Team Meeting and Life Updates

By Eric 

Team Meeting

Earlier this month, I traveled to Malindi, Kenya for the annual World Renew (WR) East Africa Ministry Team meeting that lasted 3 days. WR has teams in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, with about 8-10 staff members in each country. The meeting is a time for staff to connect with others in the region, receive updates from the WR US office, and to hear the latest policies and work that WR, as a larger organization, is in the process of taking on. As a staff of WR, I was a participant in the meeting.

East Africa Team Meeting at Malindi, Kenya

This group from the community participated in a "work for food" project funded by WR. The people dug a water catchment/shallow well to serve as a water source for the community (see picture below) and were reimbursed for their work with food by WR.

This is the water catchment/shallow well. In the center, there is a shallow well 14 feet deep.

This is one of the community gardens we visited as a group of WR staff

The 3rd day of the meeting involved us visiting four different WR projects happening near Malindi, Kenya. We visited a village savings and loan association (VSLA). WR helps facilitate many VSLA's around the world. VSLA's serve as a sounding board for many other community development projects.

This group demonstrated for us what a "typical" day at the savings and loan association works

My favorite part of the meeting was the day we visited these projects. Two of the projects were farmer field schools, where a group of farmers from a community has a plot of 2-5 acres. The farmers practice new agriculture techniques together as a group; this garden is a showcase for other farmers in the community. I also met up with an old friend! Bishop George is a leader of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God church denomination who I worked with when I was in Uganda during 2015. I hadn't seen him since that time. We had hours of inspiring conversation about development and farming during our drive from project to project.

Bishop George and myself

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A Scare

This past week we had a scare with our little baby "bubs". On Wednesday, Lauren was in Kampala for her routine 2-week checkup. The doctors thought they saw a problem and wanted to perform a minor surgical procedure, which they scheduled for 11:00 am Friday. This was a surprise and it was very alarming to us. The procedure the doctors wanted to do is not recommended in the US after 24 weeks of pregnancy (Lauren was at 25 weeks), as there is a risk of the procedure causing pre-term labor. I took the bus down to Kampala on Thursday so that I could be with Lauren for Friday. We asked some of you and friends here to pray for us. One friend from Gulu recommended getting a second opinion from a doctor they knew. When we called this doctor, the doctor said she did NOT recommend this procedure and said if things were as bad as the other doctors thought, that Lauren should fly back to the US immediately. She did give us another place we could go to get another ultrasound by someone she recommended. It was Thursday night, we had an ultrasound scheduled with this other technician at 7:00 am Friday morning, just hours before the surgery. We really did not know what to do! We prayed and went to sleep. Friday morning, we went to the second ultrasound technician. When she did a scan, she did not see anything abnormal. She told us what the others thought was a "gap" was actually just fluid. She spent a lot of time doing the scan and pointed out that things were very normal. This technician has a lot of experience, so we believed her and trusted that God was answering prayers. We called off the operation. Next week, we will go for another checkup with yet another recommended doctor to confirm that things are still continuing as normal.

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Life Updates

We plan to come back to the US on October 22nd for Lauren to give birth on Christmas Day (that's the due date). We are excited about having a break, spending the holidays with family and friends, and hopefully seeing some of you! And of course, meeting our bubs! :)

My parents have arranged a little house for us to rent while we are home for 3 months! We are so grateful to them for their work in doing that and are excited to be living about 1 mile from my parents, while also taking trips periodically to Lauren's parents 2.5 hours away in MD.

Lauren is feeling great and gets to feel "bubs" kick and move several times a day. I guess that is the advantage of being the mom. :) One funny fact, every time an ultrasound technician scans the baby, they say "this baby is active"! I guess we will have an active bubs on our hands next year!

Bubs is laughing!

Now bubs is thinking!

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Can I help?

Many times, we are bombarded with requests for money. There are many needs and challenges here, some due to real needs and problems, others due to lack of character and hard work. Sometimes, we become "hard" and forget to really respond in a Christ-like manner. However, I was encouraged this past week when Ceasar and I were out raking grass for the garden. A lady walked up to us with a baby on her back. She asked Ceasar if she could help us gather the grass in exchange for money. She needed money to take her sick baby to the hospital. Many times, people just ask for money, rather than offering to help work. I was so happy to have her help us for 45 minutes and then gave her the $1.75 it took to get to the hospital. I was so encouraged that she didn't just ask for money, but asked how she could help.

Lady who helped us rake grass

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Random Photos

Our dogs like cucumbers, oddly enough!

