Who we are becoming

Post by Lauren

Our beautiful Mbale morning sky!

Hello and happy February to you!

Each month, it is always our aim to share about our lives that we live here with you, in order
to bridge gaps and to build understanding from across barriers, boundaries, and cultures. This
month has drawn us into deep sadness over the loss of another baby yet simultaneously we
have known the love of God and have been drawn into His truth in a fresh way. There has been
a lot of processing (I will share the whole story another month) and amazing provision in my life
since the second miscarriage, to the point that it’s impossible for me to deny God’s leading
amidst my pain.

One of my favorite poets writes:

“ When suffering knocks on the door of your life, may you glimpse its eventual gifts and may
you receive the fruits of that suffering…” - John O’Donohue

Therefore, I was thinking that I do not just want to tell you about what we do, but instead to share
about whom we are becoming because of the encounters that we experience throughout each
month. Eric and I deeply believe that our Creator God uses challenges and opportunities to mold,
teach, refine, and grow us as His children.

In January, we welcomed 2019 not feeling the greatest so we stayed in to rest and recover! We
were excited for the opportunity to Skype with many of Eric’s siblings and some cousins who
were gathered together to ring in 2019, 12 am EST, 8 am Uganda time!

We got a FUN Christmas gift from Grandma Ranck, 
a Ranck Family calendar and a handful of Christmas cards, thank you!

Eric is learning the ups and downs of gardening in Uganda. To me, he is a rockstar gardener
and is harvesting incredible vegetables that are so beautiful and delicious! Everyday, he
cares for his garden so well as he is working hard to evaluate what is working and what isn’t.
He does his research by consulting other agricultural companies, other practitioners in the
field, and by doing online reading. He is using a lot of his knowledge from his agriculture
degrees to go about his work in our garden and on the dairy farm that he helps with.

My favorite farmer shows his hardworking bountiful harvest!

We are both learning that marriage = becoming more selfless. However, to be honest, I am
the one learning that I am just not always a nice person and I need to work harder on
maintaining a selfless posture.  All that to say, Eric and I went to our first marriage
conference as a married couple called “The Art of Marriage” and since we had only been
married for 4 months when we went, we did not have a lot of experience to glean from.
However, we definitely added tools to our toolbox for our future. It was also a delightful
getaway to a beautiful town called Jinja that sits right on the Nile River.

The home of dear friends, where we stayed in Jinja!

On the topic of marriage, Eric and I are learning to walk life together each day as we strive to communicate effectively with love and a listening ear. We really love being married and allowing this relationship to teach us and transform us. I have always been a believer that true transformation happens in relationship; that indeed has been the case so far in our marriage and we are so grateful and expectant for what is ahead.

We are both learning a different pace in life. I have stepped away from the full time (and very
full it was) job that I have had at LivingStone International University (LIU) and I have started
doing part time work remotely with an organization that I know well. I deeply believe in the
missionand heart of the organization I am currently working with. I am working on modifying
and structuringcurriculum for them. In addition, I teach two classes once a week at the small
international school in our town (it reminds me so much of my teaching job in Rwanda). I also
do some side work for my old organization in South Sudan and some other projects with friends
as they come up! This new season has been very welcomed since becoming a wife and
embracing the beauty and responsibility that it holds. Eric is doing an incredible job of being
a responsible and proactive husband who takes care me as well as many house/life things.
He is preparing to start his full time work in a few months when we move to Gulu, for now,
he is enjoying the myriad of opportunities in farming and some academia. Also, we started to
go to a new church and we are really enjoying the refreshing journey of building new
friendships and being apart of a married fellowship!

A lady who we did not know at church had no idea what we were going through the week after the miscarriage, yet she leaned over and shared this verse with us!! This is an example and reminder of God's individual care for us! 

Eric and I still mentor groups of students at LIU and we are grateful for the students who continue
to be in our care, if they are in our mentor groups or not. It has been exceptionally incredible to
watch the students that I have known since 2014 in South Sudan blossom into truly excellent
people. Many of the students are in their last year of university and as they prepare to graduate
and take on the working world I cannot help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude for who they are
and who they are becoming. It is astounding to me that I still have such incredible relationships
with so many of them and have the immense privilege of walking through life with them. They
amaze me with their strength and character and their servant-natured leadership.

The evening sky in Gulu (our to-be new home!)

