Singapore Six

An American Family of Six Serving in Singapore

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Answering Questions

Patience and Passes

Foreign mission work requires patience and flexibility; there is no doubt about it. Trent and I have been blessed with different opportunities in different countries, and each and every unique situation requires its own patience and flexibility. Whether Trent is leading a team in Jamaica, we’re taking our family to work in South America for the summer, or we are settling down for long term work in Singapore, maintaining patience and flexibility is key. When Trent trained teams for evangelistic campaigns, he made up a word that most of them could recall, even today, it was some combination of fluid and flexible…

Even something as seemingly simple as obtaining the right to stay in a country can be quite tedious, draining, and downright frustrating at times. Every country’s requirements are different (as you’d expect them to be) based on why you are in the country and how long you want to stay and more. Navigating through whatever information you might be able to find online can be tedious and confusing. It can be quite difficult to read through a foreign country’s government website (if it exists and is in a language you can read) to determine the steps to take to enter (and stay) in that country. I don’t even like looking at the United States’ (or Texas’) government website for information, and I’m familiar with how things work (for the most part, ha!) there. Once again we were reminded, flexibility.

Singapore Ministry of Manpower Employment Pass Office

Singapore has a strict immigration policy keeping close tabs on who they let in the country and how long they can stay. If necessary, they will remove you from the country if you stay beyond your allowed time. In order for our family to stay in Singapore, Trent had to obtain an employment pass (work visa), and the rest of the family had to obtain dependent passes. 

When we entered the country, the immigration officer had the right to grant us either thirty or ninety days in the country without obtaining further approval. Thankfully we were granted 90 days. During these first ninety days, we had to complete the process to obtain our employment and dependent passes. If the college had not began the process before we arrived, we likely would have had to leave the country for a time to renew our visas.

Singapore has serious requirements that must be met to obtain an employment pass. We had to provide copies of many “normal” things such as Trent’s passport and birth certificate. However, we also had to show documentation that Trent was qualified to take the job of teaching at Four Seas by providing things such as his work history, salary history, and copies of his diplomas. Finally, we also had to show that Trent would have sufficient income to provide for a family of six in Singapore (based on data from Singapore’s government). 

After Trent’s employment pass was conditionally approved, we had to apply for the rest of the family’s dependent passes. Obtaining our dependent passes was another tedious process, particularly for the children, because Singapore has vaccination requirements for children staying in the country. Although our children were up to date on their vaccines for a typical U.S. vaccine schedule, Annie was not up to date for Singapore’s vaccine schedule, so she had to receive a vaccine right before we left the U.S. Everything was ultimately approved, and we are thankful to God for that!

Then, we had to appear in person at the Ministry of Manpower’s (an acronym we can all love -MOM) Employment Pass Centre for final approval. Now, we are 100% legal! These passes not only allow us to legally stay in Singapore, but they also allow us to enter into contracts (leasing an apartment, opening a bank account, getting cell phone, etc). Obtaining these passes was a necessary hurdle to working in Singapore. We are so grateful to Sister Chin and the many countless hours (some after our arrival in Singapore) she spent working her way through the necessary paperwork for our family (of six!) to obtain these passes. We also greatly appreciate many prayers offered on our behalf for our family’s transition to Singapore, realizing that going through these legal steps was part of that transition. Once again, we learned patience.

-Lisa

What will the Kids do for School in Singapore?

As far as frequently asked questions go, “What will the kids do for school in Singapore?” is right at the top. It was a big question for us to answer as well! In their few years of school in Texas Ella and Troy have been homeschooled as well as gone to public school. We believe both options have benefits and drawbacks. Our kids have been blessed in both public school and homeschool. Our kids have had difficulties in both public school and homeschool. When it comes to our children’s education, we are open minded to investigate all possible options (even beyond public school and homeschooling) wherever we live, especially knowing that geographic location and even specific schools can have an impact on our decision.

Singapore is known for having an excellent education system, with students who consistently rank at the top across the world. Because of this we were excited to investigate opportunities for our kids to be a part of the Singapore education system. Essentially there are two types of schools our kids had the possibility of attending in Singapore: private (usually international schools) or mainstream (public schools).

