Today I (Jen) wished that I could have been many miles away in the town of Guymon, OK. This weekend a good friend of ours, Kaci Ronne, died after a 7 month battle with cancer. Today many people gathered to celebrate her life. The Ronne family were volunteers in Albania when we arrived in 2008. They welcomed us and orientated us to the city. Over the year that we spent together they quickly became some of our closest friends in Tirana. Our kids played together often, we worked together on projects such as the church nursery, they helped us move to Kosovo, we celebrated when Kaci became pregnant, we celebrated birthdays and christmas together… we so enjoyed each others company. My heart breaks for Ryan and the kids as they embark on life without their best friend and mom. She will be greatly missed. Her death has impacted us deeply. We question, we have been angry, we are devastated, but amongst all of those emotions we trust that her life had true meaning, that she is in her Makers arms now, healed and restored, and that we must trust in His perfect will. Please join us in praying for them… Ryan, Tate (7), Mya (5) and Jada (8 months) and the rest of her family. May great things come out of this hard time, for them and all who witnessed their story.
Long Overdue Update
Summer is in full swing. In some respects life has slowed down with many believers spending the summer in their family homes. In others it has picked up as we have welcomed volunteers and tentmakers and Doug has taken on the sunday services, tuesday and thursday night meetings as Imir and Janette are on holiday for the month of July. We have hosted (and participated) in a field theology class, hosted EUNC faculty meetings and taken a trip to Albania to visit with believers there as well as get medical check ups. The kids continue to grow and develop. Jonny is at summer camp and enjoying spending the mornings with his friend there. Sarah is starting to talk (and tantrum!) and “The Bean” is so far the most active baby I have carried. At just 20 weeks pregnant I can’t sleep for being kicked at night. Hopefully some of these photos will give you the full picture of our summer so far. Click on the individual thumbnails for full pictures and information.
Check back in the next few weeks for another photo update as we continue with more summer fun… District Family Camp, helping the Noble family move into their new home, and possibly even a short “break” in Bulgaria with the Sunburgs
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One month down, two to go
The highlights go something like this…. Dunkin Donuts Coffee, home cooked meals cooked for me (Jen), some excited churches ready to get behind us & Kosovo with prayers and support, family, friends, bagels, new clothes that FIT (two pregnancies later and Jen’s wardrobe didn’t quite work anymore), Snow…
A few lowlights… snow, SNOW, and more SNOW (canceling several services & get togethers with friends), a broken down car on one of the coldest nights of the year, a very unsettled Jonathan who asks at least twice a week to go home to Kosovo, a car wreck (which Doug escaped from with just whiplash)…
We are surviving, enjoying, thankful for blessings and hopeful for endurance to get through 2 more months of Home assignment.
Our continued prayer is that the enthusiasm, excitment and hope found in the believers of Kosovo will touch folks here and those called to support His people there will get involved!
Safely “home”
We have safely arrived at one of our many homes, Boston, to start our 3 months of Home Assignment. Although no trip with two little people is easy, it wasnt all that bad either! We have about a week to rest, enjoy the New Year celebrationas and organize ourselves before our meetings begin. We are looking forward to meeting up with many of you in the coming weeks.
The Manns