Living cross culturally and addressing the challenges that exist in expectations, communication,

and interactions with others can often leave us with a sense of “high justice” or entitlement.
As we work through this, we hope to become people where love and humility is our first
response instead of frustration and anger just because things are not going “our way”. We aim
to become people who seek to understand before pushing the need to be understood. We desire
to learn from our Ugandan friends, colleagues, and neighbors instead of always feeling as if we
need to teach them our “right” way. We want to be people of gratitude who give thanks to the
Lord instead of presenting yet another request.

It is HOT here and so dry! Poor Kona is suffering!

Most importantly, we pray that we are becoming more Christ-like in our relation to each other in
marriage and to all people around us. Eric and I are committed to reading through the Biblical
book of Psalms each day. We want to strive toward becoming people of truth in which we declare
that the Lord is our Lord in all situations that we are in (Psalm 16:2). We want to become people
who make the Lord our refuge; that when trials come, we will not flee like a bird, yet we will know
that God is our shelter in time of trouble and because of that we stand on solid ground
(Psalm 11:1-4). We yearn to trust the Lord, because He has not forsaken those who seek Him
(Psalm 9:10). We believe that the Lord is enlarging our inner territories and capacity to know and
desire Him, believe in His Word and to stand on His truth (Psalm 15:5). As we are being molded
into instruments of His Spirit through suffering and gladness, we are immensely grateful for the
opportunity to know God, to serve Him, and to be apart of building His love and truth in Uganda.

Thank you for praying for us and loving us!

Happy Valentines Day,

Eric and Lauren

Feeling overloading? Think about this truck!

Future plans and a prayer request

Written by Eric

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings from hot, dry Africa! Living on the equator definitely creates a warmer January than Northeastern US! We did have some rain last week, which is very unusual for January, which is typically the driest month of the year.

I am going to update you on three things in this blog post:

1. Lauren's miscarriage (prayer request)
2. Our plans for 2019
3. A thank-you to supporters

Prayer Request

I'm going to start with the prayer request first. Lauren had another miscarriage Wednesday morning. Our hearts are sad, as we were anticipating a little one to join our family in September. There is a chance Lauren will share more of her story later; it was hard for both of us, but especially for her. It made us wonder, "why us twice in a row?" For many people conceiving and giving birth to a healthy baby seems so easy.

We did just see a fertility specialist in the capital city, Kampala, on Friday. Lauren's TSH levels (these are produced by the thyroid) were high so Lauren is now taking something to help reduce these levels. The doctor said that this may have been the cause of the miscarriages, but cannot be absolutely sure. The doctor also told us that the chances of having a healthy baby after two miscarriages are 75%, so that was encouraging.

While we are grateful for good medical advice, we also don't want to lose the wonder and blessing of childbirth or forget how conceiving children is really something that the Lord is in control of.

Please pray for us, that we could have a healthy baby. Please pray for Lauren, that she would not live in fear of another miscarriage.

We welcome your personal stories, how the Lord work in your life through a miscarriage, etc. However, we would prefer that people keep the medical advice/ideas to themselves, as we simply covet prayer and have various medical advice we are currently seeking.


Our plans for 2019

Lord willing, we plan to move to Gulu the end of May. I will begin my full-time position with World Renew (WR). I will be working with one of WR's local partner organizations called Karin Community Initiative Uganda. Karin started out doing medical work in 2001 and have gradually expanded to other development initiatives including: agriculture, education, and economic initiatives. I will help with administrative tasks but I will also be involved in some of the farming and economic initiative projects.

Learn more about Karin at https://karincommunity.org/

We currently live in Mbale, and plan to move in May of this year.

Second, it has been a dream of mine for some time to have a farm/training center in Africa. We are currently in the process of renting a house, along with two acres of land where I hope to do a little farming during the weekends, as my position at Karin is a full-time position. I will start with projects that I believe are less risky/costly enterprises, such as bananas, papayas, vegetables, local chickens, and pigs. If I am successful with these then I might move into more "technical agriculture enterprises" such as dairy or a greenhouse.

My goals for a farm include:

1. A place to practice my skills in agriculture!
2. Be a training ground for both simple and more technical farming practices.
3. A potential income generator in the future, but we will see about that.

