Update for our Singapore September *(needs photos reloaded)

Hard to believe we' been back in Singapore almost 2 months!


There are so many specific prayers which have been answered in detail. Thank you for praying for us in this transition.
God seems very near to all of us as he paves the way for us to get back to life and ministry in this nation we've been serving since 1999.

Settling Again in Singapore:
We sometimes feel like we're free falling and someone changed the location of the rip cord, but we've come a long way since we arrived July 28th.
Despite the tedious details that come along with setting up family and work/ministry life (our 10th home in 11 years!), we have felt joy from the Lord, a warm welcome back from Singaporeans, and a strong bond as a family.

Our new place,
the night before moving in.

A New Home:
After living in a friend's apartment for three weeks, we found an apartment that met our criteria - especially being in walking distance to the boys' school. We've found that this convenience really improves our quality of life (especially when we don't have a car!). Through several circumstances, we knew God directly answered our prayers in leading us to this place. It is a great location and a pretty apartment. It's also our smallest place since moving to Singapore 9 years ago. But we'll still make room for guests of course! ;-)


Boys in Football #12 and #93:
Tyler and Cameron made the quickest adjustment to life back in Singapore. They really loved their year in the US, and were sad to leave. But the moment they got back to Singapore, they were back with the foods they love, the places they are familiar with, and people they know. They also have more mobility here because of public transportation and safety. They quickly got into their routines at the international school, and we discovered the only American football league in Asia. It's right here in Singapore and we never knew it existed! Tyler is starting quarterback and safety on his team (among 4 high school teams). Cameron is starting center and outside linebacker. They ride the subway one hour each way for weekday afternoon practices, and then we spend the whole day Saturday as a family watching their games and the other teams. Many heard last Spring about Tyler trying to get adopted at Maranatha High School in Pasadena so he could play another football season. Well, both boys are reveling in the unexpected gift from God: we didn't have to leave football behind in USA! Just think! Even in Asia, football can dominate our family life from Mid August until Nov 1st!

CRMS Staff Meeting:
Andy Lim, Shirley Trott, Molly Shoo, & Shoo How Beng

CRMS (Church Resource Ministries, Singapore):
Jim's work is transitioning from mentoring Christian leaders to more organizational leadership for the ministry he founded here. He now has five staff members, and has already interviewed two more since our return. He has started a weekly staff training time and is meeting with staff individually for their growth. He envisions CRM Singapore being a team of gifted mentors that are building spiritual leaders in Singapore and throughout Asia. The ministry also had their annual meeting in August, and are blessed with a veteran CRM couple from Arizona (Bob & Shirley Trott) who are visiting for two months to meet with pastors and Christian leaders for personal mentoring from a wiser, experienced couple, which is really valued here.


CRMS annual meeting with the Trotts attending

The Arts:
Kimberly has quickly transitioned back into teaching drama at a local seminary, and is also teaching drama two days a week in the boys' Christian International school. She loves having a small part in our kids' school lives, and the school children's enthusiasm energizes her as she watches them blossom in their creativity. She's realizing that she loves teaching, but is also praying for the right project to be involved in creating something. She enjoys developing Christian artists' and leaders' perspectives and skills in using drama in ministry, and there's no end of opportunities. She is also catching up with many of the mentoring relationships she has with Christian artists, while keeping food in the fridge and the other things that moms do.

TCA College Students preparing for a performance
at the Asia Pacific Theological Association Gathering, September 2008

Pray with us for:
-Perseverance and good attitudes to finish getting our new apartment and lives "in the groove" and fully functional.
-Continued harmony in our family and favour with others as we look for a new church home where we can all be serving and reconnect with Singaporean friends.
-Wisdom and balance for Kimberly as she manages the home, teaches three times a week, and develops mentoring relationships.
-Godly vision and energy for Jim as he mentors the staff and plans ministry events for the coming months, including the launch of new mentoring networks and a training retreat for CRM's mentors who lead the networks.


Elementary DramaWorkout,
ICS Family Fun Day - Carnival, September 20, 2008

Let us know how we can be praying for you too!