Vitz has all these funny positions that she likes to sleep in.

Our garden/drive from couple weeks ago; the weather is beautiful this time of year!

Broccoli and our first watermelon from the garden, it is so delicious!

Join us in praying for:

1. Health for the pregnancy
2. Finding a subletter to rent our house here in Gulu while we are gone
3. The many needs here in Gulu and grace to respond

Praise God for:

1. Safety for our baby this past week
2. Beautiful weather
3. A house to stay at while we are in the US over Christmas

Oh how our garden is growing!

By Lauren

Dear family and friends,

The title of this post is relevant in more ways than one. The most pertinent is Eric’s beautifully thriving gardens! He has worked so diligently, along with the guys helping him, to plant, haul various fertilizers and mulch and nurture vegetable and herb gardens that have changed the looked of our compound (for the better) and that provide a harvest of healthy goods for us each day.  In the midst of all this, Eric is learning a lot about farming and gardening in Uganda so he can inform the communities that he will be working with.

A few months ago, I told Eric that he can never harvest enough cucumbers (I LOVE cucumbers!) Well then he started bringing me in 10 + a day, I just could not keep up! But they are really delicious! Aside from that, he has planted beautiful sunflowers (another one of my favorite thing) and they are aglow all over the gardens!

Our growing harvest- carrots, squash, lettuce, cucumbers, onion, tomatoes, peppers and the list goes on!

Beautiful Dahlias!

Our herb garden- turmeric, cilantro, garlic, strawberries, rosemary, flowers and more!

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These kiddos are so special to me! The newest one- Israel is one month old!

In July, I went to visit my old stomping grounds in Nimule, South Sudan. I still do some part-time work with my old organization and I LOVE going to visit the school (LASS) that I was a part of starting. There are new students and some new staff, yet the ‘specialness’ of the place there remains so close and dear to me.  While there, I had meetings with staff, taught a few classes, attended fellowships and then visited friends in the community around!

This is Pastor Abraham Tia (one of the most faithful men on earth) and his wife Baraka Sharon. They are a very special family to me. They have a beautiful, God-ordained story of how they met and fell in love. I was in their wedding back in March 2015 and now they have two kids! It was wonderful to catch up and spent time with them!

Leadership Academy of South Sudan (LASS) students

Some of the LASS alumni who are serving at the school over their university holiday

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We are also watching our baby grow! The last check-up I had was at the beginning of August and all looked good; the baby was active and had healthy measurements. I feel so wonderful and I am absolutely grateful for that! Each week the application on my phone tells me the size of our baby as compared to a fruit or vegetable. I am now 21 weeks along and little bubs is as long as a large banana. I am also growing, you can really tell!

Eric is going to be a great daddy! Here he is with the furry children!

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We spent the beginning of the month in Northern Ethiopia where we met up with one of Eric’s brothers who had been studying in Israel. It was a good meeting point and we had the opportunity to travel around, explore historical sites, and stand amazed at the breathtaking beauty of the region.

Linford, Lauren, Eric at the base of the Simien Mountains. It was breathtaking watching the midst come and go from the peaks, so high up

Historical baths in Gondar

St. George's underground Church- one of the many historical parts of Lalibela

  

  

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Rainy day refuge- all the dogs cuddling in their house

Pup found sleeping in a place he isn't allowed! He snuck in the house:)

Upcoming:

-       We will be celebrating our one-year wedding anniversary next weekend!

-       Eric will be traveling for a region-wide team meeting to Kenya from September 1- 6

-       We have dear friends coming to town in early October

-       Graduation at Livingstone International University is in mid- October, many of my dear students are graduating and I cannot wait to watch them move into a new season of life!

-       We will be traveling to the US on October 22 to prepare for the birth of our baby! We will be based in PA and will travel around the region to visit family and friends.

On our way home to Gulu, there are a bunch of baboons around Karuma Falls, here's one going for a ride!

Happy July!

By Lauren

Our lovely front porch and Eric built us this fence!

Happy July to you, our family and friends!

I am writing to you on a beautiful Gulu afternoon! The weather has been delightful with just enough rain to satisfy the many crops and plants that Eric has planted over the last couple of weeks! (YUM!! The harvest is coming soon!)

This past month we have continued to settle into our life in Gulu. We are about to celebrate 3 months of living in here, but first, we will celebrate Eric’s birthday this coming weekend!