Lauren and I are both very excited about moving to Gulu! It will be a fresh start for both of us, Lauren will be in a central place for her work, Gulu is a nice town, and I'm excited about beginning work with Karin!

Please pray for us as we move. There are still many details to fall into place, the biggest being we need a place to rent. 

A thank-you to supporters

We are SO thankful for your gracious financial giving! Wow, I was really grateful for the money that came in during December! The Lord is using you to provide for our financial needs. 

I looked at several vehicles, but have decided to wait to purchase another vehicle until we move for two reasons. First, we won't need a vehicle until we move in May. Also, it is going to cost a little more money to get the type of vehicle that we need, so waiting will allow for more funds to be raised.

Until next time, may God bless you all!

Eric

Our small garden!

Eggplant

Israel

Happy New Year!

Eric and I spent the second half of December on our honeymoon in Israel. It is a place that we both had been wanting to visit.

The country is relatively small, so we rented a car to easily visit a number of places that people recommended and that we had an interest in exploring.

After an overnight flight from Uganda, we landed in Tel Aviv in the early hours of the morning, figured out how to start our rental car and off we drove around the dark and quiet Tel Aviv on to the south to a town called Arad.

In Arad overlooking the town and the Judean Desert hills

It was a Saturday morning, which is a holy day in Israel, therefore as we arrived in Arad, there were only a few people out and many places were closed.  We enjoyed driving around to see the beauty of the town then continued to drive south to the Dead Sea. We were in awe of the unique desert beauty and the wildness of the landscape near the sea.

We took time to walk out about 2 miles on a jetty in the Dead Sea towards the Moab Mountains in Jordan. Days later we "floated" in the Dead Sea! What a crazy feeling to get in the water and bounce right back up :)

 Dead Sea floating

Jetty walk at the Dead Sea

Dead Sea floating

Our trusty rental car!

View from mountains above the Dead Sea

It was crazy to see camels in their natural habit!

Other experiences we had in the southern region of Israel were:
- Hiking and exploring Masada
- Hiking Ein Gedi and the desert springs
- Finding a coffee shop we loved and visited several times

Hiking to the top of Masada where we learned about the existence of King Herod's Palace and life on this fortress through ancient ruins

Wadi David, a spring in the middle of the desert (Psalm 1)

View from our hike at Ein Gedi- overlooking the Dead Sea and western Jordan

Hiking Ein Gedi

After those few days, we drove north to the Sea of Galilee with a midday stop in the Palestinian city of Jericho. It is said that Jericho is the oldest (11,000 years) and lowest (846 ft. below sea level) city in the world. Although Jericho is surrounded by Israel, it is a Palestinian city with its own personality and gregariously welcoming citizens.

In Jericho

The place where Zaccheus climbed the Sycamore Tree in Jericho

Overlooking Old and New Jericho

We only spent a few hours in Jericho and visited a museum. The museum had a garden with a sycamore tree that was around 2000 years old. Although no ones knows if this is the actual tree Zaccheus climbed, as stated in Luke 19 in the Bible, the area of the museum is believed to be the place where the story happened. We then drove up to the Mount of Temptation that gave us an incredible view of old and new city Jericho.


After Jericho, we continued our 2-hour drive to Tiberias, which is located on the western side of the Sea of Galilee. The landscape slowly changed from desert to lush vegetative fields and of course, Eric was enthralled over the farms that we were passing! As we were driving, we drove along the border to the country Jordan and at times and we got to see the beauty and flourishing green farms in the Jordan Valley.

Sunrise at the Sea of Galilee

While in the north we took time to visit:
- Capernaum
- Golan Heights
- Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)
- Mount Carmel
- Nazareth where we got to see what life was like in the city where Jesus was raised
- the city of Safed
-Magdala- a crossroads of Jewish and Christian history- It is the town where Mary Magdalene came from and where the remains of a first-century city and Jewish synagogue were recently discovered. Because Jesus taught in the towns and synagogues surrounding this area, it is quite possible that Jesus visited and taught in this very synagogue.

The church at Tagbah where the feedings of the multitudes took place, the Mount of Beatitudes is nearby, the calling of the apostles, and many other significant Biblical events took place

Jordan River - where John the Baptist baptized Jesus

Safed town was HIGH in elevation- a city built on a mountainside and we loved it! It holds a lot of charm mixed with a lot of history.

Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18)

Capernaum was the city where Jesus did the most of his ministry

The Sea of Galilee where Jesus did a lot of ministry and where He walked on water

Ruins of a Synagogue in Capernaum

Northern Israel landscape- the Golan Heights

There were a handful of dairy farms that we passed while in the north. Eric got in contact with the Israeli Dairy School that was touring a farm and got to sit in on an information session about how they run their operations. It was really amazing for him! That night we ate at McDonald's where they had huge burgers and a touchscreen "create your own burger" ordering menu.

Order what you like at an Israeli McDonald's! HAHA!

After several days in the north at the Sea of Galilee, we headed south to Jerusalem! While in Jerusalem we stayed at my friend's 7th-floor apartment, which allowed us a spectacular view of the city for miles and miles (many thanks to Katrina and David! :) )

Heading to Jerusalem!

Our first sunset in Jerusalem

We visited:
- Old City Jerusalem including: the Wailing Wall, the Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulchre
- Hezekiah's Tunnel
- City of David
- Bethlehem (just a few miles from Jerusalem city)

Old City Jerusalem markets

The Wailing Wall - the remnant of a Temple, a place where people come from all over the world to weep and pray. Isaiah 2: 2-3

We learned A LOT of history, religious history, Biblical explanations, random facts, etc!

Christmas Day was one of the most memorable ones of my life.  We went to Christ Church Jerusalem that is located inside the walls of Old City Jerusalem. There we joined the church community and people from all over the world who were spending their holiday in the most sacred place for this season. In the very region where our Savior was born, lived, and died. We sang meaningful Christmas hymns and worshipped together among people we didn't know, yet felt so connected to.

Christ Church Jerusalem

Christmas in Bethlehem

Markets in Bethlehem

Christmas Morning in over Jerusalem

The whole adventure to Israel was deeply meaningful for us- it included many "firsts". Our first time traveling together (we did great and also found that we think alike as far as travel is concerned). We celebrated our first Christmas together and it was the first time either of us had visited that part of the world.

We deeply hope that your Christmas season was lifegiving and refreshing. Joy to the World, our Savior reigns in our lives. Happy 2019! We look forward to updating you in a few weeks on our move to northern Uganda.

Lots of love and joy,

Lauren and Eric

This trip would not have been possible without our Waze car app set to German- needless to say, we learned some German along the way and managed very well!

Eric got me flowers for our 18-month anniversary of dating on December 19! They included some of the flowers I picked to use at our wedding!

If you know me, you know I LOVE to eat Maryland crabs and I found crab chips in Israel!

Merry Christmas!

Thank you all so much for your kind love and prayers in response to the post that I wrote and shared about my miscarriage. Please know that Eric and I are doing really well and we are tremendously grateful for the friendships that we have that are spread vast around this world!  

We are abundantly grateful for our parents and families who communicate, love and support us so well while we are so far. 

Our family! Photo by Katherine Zell Photos

Also, we are immensely grateful for the “family” we have here in East Africa who medically and emotionally helped us through the miscarriage. These are friends who we get to build deep relationships with on a regular basis, who we get to support and who support us as well.

This year, like many, has been a true gift filled with different experiences, adventures, surprises, joy, sorrow, challenges and the overall fullness of life. 

To say we are grateful and amazed at what this year held would be an understatement.  We have often found ourselves looking at each other and saying, " if you would have told me this time last year that we would be where we are now, I would not believe you....". 

We are in awe of the beautiful journies that our lives have been and even more so now that we get to walk them together as one and we get to build relationships with so many people and continue growing in the individual passions and talents that God has gifted us with and support each other in them.

Here is a quick recap of our year:

January: I left Eric in State College to work hard on his thesis after a wonderful three weeks of getting to know each other's families and communities and deepening our own relationship. I returned back to Uganda to start a new semester as Academic Registrar and teaching in the school of education at LivingStone International University (LASS).

Christmas Day together- 2017

Eric's view from his Penn State office window. He would often send me a picture of this view each day!

March: Eric came to visit me in Uganda and we got engaged! It was such a beautiful and special time to commit to each other in a new season and to celebrate and plan for what was coming.

Engaged couple in Mbale

May: I finished my semester and Eric was working really hard on his thesis.

June: I came back to the US to prepare for our wedding, took a two week trip to Northern Ireland with two of my dearest friends (who live in Mbale as well). 

