A blessed season

We have so many things to be grateful for from the last four months: safe travels, a healthy baby, family, Christmas, and support. We feel tremendously blessed from the past four months and would like to express our gratitude to all of you for praying for us, loving us, and supporting us.

Safe Travels

We arrived safely into Uganda on February 20th!! Thank you to all of you for praying for a safe flight. Not only did we experience safety, but the trip was also very seamless. Aubrey cried for a little bit the first take off, but the rest of the time, she was so content and slept a lot. She also got lots of "ohhhs and awwws" from the flight crew, something that adds to the joy of parenting. Getting through customs and getting our luggage was the easiest that Lauren and I ever remember for Uganda. We made it to our guesthouse, then headed off to our home in Gulu the next morning!
Another blessing that we are grateful for, is that everything at our property and house was safe when we got back. Four months is a long time to leave and so this was an answer to prayer!

A healthy baby

Aubrey Anne Charlotte Ranck continues to thrill and captivate our hearts! She was born January 3rd, 2020! We are new to this parenting thing, but learning things along the way. I'm proud of how well Lauren cares for Aubrey Anne, through the daily grind of mothering, as well as the effort she puts forth to learn mothering tips from friends, relatives, and through research. As a father, I didn't know how I would respond to such an important role. However, I have to say that fatherhood is growing on me and I enjoy it more every day. I enjoy her snuggles, her fun looks, am proud of her, and look forward to more of her developments as she gets older.
One of the joys of having a child is watching family respond to her. Both of our parents love spending time with her, which has also been a highlight of our time in the US. Lauren has a grandfather and I have a grandmother that both thoroughly enjoyed time holding their great-grandchild!

Aubrey Anne only minutes old!

Lauren's parents visited us at the hospital!

My parents getting time with Aubrey Anne

Aubrey Anne's first snow!

Aubrey Anne getting daddy time!

This is what Aubrey thinks of the Coronavirus.

"I like raising my hand and asking questions!" :)

Family

This past season has been a very rich time for us as we got to spend a lot of quality time with both of our families. It was good for both of us to get to know our inlaws better, as we only spent one month as a married couple before we came to Uganda. Lauren's parents graciously took us on a four-day trip to Florida at the beginning of February. Aubrey Anne had her first tour of Disney Springs! We mainly relaxed and enjoyed time as a family.

Aubrey Anne meets Pluto!

Christmas

Christmas was a very special time, connecting with family! My family spent 3 days at a cabin and it was such a rich time! The highlight for both of us was getting to reconnect with siblings after being in Uganda for over a year. It was also a time of anticipation of our baby bubs at the time!

We took a walk.

Thank-you all for your love and support while we were back in the US. We enjoyed getting to catch up with so many of you! We felt so incredibly blessed by all of your kindness! We also did some support raising. We want to thank all of you for your financial support!

Love,
Eric, Lauren, and Aubrey

Aubrey is two months old!

Prayer requests:

1. The uncertainty of Coronavirus. There have been no cases in Uganda. However, we don't know how the world economy will affect access to fuel, electricity, supplies, etc. here. 
2. As we continue to settle and adjust as parents here, away from grandparents and family.
3. For our work in the community (more coming on that next later).

Praises:

1. Safety as we traveled back to Uganda last month.
2. Financial support that is meeting our needs.
3. Protection over our house and property while we were away.

Happy New Year!

By Lauren

Happy New Year!

New year, new decade, and new BABY! Our year started out with the arrival of our daughter, Aubrey Anne on January 3rd!  Since then we have been in awe of the miracle that our little daughter is. She is so beautiful, strong, animated, and loves to be held at all times! We love her so deeply and we love learning her as she continues to grow and change each day.

We are now developing a new routine in our days (and nights) as our focus has shifted to being a family of 3. Aside from excelling at being a daddy, Eric does continue to work on support raising and has been having meetings and calls for work. He is also working on his family's farm on a daily basis and he has really been enjoying it!

I have been doing my best to rest at home as I learn to be a mom and care for our little human! We have hosted my parents, other family members, and friends who wanted to meet Aubrey and who have loved us by providing meals and helping in various ways. 

Aubrey made headlines by being the first baby born in Juniata County, we have received various prizes from local businesses.

Our favorite visitors! Aubrey Anne's grandparents.

Photo by Maria Ranck.

Photo by Maria Ranck.

