親愛的朋友
　

Wish you and your love ones enjoy great Christmas Holidays with joy, peace and love. 

祝福您及您所愛的人都能在歡樂、平和、愛中歡度耶誕假期
　

Attached contains reflection on 2010 and updates on our lives in NY. 
以下是我們2010年在紐約的生活回顧

Look forward to meet you again in the near future.
希望能儘早與大家見面

Warm regards, 

您的好友

Leslie, Cristina, Angeles (14), Martin (10), and Daniel (9)
順川 Leslie、蕙君 Cristina、涵婷 Angeles (14)、永康 Martin(10)、永泰 Daniel(9)


　

As I reflect on 2010, I can’t say more than “Halleluiah, Praise the Lord!” .It was not a crisis-free, uneventful year. Instead, my life was on a roller-coaster ride. Throughout the journey, total dependence on God brought me amazing peace, knowing that He takes charge of my life.
回頭檢視2010年，我只能無比感恩的說“哈利路亞，讚美主！"因為今年絕不是平靜無波、風平浪靜的一年，我的生命像是乘坐雲霄飛車般有起有落，但伴隨著這趟旅程，因循著主的引領，我得到了心靈上令人無法想像的安定與平靜，我知道祂巧妙地主宰了我的生命! 

You may realize that I have become more spiritual than ever. It was a year of spiritual revival to me. I can’t help but witness on first account how almighty God took care of me and my family this year. Below I’d like to share you some lessons I wish I learnt it earlier in life:
或許你會發覺我變得前所未有的崇尚心靈活動，因為這正我是靈性甦發、躍動的一年，我不得不說我第一次見證了主眷顧我及我的家人，並在我們身上展現了無比的力量。以下這些經歷，我想與你分享，而且我真心希望我能在生命的旅程中早一點得到啟示:

Be worthy of His answer (to prayer): pray for the right thing, and more importantly, become the righteous person to worthy of His name – the “who” is as important as the “what”. The prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:9-10) is one of great lessons I learnt. God answered Jabez before he finished it. It’s who Jabez is that matter. Righteous man prays for righteous things. The Creator sometimes answers “No” or “Wait” for something greater and better beyond our limited understanding.
成為一位值得祂的應允 (祈禱）的人：祈求正直的事固然重要，但是更重要的是，成為無愧被稱為祂的子民- “祈禱的內容” 和 “祈禱的人”是同等重要的。如同 雅比斯的祈禱（歷代志上4:9-10）是我學到的一課。 上帝在雅比斯禱告結束前就回應了他。重點是在祈禱的這人( 雅比斯) 是蒙上帝喜悅的人。正直的人為蒙上帝喜悅的事情祈禱。有時造物主回答“否”或“等待”是因為祂的美意超出了我們有限的智慧能全然了解。 

Leave the “driver seat” to God: there were times that I hit the wall by responses to my well-intended actions. Effective communication is not my strength. Let God works in His own, special way. It is written (Philippians 2:5) “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” 你 們 當 以 基 督 耶 穌 的 心 為 心 . Joy and peace will be everlasting in our hearts when we fully embrace what this verse means.
讓上帝成為你生命中的“領航者”：當我因為出於善意卻得不到等同回應而感到受挫，而且有效的溝通也不是我的強項，那麼就讓主以祂特有的方式為我做主吧！如同在腓立比書2:5寫道“ 你 們 當 以 基 督 耶 穌的 心 為 心”，若我們欣然接受這段經文，平安喜樂將長存在我們的心中。 

Servanthood – being a servant means primarily that one puts aside one’s own wants, wishes, and comfort. It is a rewarding and fulfilling experience. It’s also a privilege. I was appointed as Treasurer of the Church I serve and as Vice President of Education (2^nd ranked officer) at Toastmasters Club. I pushed myself beyond my comfort zone and committed to God and development of others. It is not that I was capable for taking the challenges. I built the capability little by little over time through a learning-by-doing journey.
僕人 –當僕人的意義主要是撇開自己的慾望、期待和舒適。 這是一個有益和充實的體驗， 也是一種榮幸。 今年被教會任命為財務長，也在國際演講會擔任教育副會長，我踏出了自己的舒適圈，為上帝作工也致力幫助他人成長。並不是我有能力接受這些挑戰，而是我認為能力是可以一點一滴邊作邊學累積而成。

Now, a quick update on my children, who are the very reason I move to New York.
接著我簡單的分享孩子們的近況，孩子其實是我們之所以會移居紐約的主要原因。

Angeles (14) is now a freshman at Horace Greely High School (Grade 9-12), a school ranked among top 50 in the U.S. Praise the Lord, if we were in Taiwan, she wouldn’t be able to get in Taipei First Girls High (北一女) so God gracefully provides a better school for her. Angie joined swimming varsity team and won award as “the most improved” athlete (considering that she learnt swimming just a few times in Asia). She seems to be popular among her school mates, with Facebook friends (mostly HGHS) reaching 500+ and remains in touch with some of her friends from six schools over the past eight years. If it’s God’s will, we’d love tostay in NY until she goes to college in four years (!!!).
安姬（14歲）現在是HG高中（9-12年級）的新鮮人，此校名排名全美前50強。感謝主，如果我們在台灣，她應該沒機會進北一女，所以巧妙地安排一所更好的學校給她。 安姬加入游泳校隊，贏得了“最佳進步運動員” 獎（她其實沒學過幾次游泳）。 她在同學們中很受歡迎，在Facebook上的朋友（主要是HG高中）接近500位，並和過去八年在六所學校的同學保持聯絡。 若是上帝的美意，我們很樂意留在紐約，直到四年後她上大學 (!!!).