Also, Eric defended his thesis and alllll of those months, never ending days and endless hours of research, reading, and writing paid off!

Eric's defense in action!

Beautiful Northern Ireland Coast

Katharine, Rhonda and I

July: I moved to State College to be close to Eric and we spent our days working, hanging out, meeting friends and family. I learned more about what life on a farm is like. 

Also, we were showered with TONS of love from family and friends with three wedding showers: a couple's shower at my mom's teashop, one for me hosted by my mentor Mary and one hosted for me by Eric's church family (it is incredibly loving because they didn't even know me! It shows how much they love Eric! And I sadly did not get any picture from that shower.)

Summer Softball watching with some of my new siblings:)

My dad and mom (and her amazing team) hosted the most beautiful and loving shower for us at her teashop!

My mentor momma Mary hosted an intentional and lovely shower in DC for me!

Eric planted and nurtured sunflowers for me and for our wedding!

August: Eric graduated with his masters in Animal Science from Penn State!

Happy Graduation! I am so proud of him!

We got married and we had a blast! It was completely humbling to have our dear family and friends put forth so much hard work to make our day easy and stress-free for us, and it was more than we could have envisioned. It was so fun to celebrate with people we love and admire.

Our first look- Photo by Katherine Zell Photos

 

Our first look- Photo by Katherine Zell Photos

Photo by Katherine Zell Photos

If you know me, you know I love tea. Tea in real tea cups was essential for my wedding. Photo by Katherine Zell Photos

Our ceremony at Eric's parents store property. Photo by Katherine Zell Photos

Our brunch wedding was served by JDK Group weddings and it was incredible!
Photo by Katherine Zell Photos

Our dear wedding party! Photo by Katherine Zell Photos

Photo by Katherine Zell Photos

Cake cutting! This INCREDIBLY beautiful cake (and all desserts) were made by the talented bakers at my mom's tea shop!
Photo by Katherine Zell Photos

And away we went! Eric used to be a firefighter and drive the truck, so naturally, this was our getaway!
Photo by Katherine Zell Photos

September: We moved back to Mbale- I started back to work teaching and doing some admin work. Eric worked on the farm that he was apart of in 2016 and taught a computer class at LIU. We settled into a new routine together and we have been loving it! 

October: We had LIU graduation and graduation for my students in South Sudan at LASS. Also, Eric worked so hard to create our personal garden (and throughout the months we enjoyed a delicious harvest!). During this time, he has taken the opportunity to teach others about effective and sustainable farming.

Outdoor thanksgiving:) 

November: We celebrated a fun Thanksgiving together with our Mbale community! 

Also, we went north to Gulu so I could spend time with the recent LASS graduates to share some lessons with them. 

We found out that I was pregnant then sadly, lost the baby a few weeks later.

GOOD ice cream on the road to Gulu! If you know Eric, you know he LOVES ice cream!

Thanksgiving!

Me sharing with my LASS graduates in Gulu

December: We officially finished the school semester!

Also, Eric went to an agricultural training/workshop in the northwestern region of Uganda in a town called Moroto for a week.

So beautifully, our first sunflower blossomed J

This beauty greeted me whenever I walked out of my house, since then, some of his friends have bloomed!

We are now on our way to Israel for two weeks for our honeymoon, our first Christmas as a married couple! 

We will travel to various parts of the country and spend time with a dear friend of mine and her family in Jerusalem. 

It is an incredible gift for us to spend this season in one of the most sacred of lands. We look forward to learning, seeing, reflecting, and being in awe of the tangible nature this trip will be in drawing out and bringing us closer to Scripture and truth.

One of my most favorite parts of Christmas is the reflection that the HOPE of a long enduring promise was fulfilled. We now have a Savior born in the most unique way and He is compassion, peace, strength, and the truest embodiment of joy for all.

Thank you for loving us, walking life with us, supporting us, praying for us! Thank you for your encouragement and intentionality to reach out to us with a note, letter, call, text, or email!  Your love and friendship has strengthened and sustained us and we are immensely grateful for each of you. We will share what is in store for us in 2019 in our next update.

As we close, we pray for peace, joy, hope, and newness to embrace you this season as you celebrate Christmas and enter into 2019.

We wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

With love and joy, 

Eric and Lauren Ranck

Photo by Katherine Zell Photos