The summer has gone well for us. We attended Cathy’s brother’s wedding in China back in June. Then I made the drive from Houston to New Jersey with my dad and brother to help my brother move to Princeton, where he is attending seminary. Since then, I’ve been studying physics full-time in preparation for grad school, while Cathy has been taking a sociology class–her last requirement before nursing school.

Now we are about to be students together. I will start classes on Monday (August 22nd), and Cathy will begin the following Monday. Cathy’s nursing program should take about a year and a half to complete. I, on the other hand, am likely to remain a grad student for six or seven years. That’s about the average time it takes people to finish a PhD in physics, it seems. When I was an undergraduate, that sounded like an eternity. Now it sounds like a short time.

I’ve taken advantage of the summer to engage in some creative projects as well. I wrote and recorded a song based on Psalm 139 and Romans 8, which I intend to post on YouTube at some point. (I’ll put a link here.) I’m also working on a screenplay with my old buddy Saqib, who is a film school graduate. We’ve been having a lot of fun with it, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. In addition to that, I wrote a pretty lengthy essay about the status of America’s education system.

My biggest project of all, however, has been to write up a comprehensive account of our experience with cancer, the fundraising concert, the unbelievable real estate fiasco we were embroiled in, and the amazing support that we received from YOU. Right now, it stands at over 100 pages, single-spaced, and I’m working on the third draft. I intend it as an expression of thanks to everyone who helped us out, and as a testimony to the amazing way that we were provided for in the midst of some pretty ridiculous trials. I hope I’ll be able to publish it, in which case I will donate all proceeds to a cancer foundation. My target completion date is December 30th–the anniversary of Cathy’s final radiation treatment.

Cathy’s next checkup is scheduled for November. Please pray that we’ll have good news at all checkups from here on out. And please drop us a line from time to time!