Lily's first swim

Lily swam inside of mommy for nine months. Yesterday, with daddy, she took her first swim since coming out into the big wide world. She seemed right at home.

Lily of course

Here are a couple more pictures of Lily, at five and a half weeks old.

One happy baby

The past two days with Lily have been a great joy. She has been so happy whenever she is awake, smiling and cooing and making faces at us. I didn't want to go to bed last night, I was having so much fun watching Lily's smiling happy face. She is even smiling back at us while we change her diaper, seeming to enjoy the proceedings-- she almost always cried and protested during diaper changes before. She's sleeping well at night, at only five weeks old. We are counting our blessings and praising God for his mercy! Here are three pictures, each with a different hairstyle! :^)

Lily is one month old today

Lily is one month old today! Two days ago she rolled over all by herself from her tummy to her back. Impressive! :^) Here are a couple adorable pictures of her getting her "tummy time" in:

Prayer letter, July 11

Dear friends,

Today Mini and I are rejoicing over life. Our daughter Lily Grace is celebrating her ONE MONTH birthday today! Obviously taking care of our newborn daughter has been the main focus of the past month. We’ve changed a couple hundred diapers, fed her a couple hundred times, and tried to get a couple hours of sleep in between each of those events! The past two weeks have already gotten easier than the first two, and Lily is already starting to sleep pretty well at night for a one-month old. Mini and I are tired, but not overwhelmed. We so appreciate your prayers for us. We are so in love with little Lily and delighted to be entrusted with such a precious gift. Please keep praying for all three of us!

But we are also sorrowing today over death. You may have heard that eight bombs were planted on trains in Mumbai today, by terrorists. 200+ people have died so far in the simultaneous blasts, and another 700+ are wounded. It strikes close to home for us since Mini and I were riding those same trains and passing through those same rail stations a mere four months ago. We are trying to get in contact with our friends in Mumbai to hear how they are doing. Please pray for the people of Mumbai. It appears likely that this was done by Muslims. If so, it will definitely increase the tension between the religious communities in India, and will likely also increase tension between India and Pakistan. How we long for our Father’s kingdom to come and for his will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Pray that the eyes of the blind will be opened.

We also welcome your prayers for these upcoming events over the next several weeks:

I will be speaking on missions at East West Community Church on Sunday, July 23. Please pray for me and for all who hear the message, that God will use it to inspire and call his people.

With the exception of my Mom, my side of the family in Sacramento still has yet to meet our daughter Lily. We plan to travel up to Sacramento on July 24, and stay until August 14. Please pray for our travels, especially with a baby. Also, we are planning a party for all of you in Sacramento who would like to meet Lily, on Sunday afternoon, August 6. If you need details, please contact us.

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of, so they can see that it is not the answer.” – Jim Carrey ... I love this quote, and it comes to mind since my 20 year high school reunion is next month! Can you believe it? I’ve lived longer since graduating high school than I did up to my graduation. I guess middle age is fast upon me! :^) But don’t worry – I’m not having a midlife crisis. As I look back on the past 20 years and reflect on what God has done in my life, I am filled with joy and pleasure at the things he has allowed me to be a part of. And I am so eager for what is to come, in my family life with Mini and Lily, and also in our upcoming ministry in Long Beach, and training missionaries for the unreached nations with Servant Partners. Many of you have been receiving these prayer letters and praying for us and partnering with us for the better part of those 20 years. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your faithfulness and love in our lives, whether it’s been 20 years, or less than one. We love you and are so grateful to God for you all!

We plan to move to Long Beach in the third week of August, when we return from Sacramento.

Mini and I will be teaching a seminar together on missions at the 2006 Crossroads Conference, on Saturday, August 26. Many young people will be in attendance and we hope to see many of them grow in vision and inspiration for devoting their lives to Jesus and to missions. Please pray for our preparation and teaching, and for the young people who will attend. (For more information about this conference, go to http://crossroadslive.org.)

We love you, and we are always happy to hear from you! We pray for all of God’s blessings in your life, and joy and peace in our Lord Jesus.

For the joy set before us,

Dave, Mini, & Lily

Lily starts to smile

Almost four weeks into parenthood, Mini and I are managing pretty well. It is already feeling easier than the first two weeks. Praise God.

Lily is starting to smile at us now and again. It is so heartwarming to see her smile. We still don't have a picture of her best smiles, but you get the idea from these next two pictures.

This one was taken when she was 18 days old...

And in this one she is three weeks old (21 days)...

Here's another picture of Lily with her Mommy, taken at 22 days old... I'm truly blessed to have these two sweethearts to love! :^)