We bought this in singapore because I started feeling nauseated and tired everyday all day. Well, 2 lines means yes! God willing, there will be the four Lees!
Friday, April 25, 2008
BIG NEWS #2
We bought this in singapore because I started feeling nauseated and tired everyday all day. Well, 2 lines means yes! God willing, there will be the four Lees!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
BIG NEWS #1
Well, as many of you already know, I applied to various PhD programs in further preparation for ministry in theological education. We heard back from all the schools (except one, which we knew we would probably turn down anyways) just before we left for Hong Kong; after some wavering, we decided to accept the offer from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield (near Chicago) to do their Intercultural Studies program (ICS). Trinity was certainly at the top of our list but it wasn't an easy choice because of other consideration like cost and proximity to family.
Please pray for us as we have much to do in preparation for our transition (like finding a place to live) is a short amount of time. Though we are sad to leave the community at AABC (our commitment is until the end of June), we are excited (and somewhat fearful at the same time) about this new step. I will also be looking for a part-time job (no more than 20 hours) so we have some source of income; I would appreciate any leads you might have.
Friends in Hong Kong and Singapore
A key purpose of our trip, apart from exploring theological education in this region, was to visit and encourage some friends who have a connection with AABC. All graciously made themselves available and liberally extended help, to which we are very grateful. Unfortunately, due to an oversight on our part, we failed to take pictures with all of them. Here are some pics:
(at Toe and Mag's house)
(at Toe and Mag's house)Toe and Mag Set were our main contacts in Singapore. Not pictured are their two children, Gus and Annie. They are on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ and are currently assigned to East Asia School of Theology, where Toe is teaching Hebrew and Old Testament and Mag, who among other things, tutors students with English deficiencies. The Sets drove us around to lots of places and helped to make most of our arrangements.
Payton took a real liking to uncle Toe, which came as a surprise to him since he said that kids normally don't like him.
This is the front of the house that we stayed in. This house belongs to a woman in Toe's church. She split the house in two and the other half is occupied by a couple (Patrick and Betty Flynn) also with CCC teaching at EAST. Land comes at a premium in Singapore so these houses are very expensive ($1-2 million). Most people live in high rises called HDB's (Singapore's housing and development board), which citizens and permanent residents can acquire with the help of significant government subsidies.
In a small garden (another luxury) of our rented house...
Payton playing with an umbrella (which he deformed) inside the house...
We also spent a significant amount of time with Florence Tan, who teaches and performs various administrative duties at Singapore Bible College, one of the largest seminaries in Singapore. Florence drove us around to various places and even cooked for us. Here we are at Ikea, in order to escape the heat and humidity and find an indoor place for Payton to play.
I also had the opportunity to teach several times at EAST. Pictured above is Lewis Winkler and his class. Lewis is also on staff with CCC and is just finishing up his PhD in Systematic Theology from Fuller Seminary. What excited me about the class was the diversity of the class and their anticipated place of ministry. Among other places, there were students from/going to Korea, Vietnam, China, Japan, and Africa. Singapore is truly a social and educational hub for neighboring Asian countries. That in addition to English being an official language makes it an appealing place to be.
I taught two session in the area of Eschatology (study of the culmination of God's redemptive plan for creation) and two in Toe class on the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament (particularly Matthew's use of the OT in his prophetic formulas).
Other folks that are not pictured but were nonetheless very helpful to us were Kuen and Karen, our main contacts in Hong Kong, and Kok Hiang and Sharon in Singapore. We are also grateful for the many professors from various schools (they call them lecturers over there) who met with us.
Payton took a real liking to uncle Toe, which came as a surprise to him since he said that kids normally don't like him.
This is the front of the house that we stayed in. This house belongs to a woman in Toe's church. She split the house in two and the other half is occupied by a couple (Patrick and Betty Flynn) also with CCC teaching at EAST. Land comes at a premium in Singapore so these houses are very expensive ($1-2 million). Most people live in high rises called HDB's (Singapore's housing and development board), which citizens and permanent residents can acquire with the help of significant government subsidies.
In a small garden (another luxury) of our rented house...
Payton playing with an umbrella (which he deformed) inside the house...
We also spent a significant amount of time with Florence Tan, who teaches and performs various administrative duties at Singapore Bible College, one of the largest seminaries in Singapore. Florence drove us around to various places and even cooked for us. Here we are at Ikea, in order to escape the heat and humidity and find an indoor place for Payton to play.
I also had the opportunity to teach several times at EAST. Pictured above is Lewis Winkler and his class. Lewis is also on staff with CCC and is just finishing up his PhD in Systematic Theology from Fuller Seminary. What excited me about the class was the diversity of the class and their anticipated place of ministry. Among other places, there were students from/going to Korea, Vietnam, China, Japan, and Africa. Singapore is truly a social and educational hub for neighboring Asian countries. That in addition to English being an official language makes it an appealing place to be.