International schools, like most private schools, are very, very expensive. These are often the types of schools where companies pay for the tuition of employees’ kids to attend.

Interestingly, the mainstream schools in Singapore are also costly if you are not a Singapore citizen or permanent resident. The cost for our kids to attend the mainstream schools in Singapore is around $1500 per month (three kids in school at approximately $500 each/month). However, when it comes to the mainstream schools in Singapore, there are additional things beyond cost to consider as well. We would have to apply to get our children into the mainstream schools, and as a non-Singaporean and non-permanent resident we are “last in line” to apply. We have been told that the mainstream schools only take a handful of students each year. And, even if our kids were accepted into mainstream schools, there is no guarantee that our kids would be at the same school. In fact, our kids could easily be separated at three different schools by more than an hour across the island (by public transport) from each other and from where we live.

The third option we wanted to investigate was the opportunity to homeschool. When we began looking into working in Singapore, we didn’t know if homeschooling was even an option (legal). Even across the United States, homeschooling regulations vary greatly from state to state (Texas has very little regulation). From some brief googling we had done, it seemed like homeschooling in Singapore might be difficult. According to the Ministry of Education in Singapore, there are many different requirements that must be met to homeschool in Singapore. So, during Trent’s visit to Singapore last August to check out the work, he looked more extensively into the possibility of homeschooling. And, although there are strict requirements for Singaporeans and permanent residents to homeschool their children, as a family here on an employment pass (work visa) we aren’t subject to those requirements.

After looking into these options, we decided that we would homeschool our kids. (I homeschooled Ella and Troy in the year leading up to our move to Singapore.) Please know that cost was far from the only deciding factor when it came to homeschooling our children. I have really enjoyed homeschooling, and I’m very thankful for the opportunity to continue doing it. I love getting to spend time with the kids. I love having freedom to choose curriculums that I think fit the kids, and that teach material that we think is important for them. I love being able to incorporate Bible time into our school routine. I love being able to move quickly past material the kids easily get, and being able to spend more time on material they don’t. Homeschooling also provides a very flexible schedule allowing the family to spend time with Trent and brethren at Four Seas; allowing ease in travel (for furlough as well as travel to areas in the region); and allowing us more time to explore Singapore.

I started homeschooling Ella (5th grade), Troy (3rd grade), and Luke (kindergarten) this past week. We had a great first week! I’ve included their first day of school questionnaires. Ella wrote that her favorite food is something called bao that she first tried in Singapore a year ago, and has had several times since we’ve moved here. She particularly likes pork bao. You might have heard of bao from Disney’s short film Bao. : )

-Lisa

And for those who are interested, here’s some of the curriculum we are using this year:

How Can I Move Somewhere I’ve Never Been?

Trent has been answering lots of the questions that we’ve been asked since we announced our decision to move to Singapore. However, today I’m going to address a question that is most often pointed to me:

How can you move to a foreign country where you have never been?

If you read Trent’s post about his survey trip to Singapore you know that I did not go. Instead, our oldest daughter, Ella, travelled with him. Although ideally I also would have been able to go, we believe (and know) there was great benefit for Ella going with him. For instance, with Ella at his side, Trent was constantly reminded of what life in Singapore would look like with children in mind. Ella was also able to make friends and connections as well as experience a taste of life in the big city of Singapore. When Ella returned from the trip she became a great ambassador to her siblings about the possibility of moving to the other side of the world by describing Singapore to them through a child’s eyes.

But really, how can you move to a foreign country where you have never been?

I’ll admit that the answer is complex. There are a couple of big answers followed by lots of little things that come together to allow me to be comfortable with this move. Of course, I haven’t been there yet and haven’t lived there yet. I know that there will be a great adjustment period, but I’m ready to tackle that challenge.

There is work to be done. We wouldn’t be moving across the globe if there wasn’t work to be done. We love God, we care about souls, and we desire to build up the body of Christ. Our family’s desire has always been to work as part of the church (whether that be in an official “position” or not). And, we’ve decided that we want to join in the good work that is already being done in Singapore.

