The new school year orientation went well.
Started with the business part at the school, then it was off to SAFRA (with the nice new renovations and beach) for two days of get-to-kn0w-you, prayer, and final-night bar-b-q.
Here's my observation about the new students:
1. This year, we had our youngest student - but tallest gal - Lydia, who will turn 21 next week. She lived in Thailand, where her Singaporean parents are missionaries, working among orphans and abandoned children.
2. We have many strong mature students too - church workers, missionaries from Thailand and China, leaders from CCC, a Korean businessman, and a Singapore ex-school principal.
3. The new students blended in easily. Most of the night's cooking, in fact, were handled by several of them who did a 'professional' job.
4. This year's bar-b-q was one of the most 'complete' - besides the usual chicken wings, sting ray and otah, we had a full spread of fried rice, croissant sandwiches, noodles, salad, and kimchi.
5. Byju came back looking very happy - he got married this school break to a CCC staff worker in India.
6. The team that went to Egypt were bursting with good reports. Cindy's English improved. Jacky lost weight - "Must be the beans we ate there almost everyday!" he said.
7. Moses and Daniel, who spent a month of ministry and "English immersion" in Manila, seemed more talkative than ever before. Good for them.
8. With so many coming back from internships and home visits, no one has been affected by the H1N1. Praise the Lord.
9. We missed the old students (sob sob), Tjoh Dju and Davina (who left for other ministries), and the Langstons and Winklers who are on home leave in the USA.
10. But we welcome new faculty Dr Kwa Kiem Kiok, who'd be taking over from Tjoh Dju in Intercultural Studies .
