Today, Sarah Brenner picked me up at 130pm with her grandson, Ian in the car. I would be spending the whole day at her house and CT would come after he finishes his work. Getting to know Sarah is very amazing as her husband went to Singapore for work and she tagged along. My mum actually got to know her in Singapore which is a miracle because my mum never knew them. So, it was really God-arranged.
They are a great couple. You know sometimes when you are out with different friends and after meeting up with your friends, you may feel lousy or you feel great because of what was being said? I feel lousy when the whole time, people gather to gossip and talk bad about others or just talk superficial things...but on the other hand, when the conversation is so uplifting and so meaningful, you just feel so much respect for your friends and you will leave the place feeling great. That is what I like and that is what Robert and Sarah Brenner are like..a very influential couple in their own way.
Her house was only 25 mins away from my place and very easy to get to as we just travelled one straight road and make a right turn. Very simple yet it was a place CT and I never explored as it was past the airport. We never drove past the airport as it was all residential over the other side. So, I was pretty excited to check it out!
Ian quickly got down and played with his bike. Ian is only 21 months old and is a very very cute boy.
As you can see, they have a very long drive way up to their house from the roads with pine trees grown at the sides. Very nice and scenic.
I was greeted so warmly by her 5 dogs! When I opened the car door, they all came up to me and started licking me. Haha..Very cute.
Here is their house- Sarah with some of her dogs.
Their whole land area is about 21 acres. That is almost a million sq feet! They are in the midst of building another house in their land. It would be her daughter and son-in-law's house (Stephanie and Nathan). So, right now, they are staying with them. Step is expecting a second one and will be giving birth almost the same time as my sis-in-law, Pam...around Feb.
Sarah took me around her place. They have a lake in between 2 houses..So, it is very nice.
This is Step and Nathan's house in their plot of land...
We walked into the house and even climber up the stairs as Sarah told me where would the toilet, rooms, kitchen be..
Then, we went to see the horses. They have 5 horses in all as Stephanie teaches horseback riding to especially kids. So, they even have all the obstacles for the horse to jump over..
They seperate 3 horses from 2 of them as they could not get along with one another. Here are 3 of their horses..
They also keep hens for its eggs. The looks of it is quite different from normal chickens which I know of in Singapore..
Grow their own vegetables like collard greens and broccolli. Check out the broccolli plant.
After touring the place, I went for horseback riding of course. Well, I love riding horses and have been riding since young in New Zealand. My parents have exposed me to do a lot of things and I am very thankful for that..for having such opportunity to try so many things. My late granduncle had a farm in New Zealand and we used to stay with him and see his horses. So, most of my horseback riding experiences was in New Zealand.
I remember one time riding, we had to go through rough terrain like through a jungle and when we got out of it, there was a huge slope down. Being young, I could not control the horse well..so it was galloping down the slope very fast. So, I lost control and fell off. Thank God my bones were intact and I just fell on the soft and luscious green fields.
Another memorable horseback riding experience was recently a year ago, we went to South Islands to ride. We rode with the huge mountains as a background, through the tall trees, streams of river and there was one particular obstacle which was quite hard to control but super fun. It was a deep river where the water reaches up to your legs. So, I had to lift my legs up as I rode the horse. The funny thing was that my dad's horse kept splashing on him. My dad's horse loves to play with water..so it kept kicking and splashing water. What an experience. That was CT's first time riding and I was glad to be able to introduce that to him. We rode for couple of hours and yeah, as usual, my butt hurts after that. But I loved it. I think if I stay in the country side, I would probably own horses and ride on them.
Ok, anyway, back to Sarah's house. Stephanie was with me as I rode her horses. She instructed me to put up the saddle for the horse and taught me a lot. Afterall, she was an instructor. She did not ride as she was expecting...but when I went up the horse, she left me to ride the horse by myself as she went to feed and tend to the other horses. But before riding the horse, I had to brush off the dirt and fit on the saddle...Then, I took my horse for a ride and it was an easy horse to ride.
Then, Step told me to go through another gate to the obstacle course area. So, I rode the horse there. Step was teaching me a lot since it was one on one training. Ha..