I trust my husband. The work in Singapore is something that he has seen. It is a work that, before he saw it, he wanted to be a part of, and after seeing it, still wanted to be involved. The work in Singapore is something that he believes our entire family could be involved in because of the multifaceted nature of the work. The work in Singapore is something he thinks will be a blessing to our family. The country of Singapore is somewhere he has been and thinks that our family could live.

I have the benefit of a little international travel and living. I’ve had the blessing of traveling to several countries outside of the United States. I’ve seen a variety of cultures, modes of transportation, homes, grocery stores, foods (though I know Asia will definitely challenge my taste buds), and languages. Although I fully expect to go through culture shock when we move, I also feel like it is something that I can work through and overcome. When we lived in Paraguay for three months, I was absolutely overwhelmed in the beginning. However, by the end of the three months it was easy to see how comfortable things had become for our family in just the daily routines of life in Paraguay. Did we have more room to grow in comfort and understanding of the country and people after three months? Most definitely. But, the ability for our family to grow to the point that it did in those three months gives me confidence that we can do the same elsewhere.

Today’s technology allows me to remain connected to family and friends who aren’t in Singapore. Blogs. WhatsApp. Email. Reliable snail mail (unlike Paraguay). Daily transpacific flights (if you want to come visit). Facebook. Skype. Cell phones. FaceTime. And, Singapore has fast and reliable internet which makes most of those ways that I can connect with family and friends even better.

I’ve seen it on T.V. You know, there are always folks on House Hunters International who move somewhere they’ve never been. 😉

-Lisa

Answering Questions

Answering Questions: Part 3

A Quick Trip:

Our interest in Singapore and working with the church and school there was very real. The opportunity and potential seemed like they were so great that we needed to diligently check it out. So, after summer school finished at Texas State, we booked two tickets in August to Singapore to meet with Peter Chin (Director of Four Seas) and his wife who serves as the secretary of the school. While there, meetings were set with congregation at Jurong church of Christ, elders of Jurong, congregation at Lim ah Pin, student body, local preachers, local members with children, and even a local homeschool mom. This trip was booked for the only week we had free, and we knew that if the possibility of moving to Singapore became a reality we would have to get the ball rolling on raising support to take our family of six to the most expensive city in the world.

However, the two tickets we booked were not for Lisa and me. We felt that it was a bad time for her to leave our children and some of her other responsibilities stateside, but my work only afforded me the opportunity to go in early August. So, instead of taking Lisa to see Singapore and visit in person with the people, the place and everything else, I took our oldest child, Ella. As of this writing, Lisa still hasn’t been to Singapore and her first time to visit in person will be when our family moves there. She has great faith in God and a lot of trust in my ability to communicate to her the realities of Singapore from 10,000 miles away.

As we prepared for this quick survey trip, Lisa and I put together a list of questions to see if we could live in Singapore and be a useful tool for the church and school. Some of those questions we needed to see with our own eyes or hear the answers with our own ears. As almost anyone who has traveled to a foreign country knows, when you visit everything usually seems perfect. So, we needed to see if we could look behind the curtain and see the reality of living there in a really short visit. Though these challenges were before us, the people of Singapore made our trip informative, useful, and special.

We were greeted at the airport, bright and early Singapore time by Peter and Pooi Fun Chin. Mr. and Mrs. Chin treated Ella and I to a traditional breakfast. The eggs, coffee, and toast were wonderful as we worked on getting our land legs back after the 17 hour flight from California to Singapore. The airport, Changi International Airport, was beautiful, practical, efficient, clean, and friendly. After breakfast and conversation, the Chins treated us to a quick tour of parts of the city and some light shopping. Since we were not too tired, we went to the Jurong church building (where the Four Seas College is located) and toured it as well. We were able to drop off our luggage in the guest room and then head back out for lunch and some sightseeing. The Chins were gracious and accommodating hosts who prepared us well for our week long trip. We had all the necessities in our room, an itinerary for our trip, and a cell phone to use while in town. 

