Dalanee is flying home from MD Anderson today. The second surgery was more taxing than we expected, so we’ll be focused on getting her comfortable and resting. We met with our fifth oncologist yesterday, by far the best one yet. She was smart, empathetic, and, most importantly, gave us the information and protocols we actually needed. Her advice was different (and better) than the other four, which really reminded us how important it is to get multiple opinions when facing something serious.
We took our son on a college tour at Southeastern University (SEU) this week, and Grammy came along for the trip. Chris’s cousin goes there, so she gave us an extra-special behind-the-scenes tour beyond the official one. We were so impressed. SEU is a Christian school that attracts many future pastors from all over the country to study. It was honestly refreshing; girls dressed modestly, hardly anyone wore makeup, and everyone we met was so warm, friendly, and genuine. The campus was beautiful, and with only about 2,500 students, we think it might be a great fit for him. It felt a little like Mayberry.
Thirty people got baptized at Senay's church this week. She is the one on the far left (beyond adorable). We are so proud of her.
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Sometimes it’s easy to forget just how fortunate we are to live in a country where we have the freedom to invest our money in real, productive, and time-tested ways.
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In China, the average person doesn’t have that luxury. Because the government owns or controls most major companies, there’s no true stock market for ordinary citizens to invest in. There’s no 401(k), no mutual funds, no chance to own a piece of innovative companies shaping the future.
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• So where does everyone put their money? Real estate.
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But it’s not like real estate here. In China, owning property isn’t just about investment; it’s a symbol of status and even a requirement for marriage in many parts of the country. A young man without property often struggles to find a wife. Parents often pour their entire life savings into buying an apartment for their children, not as a luxury, but as a necessity for social standing.
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And here’s where it gets worse: most of these properties don’t even exist yet. People pay upfront for apartments that are under construction, trusting that the developer will finish the project. However, many of those developers have gone bankrupt, leaving thousands of buildings half-built or abandoned. Families are left paying mortgages on homes that will never be completed. Entire cities have blocks of empty towers, monuments to broken promises.
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Imagine if the only place you could invest your life savings was in a single, highly risky asset: an unfinished condo in a slowing economy. No stock market to diversify into, no bonds, no ownership in great companies, just one roll of the dice. That’s the financial reality for hundreds of millions of people in China.
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Meanwhile, here in the U.S., we have options. We can invest in thousands of different companies through simple funds. We can own a small stake in companies like Apple, Amazon, or Coca-Cola. We can save for retirement, diversify across sectors, and build wealth slowly and securely.
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It's good to be an American!
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Be Blessed,
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Dave