December 2019 Prayer Letter
Dear Friends & Family,
Greetings from dark and rainy Edinburgh! We have limited sunlight these days (sunrise 8:30am and sunset 3:30) and none of the snow for which are children are desperately hoping, but during this Advent and Christmas season, we praise God for the Light of Life who has come into the world. And good stuff is happening here, so without further ado… our news!
Ph.D Thesis Progress Update
Now that I (Karl) am in my third year of Ph.D studies, people are asking, “When will you finish?” I can’t say for certain, but hopefully I can submit my thesis by spring or summer 2020 and we’ll be back in Thailand by the end of 2020. But, of course, this all depends on how quickly I am able to write my thesis. I have 6 chapters planned (not including introduction and conclusion) and I have written drafts of 3 chapters so far. Those 3 are my background chapters, and now I am writing my first “substance” chapter (#4) which deals with what I have found in my primary source archival research. It is great to be finally writing the real “meat” of my studies. If you’re curious to know some of what I’m learning, check out my Facebook photo album called “Interesting Tidbits from my Research”, a collection of fascinating nuggets I’ve found along the way.
In November, I was in the U.S. for 2.5 weeks, visiting (again) the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, and then the archives at Wheaton College near Chicago. It was a productive trip and is (hopefully) my last research trip. That’s good because I am tired of doing research trips away from my family. I just want to stay in Edinburgh and get this thesis written! Please pray for discipline of time and lucidity of mind as I push on in writing!