On Sunday we met with the Jurong congregation and found out that Barry Hatcher was in town doing a Fishers of Men seminar and teaching the weekly Lord’s Day Bible class. I was asked to preach and did so over our association, attitudes, and actions on social media using Ephesians 5:1-16 as the main text for the lesson. The children’s bible classes were full, and we were excited to learn that our children would have peers, soon-to-be-friends of their own age, in their Bible classes. The brethren at Jurong treated us with great kindness and seem genuinely excited that we were considering relocating to Singapore. After worship we were able to have lunch with the local elders and get to know them a little better. They proved to be men who are concerned about spiritual matters and well equipped to oversee the school. Lisa and I are very excited to be working with them in the future.

The rest of the week was a whirlwind coordinated by sister Chin that allowed us to visit Chinatown, the bird park, many beautiful gardens, the zoo, the Supertrees (Ella’s request), Marina Bay Sands, the financial district, a local homeschool family, various condos and apartments, and so much more. In all of these sights that were able to see and experience, nothing compared to the warmth, kindness, and hospitality of our Singaporean hosts. We were served by the Chins, the elders, Eddy Ee, the Paul Goh family, Alvin, David, Yung Yao, the second year students, Jedidiah and his young family, and even more people. We were treated to homes, meals, conversation, information, tourist attractions, local dives, and very special lives. They all went above and beyond to make sure that we were taken care of while in town and that Ella felt especially special that week. I know that people are great all over the world. I know that when we meet Christians from anywhere that it is a joyful occasion. Even though I know all this, I would say that the people of Singapore, especially the Christians, make me want to be kinder and more hospitable.

  • Chinatown.
  • Flower Dome.
  • Singapore night skyline.

Most of our very limited free time was spent at the school. Each day we were able to sit in on and participate in the chapel period. I was blessed to sit in on brother Peter Chin’s lecture and see how he taught international students. We talked to the students and ate meals with them most mornings and some lunchtimes. I was able to sit down with Peter for well over an hour as he patiently answered (as much as one man could) all the questions we had. Lisa (over FaceTime), Peter, Pooi Fun, and I were able to discuss what it would look like for our family to live and work and serve in Singapore. 

  • Brother Chin teaching.
  • Ella with female students from Four Seas.

Though we didn’t not make a final decision for about two months after we got back to the U.S., the discovery work from this survey trip allowed us to make the final decision. So, let’s see if I can answer some of these final questions:

Why are you going so Singapore?

We believe we can be useful servants in the hand of a mighty God. The work at Four Seas and the potential in Singapore is exciting and something we want to be a small part of. The church is strong. The work is sound. The people are amazing. There are places all over the world where we would love to go and work, but right now, Singapore is hard to beat.

What about your kids?

Part of the reason we are going is because of our kids. We want them to experience different people, language, culture, food, and more. We want them to see with their own eyes what they might have only seen on Wikipedia. Singapore affords us the opportunity for new experiences and new sights and new language (kind of) and new culture. This is exciting. And, if things stay on the current trajectory, they will have kids their age, raised in Christian homes, that they can grow closer to, connect with more, and develop lasting friendships with. While we are leaving behind good friends and close family (especially grandparents), we are so very thankful for technology that allows our children to communicate with their loved ones 10,000 miles away.

-Trent

Answering Questions: Part 1

Answering Questions: Part 2

Answering Questions: Part Two

How did you even hear about this place?

Some Background

Campus ministry affords unique challenges and opportunities. The young people who are often seeking and searching offer a fertile ground, amazing potential for churches and workers. Among other unique opportunities of campus ministry is the schedule. College work allows me to work 60-70-80 hours many weeks during the fall and spring semesters. Days that are 10-12-14 hours or more are common occurrences. Office hours, campus time, one on one with students, no days off during the week, hosting college students in our home, social and recreational events many nights, and meetings upon meetings are all a part of the work from day to day and week to week. On the flip side, when the semester is not in session, our family has amazing flexibility. It is kind of like earning comp time from stacking long hours during the semester. The elders at University church of Christ have been very understanding allowing us to immerse ourselves in the work and then to take some time during the summer to back away a little. A perfect example of this is in the summer of 2015 when the elders allowed our family to spend an entire summer, three months, in Asunción, Paraguay working with the church and bible college there. Those three months gave us an insight into mission work; that insight is something that we have built on and discussed for years. We have always loved to consider the potential that exists in foreign mission fields.

