snails, stingray, and dragon boating

It seems as though is has been raining non-stop here in singapore for the last couple of days although we haven't let this keep up from enjoying our time here. Since the last update, we have visited the east of singapore and tried some interesting yet still edible tastes of singapore. Most notable is perhaps the snails and the stingray. These items are considered a lovely bbq choice here in singapore although i don' think there is any bbq involved other than perhaps drenching everything in chili sauce. 

The Tans have kinda become our adopted family and they have been absolutely wonderful to us. We truly enjoy our time with them and cannot thank them enough for taking us to the places of singapore that we might otherwise not be able to go to. 

Yesterday, we went dragon boating at a reservoir here with some other young adults from Bethel Church( the church we have been attending since we arrived here in Singapore). After learning how to row correctly, we raced each other. Bieu was in a boat with 9 other locals and Michael, Christine, and I were all put in the same boat. Our boat was first followed by Bieu's crew in second. We are pretty sure we had a slight advantage considering that we had three strong americans in a single boat, but we can't be sure.  

This week is a short week for us with no school on thursday or friday due to the most anticipated holiday of the year here: Chinese New Year. We aren't sure what the new year festivities will look like for us but all i know is...it's probably gonna be nuts. 

Let the Learning Begin

Today is our first day of classes at NUS. Ya it's somewhat exciting i guess. so far though, classes have been stressful due to the way they do things here. It's because of this crazy bidding system that they use here in singapore that frankly is kinda hard to manage especially coming in as not only a new student but an exchange student. it seems that it takes twice as long to do things here that would normally be a breeze at iowa state or in ames. We are adjusting well. We visited two friends of ours at iowa state( Shannon and Hannah)  church here in singapore. Meet Shannon's parents were wonderful not to mention everyone at the church. they were so welcoming. we loved it. It is so amazing how God have provided us with them for if nothing else support and comfort in the community that they can provide for us as we settle into singapore. Tonight we are attending a prayer meeting being put on by the campus inter-varisty. We are all really excited about it. It's hard not having a solid christian friend base here yet. hopefully though we will start making connections with some student believers here tonight.

The mornings are lovely here as the breeze is nice and the birds chirp in the trees. functionally our campus here at NUS would never be appropriate in the states due in part that lots of the hallways and tables to sit and eat our outside. Its kinda a nice change though from the iowa state campus and we will not complain about escaping the snow.

If you want to pray for us heres our requests..
Pray that we would get into routine here that is manageable
Pray that we would be bold with our roommates and the people we meet in classes this week
Pray that we would figure out the registration system here at NUS and get our classes all worked out
Pray that we would make friends
Pray that we would meet some believers here on the NUS campus and for the prayer meeting this evening
Pray that christine would maybe still be able to find an alternative living arrangement on campus

We love you all and miss you

After many hours of travel.. finally.. in SINGAPORE

As of yesterday, we have all FINALLY arrived in singapore. It's very hot and very humid but we are slowly getting used to it. Christine and Bieu arrived from Australia a couple of hours before Michael and I. Upon arrival, we checked in to Michael's place and will be here for a while as a group until Christine and I move to our own housing arrangements. As of now, the whole experience is somewhat surreal. It's hard to believe that we will be staying here until May and actually be students in this city. Parts of Singapore remind me of Hawaii. There are lots of blooming trees and flowers and well it's hot. So far we have seen little of singapore considering our state of exhaustion but today brings a new day with lots of adventures ahead. If you guys want to pray for us. 

Here's our list...

Please pray that we would not get sick as we transition into this weather and time zone 

Please pray that Christine would be able to find a place of living on campus near me 

Please pray for the roommates that God has chosen to give us in our housing accommodations  

Please pray that we would figure out our classes and those of us that are applying for other choices would be granted these choices 

Please pray that we would wrap out heads around this city and its many forms of transportation 

We love you all and miss you lots!

Carrying the Most Precious Gift

The day is fast approaching as we gear up to go halfway across the world to Singapore. For Bieu and Christine that day comes 48 hours from now and Michael and I will leave a week or so after. As a team, our goal is to share the most precious gift of all. Lucky for us this gift doesn't take up any of the mere 100 lbs that we are allowed and will live on for 5 months. Also lucky for us, we carry this gift in our hearts and souls, the gift of our savior Jesus Christ. Our mission is to impact the people that we meet on our journey where ever we may be whether is it in our classes on our campus in singapore or among the various people we live and eat with daily. We hope that you will check up with our blog and continue to pray for us daily.

Please Pray that We....
would arrive to singapore safely without delays
would be able to transition smoothly into our places of living
would figure out all of our classes and schedules with ease
would develop relationships with the people that live near us and are in our classes
would be bold even in the first days of our arrival to those we meet
and mostly that we would represent Christ in our attitudes and the way we live


We love you all and will surely miss you all. Thanks for our prayers and we look forward to sharing with you along our journey!  We can't wait to see what God is going to do.