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An Update From Nathan - The 40 Days Services for Lynette Monday, October 10, 2006 - See Photo Gallery of the 40 Days Services The number 40 has always been important in the history of salvation and judgment. The number is found some 100 times in the Bible. It appears first as the number of days of rain in the flood. Isaac and Esau were each 40 years old when they married. Moses spent 40 years in the desert preparing for his ministry and 40 days and 40 nights on the holy Mountain. The spies spent 40 We also in a special way remember and pray for our loved ones for the first 40 days after their death. We remember them and pray for them in time although we know that they have already passed into eternity. We ask the Lord to give them rest in his presence knowing that he does so based on his mercy and finished work of Christ on their behalf, not based on any merit of our prayers. We remember our loved ones to our Lord because we love them and we love him and he loves them. We continue to be one community together with those who are in heaven and those of us still on earth. We sense that they are that great cloud of witnesses around us cheering us on as we continue to run our race (Hebrews 12). We are so grateful that they continue to pray for us, to bring us before our Lord. God is not the God of the dead but of the living, all are alive in Christ. It is difficult to believe that 40 days have already passed since Lynette fell asleep. Like the other steps on this journey the celebration of 40 days has been a beautiful experience of the love of our community and the permeable barrier between time and eternity. We had two commemorations, one on Sunday the first of October anticipating the 40 days at the cathedral in Tirana, and a second on Thursday the fifth at the monastery of St. Vlash. In Tirana the archbishop led the Trisagion prayers at the end of the liturgy. A beautiful white koliva was prepared by the women of our missionary team. Our mission team and other close friends gathered at our house for coffee and refreshments after liturgy. Thursday Bishop Ilia held a special liturgy at St. Vlash with the students of the theological Academy in memory of Lynette which concluded with the Trisagion prayers and the distribution of koliva. After liturgy we planted a cypress tree outside the church. This tree will be a beautiful memorial for Lynette. It replaces one of the ancient trees which had formed a rectangle around the church, of which only a few remain. After the planting of the tree we processed together to the cemetery where Metropolitan John of Korça led the Trisagion prayers. Flowers were laid on the grave and we concluded by singing O God of spirits and of all flesh, who has trampled down death, and made powerless the devil, and given life to thy world: Do thou, the same Lord give rest to the soul of thy departed servant Lynette, a place of brightness, place of verdure, a place of repose, whence all sickness, sorrow, and sighing have fled away. From the Trisagion prayers As always, we are very grateful for your prayers. The children are doing well and seem to be coping well with Lynette's death. Please continue to pray for Tristan as he is really struggling with school. He is very bright and likes to learn but the standard educational model does not work well for him. He will be a late bloomer on reading and writing which makes the classroom environment difficult. In addition to the real challenges he faces he also resents the fact that school takes up so much playtime. Please pray that his friendships at school will deepen and that his reading and writing skills will improve quickly, also pray that I will have wisdom and patients to help him in this process. This is an area where we very much feel Lynette's absence. Please pray for our visit to the United States. We will be leaving on Thursday evening (October 12) for about 2 1/2 weeks in the US. We have a very packed schedule which will involve a lot of traveling. We will be visiting family and tying up many loose ends left from our time in the US. There are many things to pack up, insurance papers to file and much more. This will be a very poignant time, especially as we return to Lynette's parents home where we spent much of our last year and a half together. Pray that this would be a healthy step in our grieving process, and that we would be able to treasure the sweet memories, even as we grieve. Please pray for the university and children's ministries for which I am responsible. Both will begin programs for the new academic year in the next few weeks. I am very grateful for excellent coworkers in both these ministries. Pray that we will be able to effectively communicate the Gospel and build Christian communities in which children and students grow in Christ. Thank you again your love and support. In Christ, Nathan
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days exploring the land. Israel spent 40 years in the desert. David and Solomon each reigned for 40 years during the golden age of Israel's history. Our Lord Jesus fasted for 40 days in preparation for his ministry. He lay for 40 hours in the tomb before his glorious resurrection and he sojourned 40 days with his disciples before his ascension.
"Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death by death and to those in the tombs bestowing life". The celebration was followed by a hearty breakfast, together with the students, in the seminary dining hall.