Blessing and joy,

Jim, Kimberly,
Tyler & Cameron

Our new Singapore Address:
356 Clementi Ave 2
#05-277
SINGAPORE 120356

Jim Phone: +65-9839-8559
Kimberly Phone: +65-9839-6965
Tyler Phone: +65-9650-9696
Cameron Phone (home): +65-6504-0884

click on the links!
Family Highlights website
Kimberly's blogs:
Living across cultures
Theatre as ministry


Singapore American School,
SACAC Football League,
Ty's first game under the lights. September 20, 2008

Charitable Giving through CRM USA

On Being Attacked by Nits *

We've had more than the usual share of life challenges coming up with the normal stress of moving and settling in a new neighborhood. Little and not so little. Numerous "this-shouldn't-be-this-hard" types of things come up each week. Breaking small and major appliances, physical injuries, a few things lost or stolen. Oh how the enemy has tried to discourage us and make us give up on being here, but we know we are in a spiritual battle so that helps me keep my chin up to know I'm on the winning side and not just "cursed with bad luck!"

The other day, walking back from the market (I'd had to walk to 4 markets last week to get one important item needed for school), I walked by a store just next to our home that sells Buddhist worship items. I started to feel dizzy! Okay, maybe some would say it's the heat and humidity and ALL THAT WALKING. But I do believe it's also Spiritual. Back in Singapore once again, I have thoughts of my being worthless, life being hopeless, suicide is an option, angry and short tempered... It's not pretty.

It's serious business!

It could be worse. At least it's only the weather and the Devil that's getting me down. A missionary we know in Indonesia was just emergency medivac'd to Singapore -- strange symptoms they couldn't figure out. After running tests here, they found a specific diabetic medicine in his blood stream. HE'D NOT KNOWINGLY INGESTED IT. Someone tried to poison him! He's back to Indonesia now...with his family...carrying on in their ministry. That's more than a broken dryer or smashed in the door finger.

The amazing gift from God is that no matter how chaotic, angry, buried or hopeless the thoughts are in my head, I'm trying to stay POSITIVE. And it's easy to get encouragement. My students in the 3 classes I'm teaching are thrilled (even last night when I left for class and don't realize 'till I'm on the hour bus ride that I left my lesson plans and demo dvds at home!). And my unflappable Jim handles the move, family responsibility and growing ministry with grace.

This past week I met an agnostic South African white woman in her 80's. She's visiting the family of a fairly new Christian woman in my weekly Bible study. God's hand was in it. Over lunch we had a nice chat about her perspective on life, and the Christian worldview that God is good even if the world is full of evil. Her son is not a believer yet, but the whole family attends church. My friend wasn't sure at first to invite her to the Bible Study. I told her, "Just give her the opportunity to say NO." But she said yes, and the study that morning was a disucssion of Romans ch 5...basic Christian theology - what we believe and why. I brought up how much I've enjoyed EPIC by John Eldredge.

Over our first lunch, mother-in-law said her bridge partners back in South Africa are all Christians but she thinks they've given up trying to convert her! I told her I wouldn't think of trying to convert her! "If God and the Holy Spirit are real, and if you are open about that possibility and WANT to know, then GOD will reveal it to you. It's not up to ME! It's just so wonderful to know him, that we want everyone to have what we have and sometimes we Christians get a little too pushy!" The next day I was in a meeting where they had extra copies of EPIC on the table. I called my friend who said, "Mom just mentioned she's looking for something to read while she's here." So I went to her house to have lunch with them 2 days in a row, and passed the book on. We shall see what becomes of it.

Back to building my new IKEA bookshelves (did I write that our former bookshelves are on a shipping boat headed to Dallas Texas? Ha! That's one thing I didn't expect in loaning things out last year.)

More Life. *

Life in Clementi...Settling so far...

This morning, I looked to what in my email box was urgently overdue. I ordered Cameron more football gear from the SACAC office here. What he needed was a new protective mouthpiece 'cause he's lost a tooth since fitting the first one, and tailbone pad because I found out yesterday that this item was missing. Later, upon questioning, I learned that he'd dropped this particular pad on the train the first day he got all the pads. At that point, he didn't have his big sport bag yet. He was juggling all the gear in a plastic shopping bag whose handles had broken while he was walking in the rain! SO PITIFUL. 

