Merry Christmas and Good News!!!

What a difference one week can make. A Christmas windfall of blessings has come our way and given us clarity on the next stage of our lives.

As the faithful followers of this blog are aware, we were ready to pack our bags and head back to the United States after Célia’s birth in January, because Brian didn’t have the funding necessary to pursue a Ph.D. here in Brisbane. Despite the increasing unlikelihood of staying in Brisbane, the Ph.D. seemed to be the option we most wanted, so we decided to pray and work for opportunities.

Therefore, on Monday, Brian interviewed for a part-time research assistant position at a nearby university. The interview began in disastrous fashion. Brian had been told the wrong information and thought he was applying for a completely different project. But once he and the project director sorted things out, the interview went well. As it turned out, the job was to work on a project to reintegrate refugees into their home communities in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand.

Brian returned home full of hope.

Tuesday saw Carolyn take her last exam for the semester. Odds are strong that she will maintain her 4.0 g.p.a. She did very well in both of her classes throughout the semester and she breezed through her final exams.

Wednesday was graduation for Brian and two of his colleagues. It was a nice affair, followed by an even nicer celebratory lunch at a local Vietnamese restaurant. It is not easy to describe how much more enjoyable this second Master’s degree was compared to Brian’s first. He just loves what he is researching and the people with whom he gets to work.





Upon returning home there was a phone message saying that Brian had been offered the research assistant position, though the offer was contingent upon Brian staying for a Ph.D. Although Brian had been accepted into the Ph.D. program, he had missed out by three places on receiving the University scholarship. Fees for international students are prohibitive, so we knew that if something else didn’t come along, we would be packing our bags. A part-time job would not make ends meet.

On Thursday we received a phone call from the University of Queensland saying that Brian had been awarded a scholarship that covered tuition, family insurance and 60% of a stipend ($11,500). We were ecstatic! Thus, the last piece of the puzzle fell into place. This stipend plus the research position give us enough to survive modestly, but comfortably.

But being humans, we are never satisfied with our lot, so Brian took part of his new scholarship to the casino downtown to see if he could win enough to make up for the 40% not included.

Just kidding.

Honestly, what we decided to do was find a new apartment roomy enough for us and the Fair One (whenever she arrives). On Friday we found a beautiful little place within our budget and only a five minute walk from the ferry Brian takes to school: two bedrooms, lots of storage, a dishwasher and AIR CONDITIONING. It was everything we dreamed of having. On Monday, Brian faxed in the application and the rental agency called back in about one hour to tell us we got the contract.

Did we mention this apartment has air conditioning? Even though our electricity bill will undoubtedly shoot up, this has been a tremendous boon, especially for Carolyn. 100 degree heat, high humidity and 8 months pregnant is a nasty combination. She has stoically held up under the heat, but every day became a bit more difficult for her. We turned in our keys to our old apartment on Christmas Eve and entered a new life of cool paradise. Merry Christmas to us!

And the move came not a day too soon, because our poor old, secondhand fan finally gave its last turn the day we were moving.

There is a moral to this little Christmas story. For all of our family and friends who worry that we aren’t being cared for or watched over, you worry in vain. The Lord continues to watch over us, guide us and bless us. He loves us all (John 3:16) no matter where we are.

Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year!!

Love,

Brian, Carolyn and (someday soon) Célia Marie.