Germany: A nice place to visit. And most likely to live, too.

On the swing at the Bible college where we stayed.

We got back a few days ago from a weeklong SEND conference in Germany. It was held at a Bible school from which several of our missionaries graduated. At this triennial event, all of SEND’s missionaries in the former Soviet Union (about 200 people) gather. We flew to Germany a day early because our plane tickets were $400 cheaper if we flew May 31 rather than June 1, so we got one morning together as a family before the conference started. So, there’s the context. Here’s the list:

1. In Germany, when the crossing light turns green and you step into the crosswalk, all the cars stop.

2. Corny land! Cornies are a granola-bar-ish treat that we discovered in Kyiv. In Germany, they have mini-Cornies, Corny bites and Big Cornies, which are the ones available here. We tried them all, and we feel the Big Cornies are the best.



3. Singing in English, especially this song, this song and various hymns.

4. Granola and tasty, whole-grain rolls with meat and cheese for breakfast. Salad and tasty, whole-grain rolls with meat and cheese for dinner. Gummy peaches for dessert. Rooibos tea at every meal and every break.

5. This commercial. And I'm not being culturally insensitive — the Germans in the room laughed, too.

6. Seeing the mommas and their babies at the Hannover Zoo. This probably will sound hokey, but ever since I became a momma myself, I feel connected to other moms, even when they’re hippos, elephants, ducks, turtles or gorillas. Also, Dietrich really enjoyed the penguins.


Momma and baby ducks.


Momma and baby hippos.


Momma and baby Oldenburgs.

7. Hearing about SEND's work in Kazakhstan and Siberia. Both of those areas have cultures that are quite different from Ukrainian culture, and it's amazing to see how our creative God is making Himself known in ways that wouldn't work here, but are perfect and compelling there. For instance, in Kazakhstan, people gather in traditional tents sometimes, and at the top of the tents is the pattern of a cross. They even have a saying that can basically be translated, "Look to the cross." It's a great place from which believers can start talking about the cross to which we all look for salvation.

8. Watching Dietrich bond with other kids. He mostly demanded a perch on my hip all week, but from that safe place he would burst into uncontrollable giggles when one of three kids — Ryan, Misha or Maya — came over to say hi.

9. German efficiency. The woman running the conference thought of everything! She had coffee available at 5:30 a.m. (or so she said … I wasn’t up at that hour). The families with kids were all assigned to two halls in the dorms, so that once the kids were asleep, a student could babysit while the parents went and had a coffee or an ice cream. At one point, I watched a child drop a leaf on a walkway. I noticed this otherwise-benign act because it was the ONLY leaf on the walkway, and I assume someone came by within 10 minutes to get rid of it.

10. Coming home. Not just because traveling with a baby was challenging sometimes, but because, as we approached our apartment in the taxi, I told Dietrich, “We’re almost home,” and for him, it’s 100 percent true. Eric and I have a hard time defining home, and eventually Dietrich probably will too, as he starts to remember visits to the States for Home Services, but for now, Xharkovsky Shosse 49 is his home.

Graduation day

Saturday, we were honored to participate as Kyiv Theological Seminary graduated its Class of 2007. Shortage of space means that the seminary can only teach one residential group at a time, so a full-time class graduates every four years. It was an exciting day, full of inside jokes and joyful smiles. These graduates will move on to ministry throughout Ukraine.

Eric got to dress all fancy in a black robe that he probably deeply regretted wearing as we sweltered through the 3-hour ceremony in the 90-degree church. Dietrich wore a Hawaiian shirt and a heat rash. He and I frequently stepped outside to cool off his sweet face, and the rash is mostly faded now.


Dietrich's rash looked dramatic, but didn't seem to bother him a bit.

Today, the academic cycle continued as the seminary tested and interviewed potential students for fall semester. Four years from now, we'll be bidding them goodbye. But for now, some pictures from Saturday's celebration ...


The happy grads.


The paparazzi.


Eric with Denis and Yulia Shulga. Denis, a youth-ministries major, was one of Eric's students.


Sunlight streamed through the skylights, heating up the beautiful church.


Emotions ran high as students and professors said goodbye to one-another.

International man of misery

It’s been a long week. Dietrich cut his first tooth Monday and his second Tuesday. Poor little thing is in pain. Plus, it’s about 90 degrees outside and Dietrich’s been running a fever all week. Poor little thing is hot. Hot + pain = hard to play, hard to eat, hard to sleep.


The offending teeth.

I’m not un-cranky either: The city turned off our hot water Tuesday (it will be off for two weeks), and yesterday we were entirely without water for most of the day. I put away Dietrich’s winter clothes, did some other organizing and went grocery shopping, but there’s not much a hazayeeka (homemaker, though the literal translation is female owner, boss or master) can do around her abode without any water. Plus I have one of those irritating, sporadic corner-of-the-eye twitches, and I keep waking up with a slightly swollen left eye.

Tomorrow is KTS graduation, and then it will be next week. Yay!

Today I'm enjoying

These tiny little mush pots, which hold two tablespoons of Dietrich's puree.

A nice place to eat

This post is mostly for my mom. (Hi mom!) I described Dietrich's new high chair to her over the phone, but a picture will make its cuteness all the more evident. It's the perfect addition to our kitchen. Meanwhile, Dietrich shows off his apricot mustache.

Flower mother

Eric and Dietrich made my first Mother's Day as a mom with an out-of-womb child a great one. An unexpected two-hour members' meeting at church meant we got a late start on the celebrating, but the quality made up for the smaller quantity.

Eric came home from church laden with gifts: A bib that says "I love mummy" from a British children's clothing chain, cards from D and E and 13 beautiful roses. (Even numbers of flowers are considered bad luck here, hence the 13 stems.)


My pretty present.

Then we headed off to Kyiv's botanical gardens to check out the lilacs. Three years in this city, and we'd never seen them. That was a waste of three possible lilac-viewing years! We clearly picked the right weekend, because it seemed like the whole city was there to enjoy the view. Hope these pictures help you enjoy the view, too, and if you want to see the real thing, come visit in mid-May!


The view from the top of the lilac grove, which we walked through.


Out on a limb.


Lovely lilacs and laddies.

We can't guarantee that you'll get to see the highlight of the day, though: As we walked through the lilac grove, we heard traditional Ukrainian music — good music. It had rhythm; you could dance to it. We finally found the source: A group of elderly Ukrainians, clearly all friends, had gathered to sing. Not to perform (though they certainly did draw a lot of attention), but just to hang out and sing. One man played the accordion, a lady added rhythm with her tambourine. Gold teeth flashing, they traded off singing the verses, joined together on the choruses and occasionally burst into a waltz. It was fantastic.


Dancing along to the Ukrainian tunes.

Thanks, moms, for contributing to the cycle of life that produced me, Eric and now D. We love you!

More beets, please