The big news for us is that we have booked a 'holiday of a lifetime' for March/April 2010! We were originally hoping to do an Alaskan cruise in the summer with Michael W Smith, a Christian Singer, but Shanhong's change of job has meant the dates do not fit with our holidays. But, when God closes one door, he opens another - and we are now booked on a trip that should prove to be every bit as exciting! (Oops - can't find the 2010 advert - so you'll have to look at the 2011 one!).

We are joining others from New Creation Church in Singapore and worship leaders Bob and Kathy Fitts from USA for an Easter tour of Israel and Jordan, following in the footsteps of Jesus.

New Creation Church has become our home church here in Singapore and we have been attending for around 6 months now. The Senior Pastor, Joseph Prince, is a very humorous and charismatic speaker and his messages are entertaining, whilst also challenging. The church focus is on the finished work of Jesus and the unmerited favour and grace of God. Interestingly, services are recorded and shown throughout the world on Christian television. When I was home for Christmas I discovered that 'Destined to Reign' broadcast live from our church, was even available in the UK through Sky!

Bob Fitts is perhaps best known for the song 'Blessed be the Lord God Almighty' but has been writing songs and leading worship for many years. We had the privilege of attending a worship concert led by Bob and Kathy Fitts while teaching at Prem in Chiang Mai in 2008.

The tour takes in the most famous biblical sites throughout Israel and Jordan with teaching and worship in each location. It is not cheap, but I believe it is a holiday that will stay in our hearts for a long time, and look forward to writing more reports with photographs once we return. For now, I can only supply the itinerary , but that in itself is pretty exciting, especially to anyone who shares the Christian faith with us.

No other news at present. I am busy at school - including a Grade 7 sleepover Friday night, and exam results being released on Monday. Shanhong has had a week in her new school setting up her classroom, meeting other staff and attending training - students start tomorrow. So far she seems much happier than she was at SJI, so I am hopeful that life is going to be good for both of us. I've finished two more modules of my degree - and submitted a dissertation proposal - so that is still moving forward too.

We are still enjoying the pool and having fun with the Wii - so, getting a bit of exercise at last. You never know, we might lose some weight - but maybe not when you see all the chocolate and snacks in the fridge.

Take Care,

Trevor, Shanhong and Teddy

In the Footsteps of Jesus – 29^th March – 9^th April.

Mon 29^th March

Fly from Singapore via Qatar (with a 3 hour city tour in Doha) to Jordan.Visit Mount Nebo, where according to Deuteronomy 32, Moses was given a view of the Promised Land.

Tues 30^th March

Visit Bethany, where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and Elijah’s mount, where the prophet Elijah ascended to heaven in a whirlwind on a chariot of fire. Drive on to Petra, a spectacular ancient city nestled in mountains south of the Dead Sea.Enter the city by donkey into the ancient land of the Edomites, and enjoy the spectacular structures carved into the rock, made famous in the movie ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’.

Wed 31^st March

Cross over into Israel at the Red Sea and visit: Eilat – referred to as Elath in the Old Testament, this is a port and holiday destination on the Red Sea.Timna National Park – including the Wilderness Tabernacle, a reconstruction of the Old Testament tabernacle, King Solomon’s Pillars, and other sites. Mount Sodom – One of the prominent cities of old destroyed by Yahweh with fire and brimstone. Ein Gedi – an oasis by the Dead Sea which was David’s refuge when he fled from King Saul. Today we also get to swim in the Dead Sea – where anyone and everyone floats!

Thurs 1^st April

Jewish history day – with visits to the Israel Museum, Holyland Model, Holocaust Museum and the caves of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947.

Fri 2^nd April

A visit to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed, was betrayed and arrested. Visit to the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the paralytic. Visit to the Garden tomb, believed to be the site of Jesus’ resurrection

Saturday 3^rd April

A Day in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and of David.A visit to the Upper Room where Jesus celebrated the last Passover with his disciples and a visit to the house of Caiaphas where Peter denied the Lord three times.

