We got in to Singapore safely. It was a long flight but my family and the team made it by God’s grace. We were picked up at the airport by several of our alumni around 1AM! We went directly to a retreat center and then spent all of Thursday just resting. One of our main objectives was to make sure that we adjusted to the time zone and get over the jet lag. Also, we wanted to adjust to the new culture and we felt that coming to Singapore first was a good middle ground before heading directly to Jakarta.
It was good spending time together as a team to reflect, study the Bible and to pray. These times are precious; therefore we made the most of these opportunities.
Today, we headed out to see the city. Traveling with just a few people compared to a whole team is always a challenge, but we were able to get to one place to another by taking buses and trains to get to our various locations. We also logged in many miles of walking today. It was a lot of fun checking out Little India, Malaysian town, Chinatown and the Escapade. Singapore is such an awesome city!
But the best part of the day was spending time with the HMCC alumni. Many people came out and even though some of them could only come out for a short time, it was encouraging to see all of them.
It warmed my heart to hear that some of them are still getting together two times a month to share, pray and fellowship together. This is definitely a good foundation for a future church plant if the Lord leads us in this direction.
After dinner, we all went out for dessert. Our team gave gifts that we prepared for them – some Michigan apparel and HMCC things. But the blessing for us was when we received a love offering from the alumni. I am always humbled to see the generosity of our alumni. Not only are they constantly treating us when we go out to eat, but they decided to partner with us in this church plant by giving financially.
We will be heading out to Jakarta tomorrow. The adventure is beginning!
We are all packed into a bus
The oldest mosque in Malay town. It reminded us of the mission in Indonesia.
Walking around Little India
Checking out Chinatown
The ever increasing skyline of Singapore
Kite flying reminded us a little bit of home
We decided to take a family picture
Getting ready to eat with the alumni
Some of our alumni wearing their Michigan apparel
Our alumni sent us off with their financial and prayer support