Dear Precious Praying Friends,

               Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. (Psalms 34) Yes, please magnify the Lord and exalt His name for all He has done and is doing in our lives!

Lily, Timothy, Mark, and Anna all came down with COVID recently, and Lily and Timothy both had an accident falling off their electric cart because of snowy roads; they had pain in both of their legs and some bleeding for Timothy. PRAISE God that Timothy’s knees have improved, but not to the point of going back to work yet, and now there was the recent fall. Anna ended up with bronchitis and breathing issues as a result of COVID, but PRAISE God that after a trip to the hospital, the doctor said she was not in serious condition; she did not need to be hospitalized even though she has felt quite weak. So please PRAY for the full recovery for Lily, Timothy, and Anna.

               Sarah is scheduled to take her GRE today; if she passes, she plans to work on her masters in nursing while continuing to work at the hospital in Chicago full time. Please PRAY for God’s will to be done. If she gets into the program, the hospital will pay for all her tuition.

PRAISE God that Elizabeth did not end up needing to move, and she is back to teaching. She is sharing pictures of her students, so please PRAY for her as she teaches them and PRAY that those who are not saved yet will be saved.

               PRAISE God for good visits with Enoch several times in Atlanta, and PRAISE God for the free flights we still have within the United States because of his continued job with Delta. Right now we are attending a Chinese mission conference in Chicago, and PRAISE God that we are able to see many old friends and make new ones.

               Please PRAY for an upcoming evangelical effort with Gospel tracts and signs that Jian An is organizing for January in the NYC area. Please PRAY for Laura as she will go back and forth between NC and NYC in January as her mom still needs help. In addition, a friend of a friend whose twins were taken away from her and put by the foster system into a foster family has asked Laura to help out by being in on meetings with the social workers and in court. PRAY for this Christian friend to be able to care for her own children again and for wisdom for Laura to know how to help.

               PRAISE God for providing temporary housing about 30 minutes away from Laura’s mom in Greensboro right at the time we needed to move out of the Cary place. Please PRAY that if it is God’s will, we can move into a missionary furlough house in March that belongs to a church Laura attended 45 years ago with her parents and sister.

               PRAISE God that David recovered from COVID quickly and is back to his coffee shop job in China. PRAY that he will listen more to the audio Bible Jian An sent to him recently. Because of all he was hearing (propaganda), he was afraid of having a Bible in his phone and erased it a while back.

               PRAY for Dorcas and her fiancée Dream and their upcoming wedding. They were trying to wait for Jian An and Laura to return to China so they could attend, but they will most likely just have us join by Zoom. PRAY for Dream’s salvation (his parents and some grandparents are Christians, thankfully, but he has yet to accept Christ personally, although he is open to the Gospel).

               Please PRAY for what God would have James to do, as he is graduating soon from his Bible/music school.

               PRAISE God from whom ALL blessings flow!

               May God protect and bless you all with joy and comfort and good health and guidance during 2023!

Love in Christ,

Laura and Jian An Zhao