Looking Back With Thanksgiving

December 2023

As we review the past year and prepare to celebrate the coming of our Lord in great humility, our hearts are full of gratitude for what God has done. A few highlights:

Challenges

“You have shown Your people hard things” (Psalm 60:3).

God has brought our family through a very difficult time without abandoning us.

For several months, it looked as if Sarah’s divorce would have to go to court. The process was not smooth and involved a lot of stress.

I hurt my hip, which kept me from walking much for almost two months. Three surgeries on my left eye caused swelling in the retina that has only recently gone down enough to allow cataract surgery on my right eye.

In May, the leaders of our church asked us to stop attending worship until Sarah’s divorce was settled and we had met other conditions. Since we didn’t know how long this would take, that meant, in effect, that we had to leave and find another place to worship. Coming at a time of great personal and family stress, this sudden trauma left me with ongoing emotional fragility and a pronounced stutter.

My brother Peter’s wife, Sally Ann, had a hip replacement procedure from which she never recovered. She died in November.

During that time, Sarah suffered a concussion that prevented her from working or caring for Blaise for almost a month.

God’s Faithfulness

“I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

My doctor introduced me to an excellent Christian physical therapy practice. Their treatment and the exercises they prescribed have made me stronger than before.

Over several months of therapy, I learned a lot about trauma from my counselor and from reading.

The Lord led us to another church, which we like very much. The pastors are full of love and joy, and their preaching emphasizes intimate union with Christ and the ongoing inner work of the Holy Spirit.

We participated in a marriage growth program called ReEngage, which we found very helpful. Blaise comes to worship with us every other week. He loves the worship and Sunday school – and the playground!

Sarah’s divorce was finally settled amicably without a court case in October. Each parent has half custody, alternating weeks in caring for Blaise.

In October, Sarah felt well enough to move out of our house and into an apartment less than five minutes from here. She and Blaise like their new place very much. Though her recovery is taking longer than expected, her concussion symptoms are gradually diminishing.

Dori and I are enjoying being “empty nesters” again.

Blaise has done well in school and has received two awards for character. He still rides the bus and gets off at the corner near us, so he can continue to enjoy playing with the other children in our neighborhood after eating a snack and doing his homework or playing in his room before going out.

Thanks to generous prayer partners, we were able to escape the summer Texas heat for a week and enjoy the cool mountains of North Carolina.

The Lord has allowed me to bring a relatively friendly closure to my relationship with the leaders of our former church.

Two trips to Auburn, Alabama, gave me precious time with my brother. The funeral for Sally Ann enabled us to spend time with relatives from distant places.

God has enabled me to keep working on the Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity, to deliver a lecture on Augustine’s doctrines of grace by Zoom to Chinese university professors, and to call ministry partners and Chinese friends.

Finally, we are most grateful for you, our faithful friends and prayer supporters. May God richly bless you and “supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

Yours in his goodness,
Wright and Dori

p.s. Tax-deductible gifts for our life and ministry may be sent to China Institute or processed online at www.reachingchineseworldwide.org/give.