Thankful for Thanksgiving

This is Thanksgiving week here in the US and we are so very thankful that we are able to celebrate it together - all four of us (despite the pandemic .. no worries, we put on our mask as soon as lunch was over!). Eunice is back for her Thanksgiving break from Tennessee and we drove to Georgia to meet up with Eliza. It felt almost like a Chinese New Year Reunion Meal :-) 

The classic hymn says, "When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done." So, here are our blessings, one by one:

1. The Lord's guidance in this period of transition for both Eunice and Eliza as both of them graduated this year - one from high school and the other one from university. 
2. Thankful that Eunice F1 visa issue was resolved just in time (we had to appeal to the North Carolina congressman office for assistance to expediting the application). It was approved just about a week before she entered college!
3. Thankful that Eliza found a job and also a suitable place to stay in Georgia.
4. We found a cheaper apartment to rent and we have such great help from the guys in church in moving from Charlotte to Concord. As part of the rental reduction, we help to organize monthly social events for the apartment residents. Great deal - ministry of hospitality at the same time!
5. Seminary workload is more manageable, now that I am getting used to the study and research routine. Grateful to my wife for her input as to how to improve my study habits!
6. Thankful that all the seminary classes are in-person (with social distancing). The interaction is a helpful part of the learning process.
7. Thankful also for the opportunity for my wife to join as an audit student for the seminary classes which has deepened our theological roots.
8. I look forward to my weekly mentoring session every Monday morning with the interim senior pastor of Uptown, Ps John Sittema who has been the such a refreshing shepherding voice in my spiritual walk with the Lord.
9.  Thankful for a series of online coaching and training projects from clients in Malaysia which is a testament of the Lord's providence. 
10. Thankful for the Lord's protection on the health of family members back home, being so far away do concern us and we are grateful for His grace and mercy.

Do let us know how we can pray for you and your family.

Thanks for partnering with us in this journey of joy.

Joseph & Debra Tan.

Merdeka! End of Year 1 @RTS

Submitted my final paper yesterday evening, and finally...today I can spend a free and easy day without the "seminarian guilt" of not reading, writing, memorizing and making 3x5 cards 😅

As this is the conclusion of my first year in RTS Charlotte (one down and two more to go), it is an opportune time to reflect on God's faithfulness and providence (and what a season it has been!). Ever since we touched down in the US on July 12 last year, it has been a faith journey for my whole family - I still have times when I ask myself - "What am I doing here, thousand of miles away from familiar and stable environments at home, putting the business on hold while squeezing my brain cells as a student after all these years!?" It all seemed so adventurous when we were planning to come to RTS but reality has a way of setting in at various unexpected places.

With 13 subjects completed in RTS this year, I have picked up certain study skills and tips along the way (with significant help from my wife) - this old dog still need to learn new tricks lah! Yet, I am still working to be more efficient and strategic in my study time management so that my scheduled is more holistic and not just scholastic. On another note, it was interesting that all four of us are attending classes online this semester! (A family that studies together, stays together).

Grateful that both Eliza and Eunice are graduating this year - one from the Asbury University and the other from TPS High School = the graduating class of 2020 is certainly in a unique situation! While Eunice will be graduating virtually, Eliza's session has been postponed to October because the Uni President prefers a physical celebration. Eunice will be starting her freshman year at Union University this Fall in August. The Lord is faithful. Please do pray for Eliza as she seeks for a suitable job here in the US.

One transition for us this summer is that we will be moving to another apartment - located further away in Concord - for a much reduced rent. In return, we will be working with the apartment management to organize regular social events for the apartment complex to ensure higher lease renewals. This is a great chance for us to "formally" connect with others and practice the second greatest commandment. Do pray for our move and also for God to "move" in our hearts as we embark on this new "apartment ministry". Date of move is June 20.

This summer is a precious window God has afforded for us to spend time with Eliza and Eunice before one heads off to the working world and the other to college world. Never in my wildest imagining would I have thought that the four of us will be spending summer of 2020 here in North Carolina together under one roof! Do pray for me to play an active role in facilitating meaningful conversations and to "tie heart strings" so that we continue to be open in our communications.

Thank you for your prayers and support. If it was not for the Lord's presence and His promises, getting through the day (with all the craziness that is happening right now) will be such dry drudgery. "For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust." (2 Peter 1:4).

Do let us know how we can also pray for you and your family.

Thank you for partnering with us in this journey of joy.

Joseph, Debra, Eliza & Eunice.

