We are one week into the new year, one month into Singapore, and (not quite) one quarter into our mission. We certainly don't claim proficiency, but we are getting a bit settled. We are really enjoying working with missionaries, mission leaders, church members in our Young Single Adult congregation and the Singapore Stake, and others. We are also getting involved in some broader community efforts such as the great EnglishConnect program and searching for good local service opportunities. (Where is JustServe when you need it?!)
As Vivian connects more with the six pairs of mission leaders through Mission Health Councils and other outreach, she has seen the number of sessions that she is doing continue to climb. It's getting to a good level now, with missionaries from several different missions and a whole range of questions, concerns, and opportunities. She has been really struck by how eager they are to learn and how much they soak up the things they discuss in their sessions.
We are currently spending Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday commuting into the office/church in Newton. It's about a 30 minute train ride with 5 minutes walks on either end. The train can be packed and the rain can come down hard, but we actually quite enjoy the journey and find that it helps us feel part of the city and breaks up the work. Thursday is a busy work-from-home day, full of sessions and projects. We have been splitting up our Preparation Day, with portions on Mondays (when the young missionaries have theirs) and portions Saturday, and are doing some mission service and some personal preparation on each.
Some other special events of the week:
On our shopping trip this week we went to the nearest thing to a Costco/Sam's Club that Singapore has to offer to check it out. There were some good things, but for better and worse it's definitely not the same experience as those American stores.
Friday evening we joined the sister missionaries and one of the YSA members for dinner downtown. Then we all hopped on the train to the airport to welcome home a young man from Singapore that has been serving a mission in Hong Kong for the past two years. It was a nice gathering and a late night!
In our Sunday church services we saw a beautiful (and peaceful) transition of leadership as Bishop Rollins was released and Bishop Hsieh was sustained. We really came to love Bishop Rollins in our short time together, but are very happy that his family is all together again and very excited to get to know and sustain our new Bishop.
Thank you all for the kinds notes, comments, texts, thoughts, and prayers. We really feel your support and love you very much!
Singapore Sights
Is this the coolest Apple Store you have ever seen? We discovered you actually enter from a corridor that leads from the basement of the mall, not the drawbridge.
Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the Bay
Southern Ridges
We love the Young Single Adults
Eating out with YSA and Sister Missionaries
Welcoming Elder Foo home from his two-year mission to Hong Kong
Flyers for upcoming activities
Flyers for upcoming activities
Cereal is so expensive that I am sacrificing my Honey Bunches of Oats! (I'm thinking the early pioneers aren't feeling too bad for me....)
And finally a video of a scene we have already seen hundreds of times in our travels...have a great week!
Love the pictures! It’s fun to hear about what you’re up to!