Top 10 Memories of 2019

In no particular order of importance or chronology, here we go (again):

1) I survived being in my job for 2 years already, and added on a new portfolio. I essentially have 2 bosses now. Not sure if it is good or bad haha. But I'm still learning and parts of it is challenging, so I'm still interested in the job.

2) I traveled back to the United States this year...TWICE. I flew premium economy both times since the flights were sooooo long. While it is money worth spent, I felt the painful pinch of money hemorrhaging from my pocket 😭 But on such a long flight, those seats and noise cancelling headphones are EVERYTHING. 😁

So why the United States twice? First, my dad was called as an Area Seventy, and thus I went to April General Conference for that. (FYI the Church only paid for my dad and my mom. No children are invited, so I paid for my own ticket.) Then we swung down to New Mexico to visit my youngest sister and her husband there. I was sick for the days we were in Utah, so that was blah. But I managed to attend the session that my dad was sustained.

New Mexico was fun! Well, not the city. Albuquerque is quite something. I can't stay there in the long term, but it was super fun to spend time with my youngest sister and her husband. Also, COSTCO. I miss that place.

3) The second time we flew to the United States was to attend my other sister's wedding in Nashville, TN in late-October.

My cousin (standing next to me) in Texas managed to join us!

The weather was very cooperative, and only rained after we took photos and traveled to the reception place. The sealing ceremony was lovely, and they had a simple and fun reception. And COSTCO again...I sure miss that place.

4) In August, my other sister (the one living in New Mexico) and her husband had their Singapore wedding reception at Tangs Plaza Marriott. Not sure how the couple felt about it, but it was a fun and exhausting day for me. I sang a duet that poked fun of the couple, and they were good sports about it.

It was my American-born-Chinese (ABC) brother-in-law's first time in Singapore. Very interesting to find out his opinion of Singapore (even if I don't agree with him on everything 😛). My other sister also flew back for the wedding, and all 6 of us squeezed into our HDB flat for a few days. Now that was...something. You really do things only for family that you wouldn't do for others.

5) My Stake re-drew the ward boundaries in late-January. We went from having 10 wards, to only having 4 HUGE family wards, 1 Filipino ward, 1 Mandarin-speaking ward, and 1 newly-created YSA ward! The YSA ward is currently the only one in Asia now. I think they had one in Hong Kong a few years ago, but it closed down after a while. Hopefully the YSA ward in Singapore can sustain itself!

Anyway, my ward is now huge, with about 2/3 local families, and 1/3 expatriate families. This is because my ward encompasses the Singapore American School, where most expat families reside. It is interesting to be in such a ward. Layers of complication. There will always be some tension because each community is used to doing things their own way, but I also know each side is trying their best to adapt.

With the new ward boundaries, I got called as my ward's Young Woman President. I have about 20 active youth, 3/4 of whom are expatriates. My feelings toward my calling yo-yo day-by-day. On one hand, I love my young women, and it is so fun to be with them. They (and their parents) support the activities we plan (you have no idea how important that is!), and I'm also amazed at how powerful their Sunday lessons are. My YW are so talented and capable, and I am so so so blessed to get to know them.

But man! Weekly activities are exhausting, and so is having to attend 7am monthly ward council meetings (urgh!). I'm excited for the new changes to be implemented starting next year when my Young Women will take the lead on more ALL things now.

6) We had another Stake Relief Society convention for the Single Adult sisters in October at Malacca (Malaysia). I have not visited that place in a few years, and I was reminded of how charming that city is. Highly recommend the city to visitors of Southeast Asia (after Singapore of course 😉). The convention was fun too, and all we did was eat, go for a massage, shop, tour Malacca, attend two workshops, socialise, and relax over a weekend.

7) The Church celebrated it's 50th anniversary since it was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel in 1969. The Church organised a few commemorative events, but the most pertinent to me was the Musical History held on 28th September at the Gateway Theatre. I participated in the choir, and we started rehearsals way back in June/July. It was an overall enriching experience that I have no regrets being part of, but let's not do that again for like, 10 years or so, okay?

8) I learned how to knit! It all started when a group of women ("sisters" as we call in the Church) would stay back after church for hours before our 50th Anniversary choir practice. Our Church has an ongoing service project with KK Hospital to crochet beanie hats for pre-mature babies, and we would crochet hats during that waiting period. But a few sisters pointed out that the knitting stitch is actually better for these babies, and so to dah! A weekly knitting class was born. So far I've knitted two adult beanie hats, and am knitting a scarf for my mom. I'm just grateful to the sisters who teach us how to knit for FREE, when such classes normally cost hundreds of dollars. THIS IS THE POWER OF RELIEF SOCIETY.

I made these!

9) President Russell M. Nelson visited Singapore, and I got to be part of that choir as well. It was such a treat, and who knows when a prophet will make a personal visit again? The last time a prophet visited Singapore was President Hinckley in 2000, so not a good track record...

10) Finally, I stuck to the Come Follow Me church curriculum this year, and read the whole New Testament. Woo Hoo!

Happy 2020 from my family to yours!!! May you have a prosperous and blessed year ahead :)