Klavano's send latest family member into mission field

By Rachel Pritchett, communicator

PUYALLUP — Bob and Byrna Klavano of Pilgrim Lutheran Church recently said good-bye to Bob's sister, the Rev. Ann Klavano of Wisconson, as she departed for Papua, New Guinea. She will serve as an ELCA missionary at a seminary there for the next four years.

"Living and serving overseas is a special kind of calling, and I think people need a sense of adventure, because it certainly isn't going to be what you're used to," Bob said.

He ought to know; he and Byrna's families have grown missionaries for generations.

Bob sister Ruth, a teacher from the Vancouver, Wash., area, taught in Tanzania and China with the ELCA. She was preparing for work in Namibia when she died in 2008 at age 58. 

Byrna's father, a physician, worked in Tanzania. Her brother, also a doctor, plans to work in Tanzania when he retires.

Bob's grandparents were Methodist missionaries in China when the communists seized power. 

"I think it kind of goes in families. Once it starts, it tends to repeat," Bob said.
Ann, 56, spent a career in library work before receiving seminary training at Wartburg Seminary of Debuque, Iowa. She won't be alone while continuing her library work in New Guinea.

"I think that there's kind of a special bond that develops among overseas missionaries, that they are able to support each other pretty well," Bob said.

The pull of grandchildren are keeping Bob and Byrna grounded in Puyallup. But Bob, who just retired from teaching middle school, serves on the synod's Namibia Task Force.