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The "Hoppe Gazette" for 2006 Wednesday, January 17, 2007 I bring you good tidings of great joyThese were the words of the angel announcing Christ's birth to the shepherds. These glorious tidings ring down the centuries and should fill every human being with great joy. Christ the Lord is born, the world is transformed, our sin is forgiven, and our nature renewed. In exchange for our old damaged and dying humanity we receive the life of Christ which is eternal and the life we It has been many months since our last newsletter. Many of you have followed our lives through the Pray for Lynette website and other publications. Others may have received no news and for that I apologize. The last two years have been an extraordinary journey for us and we have been so grateful for the role that many of you have played in it. As you know Lynette was diagnosed with cancer on December 15, 2004. After living with it joyfully and triumphantly for 20 months she fell asleep in the Lord on August 27, 2006. Very soon after Lynette's diagnosis we returned to the United States to seek medical treatment. We were very blessed during this time to receive some of the finest medical care in the world and to be able to live with Lynette's parents in Minnesota. After a year and a half in the US, Lynette decided that she wanted to return to Albania and continue the ministry which God has given us here. She knew that her disease was progressing and that her days would not be long. A summer of Ministry God gave Lynette three beautiful months of service and joy here before her final, rapid decline. On returning to Albania we were immediately able to move back into our old home which our co-workers, the Russell's, had lived in during our absence in order to keep the lease for us. This was a great blessing. It allowed us to start living life again in Albania without any of the normal work and hassles of setting up a home. We were very happy to be back and began to re-engage friendships and ministries immediately. Lynette wrote at the time:
Nathan is holding meetings to organize the children's camps in Kosovo this June and is working to hire more help for the national children's office so that day camps can be held around Tirana this summer. We feel the urgency to try to accomplish something while we are here, but things take time. Nothing is ever simple. We thank God for the opportunity to be back. I have been feeling quite well and have been able to rest a fair amount. Tristan and Katherine are still adjusting to the time zone. They are falling asleep late and rising late, but that will change gradually.” Lynette had an active summer of ministry. She rejoiced in being back with the people she loved in Albania. She spent many hours talking and sharing and laughing. The people here were so Lynette spent almost 5 weeks at the girls summer camp near Elbasan. The camp is a little over an hour's drive on very windy mountain roads. We made the trip numerous times coming and going between sessions of the camp and for events in Tirana. Lynette organized the craft projects for the girls at Camp and gave several of the spiritual talks. She absolutely loved being there with the girls and they were so grateful for her presence. The children also thoroughly enjoyed being out-of-doors and spending time with their friends. The theme of the camp this year was "be not overcome by evil but overcome evil with good" from Romans 12, which Lynette very much exemplified through the way she faced her illness. In late July a blood test showed the cancer had began to grow in Lynette's liver, but it appeared to be at an early stage. In early August she had a CT scan to find out what was causing pressure in her abdomen. The scan revealed that her liver cancer was very advanced and that the liver was filling her abdominal cavity. At this point we knew that she had a very short time to live. Even in the face of this very difficult news Lynette chose to continue her ministry with the girls at Camp. She faced each day with joy and gratitude. At this time she wrote the following in an e-mail:
On our final day at Camp even as Lynette began to feel that she was dying, she summoned her strength and gave a talk to the girls about "A Christian end to our lives". It was truly amazing to hear someone who is just days away from death speak with joy and peace about the end of life and meeting our Lord. During these final days at Camp Lynette also recorded a number of songs at the request of the young women. Her singing has always been a highlight of the camping experience. Her voice had already begun to fail but these songs are filled with depth and conviction which more than compensates for any lack of vocal perfection. The songs and excerpts from her talk can be heard via the Internet on Ancient Faith Radio at www.ancientfaithradio.com. A triumphant departure Lynette's motor and speech skills began to fail on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 16. We returned from Camp on Thursday morning and by Friday her symptoms were much more acute. She rallied slightly over the weekend and the beginning of the next week but then the rapid decline continued. All of Lynette's immediate family and several dear friends flew in to be with her in these final days. We were very grateful that all arrived while she was still able to communicate. The last to get here were her sister and father on Thursday evening. They had two beautiful hours with her talking and sharing together. By Friday morning Lynette had begun to slip into a semi-coma and was no longer able to carry on a conversation. I stayed by her side continuously seeking to comfort and care for her in any way I could. These were difficult but joyful days. We knew that we would be parted soon but we relished each moment together. I was continuously amazed by Lynette's joy and peace as I walked with her to the gates of paradise. We were extremely blessed by the community of love around us that cared for every need.
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now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us.
glad to have her back and so eager to believe that she was getting well. People were so kind and so eager to support us in any way they could.