When we arrived last December 5th Singapore was into its rainy season. Of course, we had no historical context and since over the next couple months it basically rained EVERY afternoon we assumed it always would. We have come to find out that it actually doesn’t! In fact, we have had several periods where many days go by with no rain. We now appear to be heading back into rainy season and this week I paid the price of “umbrella complacency!” I had to run out for a quick doctor’s office visit while Vivian was in a session. Glancing out the window it looked nice, so I headed out without a thought for my umbrella and everything was fine…until I was headed back. Then the rain came in and it was torrential! Before traversing the 200 meters or so between train station and office I sheltered in place for a bit. I then made a mad dash when the rain eased slightly. I still got very wet and I was grateful for my Missionary Mall clothing that dries really quickly. Now we’ll see if I learn my lesson on the umbrella!
Despite the shift back to rainy season, the temperature doesn’t really change. A fact I like to share is that the all-time range in Singapore is 67F (20C) to 97F (36C). In other words, there has never been a recorded temperature outside that 30-degree Fahrenheit (16 degree Celsius) range. By contrast, back home in Missouri earlier this year they doubled that range….in one single day! This relatively tight range of temperatures has built its own complacency in how I think about what I wear. That could very well get me in trouble when we return home!
Trivial Pursuit note: The location on earth with the smallest range of recorded temperatures is the British Island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. It has half of Singapore’s range, ever only ranging between 75F (24C) and 90F (32C).
Besides the weather some other seasons are changing for us as well as we approach our in-country anniversary mark.
1. Missionary arrivals and departures are far from uniformly distributed throughout the year, due to school schedules, holidays, and other factors. We are in a huge time of transition now. In October, November, and December we are seeing many beloved missionaries (both young and senior) return home and many new missionaries arrive. We love the relationships we are building and know that people and relationships must evolve and mature…but it is still hard!
A journey in three acts:
Act 1: In with the new! They are looking pretty good after an epic voyage including a day-long Korean delay...
Act 2: Out with the old. We dearly love these missionaries and served closely with most.
Act 3: Meanwhile in Payson Utah this temple gathering of so many Singapore missionaries and members (most of whom we know well) made our hearts leap with joy!
2. Our Apartment move is official! November 29th we will take possession, we move in on December 2nd, and we have to turn over our current place on December 15th. We are excited about many things surrounding this change, but it is also a big adjustment. Over the year we have come to better appreciate our apartment, neighborhood, and even the 90-minute daily commute. It is a testimony that even old people like us are adaptable, given some time and focus.
3. Institute class has just three more sessions and Mission Prep just one! This past week in Institute we had a great class gather, including two friends of the church, studying Harold B. Lee. I have worked hard to focus the teaching away from facts and figures and on eternal doctrines and life lessons. In fact each week I show a slide with the criteria I want everyone to use to measure the success of the class:
At the term progresses, do I better…
-Know my true identity?
-Draw on the power of Jesus Christ and His Atonement through my covenants?
-Let God prevail and follow His prophet?
-Teach others truth with love?
-Take charge of my own testimony?
From my perspective, I see many of my students that are indeed doing these things and that is really rewarding!
Finally, one interesting note from each day of the week:
· Monday, we completed the last leg of our 36-kilometer Coast to Coast trail. It was a wonderful experience to see Singapore from the ground as well as frequent train and occasional bus and car.
· Tuesday, the Senior Portfolio Advisor with the church’s Ensign Peak group. He is over all of their alternative investments and has decades of experience in both finance and church service. It was a remarkably frank and interesting discussion on the finances of the church and how they are used for good.
· Wednesday, Institute! (see above)
· Thursday, We held our Mission Health Council with Singapore mission and I made my very wet doctor’s office dash.
· Friday, we hopped on a bus after the office and went to Great World, one of many mega-malls we had not yet been to. We had a delicious dinner and then walked for an hour or so along the Singapore River.
· Saturday, we had a ward Family Home Evening at the home of the head of Information Security for Grab (Southeast Asia’s biggest ride-share company, using the same platform as Uber). We had a very nice evening together socializing and discussing how to stay cyber safe!
Photos:
1-6: Completion of the Coast to Coast trail in the beautiful Jurong West Gardens
7: Post-hike Ramen King celebration dinner
8: Upcoming live Nativity in the Singapore Stake
9-10: A couple slides from Tuesday’s Ensign Peak devotional. I love the principles behind the church’s finances, institutional and what is taught to members.
11-12: A couple ChatGPT-generated images for my Institute lesson to highlight the difference between teaching to fish and providing fish. Certainly no substitution for real art, but fairly humorous…
13-14: Really disgusting!
15-21: Flower power!
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