I was very comfortable riding the horse so much so that she taught me how to let the horse go faster and run. She taught me the technique of what to do when the horse runs. I had to bob up and down-stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down. IT was tiring but fun! Wheee...Stephanie first trained me and the horse by going in small circles as she took the whip. Then, once I was comfortable bobbing up and down, she told me to do it on my own round the fence. So much fun as I was in control of this huge animal...
After the ride, I helped Stephanie to feed my horse, brush the horse and remove the saddle. I enjoyed it because it was hands on and I have not learnt so much about horses till today.
Then, we put the blanket over the horse to keep it warm for the night.
At about 6pm, I went out of the house to the roads to wait for CT. They do not have street lights along the roads. So, I wanted to wait outside with a flash light to get CT's attention.
Robert came home first from work and he stopped and asked if I would like him to wait with me. So sweet, isnt it? I told him I was fine waiting for CT alone and admiring the vast skies full of stars! I must say, I was freezing but I was really enjoying the moon and stars..
CT came shortly after and I got into the car as he went into the long driveway...
Dinner was simple and nice. Had rice with smoked pork, veggies soup. There was also salad and toast. Had Strawberry Jell-O as well. I enjoyed it a lot as it was typical country food.
From left to right: Ian, Stephanie, Nathan, Robert, Sarah and CT!
Then, we spent time talking in the living room and had cookies with ice cream for dessert.
CT shared about how he became a Christian, his journey and the trials he faced after that with his family and his dad passing away. We all thought it was an amazing story as how CT stood by his faith despite his father threatening to severe ties with him if he became a Christian. I know most non-Christians would think that it is being unfilial but I guess they would think otherwise if they really know who God is and what He has done and what He would do...One question any non-Christian should ask is: What is so good about this God that makes CT stick by his faith and go through so much trouble by going against his dad?
You know as a teacher, I would always love for my students to ask questions because only when they ask questions, I would then know that they want to learn and they are learning... So the more questions people ask about God and Christianity, the more they would learn...and learning never stops when we leave school..it is always ongoing, isnt it?
Actually, it was my inquisitive nature that led me to be a Christian. I asked questions when I was young like- What would happen when I die? Is life so meaningless that after what happens duing this world and I just die? There must be more meaning and purpose to my life here....
Anyway,we left about 9 plus pm as we noticed Sarah getting quite tired. We had a great talk about Singapore and about God..Left their place feeling enriched and inspired by this wonderful couple.
Of course, I brought my camera along to take lots of pictures..It is always a pleasure to take pictures, though my preference is scenery...
Then, Pam took me to her office and showed me a book that she is working on. She said she wanted to print out a draft for me to take home but had no time. So, she said that once she has finished, she would email to me. It is a book on Praising God...about how people could put it into action.
Colin's wife is from Myanmar and has stayed in Thailand for some time. So, her food is really spicy and tasty. I loved it. She even made her own beef and pork balls from scratch.
So, we had grilled chicken wings, vinegar pork ribs, braised mushrooms with pork, dried scallops and "hair", vegetarian mixed veggies with mushrooms, corn egg soup and rice. They all missed eating such food and I was glad to be able to cook for them...
Oh, I made longan, red date drink and stored it few days before in the fridge to keep it cold. Wanted to create the homely, local feeling...
CT is actually the one walking in and carrying a "Madagascar" country flag. Anyway, after the interesting service, we went out lunch with the bible study group. Went to "O Charlie's" for lunch and Danny paid for both me and CT. So sweet. About 20 people went as they knew there would not be much time they could spent with us left. We ordered buffalo wings and a mushroom swiss burger. Restaurant burgers are much bigger than those in fast food restaurants.
I did not get up the horse again as I was too lazy. I just wanted CT to try riding again and I accomplished that..so I was satisfied already. Ian was playing with the logs set up for thr horses to jump over.. By the way, Ian is a good model as he loves to look at cameras and smile..He would do whatever you ask him to do. His parents actually did a whole year's calander on him with bible verses for each month. Very cool..