To Thrust and Trust

Well, the day finally came! - the final day of my grueling three week long Greek summer class. The above is the picture of how the class looked like before the final test paper was handed out. Reading the New Testament in its original language has heightened my appreciation of what it means to "rightly divide" the Word of God - not according to my own preference, but in the context by which it was first written.

On another note, we are so, so happy to meet up with Eliza, our eldest who came to visit us after her summer internship - indeed the joy of reunion is quite indescribable! This is an amazing season in our lives where the four of us are all students at the same time (Debra will be attending a few classes as well)! This is such a God-given opportunity - especially for my wife and I - to deepen our roots in Scripture which is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:17). We took a drive from Charlotte to Wilmore, Kentucky on Friday to send Eliza back to Asbury University where she will begin her fourth and final year. Praise God for His faithfulness!

Please pray for us

We are now quite settled down in our apartment here in Strawberry Hill, Charlotte and am starting to get used to the US-life routine. Thanks for praying for us.

Do pray for us in the area of regular financial support - we have a tenant who will be moving out end of this month and thereafter, the rental income will stop. Also, my online coaching project is not kicking off as expected. Hence, the cash flow visibility is not as clear as we planned initially. As we thrust ahead with fulfilling God's calling for us, we also aim to trust Him with all our hearts, leaning not on our own understanding but to acknowledge Him in all of our ways (Proverbs 3:5,6). 

Classes will begin 21 August and there are many more subjects to look forward to!

Thank you for partnering with us in this journey of joy. 

Joseph, Debra & Eunice.

Going Growing..Glowing

After close to 3 hours delay at JFK (plus another 2 hours being questioned at immigration on details of our study programs), we arrived 10.30pm, Friday 12 July in Charlotte. Having Tommy Fuller and Daniel McNamee from Uptown to meet us at the airport was certainly a welcoming sight! As we go, we are thankful that we can also grow into relationships to be formed here, not only just in the seminary but also with the church community.

Thanks to those who came to send us off at KLIA, we are grateful for your encouragement, wishes and prayers.

Thank also to the CDPC community who gave us a hearty send-off last Sunday - a precious reminder that we are part of the Body of Christ and as we go and grow, we are to also glow in service unto Christ who is the Head of the Church. Amen.

Please pray for us

We visited a few apartments yesterday near the seminary and found one that we like. May make a decision to go for that one - please pray that we will have the insights to consider all relevant factors and take the right steps going forward.

Grateful for Connection (and Tips)

We met up with Hann Yang and his wife Hazel on 19 June - a wonderful time of fellowship as Hann Yang is a RTS alumni who did his M.Div a few years ago. In addition, he went to RTS together with his wife and four children - so, they definitely had a lot of tips for us (which includes where to eat, how to order real Chinese food and satisfy our Asian cravings!). Also, we found out that there are "past year papers" to study in order to prepare for the driving test in North Carolina :-)

As we get closer to catching our flight to Charlotte (17 more days to go), we certainly appreciate the divine appointments and connections along the way. This brief meet-up is a wonderful reminder that to travel far, we must travel together as a community. 

Please pray for us

This is a crucial week for me as I focus on transiting some of the business that I do from off-line to on-line (since I will not be able to conduct my coaching and training sessions in person anymore). We are also sorting out what to pack and what not to pack, so plenty of deliberating (and also discovery of things we never though we had!) - certainly need to stay focus and make sure that the we bring along only what is essential.

Thanks for partnering with us in the work of the Gospel.

Joseph & Debra.

The Journey is Confirmed (20 Feb 2019)

Finally, our F1 & F2 visas are approved and we are good to head off to Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) in Charlotte, North Carolina. Next to the decision to head home from Singapore in 1999, this is the biggest move ever - 20 years later! The countdown begins.

Looking back, ever since I started the application process in February last year, this journey has been frought with uncertainties, clarifying of God's calling, and managing family expectations. Fundamentally, is this a good thing or is this a God thing? In addition, how we approach the transition to this new season is ever so critical - this is not certainly something that you can just "wake up into" and expect things to go like clockwork. Much conversation, prayer and planning need to happen.

Please pray for us

• We still have a shortfall in our financial support (US$2,500 monthly) to cover for rental, tuition fees and living expenses. I am attempting to offer my training and coaching services online to make up for it but it is still tentative presently. See http://www.goodmonday.com/seminary

• We are grateful that there is a place for us to stay for one month (upon arrival 12 July) with one of the deacons at Uptown church. We are seeking for an apartment to rent near RTS - please pray that the Lord will guide us to the right place for us to call home in Charlotte.

Thank you for partnering with us for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.