Photo by Maria Ranck.

Aubrey Anne's first snow in Mifflin, PA!

Daddy-Daughter time

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Before Aubrey arrived, Eric and I enjoyed a beautiful Christmas season seeing lots of family and celebrating in many different ways.

We had a delicious and beautiful Christmas tea at my mom's tea shop.

We shared about Uganda and our lives with a group of elementary kids at a local church in the Mifflin area.

A beautiful snow day when we were at the cabin for the Ranck Christmas celebration.

We finished out the hunting season!

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What's next?!

Well, we have four more weeks in the US! We are actively preparing to head back to Uganda on February 19th. We have paperwork and passport in process for Aubrey Anne and I am also finalizing my paperwork for my name change. Also, Aubrey and I have doctor's appointments before we leave.

Before we go, we will celebrate Aubrey Anne with a baby shower, we will travel with my parents to get quality time with them. We have a Ranck gathering with all of Eric's family, and we will get around to the churches who support us to say goodbye.

One of Eric's sisters, Susanna, will travel back to Uganda with us! She will stay with us for almost 3 months to help us out as well as serve with various organizations in the Gulu area to get a better idea of how she can work in ministry overseas.

Thank you for your continual support for us!

With Joy,

Eric, Lauren, and Aubrey Anne

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Gratitude:

•        A healthy post-birth recovery for Lauren
•      A healthy little Aubrey Anne
•      Many opportunities that we had for fundraising
•      Special times with family 

Prayers:

•         Final wrap-up and meetings for financial support 
•         For the success and timeliness of our paperwork as we prepare to go back to Uganda
•       Continued health for us all
•       Saying goodbyes
•       Smooth travel back to Uganda 

This Advent Season

By Lauren

The morning view from our home

The Glorious Month of December is here!

It is the season that we reflect on as we celebrate the long-awaited birth of and life-changing communion with our Savior. 

The birth of Jesus Christ is a complete symbol of love and sacrifice. In the life of God’s Son, Jesus, we have life and we are able to experience the joy of having a wonderful counselor, an everlasting hope, a steadfast truth, a good shepherd, and a faithful father. What an unbelievable revelation to try to comprehend.

As Eric and I celebrate this season and await the complete celebration of our Savior’s birth, we are also eagerly and gratefully awaiting the birth of our firstborn, who is due on Christmas day.

We have been keeping very busy since being in the US and some of that has been to prepare for the baby’s arrival. It has been a gift to see many friends, supporters, and have had such special time with family and our community around the area.

Night work on the farm

Here is what we have been up to:

-       Celebrated both of my parents birthdays with them and had an early thanksgiving time with them as well

-       Traveled to Philadelphia to visit with family (including getting special time with our new little niece)

-       Spent time in State College and with the beautiful community from Eric’s church during his college years at Penn State

-       Traveled to Washington DC for a wonderful visit with my church community there and other friends

-       Experienced Penn State’s last game of the season in person!

-       Spent quality time with friends and family

-       Have been able to host friends and family in our home

-       Enjoyed snowy mornings :) 

-       We had a FULL Thanksgiving Day with Eric’s parents and siblings- conversing, eating, playing games and truly enjoying the togetherness of family. It was my first Thanksgiving in the US in 7 years; it was indeed a memorable one!

-       Eric has been working on the farm and hunting

-       I have been working on curriculum and organizing life and things for baby Ranck

We witnessed the last win of the season! Penn State vs. Rutgers

 

Post-Thanksgiving/ Preparing for Christmas Cookie making time!

We would like to invite you all to see us and meet our baby in January. Please click on the link below and RSVP accordingly.

https://www.punchbowl.com/parties/404d79c286777696f630

Joy to the World, the Lord has come! We pray that your time of reflection and celebration with family and community around you brings you to a place of adoration for our Savior!

Blessings and Love, 

Lauren and Eric

Happy November!

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

Mifflin, PA sunset

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.

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:

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.

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!

Kakiye (left) and Juma (right) are my students from South Sudan and two of the top-performing students!

Kakiye was the #1 performing student in her graduating class! So so proud of her hard work!

A few students from the education class being recognized 

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.

At Martha and Jordan's wedding!

Morning walk around the Lancaster countryside

  

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.

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!

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

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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:

Spotted: on a major highway in the capital city

This boda is making his morning rounds to drop off goods, you almost can not see the motorcycle or driver!