“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” II Cr. 2-4

Baylor University. We have made a big move to Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Baylor has made a recent bold decision to simultaneously return to its Christian heritage and embrace cutting edge research. The plan, called Baylor 2012, and Baylor’s great leadership (see http://www.baylor.edu/vision/), attracted us here. Seeking significance is better than seeking fame. The University of Washington was great – but Baylor is a dream.

It is a goal to which Bob decided to commit the remainder of his career to. Bob is a Distinguished Professor in Electrical & Computer Engineering.

Jeremiah in the News: Jeremiah made the cover of the Houston Chronicle and a number of other papers in an AP photo. He’s shaking the hand of Dr. Robert Sloan, the Baylor University President who is making bold steps to lead Baylor to strong scholarship and embracement of a Christian World view.

For more information, visit

http://www.ecs.baylor.edu/faculty/marks/Marks/P/Pics/Jeremiah/Baylor/index.htm

Our New Address:

Bob & Monika Marks

Jeremiah, Joshua & Marilee

9000 Chapel Rd, #24201

Waco, TX 76712

254 666 2004

Bob’s New Address:

Robert J. Marks II, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Baylor University,

Rogers Engineering and Computer Science Building

1311 S.5^th Street,

Mail Stop 97356

Waco, TX 76798-7356

Phone: 254.710.7302;

FAX:254.710.3839

Our e-mails:

Robert_Marks@Baylor.edu

ConnieLynnMarks@yahoo.com

Jeremiah@JeremiahMarks.com

Joshua@JoshuaMarks.com

Marilee@MarileeMarks.com

Our Web Sites:

http://JeremiahMarks.com/	Jeremiah
http://JoshuaMarks.com/	Joshua
http://MarileeMarks.com/	Marilee
http://TradeMarksNet.com/	Family
http://CiaLab.org/	Research
http://GunsmokeNet.com/	Hobby
Arbor Ministries. Our good friends, Ken & Francie Knutzen, have formed Arbor Ministries for graduate students and faculty. Bob serves on the Board of Directors as Secretary

Joshua Marks

Joshua Graduates from High School

Joshua joins the class of 2003 graduates at Archbishop Murphy High School in Washington. Joshua is now a Freshman at McLennan Community College in Waco. Back row from left: Bob Marks, Lou Marks, Charlie Jewett, Leslie Sammy-Sacquitne. Front row from left: Jeremiah Marks, Joshua Marks, Marilee Marks. Where’s Monika? She took the picture. More photos are on http://JoshuaMarks.com/

Leslie Cecilia Sammy-Sacquitne & Jeremiah Jackson Jewett Marks Announce Engagement

.

Marilee Marks is attending Midway High School as a junior and, after overcoming the worst legal setbacks in both the states of Washington and Texas, now has her driver’s permit. In Waco, Marilee has attended her first country music concert. She bought a cowgirl hat to wave in the air and came home horrified that, without premeditation, she uttered the phrase y’ all in casual conversation.

NASA Award: Bob was awarded a NASA Tech Brief Award

The award was for innovations reported in a paper, “Minimum Power Broadcast Trees for Wireless Networks.”
The NASA Tech Briefs Award recognizes new technology that relates to current or future NASA’s aeronautical and space activities. On Bob’s team were corecipients Dr. Arindam Das (Bob's Ph.D. student), good friend Dr. Mohamed El-Sharkawi, both at the University of Washington , and aerospace gumbas Dr. Payman Arabshahi, and Dr. Andrew Gray at JPL/CalTech. Most of the work was done by Arindam- a brilliant young man who used the results in his doctoral dissertation. This is a great perk of being a Prof - you get awards for other people's work! Mat 25:29

The Baylor Connection: In April, Monika went to Corpus Christi to take care of her dad, Charlie Jewett after very serious aneurysm surgery. He ended up needing to come home to Seattle for the rest of the summer to recuperate. While there, Doris, Charley's wife, sued him for divorce. This has been very difficult and he hopes to get his life back together soon. He went back to Texas on a road trip with Joshua to Waco. Monika has been very busy getting the house ready to sell and then we were so happy when we thought we sold it to the first person that looked at it. After 3 months, the sale went south, so now Monika is flying back and forth from Waco to Seattle to take care of our Lynnwood home. The kids are thrilled that they can go back there for Christmas to snowboard and see their friends and for Jeremiah to see Leslie. However, we need a lot of prayer to sell the house so that we can all be together again. We are looking for places in Waco and hope to get a place we call River Ranch if they will substantially lower the price. One of the benefits of living in Waco is that we have got reacquainted with Monika's Cousin, Jim Lane, and his wife Ann. Jim is giving us much needed advice on properties in Texas. Today we looked at a 100 acre ranch that borders President Bush's ranch. At least we would know that we would have nice neighbors and of course we like the fact that the county paved the gravel road. We are now toughing it out in an apartment until the house sells and or we buy another place. We are praying for God's direction and timing in all of these things. We know that God is in the move, as Monika prayed on Saturday evening in Dec. that she would be able to take care of her Dad in his old age and that Josh would go to a Christian college. On the very next Tuesday morning, just as we were ready to sign a contract with Colorado School of Mines, Bob said that Walter Bradley had just sent an e-mail asking us to consider Baylor.

