Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things. He has remembered His love and His faithfulness;all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
let them sing before the Lord - Psalm 98
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| Mifflin, PA sunset |
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| Lancaster, PA sunrise |
We rejoice with gratitude as we are back in the US for a while to prepare to start a new season of life!
We are captivated by the beauty of all of the colors, chill, and beautiful landscape that is painted during the fall season in this area.
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| We had to leave our favorite pups at home. |
We are living in a whole new season these days, literally and figuratively, as we prepare for another new season, parenthood!! Coming in less than two months!
Eric and I left Uganda two weeks ago with the main purpose to prepare for the arrival of our baby. We landed in the US and have been keeping busy!
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Before leaving Uganda, the month of October was a
very full month for us. We both did some traveling, separately, visited with
friends who were in town, had a healthy report on our pregnancy, set up the
baby’s room, and closed down our home and garden. A few special things that we
participated in, in Uganda were:
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| These are my "Rwanda parents" and mentors. I love them dearly and love that I got to visit with them when they were in east Africa in early October. |
We got to speak to a group of university students in Gulu
about what it means to be a man of integrity and a woman of virtue and to live
life in the truth of who God calls us to be. This group of students is special-
they are connected to my students from South Sudan who are now in university
and also connected to the current work I am doing with curriculum writing.
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| Our sharing time |
We attended the graduation at the university in Mbale
(Eastern Uganda) where I worked for 3 years. It was an honor and joy to witness
the students I taught in my education class and some of my former students from
South Sudan complete a monumental step in their journey. I am also excited to
share that out of the top ten performing students from this graduating class,
three are my former students from South Sudan who Eric, my family and I have
supported throughout their university career. There were also three students
among the top ten who were from the education class that I taught!
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| Kakiye (left) and Juma (right) are my students from South Sudan and two of the top-performing students! |
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| Kakiye was the #1 performing student in her graduating class! So so proud of her hard work! |
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| A few students from the education class being recognized |
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| Students from South Sudan, graduating with a Business Administration degree! |
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Since being back in the US, we have been welcomed with a lot
of love!
We are so grateful for a home to rent and settle for the next few months. We now live just a few miles from Eric’s parents and some of the siblings, therefore we are treasuring family meals and spending time together so easily!
We got some time with my parents, met with our
midwife/birthing center, attended Eric’s cousin’s wedding where we got to catch
up with a lot of family. We took a road trip to New Haven with one of Eric’s
brothers to visit another brother. Then, Eric and I then went to Boston to visit one
of my dear friends and her family.
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| At Martha and Jordan's wedding! |
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| Morning walk around the Lancaster countryside |
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| The beauty of autumn in New Haven, CT |
This last week, we moved into our home and are so grateful
to be settled once again. Eric has been hunting a lot and I have been
out with him a few times.
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| Hunting time! This is a new thing for me. |
On Sunday, we had the opportunity to share about our work
and life in Uganda at Eric’s childhood church, Lauver’s Mennonite Church. It
was so wonderful to see dear friends there. We had the opportunity to thank
them for their great support and kind generosity towards us as we are in
Uganda. Thank you Lauvers community and friends!
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| Eric sharing about his agricultural work in Uganda |
For the month of November until mid-December, we will be
working, (Lauren- on curriculum writing, Eric- on the farm and PR work with World
Renew) as well as traveling to visit churches, friends, and family. I know we will try to spend time with or at
least try to catch up with each of you!
If you are in the Central PA area, you are always welcome to our home.
Then we are eager to welcome our baby towards the end of
December and celebrate the beauty of Christmas with our families.
Thank you for your prayers and love!
Love, Lauren and Eric
Gratitude:
- A wonderful home to settle in in PA
- The opportunity to see so many family and friends in the coming months
- A smooth transition from Uganda to PA
Prayers:
- Safety for our home back in Gulu, we were not able to find a subletter, yet we have several people around to help watch and take care of things and the dogs
- Continued protection and wisdom for the pregnancy
- Godly and healthy perspectives and responses as we interact with people as we continue work in Gulu
To wrap up, here are some scenes from Uganda:
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| Spotted: on a major highway in the capital city |
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| This boda is making his morning rounds to drop off goods, you almost can not see the motorcycle or driver! |