Our family in Asunción, Paraguay. (2015)

A Passing Comment

This past summer, 2018, Lisa and I were visiting family after another long semester when I had the opportunity to have lunch with a good friend, Tim Burroughs. Tim works with the North Main congregation in Weatherford, TX and has encouraged me in many ways. He is also a true local worker who is trying to build up the body of Christ in every way where he is located. During the course of a lunch conversation, Tim asked me a fairly innocent question, “Have you ever considered foreign mission work?” 

Unknown to Tim, since 2015 Lisa and I had talked about the abstract possibility of doing foreign mission work, and even more so over the preceding year. When I told him yes, he was somewhat shocked.  Tim insisted that there was a work that I needed to investigate which was badly in need of a willing worker or two: the Four Seas College of Bible and Missions in Singapore. Tim has been visiting Singapore and the East for nearly two decades and has long been a proponent of the good work there. He gushed over the work that Peter Chin is currently doing as director of the college as well as the local congregations in Singapore at Jurong and Lim Ah Pin that support the work and the good student body. Unfortunately, the work of the school is currently being carried on short handed as only brother Chin serves as full-time faculty. From our conversation there was one thing that stood out to me aside from the great need: potential. The potential to be busy about the Lord’s work. The potential of working in an Alpha City with millions of people from dozens of countries and cultures. The potential of getting trained local workers into countries all over Asia! Potential. The gospel is powerful and the church must hold that light-giving Word to the world.

So, that lunch conversation led to another conversation at home between Lisa and me. That discussion provided questions that needed to be researched and re-asked. Good brethren who have long worked with the school and church in Singapore who are located stateside were able to provide us with answers and insight through phone conversations and email. The history of the school is recorded in a few pages of brother Ira Rice’s biography, so I decided I needed to refresh myself with his book. The internet is a wealth of knowledge. There are YouTube videos and forums and more that answered many questions we had.

Here are some random answers to questions you may or may not have asked:

Singapore is located in such a place to influence almost the entire Asian continent, and Four Seas counts as alumni students from over twenty different nations. When I checked Wikipedia for the populations of those nations, the totals were in the billions. Billions. {That is amazing potential!}

Map of Southeast Asia. Singapore is a small star located off the tip of Malaysia.

The school has been training Christians continuously since 1965. {That is some serious consistency.} Singapore is not in China. It is also not in Malaysia and hasn’t been for fifty years. Singapore is a separate and distinct city-state just off the Malaysian peninsula. It is a hub of industry, finance, culture, food, and education. The church is strong there thanks to efforts of missionaries long ago and continued dedication from Singaporean brethren. Classes at Four Seas are taught in English and most of the population speaks English. Singaporeans are very well educated and amazingly hard workers. The city is extremely expensive. 

You can learn more. I could tell you some or you could Google it. 

We still had some questions that could not be answered through phone or email with brethren in the US or in Singapore. The need at the school was real. The potential of Four Seas to affect Asia and the world was (and is) very great. The city seemed to be a place that our family could live. The church seemed to be a people our family could fit with. The school’s needs seemed to be a compliment to my experience and interest. But, some things you really need to see for yourself because Google can’t answer every question. So, last August, I took a trip to try to answer those questions and more. But, that’s another blog post.

Skyline of Singapore.
Photo by Marco Verch. Used under CC License 2.0.

How did you even hear about this place?

Tim Burroughs.

Where is Singapore?

Just off the tip of the Malaysian peninsula.

What was on your mind while you were asking, praying, researching, Googling, emailing, talking, and praying?

Potential.

-Trent

Answering Questions: Part 1

Answering Questions: Part 3