#52 Ancestor Challenge 2019, Week 45 - Thanksgiving

#52 Ancestor Challenge 2019, Week 49- Thanksgiving 

 30 Days of Thanksgiving and Praise

The past month, I have been focused on gratitude!  I have posted a Facebook essay on most days.  You are lucky, I didn’t post 28 of them, but I will post this one.  Today, I am thankful for my family, Ron’s brother, sisters and nephews and nephew's family, and aunt Margaret Rambo.  

Ron and I are thankful for the warm presence of Rambo family as we gathered to celebrate the life of uncle Lawrence Rambo.  It was quite wonderful to discover Lawrence and Margaret’s contributions to St. Louis and their ministry at Concordia Lutheran.  I was greatly impressed to learn of his music and work with the Stephens ministry.  

Ron and I also celebrate eleven grandchildren (Ron's by marriage to me), four great-grandchildren, and a new baby girl anticipated in March.   Granddaughter, Lauren Forde, just announced her engagement to Tyler Goff.    Lauren is a therapist with a mental health clinic.   Granddaughter Samantha Rose Forde married Adam Matthew Foulkrod in a magnificent ceremony on this glorious day.  Samantha is a vice-principal and therapist at a school for autistic children.  Both girls were bridesmaids in our wedding.  

This past week, “Allt för Sverige” 2019, the number one Emmy winning TV show, was on in Sweden.  This season featured Robert K. Rambo who learned all about his Swedish ancestry, everything Ron wrote!!!!! I loved watching the show and hearing the words, “Peter Gunnarson Rambo was the father of New Sweden.”  Now Ron didn’t write those words!  But it was so very thrilling.  I hope you google the YouTube series and watch episodes 1-5.  Episode five is the big Rambo one.  The historicity is marvelous.   There are eight episodes; I haven’t watched the last three episodes.   

I am ever so grateful for Ron in my life.  He quite amazes me as he takes the extreme challenge of having to totally change his lifestyle, “do this or die”, and he embraces it with humor and discipline, inviting others to get well, too.  Get well physically, but especially spiritually, “go to church, go to any church, until you find the support you need.”   This is his mission and ministry.