I taught two session in the area of Eschatology (study of the culmination of God's redemptive plan for creation) and two in Toe class on the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament (particularly Matthew's use of the OT in his prophetic formulas).
Other folks that are not pictured but were nonetheless very helpful to us were Kuen and Karen, our main contacts in Hong Kong, and Kok Hiang and Sharon in Singapore. We are also grateful for the many professors from various schools (they call them lecturers over there) who met with us.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Food in Singapore!
Before we left, many who traveled to Singapore consistently raved about two things--the cleanliness and the food! Here are some pics of local foods:
fresh sugar cane juice
ice dessert
the very busy and popular "Chomp Chomp" food center at night
another local eatery near our place
Carrot Cake (black), Wanton soup, some dry noodle dish
standard roasted meats with rice
fresh sugar cane juice
sea food place
seafood (didn't try)
seafood (didn't try)
ice dessert
the very busy and popular "Chomp Chomp" food center at night
another local eatery near our place
Chomp Chomp at night
Other dishes not pictured but popular included chicken wings, satay, and oyster omelette.
Our Return & Travelling Woes
After about 24 hours of connecting flights (Singapore to Hong Kong to Los Angeles to Dallas) and much waiting, we're finally home. Praise God. Thank you for your prayers of intervention.
For the most part, I hate traveling, so much so that I told Roberta in LA that I would be willing to settle down there just so we wouldn't have to take another flight. Of course if it was just Roberta and I, things wouldn't be so bad. Payton did sleep for about 9 hours of the 12 hour HK to LA leg but it's the other 3 hours that's the problem. Being stuck in a cramped space with an active 15 month old with very few available activities (even Payton has a limit on peep a boo, reading the same two books, and scribbling) is not too fun.
There was a point in the flight that I thought I would lose my mind. We manage to appease the great wrath of Payton to a large degree on the previous trips by having him sleep on the floor in front of us (thankfully, Roberta managed to secure bulkhead seating on just about all our flights). We would lay down blankets and pillows as barriers and Payton was happy (so we were happy). At the beginning of the HK to LA trip, we were speaking with a flight attendant about how Payton would not fit into their bassinet (we tried and he looked like he was in a cramped coffin) and how he could just sleep on the floor like all the other times. Well, we were disappointedly informed that it was against safety protocols (this is the same carrier we have been flying). Several hours into the trip, we put him down anyways and he slept down there for several hours. Then an attendant came by and told us he couldn't sleep on the floor because he might fly up and hit the ceiling in case of turbulence. This didn't make sense to me (I'll explain shortly). At this point, Payton was VERY grouchy. We tried to get him to sleep on our laps in every conceivable position. NOT HAPPY. At this point, my patience was wearing very thin...my sanctification was under threat. I finally got up with Payton and walked over to the flight attendant's area. I stood there for a while, trying to get Payton calm (and myself) then asked to speak to a supervisor. I explained that my child was miserable because he wanted to sleep and would not sleep unless lying down flat. Then I explained that their policy didn't make sense to me (not to mentioned inconsistently enforced, if such a policy existed); if he was a bit smaller, he could sleep in the bassinet (a small basket tethered down with two straps on a foldable table attached to a bulkhead) and even if he could, he would be in the same predicament in case of turbulence. You see, while the basket was tethered down, there is nothing securing the child in the bassinet so if anything, the child is closer to the ceiling. Payton was just at an awkward age where he was too big for what they could provide and to sleep in our arms for 10 hours but too small to sleep in a chair like bigger boys.
The manager didn't have a good response but to his credit, he looked for an alternative solution. They asked some guy in another section to move so that we could have three consecutive seats and have Payton lying down on the middle seat between us (more dangerous since again he was not strapped down and could easily roll off the seat). Well, after some complaining, Payton fell asleep.
As Roberta quipped, we can now empathize with all parents of crying babies on planes. With that, Roberta declared her intent never to fly with Payton again.
Apart from all the drama, I'm glad Payton was able to go with us to experience something new, even though he probably won't remember any of it. More than that, having Payton there gave us a more accurate representation of the difficulty of living in that region with a toddler, since things are more cramped, less convenient, and not as child-friendly. Above all, we are grateful to God for sustaining us (particularly king Payton) throughout this difficult but helpful trip, for allowing us to see things and spend time with such wonderful people, and for just making it work.
With that, here's the highlight of Payton's trip--the Singapore Zoo:
For the most part, I hate traveling, so much so that I told Roberta in LA that I would be willing to settle down there just so we wouldn't have to take another flight. Of course if it was just Roberta and I, things wouldn't be so bad. Payton did sleep for about 9 hours of the 12 hour HK to LA leg but it's the other 3 hours that's the problem. Being stuck in a cramped space with an active 15 month old with very few available activities (even Payton has a limit on peep a boo, reading the same two books, and scribbling) is not too fun.