I joined a Bible study that meets weekly and I also formed a prayer group with two other ladies- we meet every other Friday morning. Eric and I have hosted a handful of new and old friends over for meals and overnight stays this past month. It is such a gift to have a guest room and space for hosting. We are still praying and working on building friendships here.

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The herbicide test plot in the beginning.

The herbicide test plot 4 weeks in!

Eric has been working really hard around the yard- putting up fences around our porches, as well as planting crops, herbs, flowers, and trees and he has also organized a well planned and structured herbicide test plot (I'll let him tell you more about that in another post). In addition, he works regularly with the World Renew farm just outside of Gulu. He has traveled twice this past month for work trips to look at farms with his colleagues and to help with agricultural work in a village several hours from our home. He also participated in a collaborative planning trip with a US-based university who is organizing to send students on a several week learning trip to work alongside the World Renew partners.

Eric hard at work!

Getting the ground ready! George and Ceasar hard at work.

The seeds have been planted and we are waiting for the harvest!

                      

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In early June, I got to spend time with an organization that I have known for several years. The organization is called One Tribe and their main focus is building peace in war-impacted communities through radio drama programs and community workshops centered on elements of peace. They also work in the communities by training in skills that strengthen personal and collective dignity. Their main focus is working with South Sudanese and since the years of war, many South Sudanese are now living in refugee camps in northern Uganda. I traveled (about 2 hours from Gulu) to the camps and worked alongside the team.

Our team meeting with the Office of the Prime Minister, before we set out to the camps.

Juma (left) is a dear friend and student from LASS who I have known for over 6 years, he volunteers with One Tribe on translation and recording of the radio dramas as well as acting as an advocate for the organization.

Community Peace Building workshop with One Tribe.

The expensive view from the northern refugee camps.

In the latter part of June, I traveled to Kampala for a work conference, where I met with the team I work with on curriculum and we were able to review the work we have gotten done so far this year and evaluate ways in which we need to progress forward. I am so grateful for this work that I get to do. I love education and curriculum that is Christ-centered and it is truly life transforming. The curriculum that I get to work on is training the youth of East Africa in spiritual disciplines, character development, and servant leadership. This work has been ongoing for over 25 years and I have witnessed first hand how the truths and lessons in this curriculum have impacted and influenced so many! It is a gift to work alongside east Africans friends who strive each day to see greater healing and change for their region.

While in Kampala, I went to the doctors for my 14-week pregnancy check-up. It is a miracle to me that we have made it this far and we are absolutely grateful! All looked good and the baby is growing!

We have a full July ahead of us and we look forward to sharing about it in our next update! Until then, many thanks for your continual love, support, prayers, and care for us.

The dogs love to find places to rest and play among the dirt!

                                                   

Waiting for an edible handout!

After driving on mudddddddyy roads, it got to this point! The car was covered in mud!

Love,

Lauren and Eric

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day!!

I would love to introduce you to one of the newest Dads in training- Eric Ranck!

We are celebrating Fathers Day with gratitude for our own fathers, who we love and respect so dearly, as well as the gift of fatherhood that Eric is stepping into in December!

We found out about this pregnancy on Easter weekend and baby’s current due date is December 25! Therefore, this Christmas season will be extra special for us. We will be gratefully rejoicing in the birth of our Savior and the birth of our baby!

Our Father's Day photo.

I am now in my 12^th week.  The last 2 months have been challenging with all day sickness and I am slowly coming out of it and I do look forward to some reprieve.

If you have been a part of our journey for the last several months, you will know that I had two pregnancies that both ended in miscarriage. After some consultation with a doctor and some added supplements, this pregnancy has been the strongest. Eric and I have been for three appointments with this pregnancy and we have been able to see the baby moving (a true wiggle worm), to see and hear the heartbeat and we have gotten good reports back on my blood work and health of the baby.

This baby is a miracle. It is not because of the works of our own hands or the hands of the doctor. The master Creator who is our loving Father has given this baby vitality and strength up to this moment. Each day, He continues to mold and craft this baby into His image. Eric and I are so grateful for this gift that we get to welcome into our family and we pray each day for this little life. 

Throughout this short journey of praying for a healthy and viable pregnancy and experiencing 2 losses, I have heard countless stories of different families fertility journeys. It is certainly not an easy and short path for so many. Because of the HOPE that we have in an eternally good God, we continue to trust His plan for building our family as we continue to pray for those families asking God for the very same thing.

Thank you for continuing to walk with us, support and love us. We are very grateful!

Lots of love,

Lauren and Eric