Dear Friends,

Greetings from the cold area! It is three days before Christmas now, so I am making more progress in time management :) (in 2003, it was 2 days before Christmas, and in 2002 it was on the New Years Day).

The biggest thing for 2004 is that Zhiyong got his tenure with promotion to Associated Professor on July 1st. Now we can breath air a bit easier (at least do not have to move to another place, unless we really want to!). We thank many people's prayers for this, without His blessing this would not be possible. Guijie's parents also finally got their non-immigration visa and visited us. It was only 3 weeks and they decided to be back before it got too cold. I (Zhiyong) really wished that they could be here longer and visit a few places, but as it turned out we did not even have a chance to see Detroit or Chicago. Hopefully they will be able to come again, next time perhaps during summer time. Praise the Lord! they also both accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior a few days before they left. My mother also became baptized in Dec. Now we need to pray hard for my father, who is the only one left to become a believer here.

Zhiyi has been living with my parents in their own apartment. Early May he fell and had trouble getting up and became totally incapacitated. Emergency room visit suggested that he might have post polio syndrome, which makes one very tired, weak and occasionally comes with pain. In Nov., he was given a surgery on his spinal cord, because doctors suspected that his arthritis (which nobody knew he had) was causing excessive bone growth which was pressing his nerve, perhaps causing his inability to walk and take care of himself. He was in the hospital recovering and doing rehab for about 3 weeks and was discharged the day after Thanksgiving. Enough trials, eh? There is more. My father also was in emergency room for a few days (also in May!) due to his congenital heart problem. He is taking coumadin (a blood thinner) and now gets weekly blood draws to check the levels of blood thinner. Still in May I totaled my car during a trip to Nashville to visit relatives. Yes, we had many trials and tests, but we still rejoice in Him because we know He is in control of everything. We are grateful that the Lansing Chinese Christian Ministry helped Zhiyi pay the emergency bills.

David just turned 17 and should be think about college very soon. He continues to play trombone in the marching band. Melissa continues to spend a lot of time on the 'Net and reads fictions and posts her own writings there frequently. Both of them have mostly As with an occasional Bs and teachers always say good words about them.

Guijie quitted her job and is now back to school taking accounting courses.

I traveled quite a bit again. In Feb., I went to the Philippines for a conference, then spent a few days there chasing the giant bees. I had a great time. Then to China (Jiangxi) with a French friend and also bee scientist, to work on the Asian bees there. There is a recent news article about their joint findings (research not performed during this trip), which was circulated in the web quite widely. There was a week of limelight chasing me around. In Sept I went to Germany for a small meeting (20 people) to honor the retirement of a German scientist (Bert Holldobler). I also went to Salt Lake City for a bug conference.

In June, after a conference at Lake Tahoe, the whole family joined me and checked out Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake, Yosemite National Park and the Bay area (where we visited friends also). We wish we had more time to enjoy the beautiful nature that our Lord has made for us. We also took a two day escape to Silver Lake, Michigan and tried hot-rodding with a jeep in the sand dunes.

A couple of memorable moments here:

Zhiyong's mom being baptized in Detroit by Pastor Shen, Nov 28, 2004.
Parents and in-laws together, in front of South Baptist Church, Oct. 10.
Zhiyi in wheel chair, a very short visit to the Great Lakes Folk Festival. Aug. 15.
Guijie with parents, on the porch. Oct. 10.
Two moms, back yard, Oct. 10.
David and Melissa playing with sand, Silver Lake, MI. Aug. 21.
Our family with Zhiyong's parents, front yard. May 9.
Our family with Guijie's parents, front yard, Oct. 10.
The family (minus the photographer), Mono Lake, June 27.
Again, hands-on in aquarium Montery, CA. June 30.
All four of us, outside the jeep we rode. Silver Lake, MI. Aug. 21.
The photographer being photographed, Ellery Lake, CA (elevation 9583 ft). June 28.
A swimmer and her watcher, A spring in Yosemite, CA. June 28.
The couple, when the tulips were blooming. Holland, MI. May 1st.
Again, Scrawl Valley, CA. June 26.
Zhiyong in the Philippines with fellow beekeepers and scientists. March 2.
Zhiyong with college classmates in a small reunion. April 25.

Tired of seeing us? how about some bees? Near the end of March, I upgraded to a digital SLR (Nikon D70) and I am proud to say the picture quality has improved considerably. Here are a few samples.

A bee foraging on aster. Johnson City, TN.
A bee foraging on goldenrod, Johnson City, TN.
A bee foraging on bakchoy, our back yard, Okemos, MI.
The flight of bumble bees, MSU Beal Botanical Garden.
A bee foraging on lavender, Mason, MI.
A bee foraging on stonecrop, Mason, MI.

Non bees:

Heaven on earth, Bridgeport, CA.
A lake in Yosemite National Park, CA.
Sunset on the Silver Lake, Silver Lake, MI
Flower, The Residenz, Wuerzburg, Germany.

We pray that all of you will be healthy, joyful and abundant in His Blessings in 2005.

Happy New Year and God bless!

Zach (aka Zhiyong), Joyce (aka Guijie), David (Yanglong), and Melissa (Shanmei). Written by Zach (1:23 am, Dec. 23).