Pictures from Madison 3

At the end of October, we went to Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis, in Minnesota for a conference. We stayed with Paul and Tonya and got to see Spencer, who has grown up quite a bit. Brother James and Dan T. both shared.

Pictures from Madison 2

In Mid-October, we took a trip with some other couples (including Thuan and Tina) to Devil’s Lake, a nearby state park which showcases the fall colors of Wisconsin.

Pictures From Madison 1

Moving Into Our New Apartment:

Our New Place

Who needs a dinner table when you got a box?

Gloria is eager to get unpacked

Unfortunately, thesis writing does not wait for unpacking

 

First Draft Turned In

Last Friday I sent in my first draft to my adviser who said it’ll take him a few weeks to read. O Lord, may the process go smoothly and quickly! Since then, I’ve been making final revisions on a couple journal papers that I wrote before we moved and generally catching up on the rest of life; many things were put on hold or throttled down while I was finishing the first draft.

Among those the things on hold was this blog so I apologize if I haven’t done the best job of keeping people in touch. I hope to do more of that now and perhaps post some updates about how Gloria and I are doing as well as the Lord’s move in Madison.

Currently, Glo and I are still getting settled in. I’d say we’re about 35 to 40% settled in, which is a function of us juggling thesis writing and serving with settling in. Throw in a few weekends where we were out of town and that takes us to our current state. We hope that in the next few weeks we can have a few more things ready…

Speaking of out of town, this weekend we are in a conference in Brooklyn Park, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis and we (and Dave and Jean and kids) are staying with… guess who… Paul and Tonya! It’s great to see them again and to see Spencer a little more grown up at age three. He is a funny (and witty) kid that says a lot of funny things! Right now, Spencer’s telling me about his work. (Daddy goes to work and so does Spencer.) He works at the purple and red spots; he’s inviting me to his work but I can only take red computers, not the silver and black laptop that I’m typing on… I think Gloria got a video of Spencer and Sam playing together and if so, I might try to upload that when we get home. Paul and Tonya are doing pretty well; Tonya is really happy about being back in the Midwest in a more family-friendly environment.

Brother James and Dan are speaking at the conference and personally, I am really enjoying the speaking. I think the reason is that the spirit of the saints is really refreshing. Part of it might have to do with being in Minnesota/the Midwest, though I don’t think that’s not the main factor. Before the meeting, as they were praying and enjoying the hymn, I felt watered and refreshed. This isn’t implying anything about the saints in Northern California, but it has more to do with me being with other saints. It just seems that our spiritual constitution and health is not really made to be in one place for too long and really benefits from being blent with different believers. It’s also really great to see saints from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Canada.

Egad! It’s October 18th!!

This means I have exactly two months until the deadline to file my thesis. Currently, I’ve been spending nearly all my time finishing the first draft. I need to get it to my adviser asap because in the past with other students, the process of reading and revising has been known to take a few months. The goal was to finish this draft by this weekend, but it looks like Tuesday may be more realistic… O Lord, grace for the writing!

Madison Move: Final Stage

While Gloria and I made it safely to Madison, we have been awaiting the arrival of our possessions and wondering if they fared as well as we did. This final stage of our move was completed last Wednesday, when our shipping cubes arrived around noon and were unloaded in about two hours, with the help of Thuan, Tina, and Dave.

Gloria and I had braced ourselves for the worst; after hearing so many stories from the other saints about their belongings, we had identified a couple areas where things may have been damaged. It seems that rubbing and friction, rather than impact, is the main concern with a move of this distance. Jean noted that all the blankets she had used as protective layers had holes rubbed through them. So….. when we opened our cubes, we discovered that none of our worst fears were proved true. All in all, our things were intact (thank you Lord) and most of the damage was minor involving scratches to furniture surfaces or small chips to the edges.

Now we begin the task of setting up our currently empty apartment. A slow task since it is really happening by the efforts of Gloria as I have been working as much as possible to finish up the dissertation. Interestingly, we have yet to spend a night in our own place. For the first two nights, we stayed with Dave and Jean and had the pleasure of keeping Sam company during the day. The night before our cube arrived, we stayed with Thuan and Tina for two more nights, even though we had our mattress by the second night. The fact is, we could have at least slept in our place from the first night since we brought our Aerobed with us; but the reality is, this isn’t just an issue of convenience–I’ve enjoyed the company and it’s nice to wake up and eat breakfast with saints, or to pray, or just talk, especially when just arriving in a new environment.

And so it seems that the “moving” portion of our migration has concluded. After 2,343.8 miles, five state capitols, and three localities, we have arrived at our destination. It has been an interesting but worthwhile experience. Perhaps I’ll say more about this later.

