Reason #3 For This Being A Special Week: Getting Ready To Walk Through The Open Door...

So Jonny had his last day at work this past Thursday and said his final good-byes to his boss and colleagues in the lab. On Thursday, Yu brought in her famous cake to celebrate Jonny's birthday too. Jonny also brought in Champagne and chocolates for the lab as a good-bye gift. He also received: the current Liverpool football shirt (his favorite football team, that was such a thoughtful gift! I think he now has 4 different colors of the official shirts!), a Hopkins print and a lovely good-bye card signed by everyone with a similar message written by all - that it was great having him in the lab and that he will be missed...nice words to hear!

Jonny came home after his last day very happy because he felt that he had finished well. The past 6 years in this lab were not easy; there were many more downs than ups since his research project just kept producing technical problems followed by negative results. Jonny really had to keep persevering, it wasn't easy... But, he always knew that God had a purpose for him being there and that with His help, he would be able to leave well.

God is faithful and would you believe it that just in the last few weeks his project finally produced some concrete results?! He was able to leave the lab with a draft of a paper to be published and the bulk of his project finalized! Why only in the last few weeks? It is so clear to us that it was all in God's timing...

Jonny was also encouraged because his boss said to him: "You did a great job, you had a very hard project but you succeeded in the end!" Thank you Lord for bringing him through and the encouragement he received!

Here are the pictures that were taken on Thursday:

Jonny with Yu and her famous cake that she made for him!

Jonny wearing one of his Liverpool shirts...He wears them now all the time, he says it's to bring Liverpool luck at the beginning of the season! :-)

The whole lab enjoying the Champagne!


With his boss and the Hopkins print they gave him


And as a bonus photo: Jonny with Daniel later that evening. Our neighbor Heather brought him some cupcakes to celebrate his birthday! Daniel was intrigued by the candles (2 for 32)!

So now that the good-byes have been said, we are thinking more about what is next. And I was reminded of this blog I wrote back in June, about how God had finally opened a clear door for our family: Jonny's new job that he will start next Tuesday, September 1st. We are now getting ready to "walk through that open door"...

And as with any big change, we are excited as well as a little nervous. We are excited for Jonny working on a different and more applied area of research, which he finds very interesting and will provide him with the opportunity to learn new and exciting things.

But, we are also preparing ourselves for some adjustments, the main one being: 1) Jonny will be going to work a lot earlier and will have to leave home before Daniel gets up. So during the week, he will only see Daniel in the evenings. This also means that I will be alone with Daniel in the morning and will have to get us both ready on my own; 2) We will be spending less time together since I will not be commuting with him or having lunch with him on my work days. So our evening and weekends together will be a lot more precious; and of course 3) a new area of research in a new organization with a new boss and new colleagues!

But as we get ready to "walk through the open door", we again turn to God, the leader and meaning of our lives. He reminds us that we do not need to fear, that He is with us:

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you."

And so we walk through the open door with faith, excited to see what our good and loving Lord, who is with us at all times, has in store for us next. May we be faithful to Him and may He be glorified in all that we experience on the other side of the open door...