Blessed Friendship: A Journey with Cindy and Jim

I never imagined having such good luck to meet Jim and Cindy in the United States. Cindy and Jim have witnessed every little detail of my journey with Siqi. They are like our parents and are the closest relatives we have in the United States. They witnessed our wedding, served as our witnesses, and led us in learning Bible stories and experiencing God's glory. Looking back at these years of interaction with Cindy and Jim, I feel deeply blessed by God's love, and I am more grateful than lucky. 

First time to visit Cindy's house (Feb. 15. 2020) by Zhennan Zhang From left to Right: Cindy Whitaker, Jim Whitaker, Someone, Siqi Wang, Anastasia Keller

Siqi and I first met at Cindy's home in February 2020. That was also my first visit to Cindy's home. Siqi and I both had a first impression of each other. However, after that, the Covid pandemic suddenly struck, and we had to pause visiting Cindy's home. During this time, Cindy would ask me to go on a hike, and we walked through the city and riverside of Louisville and also went to Jefferson Forest. I am especially grateful to Cindy for organizing such outdoor activities during the pandemic, and I feel the warmth of a person in a foreign land.

Hiking at Jefferson Forest (Oct. 3. 2020) by Zhennan Zhang by drone From left to Right: Cindy Whitaker, Jim Whitaker, Zhennan Zhang

In early 2021, Cindy organized a viewing of the first season of the Bible story-telling TV series "Chosen". Due to the Covid, Cindy pulled a group together to watch online. In the group, besides myself and Cindy, there were Siqi and Stellar. Here, Siqi and I reconnected, and we watched one episode every two weeks and shared our thoughts. Cindy would carefully explain the details hidden in the TV series, and I would try to share my experience. Siqi was very active and left a deep impression on me.

At the end of May 2021, as the weather turned warm, Cindy and Jim went on a hiking trip again and took me with them to Red River Gorge. Siqi also joined. After the hike, Cindy took us to Daylight Church for a church event where we listened to a concert and ate barbecued meat. My interactions with Siqi also increased and we soon became boyfriend and girlfriend.

Hiking at Red River Gorge (May. 29. 2021) by Zhennan Zhang by drone From left to Right: Zoe Liu, Siqi Wang, Jim Whitaker, Zhennan Zhang, Santosh Rauniyar, Cindy Whitaker

After that, Cindy often organized events and invited me and Siqi along, such as a trip to the museum of a Muhammad Ali Center. 

Visit Muhammad Ali Center (Nov. 21. 2021) by Siqi Wang From left to Right: Huan Jiang, Tamim Bedar, Jim Whitaker, Cindy Whitaker, Siqi Wang, Claudia Zhang, Zhennan Zhang

We also ran the 2022 Kentucky Derby marathon together, with me and Jim running the full marathon and Siqi and Cindy completing the half marathon. I even ran into Jim on the track and we took a picture together. 

Kentucky Derby Marathon  (Apr. 30. 2022) by Siqi Wang From left to Right: Siqi Wang, Jim Whitaker, Cindy Whitaker

Kentucky Derby Marathon (Apr. 30. 2022) by Zhennan Zhang From left to Right: Zhennan Zhang, Jim Whitaker

    We also went to watch a baseball game together, along with our good friends Dr. Fatih and Dr. Ji.

Baseball Games (Aug. 20. 2022) by Another friend From left to Right: Fatih Usta, Jim Whitaker, Zhennan Zhang, Claudia Zhang, Hong Ji, Siqi Wang, Cindy Whitaker,

In October 2022, Siqi and I held our wedding at Daylight Church, where Cindy and Jim also attend church on weekends. With the witnesses of our friends in the church, we completed the wedding ceremony under the host of Pastor H.L. with Cindy and Jim as our witnesses. They even wore the same outfits they wore when they witnessed their son getting married, which was an incredible honor for Siqi and me.

Our Wedding (Oct. 23. 2022) by Santosh Rauniyar From left to Right: Cindy Whitaker, Zhennan Zhang, Siqi Wang, Jim Whitaker,

Our Wedding (Oct. 23. 2022) by Santosh Rauniyar From left to Right: Siqi Wang, Cindy Whitaker, H. L. Hussmann, Zhennan Zhang, Jim Whitaker 

Treat Cindy and Jim at home (Oct. 30. 2022) by Zhennan Zhang From left to Right: Zhennan Zhang, Siqi Wang, Cindy Whitaker, Jim Whitaker 

At Daylight Church, Siqi and Cindy often flip through the lyrics PPT and operate the camera and multimedia devices together. I also often go to the church to listen to Pastor H.L.'s sermons with Cindy and Jim. Every time I leave the church, I feel like my mind and body have been refreshed.

At Daylight Church (Jan. 15. 2023) by Zhennan Zhang From left to Right: Siqi Wang, Cindy Whitaker

At Daylight Church (Jan. 15. 2023) by Zhennan Zhang From left to Right: Zhennan Zhang. Siqi Wang, Cindy Whitaker

This is just a simple description of how I met Cindy and Jim, but to be honest, the friendship and family ties we have with Cindy and Jim are far beyond what these words can capture.

The third season of "Chosen" has already started, and I am grateful that we still have many more times to spend together, eating dinner, watching "Chosen," playing games, and slowly diving into the stories of the Jesus.