All Quiet on the (Mid-)Western Front

I concede this blog has been silent these past few days. As some of you know, Gloria and I were on trip to SoCal for a family wedding these past few days. Once our cubes arrived, we unloaded them, left for LA the following day, and returned back to WI yesterday. So although it’s been about a week, we’re still just getting settled in. In fact, last night was our first night in our apt. (Of course that is due in large part to the hospitality of Thuan and Tina as well as Dave and Jean.) While on the trip, my moments of free time, when I wasn’t occupied with family and/or the wedding, were spent working on my papers and dissertation as much as possible so there was little time to update you all. Anyway, we’re back now and starting to settle in, so a few posts are forthcoming.

Going forward with Ready Writer

Praise the Lord, He brought us safely to Madison. Of course, that is just the first step and there is a lot for us to do. As of now, my plan is to update you all topically rather than chronologically, so I’ll let you all know how we’re doing in terms of the apartment, church life, dissertation, etc.

There’s a lot for us to do now, but I’ll do my best to keep you posted. Jean will be leaving for Berkeley this afternoon (related to her work) and she hopes to visit as many saints as possible.

Madison Move Day 7

Day 7 (10/4)

From Lincoln, NE to Madison, WI
Miles Driven Today: 491.0
Total Mileage: 2,348.3

We took the table with the church in Lincoln, which was also very encouraging. There were about 15 saints this morning, although normally there are about 30 saints that meet. It was an enjoyable meeting where the prophesying meeting occurred before the Lord’s Table and the meetings ended around 12:15 pm.

From meeting the saints in Lincoln, I was impressed at some of the different “connections” among the saints and the churches. We met a brother named Greg, moved to Lincoln from Denver six years ago, who installed the carpet of the Berkeley meeting hall. His daughter is now one of the young couples that recently moved to Israel for the Lord’s move, so we have been standing with him and his family in prayer. Another brother named Gary moved to Lincoln from Austin, TX and now travels back and forth between Lincoln and Omaha. He has visited Berkeley and knows many of the saints.
The church meets in a property that they recently purchased with the help of all the churches. The property costed $300k and the church received material offerings from all the churches which amounted to $225k so they were able to purchase the property with a $80,000 loan.
After they finish their current “Holy Word for Morning Revival” (HWMR), they will get into the new HWMR
on “Migration for the Lord’s Move” and they have been receiving all the fellowship concerning migration. I realized it was an encouragement for the saints to receive and fellowship with other saints who are migrating for the Lord’s move.

After being in Lincoln, I had a greater appreciation for the fellowship, spiritual and material, that flows among all the churches. Though each local church is autonomous, we are all part of the same Body, enjoying the same fellowship and following the same move of the Lord. Praise Him!

After leaving Nebraska, we cut through Iowa and entered Wisconsin through its southwest corner. We arrived in Madison at 8 pm and ate some late dinner with Dave and Jean. (Sam was excited to see us.) After that, we stopped by our apartment, called Monticello. Everything was ready for our arrival and we were excited about our new place. Mark, Miriam, Thuan and Tina, greeted us and helped us unload the boxes we packed in our car. After some talking and catching up, we went back to Dave and Jean’s to settle in. Praise the Lord, we are really in Madison.

Madison Move Day 6

Day 6 (10/3)

From Estes Park, CO to Lincoln, NE
Miles Driven Today: 574.2
Total Mileage: 1857.3

Today was supposed to be a more leisurely leg of our drive, but it seems that unforeseen circumstances continue to chip away at our time. The first was a welcome surprise, when we learned that Trail Ridge Road had been re-opened by the Park Service. (Trail Ridge Road is a beautiful drive that takes you through the Rockies and offers panoramic views reaching a peak altitudes of 12,000 feet with steep dropoffs on both sides.) We decided to drive as much of the 45 mile long road as possible, carefully watching the time since we would have to double back over whatever distance we traversed. Our decision rewarded us with a wonderful view at Forest Canyon at 11,100 feet, though we weren’t able to make the peak of the ridge. The second factor was my own lapse in judgment when I realized I had forgot to factor in the time zone difference, which pushed everything back by an hour.

It would be about 10 pm before we would arrive in Lincoln. Interestingly, our hospitality was not at home and could not be reached until they arrived at home at 10 pm so it seems that our timing worked out after all.

We stayed at the home of a couple, the husband who is a professor at the University of Nebraska and the wife is a soprano. He has lived in Lincoln for 10 years first as a graduate student, when he was saved, and now as a professor. (Picture below)

Brother Weixing and sister Judy from Lincoln, NE

Nebraska