Today is Singapore’s National Day, roughly equivalent to the 4th of July in the USA. Singapore had a very busy 20th century! {warning: very quick history lesson follows!}
1942: On February 15, after more than a century of British rule, Singapore fell to Japanese forces during World War II.
1945: On September 12, British forces returned to Singapore following Japan's surrender, ending the Japanese occupation. Singapore was placed under British military administration.
1946: On April 1, Singapore became a separate British Crown Colony.
1955: On April 2, the Rendel Constitution was introduced, allowing for a limited form of self-government with the establishment of a Legislative Assembly, which included elected members.
1959: On June 3, Singapore attained full internal self-government under the State of Singapore Act.
1963: On September 16, Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaysia, along with Sabah and Sarawak, to form Malaysia.
1965: On August 9, Singapore separated from Malaysia and became an independent republic following political and economic disagreements.
1966: On August 10, just 366 days into the new country, future Singapore missionary Sean Foley was born in Utah with Vivian Foley joining the life party four weeks later in Idaho!
And the rest, as they say, is history! Among the 195 sovereign nations of the world Singapore has done extremely well and the people are justifiably proud of all they have accomplished given both their land size (190th) and population (115th). They work very hard at big, bold, and complex efforts ranging from water self-sufficiency to a strong culture of religious and cultural tolerance.
Because we work with so many countries, we still have some meetings: counseling sessions for missionaries in Malaysia and Thailand, a Mission Health Council with one of the missions in India, and a self-reliance group and an Area Health Council with participants in multiple places. But we are planning to go out both Friday night and Saturday and experience some of the festivities. It sounds like there are similarities to the US: parades, fireworks, fairs, and food! We are also sure that there will be some interesting differences. Stay tuned for pictures next week.
Last Sunday we went to church in a "family ward" as more than 40 of our Young Single Adults journeyed to Thailand for a YSA Convention. This convention was focused on English speakers of which Singapore has the greatest concentration, but there were more than 100 others from other parts of Asia. Those who went are back now and report that it was a 10 out of 10 experience!
The Ward we attended meets across town and we enjoyed getting to know some new people (and frankly not being the oldest people we see all day!) It was a nice strong ward with a great Sunday School class. Saturday we'll return to see the baptism of two women that have been taught by two of our wonderful sister missionaries.
Wednesday night in Institute we covered the first half of the Book of Revelations. Trying to do in an hour what would really take weeks is hard, but I focused the class on learning tools to help us in our individual study and learning of John's important teachings. We had a really great discussion, and I'm already sad that next week is the end of the term. Oh and speaking of National Day, the diversity of nationalities, languages, and cultures in that class is remarkable. We average about 20-25 per class, but they have hailed from so many places: Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, China, South Africa, Fiji, Indonesia, and the United States.
Photos:
1 - Entrance to our apartment complex decorated for National Day!
2 - 14: Zoo trip! The Singapore Zoo is really amazing, with four different sections: Main Zoo, Night Safari, River Wonders, and Bird Paradise. We bought a pass for when Brock's family came, have now been to the first three, and loved them all. They do a nice job of making the zoo accessible despite the heat and frequent rain.
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