Oh yes, and I did a few more loads of laundry. 

(WITH A DRYER THAT WORKS! YEAH! My 3rd dryer in 4 weeks!)

I forked out $14 for the convenience of a taxi to downtown and went to Carrefour to return a toaster oven that didn't work and a vaccuum I decided I didn't want.

Then I spent the next 2 hours and $320 (S) to purchase groceries and household supplies at the same store. They deliver for free if you have over $150. IT IS SO NICE to know the ropes about where to buy things! My heart goes out to the families who are new. It's a rough learning curve whenever one moves to a new city!

Yes, I "Know the ropes." For instance, I know that the big giant store called Carrefour has just about everything you need and a no questions asked return policy. OKAY.... what I didn't know is that you need to return within 15 days…I thought it was 30 days... so had to talk to the manager and beg his mercy for the item that was purchased 26 days ago! I'm so grateful he was merciful! Then I was grateful again that the clerk gave me a cash refund for the item purchased with Jim's credit card! PHEW! I could just see myself trudging back to the apartment with both items: one past the return date, the other because I didn't have the original credit card.

OH I AM SO Thankful for the small things!

Right now, at 3:30 in the afternoon I'm grateful for air conditioning in the hall area. This is the first time we've had that in our 8 years and 4 homes. I'm grateful for a glass of iced tea, and that I've made this outing into town SUCCESSFULLY without getting sweaty or dehydrated - which is partly because the $320 worth of groceries is being delivered and carried up to my apartment by the wonderful Carrefour delivery guy! YEAH!

However, having it delivered also means I have to be home waiting for them and I'm not at school to see Cameron. So my friend Lori Webb's passed an important message on to him. 

As I write, I trust that he is following her instructions and currently looking in his locker for an important Physical Health Exam form he'd had filled out by a doctor a few weeks ago. 

I took him to this doctor the night before the move to get it filled out on time. I just went to any old clinic doctor near where we were staying that week. I'd kept the form in my purse for the next week while moving in, hoping to make a copy of it somewhere along the way, or make a copy of it at home, as soon as we could unpack our printer back and get it up and running. For a few days I'd lost it in the piles. I found it again a week+ ago, in a bag I'd been using to cart the stuff around that didn't fit in my purse. The very next day I had sent it into school with Cameron. 

But the school nurse called today to say that no one in the office knows where it is and Cameron must have it on file to attend school. So, if he doesn't find it, it's back to another unknown doctor in a new neighborhood to get another physical, or he's not allowed to go to school!

This ranks right up there in my THIS IS NOT MY PRIORITY BUT I MUST DO IT ANYWAY files - like spending 7 hours last week to have my photo taken with the faculty for the TCA College's yearbook. I left at 7:30 am to get my hair cut and colored, and borrow a suit jacket (This is required for the photo and I don't own one anymore. I'd only just given mine to the Salvation Army in Pasadena, after not wearing it for 9 years). I arrived at what I thought was on time for the photo, only to realize that 12:45 was the FINISHING time. I jumped into the last of the group photos (completely humiliated) then grabbed a bite to eat before hopping back on a bus to get home by 3:45. Over 8 hours after I'd started, it felt like pointless day.

In all these things, I'm feeling like the earth is falling away beneath my feet as try to get a handle on things and I keep losing or forgetting details. I keep telling myself to enjoy the journey… So i did have a nice chat with the hair dresser, and a nice time catching up with one of the other faculty. I learned of a bus that picks up and drops off only an 8 minute walk from school on one side, and goes right by our place an hour later on the other. Up until today, I'd been going on another route, walking longer and changing from the train to another bus. So finding a direct bus makes for a less stress filled commute!

Another plus is that in all this walking in the muggy weather, I'm quickly shedding the weight I'd put on in USA. At first I thought I'll wait to get a car until I'm back to my target size, and am fit again. But...I'm rethinking that idea. Let's get a car as soon as we can find one!

We're getting settled brick by brick *

"We're getting settled brick by brick," is my mantra of the month.

We're so happy with the place we found in Clementi. It's going to be perfect! It has lovely real wooden floors and it’s very clean.

I'm exhausting myself doing so many, too many things. One is shopping for bookshelves because I found out the ones we left behind here all went to Texas with the family who borrowed them! I wasn’t intending to shop for bookshelves.

