Thanks, grandmas

Dear Grandma Cindy,

Thanks for my new jacket. I wore it to the zoo this weekend. I saw lots of animals, but I only really care for the birds and the buffalo. Also, at the zoo, I took my first outdoor steps. It's hard walking in real shoes!

love,
Dietrich O.


Dear Baba Jane,

Thanks for my fuzzy sheep. I really think it's nice to rest my head on while I sleep. I'm glad you got to go to New Zealand to buy it for me.

love,
Dietrich O.

Warp-speeding into toddlerhood

This week, Dietrich learned to walk, to click his tongue, to kiss and to drink from a cup. Momma can barely keep up!

Suddenly, Kyiv feels rather empty

I logged on to our e-mail this morning only to find a message announcing that, due to medical difficulties, a family on our field plans to return to the States for treatment. Will they be back? They hope so, but they don't know.

Such announcements have become far too common in the past seven months. Six SEND Ukraine families have returned to the States for various medical reasons. Two of those families have decided to leave the field; the other four are being treated and are waiting to see whether they'll be able to return.

Would you pray that God would graciously allow these dear co-workers to continue to serve with us? And please ask the Lord to protect and guide the rest of our team, and the work that we're doing here.

A month ago ...

Yesterday, the baby turned 13 months old. There was no cake. But there was occasion to look back at last month's celebration, at which there was ice cream cake. Yummy! Messy!



We also took the birthday baby to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach last month. It was perfect! At the aquarium, the fish are 1) trapped in a small space and 2) always moving. We've also taken D to two zoos, and it's fun, but the animals often just sit and stare, so we aren't really sure that Dietrich realizes they are alive.

Some things

Happy thing: The Christian Education brochure I've been working on for the past two weeks has been delivered to the printer, just in time for a big conference for folks who work with children. I hope it attracts many new students to the seminary.

Sad thing: The Angels' loss on Sunday brought baseball season to an end in the Oldenburg household. I miss America's pastime already.

Exciting thing: The Saucy family is visiting, and staying with us, this week. They'll be here in just a few hours.