Celebrate Love...with Quintuplets!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!
In case you may be wondering, we do celebrate Valentine's Day here in Singapore...in fact, the government actually promotes it! This morning as I drove to the office I was amazed to see huge red hearts strapped to almost every tree lining the road. Each heart read, "Celebrate Love". The authorities seem to be emphasizing the feelings of love and goodwill.

Here's how Paul describes "Love" in his letter to the Corinthians..."Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

So you might be wondering about the quintuplets? If anyone isn't sure, that's FIVE babies born at one time! So, Dawn and I were scheduled to babysit these 5 precious little girls (15 months old and the only quints in Singapore!) so their parents could go out to dinner tonight...So we left the office early to come home and prepare. Our house looked like a preschool after we were done setting up all the cushions and toys. Then the entourage came...1, 2, 3, 4, 5 toddling petite Chinese baby girls, parents, grandma, and two helpers! We had quite the party, taking a walk in the gardens, watching the fish swim, and sliding and swinging for the first time! This was only the second time these babies had all left the house together...their lives are truly miracles.

Chinese New Year has officially come to a close with the second full moon (Sunday night). I enjoyed the Sunday evening with a really neat family, who has offered me their daughter's bedroom when she gets married in May. This timing is actually quite perfect, since it looks like I'm not even going to be in Singapore much until May. Thank you for praying for my housing - I have been offered many options. I think I would really like living with this family - a mother with her 2 grown children (21 and 19 years). But for now, my home will be elsewhere. I fly out to Banda Aceh, Indonesia on my birthday, February 20, for two weeks. I think this is one of the neatest gifts I could imagine from the Lord - the gift of seeing what He is doing to repair broken hearts in this land so torn by flooding. Please cover me in prayer during this journey.

Pictured here is one of our team members who will be leaving with her husband this Saturday to move longterm to Banda Aceh - they will be getting the fisheries up and running. You can see the boat atop the house behind her.

I discovered that the kindy (gotta be the New Zealand way of saying "kindergarten") we have built in Banda actually needs murals painted on the interior walls...so I volunteered, hoping that my oil painting class from college will somehow prepare me for painting animals and other kid stuff on tall walls in Indonesia. If you have any creative ideas, please let me know!!!

These past days in the office have been good ones; getting a feel for what my role can be here. My official title is "Communications Coordinator", and one of my main responsibilities at this point is to receive prayer requests and praise items from our field workers and share these with all the fields, volunteers, board members, and prayer partners on a weekly basis. We are

calling this bulletin: MTI Weekly. One of the highlights in the headquarter office is our time of intercession on Monday afternoons. You are most welcome to join us!

I will close for now, but know that I ask the Lord to keep you in HIS steadfast Love. I sat under the stars tonight, full of emotion, and gazed at the moon. I watched as white clouds streamed across the midnight blue sky; yet the whole time the moon stood still. It reminded me of how steady is our God's love for us.
Celebrate this love!
This photo was taken by Aaron Little