We arrived in Malacca, Malaysia yesterday afternoon.
Eating dinner with good friends
Danielle and Chelsea
Singapore Strong in the Lord Conference
The Strong in the Lord Conference last Saturday was an encouraging time. We pray that the seeds planted in the hearts of the girls will produce much fruit for God’s kingdom.
For lunch we had Chicken-Rice, Ar Char (pickled vegetables salad), and various exotic fruits. 🙂
After the conference was over we ate dinner at a local food area near where we are staying. It started to rain really hard so we stayed there for a while eating and listening to stories. My dad shared about a talk he had with some Jewish buisness men in the Tokyo airport. (He share with them some thoughts about Jesus and salvation from Romans 4 and they responded with great interest.) Dani also shared about a good talk she had about the Lord with a man from California on the airplane.
Enjoying Singapore!
The view from the flat our family is staying in on the east side of Singapore.
Yesterday we went biking with several of the girls from the Singapore Bright Lights group and a few of their brothers. The trail was gorgeous. The weather was great. We really enjoyed ourselves.
Notice that in Singapore, not only do they drive on the left side of the road, they bike on the left side. I’m surprised I haven’t collided with anyone yet. 🙂
We ate lunch in Changi villiage. Dani is having fun eating the coconut meat from her coconut drink.
Crossing the ocean…..
After about 20 hours in the air we arrived in Singapore about 1am this morning.Here is our team this year… (Miraculously, I got them all to look and smile at the same time)
Left to right: Chrissy, Danielle, Chelsea, and Nickie. In the front are Sarah and my parents.
Stephen stayed home to hold down the fort.
My mom and I went shopping at an open market this afternoon. It sure feels good to be back in Singapore!
Tonight we ate dinner with several of the families we’ve become friends with the last two years we were here. It was a very nice time. We are looking forward to what the Lord is going to do here in this next month!
Danielle eating tapioca (not tapioca pudding, but the real stuff with coconut milk as a dip… it was delicious!!)
This is my view right now as I type… it’s getting late and as you can see, jet lag is beginning to hit!
Thank you, Jolynn and Carolyn!
Last week we said goodbye to Jolynn and Carolyn. It’s different now without them!
Jolynn and Carolyn are from Singapore and they stayed with us for about 6 weeks this summer. (They are not sisters, by the way. Everyone asks. 🙂 )
They came to the States for about 9 months to take several courses offered to homeschooled students. One of the classes they took was a graphic designing course. Since we have lots of graphic art work that needs to be done, we really saw their help as a provision from the Lord.
Jolynn and Carolyn designed 7 CD covers for audio recordings of our messages, a new Bright Lights brochure, and 7 hanging photo displays for us to use to decorate the new Bright Lights office / ministry building.
They also answered Bright Lights e-mails, entered conference registrations, helped pack for the conferences, shared testimonies at our local Bright Lights group in Cedar Rapids, washed lots of dishes, and taught small groups at our Bright Lights conference trips to Kansas and Michigan. It’s so clear to us how the Lord brought the perfect “extra help” we needed at the perfect time.
Jolynn also leads a Bright Lights group in Singapore. To see the Singapore Bright Lights group’s blog, click here.
Jolynn and Carolyn, I know it wasn’t exactly a relaxing summer, and I don’t think we could ever host you as well as you hosted us in Singapore, but we so appreciate the way you were willing to pour yourselves out (even working late into the night…) to finish projects and help the Bright Lights ministry. We are grateful to the Lord for both of you. –Not just for your help, but for your friendship.
You’ve become part of the team! We will miss you and hope you come back soon!
Additions to the Creation Museum!
Over 500,000 have been through the Creation museum since they opened in April of 2007. On our way home from Michigan, my dad and I stopped in for half a day. They have added so much since we were last there in February! We enjoyed visiting the new petting zoo, new cafes, and the well-designed gardens, waterfalls, walkways and bridges beautifying the museum grounds.
Here is the zonkey. (A mix between a zebra and donkey.) This illustrates Genesis 1:25 where it says “God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.”
The camel was rather…um… affectionate. I had camel slobber on my shirt all day.
My dad had to lecture the camel on his behavior. 🙂
Every time we are at the Creation museum we get so excited about what God is doing there. If you haven’t been through yet, you must make it a priority to go!
“Heart of Homeschooling” Conference in Lansing, MI
This weekend we spoke at the CHESS Heart of Homeschooling Conference here in Lansing.
Since it’s being held at the same location as the past two Bright Lights conferences, we didn’t have to tear down our booktable. That was a huge blessing. The Lord gave sufficient grace to “make it through” and all the people we met and spent time with were such an encouragement!
I just calculated how many sessions Sarah gave this past week. –Ninteen. 6 at the Strong in the Lord conference, 6 at the Radiant Purity Conference, and 7 at the Heart of Homeschooling Conference. (Others from our family were speaking with her in the last seven sessions.) Sometimes I’m amazed at how she just keeps going and going, and I know it’s the Lord who is giving her strength. Thanks to all of you who were praying!
Wow– we actually matched one day. We had to get a picture. 🙂
Sitting in the back of my mom and dad’s session on marriage this afternoon, I noticed a lot of “sniffing” in the audience… it seemed like the Lord was really working in hearts.
Although most of our Bright Lights leaders drove home yesterday, four girls stayed with us to help at the conference. I snapped these pictures of them this afternoon. Two of them were working… And two of them were sleeping… 🙂
“Preschool nap time” as Stephen called it. (I can’t believe they actually gave me permission to post that picture. 🙂 )
The four girls who were with us (Jolynn, Carolynn, Marie, and Karissa) were such a big help. They packed up the entire booktable while we were giving our last session. Because of their help, we got off a lot earlier than we expected. Yea! (Good thing they got that nap!)
Here is our new friend, Grant, holding the door as we were loading up. After the conference was over this evening, Grant quoted for us the book of Jonah (yes, the whole thing). He quoted it with such enthusiasm and expression, I wish you all could have heard it. He memorized it on his own initiative after their family read “Ten Peas in a Pod.”
Grant’s sisters, Haley and Lydia, are also ministry-minded young ladies! Haley quoted the book of Ruth for us, and Lydia quoted John 3. They often recite these to audiences, and it was encouraging to see their initiative and how the Lord is using their family!
Tonight we had a great time at the Martins house, the family who is hosting us. We sang around the piano, ate ice cream, and stayed up late playing “telephone charades” with their kids. It was a blast!
Lansing, Michigan, Radiant Purity Conference
Radiant Purity Conference Attendees
The Radiant Purity Conference here in Lansing ended Thursday evening. By the Lord’s grace everything came together and many girls expressed to us how the Lord was changing their hearts.
More Pictures!
The skit of the undisciplined horse (affectionately named “Brownie”).
“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine….”
Lansing, Michigan “Strong in the Lord Conference”
The Strong in the Lord Conference here in Lansing, MI, ended tonight. There were about 400 mothers and daughters in attendance. We were encouraged by how everything went, and grateful to God for His faithfulness!
The singing was one of my favorite parts. At this conference we had a grand piano, a guitar, 2 violins and a flute. The moms and girls sang loudly, and it sounded great.
In between each session, we break out into small groups (consisting of about 12-24 girls) for discussion, crafts, and personal sharing time.
Laura has been traveling with our team for years. She is happily married now, and her baby Abigail is 9 months old. It’s a treat to have her joining us again for this conference!
We always enjoy our “debriefing” times!
Tonight the host family we are staying with treated us with raspberries, strawberries, peaches and ice cream. It was great.