Sunday 4^th April

A visit to the temple mount to see one of the most sacred sites of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic religions – including the Wailing Wall – which is broadcast live on the internet 24 hours a day – maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of us!

Monday 5^th April

On the road to Emmaus – where the resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples – and to Joppa where Peter raised Tabitha from the dead

Tuesday 6^th April

To Nazareth – where Jesus spent his boyhood, and to Cana in Galilee where Jesus turned the water into wine.

Wednesday 7^th April

A visit to the Mount of the Beattitudes where Jesus gave the famous Sermon on the Mount, and to Capernaum, located on the Sea of Galilee, home to Matthew the tax collector

Thursday 8^th April

A boat trip on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus rebuked the storm and walked on water – followed by the retun to Jordan, for an afternoon flight back to Oman, and onward to Singapore.

To celebrate 50 years of Independence, Singapore announced an additional public holiday which gave us the chance to escape for another long weekend - this time to Macau, a special region of China. In 1557, Macau was rented to Portugal as a trading port. The Portuguese administered the city under Chinese authority until 1887, when Macau became a colony. Macau transferred back to China in 1999. 

After a quick trip up the hill to the lighthouse, our first day was spent walking around the Historic Centre of Macau, a collection of over twenty locations that witness the unique co-existence of Chinese and Portuguese cultures in Macau, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

After a full day of walking, it was time for some good Portuguese food, and a rest in one of the many casinos.  Yes, I did walk through multiple casinos in Macau and no, I didn’t gamble!  We had decided we were going to have one go each in a big slot machine that could win millions – but couldn’t work out even how to put the money in, so gave up!

One of the highlights of the trip to Macau for me was to see the ‘House of Dancing Water’ show at the City of Dreams resort. This show’s theatre transforms from a very deep pool for high diving, to a stage that stunt motorcyclists use – and is like no other show I have ever seen.  We also got to see the Musical, Ghost, as it passed through Macau – so the final pics are from our nights out!

Hope you enjoyed the report – next trip is Viet Nam in October!  Take care,  Trevor, Shanhong, Ted xx

Easter saw us back in Beihai, our China home. For those who don’t know Beihai, it is a city on the South Coast of China, not too far from Vietnam and Halong Bay, with a 25km sandy beach that stays empty most of the year. We have a lovely house here, with plenty of room for visitors! Shanhong’s parents are in the same city for the winter months, so it is a good chance to catch up, and go fly a kite! The Beihai barbecued chickens are the best in the world. Try one, and you won’t disagree! We spend quite a bit of time sorting out the overgrown back garden, and I planted some cacti – so we’ll see if they survive!

We had a visit from Shanhong’s niece’s husband to be, and another musical in Singapore, and that brought us to summer. Our main holiday of the year was to be in USA, but on our way over, we did visit the UK to see Mum, to meet the newest member of the family (Scarlett, seen here with her big sis Eden, and Shanhong) and to spend a bit of time in our apartment there. Mum had unfortunately moved into a nursing home since our last visit at Christmas - not a place she loved, but there were some good days – and here she is singing along with a visiting entertainer! What she did love was getting out, and a favourite trip, given the season, was to the Rose Gardens nearby.

As you can see, a beautiful place when all the flowers are in bloom. It was an indication of mum’s dementia however, that having gone once and spent a good few hours, when we went back two days later, mum was convinced she had never been before. Little were we to know these would be the last photos with mum.

So, that’s all for this report – that brings us up to our departure for USA – and the next set of reports will be on that main summer holiday – hope you are looking forward to making that journey with us!

All the best, take care and keep writing

Love as always Trevor, Shanhong & Teddy (and friends) xx

Returning from America, we had the bad news of mum’s second major stroke, and although I flew back as quickly as I could, mum passed away as I was transiting in Paris. I am happy that mum is now in her new heavenly body and reunited with dad, so is in a better place – but it is still hard to lose someone you love.

Routines have returned – life is busy at school, as always, and with my course. We did reinstate the ‘Saturday Walks’ – this is a chance to simply go out into the Singapore countryside. So, the first set of pics is from a treetop walk in one of the many national parks.