Updates

Grandma update: Thanks to all of you who have been praying for my mom. She sounds upbeat on the telephone, and seems to be functioning fairly well at home, with the help of pain relievers and prayer. We had hoped for a full doctor report last Thursday on her cancer (which originated in the breast but has spread to her bones). The meeting with the doctor will not happen until this Thursday, but my parents did receive the encouraging news that the cancer had not yet spread to her organs. I spent some time pouring over praise verses this weekend. I'll be sharing those with you in the posts that follow. This one is one of my favorites. We serve a God who has been faithful in the past and will continue to prove himself faithful.

Psalm 126:3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Baby update: Abe is the proud wearer of two bottom teeth! He doesn't like to show them so often these days (he's become much more discerning about his smiles, saving them for mommy and daddy, our neighbor and for post milk euphoria). His crawl is progressing and we're hoping one day soon he'll be able to keep that belly off the ground and spare mother of the needless mopping job.

"Us" update: Mark is in another session of language study, and is working on a research paper in the language on the topic of his choosing. He's decided to look into local customs and attitudes about death, and will be interviewing community members and leaders. We're looking forward to gaining understanding into this important part of the culture.

I posted a couple Abe videos below. The first I posted at the cost of my personal pride. You don't realize how foolish your "baby voice" sounds until it's caught on tape. But I couldn't keep Abe's spinach smile to myself. (He was actually playing a squinting game, where he would squint and smile on cue for mommy, but he got camera shy). The second was of the grandson of our neighbor, whose favorite thing about visiting the grandparents is playing with the baby next door.