LukeandEllen.com

IT’S A BOY! Our son, David Luke Rosenberger, arrived on July 13 at 6:34 pm. He came 11 days early and we are thrilled he is here! He is a healthy and precious little boy! We praise God for a safe and quick delivery.

Read more on Ellen’s blog: http://lukeandellen.blogspot.com

The Zip Line

One of Luke’s highlights of the school year is organizing and leading the High School Retreat, which was May 13 – 15. There were 10 adults and 65 youth who went on this weekend adventure about 3 hours north of Managua at a Young Life camp. The students had a great time together and enjoyed the many outdoors activities at the camp (rock climbing, canoeing, ziplining, etc.)

Each session was led by a different adult leader, focusing on topics such as: authentic faith, healthy relationships, moral boundaries, etc. The times of worship and prayer were incredible — it was so neat to see the youth band truly lead in worship, not just play music.

Luke and the other youth leaders could really sense that many people were praying for the youth on the retreat that weekend. The presence, light, and freedom of the Lord were definitely in that place — praise God for answered prayer! One of Luke’s highlights was praying with kids and also seeing kids praying for other kids. His joy is so full when he sees young people seeking after God and serving each other.

Center of the Labyrinth

Luke talking about putting others first

Check out more retreat pictures here and here.

While we were visiting Ellen’s parents in Guatemala over our Spring Break, we had our first baby shower!  Well, it was sort of a mini-shower with just the the two of us, my parents, and grandparents in attendance.    But it was very special because we opened gifts from them and also from other family members who had sent things down.

The before picture

The after picture

We felt very blessed…so many fun and cute things for our baby!    From crib toys to bottles to boy and girl outfits to soft blankets to a pack ‘n play!  Thanks Mom and Dad, Grandmommy and Granddaddy, Karen, Aunt Beverly, Aunt Kelly, Sarah, Brenda, and Catherine!

So cute!

Baby Rosenberger on the Way!

The newest, most exciting news for us is that we are expecting our first child! We are so thankful for a healthy baby and happy mama-to-be so far! Ellen is at 17 weeks and the baby is due on her birthday, July 24. It was a huge blessing and a lot of fun to tell our families the news this Christmas. Ellen’s parents will be first-time grandparents and in Luke’s family, our baby will be the 7th grandchild. We are planning on having the baby here in Nicaragua and Ellen is looking forward to her new role as a mom at home. Please pray with us for a continued healthy pregnancy.

Nicaragua Christian Academy had it’s fourth annual Spiritual Emphasis Day for the Secondary students  on January 28th. The day was focused on spiritual topics in main sessions, praise and worship and classroom sessions. The students each attended four sessions from various missionary speakers throughout the day. One of the highlights from the 140 middle school and high school students was reading letters that their parents had written to them. This is one of the favorite days of the year for Luke to be involved in because of the spiritual growth of the students.

  

Soon to be 1st time grandparents

At Ellen’s family Christmas, we had her parents open their gifts last.  We gave Ellen’s mom a picture frame that says “#1 Grandma” with these words inside: Insert photo after July 24, 2011.  Ellen’s dad opened a man-sized mug that says “World’s Greatest Grandpa”.  It took a few seconds to register and then Ellen’s mom exclaimed, “Are you pregnant?”  Yep!!!  This will be the first grandbaby on Ellen’s side so her parents are pretty excited to be grandparents!

We later told the rest of Ellen’s extended family, Luke’s immediate family (all 18 of them), Luke’s extended family, and our “other family” of teachers, co-workers, and friends here in Nicaragua!  It was fun to share our exciting news in creative ways each time.  Looking forward to the arrival of Baby Rosenberger on or around July 24, 2011, which is Ellen’s birthday!

On December 20th, we will celebrate our first year of marriage!  It has been a wonderful year and we’ve had so much fun establishing a life and a home together.  Despite missing family, God has blessed us with each other.  Throughout this year we have been continually reminded of His care and provision in our lives.

As much as we all look forward to each school year coming to a close, there is that sad realization that hits, “The seniors won’t be coming back.” This year was another great class of NCA Seniors that will be missed when the school year begins in August.

NCA Graduation is the dress-up event of the year (since there is no Prom). It’s fun to see everyone showing up looking their best.

This class was particularly special to Ellen because she had most of them in class as 9th graders her first year of teaching at NCA.

Luke taught them as 8th graders his first year of teaching at NCA.  6 of the Seniors were in youth group leadership.  They helped out in so many ways from running games, leading music, planning retreats, etc.

Congrats, class of 2009!