Yesterday we found the church we’ll be going to while here in Singapore…

Pretty crazy, huh? Kind of feels like we’re cheating when we go to another country but can find all the familiar comforts from back home (other than the people of course!)

If you’re interested in attending church with us next Sunday, here’s some simple directions. (Don’t try this without adult supervision:)

1. Go outside of the Metro YMCA and catch the 190 bus to Orchard Road (takes about 5-7 minutes).
2. From Orchard Road take the underpass to the MRT station (i.e. the subway).
3. If you need to put money on your E-Z link card make sure you put at least $10 on it. Otherwise the machine will keep rejecting your offer and you have to start over from scratch every time. (Trust us on this one…we tried it three times before we got it smoothed out!)
4. Catch the North-South line towards Marina Bay. Mind the gap! (You don’t need to worry too much about remembering the gap part; there will be many polite reminders from an automated feminine sounding voice.)
5. Continue on past the Somerset stop and at the Dhoby Ghaut Station disembark the North-South line.
6. Transfer to the North-East line and get on the train headed toward Kentong (that’s not the name of the final destination, but that’s where you should have gotten off.)
7. Disembark at the Serrengoon station just to be on the safe side–since you’re not sure exactly where you’re going after all. (This MRT part of the trip should take about 20-25 minutes.)
8. In dumbfounded amazement discover that you’ve left the address to the church back at your hotel (…bummer…) Well, at least you remembered where the church meets. Upper Serrengoon Road at the Girl’s Brigade (whatever that means??)
9. Ask an unsuspecting MRT employee if he knows where the Girl’s Brigade is located on Upp. Serrengoon. Wait for a few minutes while he consults another MRT employee in a language you don’t understand.
10. Go to the information booth where you’re told you will receive a map and clear directions to the Girl’s Brigade.
11. Ask yet another MRT employee in an information booth if he knows where the Girl’s Brigade is? (You guessed it…MRT employee #3 consults with MRT employee #4 who seems very confused by the question.)
12. Rack your brain for the forgotten street address or some landmark near said Girl’s Brigade. (Hillside, it’s near Hillside Rd. I think…)
13. Walk out of MRT station with scribbled instructions regarding a bus from MRT employees #3 and #4.  (It’s still much too far to walk they say.)
14. Look for bus stop where you’ll hopefully find bus 70 listed.  (The MRT guys think that’s the right one, but say you’d better ask the bus driver just to make sure.)
15. Against all logic, refuse to hail a taxi cab.
16. At the first bus stop you come to don’t fret when 70 isn’t listed.  Just turn around and walk a block and a half in the other direction.  You’re toddlers aren’t too sweaty or whiney just yet.  You still have some time to kill. 
17. At bus stop number two observe bus 70 passing on the opposite side of the street.
18. Backtrack to the crosswalk and finally arrive at your bus stop.  (Don’t think about the fact that the church service started 15 minutes ago.  It’s no problem.  You probably just missed some announcements, previews, and stuff.)
19. For kicks, ask every bus driver that pulls up in a bus if they are going past the Girl’s Brigade or Hillside Road.  If they just grunt, wave a hand at you, or say, "no, no…no," step off the bus.
20. When bus 70 pulls up, ask the bus driver the same question posed in #19.
21. Rejoice inwardly and board bus when the driver smiles, nods, says yes, and repeats the word "hillside" a few times in broken English!  (The approximate time from disembarking the MRT to reaching bus 70 is just a few seconds shy of infinity.)
22. Curse under you breath when bus 70 goes three blocks up Upper Serrengoon and then veers onto a cross-street.
23. Argue with your spouse about your refusal to ask the bus driver if the bus will ever return to Upper Serrengoon.
24. Curse yourself inwardly for performing step #15.
25. Stay on bus 70 for far too long out of a sense of fatalistic pride and desperation.
26. Disembark the bus in an industrial area of Singapore totally defeated and ready to hail a taxi cab.
27. In the cab on the way to the Girl’s Brigade pretend like you understand and appreciate the driver’s good-natured but indecipherable English jokes.
28. Back on Upper Serrengoon Road pass Highland Road (not to be confused with Hillside.)
29. End your journey to Calvary Chapel Singapore at the Girl’s Brigade which is now called by some other name like Such-and-Such Academy or So-and-So School for the Gifted.  Who knows?!?  (This should put you at the church a mere 45 minutes after the service has started, but at least you’ll get to hear most of the sermon!)
30. After church walk a measly three blocks farther north to the Kentong MRT stop and head home in much more direct fashion…