There was a point in the flight that I thought I would lose my mind. We manage to appease the great wrath of Payton to a large degree on the previous trips by having him sleep on the floor in front of us (thankfully, Roberta managed to secure bulkhead seating on just about all our flights). We would lay down blankets and pillows as barriers and Payton was happy (so we were happy). At the beginning of the HK to LA trip, we were speaking with a flight attendant about how Payton would not fit into their bassinet (we tried and he looked like he was in a cramped coffin) and how he could just sleep on the floor like all the other times. Well, we were disappointedly informed that it was against safety protocols (this is the same carrier we have been flying). Several hours into the trip, we put him down anyways and he slept down there for several hours. Then an attendant came by and told us he couldn't sleep on the floor because he might fly up and hit the ceiling in case of turbulence. This didn't make sense to me (I'll explain shortly). At this point, Payton was VERY grouchy. We tried to get him to sleep on our laps in every conceivable position. NOT HAPPY. At this point, my patience was wearing very thin...my sanctification was under threat. I finally got up with Payton and walked over to the flight attendant's area. I stood there for a while, trying to get Payton calm (and myself) then asked to speak to a supervisor. I explained that my child was miserable because he wanted to sleep and would not sleep unless lying down flat. Then I explained that their policy didn't make sense to me (not to mentioned inconsistently enforced, if such a policy existed); if he was a bit smaller, he could sleep in the bassinet (a small basket tethered down with two straps on a foldable table attached to a bulkhead) and even if he could, he would be in the same predicament in case of turbulence. You see, while the basket was tethered down, there is nothing securing the child in the bassinet so if anything, the child is closer to the ceiling. Payton was just at an awkward age where he was too big for what they could provide and to sleep in our arms for 10 hours but too small to sleep in a chair like bigger boys.
The manager didn't have a good response but to his credit, he looked for an alternative solution. They asked some guy in another section to move so that we could have three consecutive seats and have Payton lying down on the middle seat between us (more dangerous since again he was not strapped down and could easily roll off the seat). Well, after some complaining, Payton fell asleep.
As Roberta quipped, we can now empathize with all parents of crying babies on planes. With that, Roberta declared her intent never to fly with Payton again.
Apart from all the drama, I'm glad Payton was able to go with us to experience something new, even though he probably won't remember any of it. More than that, having Payton there gave us a more accurate representation of the difficulty of living in that region with a toddler, since things are more cramped, less convenient, and not as child-friendly. Above all, we are grateful to God for sustaining us (particularly king Payton) throughout this difficult but helpful trip, for allowing us to see things and spend time with such wonderful people, and for just making it work.
With that, here's the highlight of Payton's trip--the Singapore Zoo:
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Fries
Thanks to Sean Ku :), very recently Payton discovered french fries... In Singapore, there's a McDonald's within walking distance of where we are staying, it even has free wifi, so we go there pretty much every day. Payton enjoys his fries very much.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Greetings from Singapore
Right now, I (Michael) am sitting at a McDonalds making use of their free WiFi and enjoying an iced latte.
We have been in the region for about a week now and Roberta and Payton have yet to adjust to the time change, although it is slowly getting better. For several days now, Roberta and Payton would go to sleep around 5-6 pm and wake up around midnight to eat. They would then mess around for several hours and then go back to sleep for several more hours.
We will provide more updates of our trip (and yes, more pictures of Payton since we understand that is the main attraction of the blog) and we have several big news to share (go on, speculate). In short, visiting seminaries and speaking with theological educators have been helpful for me in understanding the needs in this region. Also, we have enjoyed spending time with Kuen & Karen and now Toe, Mag, and Florence. They have been very kind and hospitable.
With regard to general lifestyle, it is hot and very humid here and we are not accustomed to doing so much walking. It's interesting that I can play basketball for 3 hours straight and yet feel tired and winded walking around for 20 minutes. The food is great (I've had fresh sugar cane juice at least once a day since we've been here) and reasonably priced.
We have been in the region for about a week now and Roberta and Payton have yet to adjust to the time change, although it is slowly getting better. For several days now, Roberta and Payton would go to sleep around 5-6 pm and wake up around midnight to eat. They would then mess around for several hours and then go back to sleep for several more hours.
We will provide more updates of our trip (and yes, more pictures of Payton since we understand that is the main attraction of the blog) and we have several big news to share (go on, speculate). In short, visiting seminaries and speaking with theological educators have been helpful for me in understanding the needs in this region. Also, we have enjoyed spending time with Kuen & Karen and now Toe, Mag, and Florence. They have been very kind and hospitable.
With regard to general lifestyle, it is hot and very humid here and we are not accustomed to doing so much walking. It's interesting that I can play basketball for 3 hours straight and yet feel tired and winded walking around for 20 minutes. The food is great (I've had fresh sugar cane juice at least once a day since we've been here) and reasonably priced.
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