Monika said, well at least we would get a trip down to Texas to see her Dad and don't you think we should check it out since we are sincerely praying where God wants us to go. However, Monika almost changed her mind when Monika heard that Baylor was in Waco. We still remember the wackos in Waco and this did not sound like a place she would want to live. Of course, we really liked the sunshine and 75 degree weather after all the rain and cold in Seattle. If we had interviewed in August we would have said no way! Timing is everything. We just love Seattle in August. This summer Joshua had a fantastic Senior trip to Hawaii. (see pictures at http://joshuamarks.com/ ). Marilee and Monika along with our good friends Ginene and Tami took a road trip to the Red Wood Forest, and on down to San Francisco. We had a wonderful time and especially enjoyed staying at a Mountain Inn Resort in Bend, Or. We wish we had a lot more time of the trip. Bob and I cancelled our trip to Bangkok because of the SARS virus. Monika is still enjoying her scrap booking. She hopes to start some classes when we move and this time she is planning a scrapbook room from the start when buying or building. Marilee invited Christina along on the road trip to Waco and the girls got to help Bob pick out the apartment. Later, Leslie and I flew in and helped to get us more settled. Once we are settled we will let everyone know and we hope to have a guest room (it may be in the barn or in the cottage at River Ranch) so we will love to offer Texas hospitality and say y'all come down now for a visit!

Poland Trip: With a group of four other Christian professors, including John Walkup, Bob’s Ph.D. Advisor and Rae Mellichamp, Bob visited four cities in Poland. At numerous Polish Universities, he gave lectures on his technical work and Christian Apologetics. Bob’s talk “Scientists & God, the Myth of Incompatibility,” is available on the web in both English and Polish. (See the link at the end). Bob met great Polish Christians who are also Professors, like Zbyszek Wegrzyn, Krzysztof Wojciechowski, Janusz Keller and Andrzej Hlawiczka. CLM and Campus Crusade staff, like Andrzej Zabolotny, Antoni Tompolski, and Tadeusz Szkatuba, did a great job of organizing the trip. In a return trip later in the year, Bob visited Antoni’s house where Krzysztof, Zbyszek and other old friends had an old fashioned outdoor weenie roast over a bonfire – except it wasn’t weenies – it was kielbasa. http://www.ecs.baylor.edu/faculty/marks/Marks/ChristainFacultyNetwork/Poland_2003/index.htm

From Poland…

Here is a picture of Bob lecturing in Poland:

Here is a picture of Bob eating in Poland. He's eating a popular appetizer in Poland. It’s like bacon fat smeared on bread. You hold it to your mouth and are repulsed. Motivated by cultural pressure, you close your eyes and take a bite. Hmmm. Tastes pretty good. Then you open your eyes and look at what you just ate. The repulsion returns. An interesting culinary experience.

The way to San Jose.

In November, Bob visited his Ph.D. advisor, John Walkup, in the Bay area. Dr. Buford F. (Buff) Furman at San Jose State is a leader in the Christian Faculty group there. Buff sponsored a talk by Bob entitled “What Does Calculus Have to Do With Christianity?” The title’s talk was suggested by an interview with a Baylor Professor who asked a similar rhetorically posed question to mock the teaching of a Christian world view at a university. Bob’s talk showed, indeed, that there is an enormously strong link. If you’d like to find out more, check out Bob’s presentation, including

audio, at…

www.ecs.baylor.edu/faculty/marks/Marks/ChristainFacultyNetwork/SJSU/index.htm

Factoid: Since Texas was a sovereign country when admitted to the US, it is the only state allowed to fly its flag next to the American flag at the same level.

UW CCC Goodbye. The hardest thing Bob had to do in Seattle is say goodbye to Brian Ricci and the Campus Crusade for Christ students and team. Bob had worked with Brian for around 18 years as the CCC faculty advisor. CCC gave Bob and Monika a good-bye party full of wonderful testimonials about Bob and Monika’s ministry. As can be seen in these pictures, Brian displayed mixed emotions about Bob’s departure.

Bob’s Top Ten List of Things that Surprised Him About Waco. 10. The joy of teasing fire ants. When their little mounds are kicked over, thousands of the little fellows run around frantically. I’m sure, in ant talk, they are shaking their little ant fists and screaming curses at the top of their little ant lungs. I am told they bite, but have yet to be the recipient of their fury. 9. The sun. I didn’t realize how much I missed sunshine. It makes you happier. And keeps you awake. And it's warm. The sun rises and sun sets are invariably breathtaking. 8. No rush hour traffic! Ever! 7. How friendly people can be. You think at first they’re trying to sell you something. They’re not. Texas people away from the big cities are just like that.

6. Steak houses. In the cool ones, besides yummy steaks and sweet taters smothered with melted marshmallows, you get free peanuts to eat and are allowed to throw the shells on the floor. There is continuous playing of Willie Nelson tunes. That’s my kind of place. 5. Low on political correctness. A lot of people here are refreshingly politically incorrect - just like me! 4. Low air traffic. We live about fifteen minutes from the Bush ranch in Crawford. When he's home, there is a no fly zone posted around his ranch. 3. Ice Tea. Seattle has coffee. Texas has iced tea. And they know how to make it without a bitter bite. Sweetened, unsweetened, with or without lemon. And you have ask for a straw. 2. No rush hour traffic! Ever! 1. The universality of the geographical bigot. Seattites wonder how I could ever move to Texas. Texans wonder why anyone would ever want to live in Seattle.