Wing Yui and Doris's Newsletter

　　Winter seems to speak of barrenness, frigid feelings of discomfort and discontent, icy shadows sprawled across frozen ponds, naked branches reaching up as if in supplication for relief. Short days, long nights. fast-fading memories of yesterday's fun in the sun. Heavy, grey clouds and harsh winds sting our faces and steal our smiles especially in these recent weeks in the Bay Area. But paradoxically, winter is also a season of reference, the time to take a good look at our life and to remind us that "our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases" (Ps. 115:3) Su Sih's poem is an apt description of such a paradox:

            At the lotus end, there is nothing to cover the rain,

            But the twigs of the mums rise above the frost's gain.

            Remember, my friends, the fairest time this year;

            Is when the citrus is golden and the orange plain.

            荷盡已無擎雨蓋，菊殘猶有傲霜技

             一年好景君須記，最是橙黃橘綠時。

                                                                蘇軾

　　Su was not just talking about the paradox of winter, but also about the paradox of those who are running their final course of life.

　　Doris finally had her hip replacement surgery done last month after suffering from hip pains for more than ten years. She is still recuperating at home. We thank the Lord that she was in the good hands of a gifted surgeon from Stanford and all the medical supports provided by the Hospital. But the healing process is quite an ordeal to us. A week after the operation, we found that Doris' calf was swollen. We consulted our daughter Charissa and her husband Mike for their opinion.  After looking at the pictures of Mom's legs, they suggested us to go to the ER to get an ultrasound to rule out any blood clot. Embolism can be very dangerous and fatal in the post-op period. It was very cold and dark outside. Thank God that the Hospital was not too far away from our home. After the examination, the ER doctor told us that the ultrasound report showed no sign of any blood clot. She also examined the operated leg and found no sign of infection. We were very much relieved and by the time we came back home, it was 12 midnight. We had a very peaceful and restful sleep that night.

　　The PT came to our home and helped her to do exercises which proved to be very helpful. She is improving steadily, though slowly. Last week, she started to use the cane instead of the walker and to us this is a great milestone in her recovery. When we think of God's grace upon us and the love, support and prayers from brothers and sisters, we feel much blessed and encouraged. Brothers and sisters from our Pleasanton Bible Study group take turn to bring meals to us, and that is a great help to us. People from our church visit us often even though we live very far away from them.

　　She may need at least two more months to be completely healed. We are not sure when she will have the other hip operated, but we are sure that the Lord will lead us through.

　　2019 is a year of travel. In May, we went back to Hong Kong to do some promotion on Wing Yui's new book The Mystery of Suffering and Sin -- the Message of Job published by Ming Dao Press. In July, we travelled to Vancouver to speak in the Summer Retreat of an Alliance Church. We were very excited to see many Waterloo Hill Church brothers and sisters who moved back to Vancouver from Hong Kong. We really treasured the renewed fellowship. In August, we went to Canada and a New England cruise for a reunion with Doris' High School classmates. We were able to have Bible Studies with them. In September, we visited Yellowstone National Park with friends from Hong Kong. In October, we went to the Portugal-Spain cruise with 角聲, where Wing Yui was the guest speaker.  About 200 people went, among whom one-third were non-Christians. We held Bible studies with them almost every night and about 70 people attended. We found that this is a very effective way to share the Gospel. We are thankful for these opportunities to serve Him.

　　Wng Yui is now fully recovered from the illness he had two years ago. The timely recovery enables him to take care of Doris and the grand-children. We are still active in serving in both the San Francisco Evangelical Free church as well as the Pleasanton Bible Study Group. Wing Yui has just finished writing the biography of his father entitled In Pursuit of a Better Home. The story of his father is in fact bursting with drama, heartbreak and horror. It mirrors a century of political turbulences in China. In writing this book, Wing Yui sometimes became so emotional that he had to drop the entire project for a break before he could continue. We hope that we can find a publisher to publish this book.

　　It is a long newsletter. We wish you all a very fruitful and blessed New Year!

Wing Yui and Doris So