaysia

In Singapore!

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We have been in Singapore for 2 days now and things are going very well. Our friends here have been taking very good care of us.


Last night Jolynn’s family made a special meal for us and we enjoyed catching up after four years. We had a good discussion about discipleship and how our primary goal must always be to get people into the Word. This morning I was reading Matthew 12 and thinking about how our goal is to focus on “roots” not “fruits” because when the roots are good the fruit will come. Jesus said “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit” (Matthew 12:33).


Sarah, Jolynn and Josiah in front of a flee market, waiting for the rest of our group. We went down to Orchard Road (the busiest shopping area in Singapore) to go “fishing.”


Danielle and Nickie are talking with a new friend they met. Nickie began talking with “Tria” and her friend, and then they invited Nickie and Dani to get something to eat with them.
“Well, how about if you come join our group for dinner,” Nickie suggested. They agreed, and we spent the next two hours getting acquainted and discussing views about spiritual beliefs. Tria’s friend had to leave part way through, but Tria stayed with us until we left the mall. She mentioned, “You are different than the Americans I see on TV … and I respect that.” The sad truth is that the image Americans have over here is exactly that… what they see on TV, movies, and billboards. Danielle explained to her: “You know how some Muslims aren’t devout and just call themselves ‘Muslim’? In America, many aren’t truly Christian but just call themselves “Christian.” Dani emphasized how we prefer sometimes to call ourselves “followers of Jesus.” We were so glad for that time to talk with Tria about so many important things and we know we are going to stay in touch!

Here’s the coconut I bought tonight to put in the refrigerator for breakfast tomorrow. That is, if I don’t eat it before then. They’re sooo good…especially the meat you can scrape from the inside. After carrying it for about 45 minutes on public transportation, that is one valuable coconut.

Bright Lights Conferences/Singapore and Malaysia

Memories from Malaysia, 2008

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We are excited to be going to Singapore and Malaysia again this fall! This video brings back special memories from one of our conferences there back in 2008.

All over the world young ladies are seeking to be bright lights for the Lord! Please join us in prayer that the Lord would be at work in the hearts of many young ladies in SE Asia and do wonderful things for His glory. We will also be running some conferences in Australia.

“O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.”
Psalm 117

Radiant Purity Conferences/Singapore and Malaysia

Singapore Radiant Purity Conference

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…Our last conference here in Singapore and Malaysia! The conference went smooth (PTL!), and we were encouraged by the response of the attendees. The whole idea of an alternative to dating was new to many.


These are the girls in my discussion group. We discussed many topics such as the importance of saving your whole heart for one man, how to keep your mind pure, accepting the way God created you, honoring/communicating with parents, modesty, how to deal with crushes in the right way, etc.


We all enjoyed a time of sharing Saturday evening after the conference. Each leader shared encouraging reports from the discussional group she led. And, of course, we had many laughs…


We are so grateful for our “team” in SE Asia. Pictured above are some of the girls (and moms) who helped lead the conferences this year. It’s not possible to do Bright Lights conferneces without young ladies to lead the small group times, but God provided this team of godly young ladies in SE Asia who filled this role. They rose to each challenge that was thrown at them and did a wonderful job.

Guess what? We are HOME now! It feels wonderful. More reports and pictures from the trip coming soon!

Singapore and Malaysia

Mystery Tea

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This afternoon we all got together here in Singapore to plan and pray for our last conference– a Radiant Purity Conference. It starts in about 12 hours. I am excited and anticipating the Lord to do great things. Please pray that the Lord’s hand would be at work and that everyone would have perseverance to continue! Some on our team are sick and need prayer.

Since I’ve been battling a cough, the other night my mom gave me this strange dark brown tea. I sipped it and was going to finish it later, but Sarah said I was supposed to drink it while it was warm. I wasn’t too thrilled, but I just gulped it all down.

It wasn’t until the next day that they told me what the tea was made out of…



Following the instructions of one of the Asian mothers here, my mom boiled big black beetles (above) together with leaves for a half hour. Then she drained the beetles and gave it to me warm to drink. It’s “traditional Chinese medicine”.

Well, I’m happy to report that I’m all better now and feeling great. As Stephen reminded me, “It must have been the bugs.” 🙂

Singapore and Malaysia

In Kuala Lumpur

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Since there was so much traffic when we arrived in KL, the bus driver apparently couldn’t park the bus in the bus station. So we all just got off in the middle of the road. We had an interesting time crossing the street! On this side of the world, cars have the right-of-way, not people.

We have a lot of extra stuff because of all the supplies, skit props, etc. we bring along the conferences. Thankfully Mr. Teh had already sent some of our stuff ahead of us with others, otherwise I don’t know what we would have done.


I sat in on Christine’s small group for a while. She did a great job she did communicating to her girls the awesome vision of truly being strong for the Lord in our teen years and how it’s a privelege to be a part of His army.

We are excited at how the Lord is raising up a godly team of young ladies here. Some have started Bright Lights groups already and others are making plans to. We have to leave and go home soon, but these girls are carrying on the work. Please pray for them as there are always many obstacles.

One morning some mothers arranged a picnic in the park. My dad shared a few thoughts from the Word with us and shared 3 important “F’s” of the Christian life: “Flee, Follow and Fight”.


So many beautiful tropical flowers…


We had many traditional and delicious Chinese meals. The octopus, squid, large prawns, and frog meat made this meal especially… memorable. Good thing we have so many friends who graciously tell us what is in each dish. 🙂


Me and my little guy


Packing up to travel back to Singapore. Everywhere we go we travel with our family, our team of 5 American leaders, our team of about 10-15 Asian leaders, and Mr. Teh, our organizer/host. Sometimes it gets a little confusing with so many people and so much luggage. Good thing Mr. Teh is so organized!

Singapore and Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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The last week we’ve been in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where by God’s grace we were able to hold another two Bright Lights conferences. The first one, a Strong in the Lord conference, was 3 evenings (Tues, Wed, Thurs) and the Radiant Purity conference was Saturday. Friday was a day of seeking the Lord and fellowship with our group of leaders. Each one was special and went well. Thanks for your prayers.

Because of full schedules, limited online access, and trying to get over a cough, I haven’t been able to post as much as I wanted to. I think I’ll have to do some catching up now!

We are now back in Singapore and our next conference is this Saturday.

Singapore and Malaysia

Bright Lights Conference in Malacca, Malaysia

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Last Thursday through Saturday was the Christian homeschool conference in Malacca. While the parents were in sessions, we had a lot of fun with the girls! We did a Bright Lights conference, but it was new material–not our standard Strong in the Lord conference. (We did that one 3 years ago, the first time we were here.)


Our leaders did an incredible job leading their small groups! The Lord has really raised up a neat group of young ladies here.


The girls responded very well to our session on presenting the gospel. They were so excited to receive the tracts I gave them, and many kept coming back to get more from me. Please pray that these young ladies would truly be bright lights in this part of the world!


Speaking to the parents


“Jungle Jane”, in an Australian accent, taught the girls about how every kind of wild beast can be tamed…..


…but no one can tame the power of the tongue!

Skits were so much fun at this conference because the girls laugh so much. They sing really loud, too. It’s fun working with a group that is so responsive. 🙂