At that first apartment that I showed you yesterday, this was my very first memory the morning after we slept there the first time. We got up to go find some food for breakfast. We quickly discovered that our neighbourhood was full of diversity, as evidenced by this Hindu temple just down the street. Most days it had piles of shoes outside from those who had gathered to go inside.
We also had a hawker center, which we began frequenting. We were so new and had absolutely no idea what to order!
We walked back through our walking route to catch Bus 65 which would take us toward town (and the school where we worked). We hopped off at the street at our second apartment. We already knew it had been torn down and replaced with a condominium. The Jewish Nursing Home next door remained. I remember taking my babies there to greet the residents.
We found the spot where CC sat and asked God for guidance on the day he was asked to become the interim director when our director skipped town!
We got back on our route and as nightfall approached, we saw the place where we went to a Chinese Opera on our first anniversary!
The next day, we went down to the southern point of the city to see the places we lived when our two little girls were born.
We walked the back jungle path....
....to the spot of our very first school when we arrived. It was a very old school building that once housed prisoners during WWII. It has since been torn down and a new condominium has replaced it.
But our hawker center across the street remained. This is where I first ate the local food.
And our final stop on this fun day was to see the campus that God provided at the very last minute. So much searching, so many prayers, and just in time, God provided it.
I got the chance to meet up for coffee and kaya toast with my two Singaporean friends from so long ago. Back then, our toddlers played on playgrounds. Now, they are in University and military service. These gals are so dear, and it meant so much to me to be able to see them!
These dear old friends came from the other side of the island to meet up with us. J will forever be special to me. She was first one of our school moms who had this amazing ability to turn nothing into something! She would help me organize the school Christmas craft fair. Because of her heart for people and her willingness to travel to a surrounding country, she contracted malaria. One Christmas Eve I spent by her hospital bed, rubbing lotion on her hands and praying for her, watching her unresponsive and hooked up to every hospital monitor possible. It did not look hopeful, but God did heal her. She continues to pour her life out for others to see them find the hope she has found. In true fashion, she handed me a bag of goodies made out of discarded sample fabrics. She had trained needy women to create something out of nothing.
And though it might sound silly to travel all the way to a tropical exotic country and miss the biggest sightseeing in the land, I wanted to see the clinic where I spent about 4 years of my life! After having 3 babies in 4 years, I became good friends with the nurses and doctor in my maternity clinic. I just popped in. The minute I walked in, the nurse yelled, "Sara Campbell....you are back!" I'd been gone 14 years, but they still had our family picture with my three Singapore babies in it.
And this is the man who held my three babies before anyone on Earth and exclaimed, "Praise the Lord!" each time. He is still delivering beautiful babies and was so happy to hear that I went on to deliver 2 more in Turkey.
One of our biggest joys was to get to meet with our friend LC and KH's community group. We shared some food and fellowship and talked about our lives in Turkey, as they pray for us faithfully. What a beautiful group and what a beautiful encouragement!
These are just random photographs and random notations for my readers, I am sure. But for me, they represent a six year period in my life in which I grew in the Lord, learned to be an overseas wife, made lifelong friendships, and became a mother. Each little spot I went held smells, sounds, and memories that are forever in my heart. I was so young then, but God held my hand in those years.
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