The Life and Times of the Blackburns (abriged edition)

Matt thought it would be a good idea to introduce ourselves. So here we go....!

John was born in the USA, but not in a state. *(see below) His family lived in Virginia, then California, then Massachusetts. He was the youngest of 3 children and the only son. Throughout his life his family attended church from time to time. In Massachusetts he met a neighbor who loved dancing and singing in her yard …..and Jesus. She invited them to church. It would change John’s life.

John gave his life to the Lord in August of 1976. Later he met some interns from Lincoln who served at his home church. He decided to attend there in August of 1980. He was at LCC 2 years. Later, he transferred to Roanoke Bible College. After a year, he decide to take the “scenic route” and came to Colorado to earn some more money for school. It was there he met Ann.

Ann is a 2nd generation Colorado native. Her grandparents came as children to Colorado via covered wagon (not the Conastoga type). She grew up in Colorado Springs, the oldest of 3 girls, where her father was the preacher at Sunnyside Christian Church. She gave her life to the Lord and was baptized in October of 1971. She attended Manhattan Christian College for the 1980-81 year and then Bethel School of Nursing. She graduated with her Diploma in Nursing in 1984.

In 1984 Ann’s sister came home from a friend’s insisting that Ann should meet a friend of her friend. “You two are so much alike!” Ann met John not long after. They became “movie buddies”.

John returned to RBC in 1985. He graduated in 1988 with a B.S. in Christian Education. He and Ann were married 2 weeks later. (You probably figured out that their relationship grew beyond the movie buddy stage!)

An old college friend contacted John that summer and asked if John would like to take his place in Guangzhou, China. So off went the newlyweds for the year of a lifetime. They were able to see God move in ways they hadn’t before and felt very privileged to be taken along on the adventure.

They returned to the US hoping to head back soon. But God had other plans. He blessed them with 2 daughters (Jessica and Avonlea), 2 sons(Luke and Bryan), John’s niece (Anna) and nephew (David), and John’s Mom (not necessarily in that order) in just a few short years. But they continued to be interested in what God was doing in other cultures.

By 2001, their family was shrinking. Anna was off in college. David returned to live with his mother. John’s mother headed home to heaven. This left them free to dust off old dreams. They rejoined Team Expansion early that year. Then, in August of 2002, they made it back to China.

This time God sent them to Haikou, the capital city of Hainan province (the large island directly south of the mainland and the largest island in China, depending on who you talk to). They spent 5 years there. They made friends with many wonderful people, both foreign and Chinese.

In May of 2007, after much thought and prayer, by John and Ann and many others, they accepted a position on the newly formed Go North team. They were thrilled to be a part of the prayer survey trip to determine where the new work would begin. They were amazed at all they learned of the need for those declaring God’s great love and grace in Italy. They were charmed by the place and the people (not to mention delighted by the food!).

So….now they are wrapping up the “China years” of their ministry and moving on to concentrate on Italy. Though China will always be near and dear to their hearts and heavily noted in their prayers, they are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for Verona. They hope to bring glory to Him in that place and use the talents he has given them to help bring those people that He loves back into a relationship with Him.

*Washington, D.C.