Classical Conversations: West BoxCar

Directing a Classical Conversations community in Singapore has been an incredible faith journey. Upon arriving in Singapore in January 2017, my goal was to plug our family into a local CC community, but I quickly learned communities were full – especially for a family with five kids. So our family happily finished the year on our own and when it came time to consider our plans for the fall, it seemed God was opening doors for me to direct a Foundations/Essentials community in the west.

That summer I attended my first international practicum as a newly contracted CC director. Sitting among friends, God began orchestrating our dear CC community, which by the end of the summer would be endearingly called West Boxcar. By the end of the three-day practicum, God gave us our first Foundations tutor and Essentials tutor — both who were brand new to tutoring and almost completely new to CC. He also brought me Adeline Yang. Even though Adeline was new to directing, she instantly agreed to combine our communities. God brought me a true Barnabas in Adeline. With the gift of encouragement, Singaporean blood in her veins, and a heart of prayer, she has been the best partner to pioneer our little community.

Amazing Grace        by Aaron Fong  THG Alumnus   on guitar and violin

With Adeline’s families for Challenge, and our F/E numbers growing, our greatest need was a venue. Together we put on paper what our needs were and lifted them up to the Lord. He did not disappoint. After a handful of visits to churches and venues, a fellow director shared with us a church that might open its doors to our community. To say that my heart was aglow by the end of our initial meeting is an understatement. Pastor Beng Chuan of Pasir Panjang Church of Christ wanted our community to meet at their church. We felt loved and cherished from the very start. And this dear church has only continued to bless and love our community. And they even have green space for the kids to run around!

Now, with a location fully delivered by God, we only had a few nuts and bolts to iron out. One was the need for another tutor. Our ten families prayed for another tutor and within a few days, our third tutor volunteered and our “staff” was set: three Foundations tutors, two who had never participated in Foundations before, and one who was just finishing her first year as a brand new family to CC and homeschooling. We also had a dear friend to tutor Essentials. God had provided! We were merely recipients of His grace and provision.

We are now into our second year as West Boxcar Community, and we continue to celebrate God’s faithfulness. From watching young ones grow in their presentation skills, to hearing all ages recite memory work, to rejoicing with each other over family members coming to know the Lord, to a wonderful play written and directed by our Essentials tutor, our community is bubbling with the goodness of God. When God moved our family halfway around the globe, little did I know I would have the pleasure of directing a precious group of families, but God did; and it has been a joy and delight to grow with these women on our homeschooling journey.

As the Classical Conversations motto reads, “Know God and make Him known.” This has been the heartbeat of my journey, and I look forward to what God has next for our community.