I'm hanging on to the hope that by the end of September I'll be in the groove again and will know where I put my keys, the checkbook, my bible, my coffee, my camera, or any of the other items my scattered right brain continually misplaces and can't find among the laundry or piles of boxes and books that had filled that three times larger lovely old apartment we lived in 2007. Now we don't know where it all should go in a cozy 1200 sq ft! We make small steps everyday. Mostly onward and upward, but there are also small downward and backward; like having had two broken clothes dryers in a month. I’m using dryer number three. Another issue is that we have found out someone is using our credit card to purchase things on the internet. Bank of America's phone line seems to be down so we can't put an immediate stop to that. Little things like that.

But the boys, ah the boys are so happy to be playing American football 5 days a week! They found a league here in Singapore up at the American School. They are happily commuting an hour each way on the trains. They come home in the evening and fill my dryer-less apartment with stinky sweaty football gear! Cameron, who only has played flag football before, is loving the chance to tackle other kids wearing pads. Tyler had experienced a tough season last year where his opportunities and ability didn’t live up to his expectations. He’d been thinking for a year now that it was his one and only shot at playing this sport he loves. Now? Now in Singapore, having found this league, he is going to be the Quarterback for his team of 9th-12th graders. He’s already had more time holding the ball in practice than he had all last season.

Out of Crisis Mode and Operational *

Monday when I came home from my 4th week of teaching PERFORMING ARTS IN MINISTRY (at 11PM), I found Jim online shopping for a new computer. The one here seems to have caught too many bugs while we've been away. It won't even turn on, so we'll let you know when we get that 714 number up again.

This week I'm saying, "We're out of crisis mode and operational." However, it's the pace of normal life added to these smaller and unusual breakdowns that are keeping us from getting all the boxes sorted or anything hung on the walls.

Yesterday it was a lost shoe! When I went to put Cam's football bag together so that he could go directly from drama club to football practice, ONE CLEAT was missing. He and tyler both saw a PAIR the night before in the kitchen, so the only thing I can figure is that I must have put it too close to the window to dry out. I walked around downstairs at 11:30PM last night, but couldn't find it. So purchasing a new pair of cleats is on my agenda today! Even though it's tedious to get around; and if you do 2 shopping errands, you have to CARRY your purchases around at the 2nd stop.

BUT. I'm very grateful when something like this happens because I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO GO TO GET CLEATS!

I KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN THE DRYER BREAKS, or THE WASHER IS LEAKING, or MY HAIR NEEDS COLORING, or ONE CHILD IS REQUIRED TO GET A TETANUS SHOT, or I NEED TO BORROW A LARGE COOLER WHEN I'M ASSIGNED TO BRING GATORADE FOR THE TEAM.

I keep thinking of the new families I've met at school and grateful I'm over the learning curve of so much of the HOW and WHERE's of living here.

Our next door neighbor came over Sunday night with lotus paste and pumpkin seed mooncakes. Jeanette. From Fairfield Methodist Church where Jim preached once. Daughter 16, Son 15 (haven't even seen them!). We had a nice visit. Her kids are both accomplished pianists and in some "accelerated track" at the Anglo-Chinese School. This is due, I'm sure to no small amount of prodding from their mom. 

These Singaporean homemakers give me an inferiority complex.

MY INTERESTING (that's irony) LIFE. *

The selling of moon cakes at Vivo City, Singapore.

Moon Cakes are only sold this time of year. Take some getting used to ... They are definitely an acquired taste for lotus paste and red bean, and other interesting fillings. They are round cakes (like the full moon of our Chinese Mid-Autumn or Lantern Festival). They are 2"- 3.5" big. The "really good ones" have a duck egg yolk inside! YUM YUM!

Vivo City is the largest mall here in Singapore. It's down at the harbor front where people take the boats to Indonesia's islands of Bintan and Batam, and across from Singapore's little playground: Sentosa Island. This mall was finished our first year while living close to the harbor at Teresaville, so we were down there often. The grocery shopping was great! I could park right next to the exit of a GIANT store on the same floor as the parking lot. Ahh! Convenience! A car and handy parking lot!