Angeles is also a fashion advisor for her mom and friends. She uses make-up daily and wears casual clothes to the school (no uniform required here). Parents beware: you must have growing budget for teen apparel. It seems to be a justified, long-term investment. Teen can only live it once, won’t you let them live their youth to the fullest? Judith Rasband, author, wrote "Clothing directly affects the way you think, the way you feel, the way you act, and the way others react or respond to you."  
安姬也是媽媽和朋友的 時尚顧問， 她每天化妝、穿便服上學（這裡沒有校服規定）。 家長要注意了，你必須不斷地為青少年置裝費增加預算， 這看起來是一個合理、長期的投資。 年輕只有一次，你會不會放手讓他們享受自己的青春？  作家Judith  Rasband寫道：“穿著直接影響了你的思考方式、感受和為人處事態度，以及他人對你的態度及回應。”

Martin (10) is in his second year with Devereux Millwood Learning Center (DMLC). They provide an extended year, full day, intensive educational and behavioral intervention based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders. It really takes unusual patience to see Martin make meaningful progress. It is said that Lord edifies our character through every incident in life. 神透過我們生命中的每一件事，建造我們這個人。 We are grateful that Chappaqua School District Board supports Martin to continue develop in this private, non-profit institution. We are also grateful for the supported extended by many friends in our first charity fundraising “Walk Now for Autism Speaks”. Having a son with autism makes us appreciate more all the little gifts each day God gives. We feel blessed that God brought us to the U.S. where Martin can receive better development opportunities.
馬丁（10歲）在DMLC學習中心上課已經第二年了。 該機構提供全年全日密集教育和行為干預的基礎上應用行為分析（ABA）的兒童自閉症及其他廣泛性發育障礙。 需要無比的耐心才能看到馬丁成長發展。 神透過我們生命中的每一件事，建造我們這個人。 我們感謝 查帕奎學區委員會支持馬丁在這個私人非營利機構繼續發展。 我們也感謝很多朋友的支持，讓我們在美國參與的第一個慈善籌款活動“與自閉症同行”。 擁有一個患有自閉症的兒子，使我們更能領會上帝的祝福。 我們感到非常幸運，感謝上帝帶我們到美國，讓馬丁可以得到更好的療育發展。 

Daniel (9) and I celebrated this year our birthdays at a battleship, joining Boy Scouts to camp overnight aboard at world’s largest naval ship museum and attended a NBA GAME at Madison Square Garden.Daniel is enjoying his last year (4^th grade) at Grafflin Elementary School, doing very well at math but still needing help on reading comprehension. He is an avid reader and participates actively in book clubs.
今年丹尼爾（9歲）和我參加童子軍活動在一艘主力艦上慶祝生日，並夜宿在世界上最大的軍艦博物館，且出席了在麥迪遜花園廣場舉辦地NBA比賽(為台灣之光 林書豪加油)。丹尼爾正在享受他在Grafflin小學的最後一年（四 年級），他數學能力不錯，但是閱讀理解能力仍需要加強。 他熱衷讀書並積極參與讀書會。

He loves playing chess, swimming and biking with our neighbor Pavan. Daniel also goes to drama class, and plays in the basketball team of Westchester Boy and Girl’s Club, as well as Chappaqua’s local basketball league. He enjoys music (violin/drum) and sings weekly in a choir. Daniel is really good in assembling Lego robots, something I can’t be of any help at all. The challenge is to get him a bit more interested in housekeeping.
他喜歡下棋，游泳以及找鄰居Pavan一起騎自行車。 丹尼爾還去學戲劇，並參加威徹斯特男女孩俱樂部的籃球隊，還有Chappaqua的籃球聯盟。 他喜歡音樂（小提琴/鼓），並且每週並在兒童合唱團演唱。 丹尼爾是樂高機器人的組裝高手，這是我一點都幫不上忙的地方。我們當父母的挑戰是增加他對家務事的興趣。

Thank you for your friendship and support throughout this year. Sorry if I have not be in touch for a while. Wish you and your love ones have a fabulous holiday season, celebrating Christmas and New York filled with joy, peace and love.
謝謝大家過去一直以來的友誼和支持，原諒我有一段時間沒有聯絡了。
祝你和你所愛的人擁有一個美好的節日，以歡樂，平安與愛來慶祝聖誕節和新年。