Dear great friends of ours,Wishing you a merry Christmas! This Christmas is special to us, as this will be our last Christmas here in Vancouver! As we have started going to an English-speaking church since July, through attending church and knowing people there, we got to know a lot more about Advent and Christmas, both in the biblical context and in the North American cultural context! We truly treasure these cultural exchanges which broadened our scope of the world and towards God.
Philip has been working really hard on his study this past Fall term. He finished two audio courses on time, which he at some point felt unable to finish but God seemed to help put the puzzle pieces together for him to finish. He also successfully wrote the 6000-word assignment focusing on children's curriculum for Christian education. This experience gave him much inspiration and confidence in moving towards writing the 10000-word final paper in this Winter term. Please continue to pray for him as he finishes up this big project before he graduates in April.
Connie has been enjoying her mothering role at home with the two lovely girls. Her days have been busy, taking Abby to and from her preschool in the morning, taking Abby to attend some after-school activities in different community centers. Her efforts got paid off when Abby and Elly love and enjoy what they are doing. Connie also gets refreshed during Sunday church services, as Elly started to adjust to the nursery provided by church volunteers. Connie can now sit through and listen to the sermons without having to go into the nursery to check in with the crying Elly! She cannot thank God enough for being able to become close to God in His words.
Abby has been progressing A LOT in her speech and learning at preschool. She can express herself in quite long sentences now, and can even talk in broken or whole English sentences. Her daily comprehension of English seems to have become quite enough for her, while she still loses attention during storytimes which require higher level of English comprehension. She has started learning letters with their phonetic sounds, and has been practising them with words that she sees in the street or in books. We are so proud of her. We also love to see her enjoying her drama, ballet and music courses and continue to excel in her own unique ways!
We have been amazed constantly by Elly's fast ability to learn and absorb new skills by observing and imitating others. She is always alert towards the happenings around her and she can pick up and absorb new information real quick. Her cheerful disposition has always been a heart-warmer to us and all those who know her. Abby and Elly have continued to grow close to each other's hearts, enjoying playing with each other and of course, like all siblings do, fighting with each other over toys and mommy's attention. It is always very moving to see Elly following her big sister everywhere, while Abby protecting and standing up for her little sister when she gets hurt.
We have booked our return airtickets!!! We shall be leaving Vancouver on May 5, 2011, while arriving in Hong Kong on the next day. We just cannot wait to see our beloved friends and family, and back to our usual lifestyles in Hong Kong. However, we shall never forget these three magical years that God led us to Vancouver -- we have learned and gained a lot intellectually and spiritually; we enjoyed the weather here and the child-friendly lifestyle especially for Abby and Elly; we also treasured the friendship that we made and it will be each one of you who will make us miss Vancouver!
Warmly with love,
Philip, Connie, Abby and Elly
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