[Sanford News] On our way...

FYI - if you want to email us, send any messages to lanesanford@gmail.com as that is easier for us to check now.

 

Hi again to all of you.  We wanted to send a quick update on our trip and let you know how things are going.  We are here in Thailand staying with Karrie's parents and enjoying our time a lot (did I mention they have McDonalds here?).  Yesterday we were able to go to the hospital and get a lot of testing done for Landon and Karrie and this afternoon we will get Karrie's results back.  Landon is already confirmed for at least 2 allergies that affect his asthma and we will get the food allergy results in 2 weeks.  That has been real nice to get testing for him and start to know more exactly what has been affecting him.

 

Our trip has gone real well so far and the translation check in Kavieng was a real encouraging time for us.  We had scheduled 2 full days for the check, but we were able to get it done in a little over half a day.  Everything checked out real well and our consultant said that the portions we checked communicated very clearly to the helpers and everything was accurate and expressed well.  That was a big encouragement and pretty exciting to see the first Old Testament portions of the Siar Bible be approved and ready for printing and distribution.  The picture attached to this email was actually requested by the Siar helpers themselves who said to me, "Lane, we aren't done yet, we need a picture of this because this is part of our history!  We have never had any part of the Old Testament in our language and this is the first time so we need a picture to remember."  Little does he really know the magnitude of what will come to them in the near future.  Please keep praying for the team reaching the Siar.  While we are home on furlough, the Lujans are still in the village preparing for a Bible Curriculum training course to get ready to start preparing Bible lessons for teaching.  BIG things happening in Siar land and we need your prayers for strength, wisdom, and stamina for them as they move ahead too.

 

We will be here in Thailand until early next week and then we fly back to the States.  Thanks so much for your prayers and for the part you play in our lives and ministry.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Enjoy family, food, and football!

 

Lane, Karrie, Landon, Kade, Luke

 

 

 

 

[Sanford News] Down to the wire

Hi again to all of you.  We are down to our final last 2 weeks here in PNG and we are getting excited to get home.  We still have one last trip up the coast to Kavieng to meet up with our translation consultant/checker so we can do a full check of the preliminary translated portions that we have completed (Genesis 37-46, the story of Joseph).  This will all be done with the help of two native Siar speakers and my primary Siar translation helper – Jon Tioti.  This is a very important step for the work here in Siar for a number of reasons:

 

·         If the portions check out well and are approved, it will give the Siar their first portions of the Old Testament in their language!

·         If it is approved, I (Lane) will be officially checked out as a translator and will be able to go into translation of the book of Genesis which is vital to beginning of our evangelistic teaching to the Siar.

·         The check will also give valuable insights into the process of translation and how we can better improve the translation of the Bible into the Siar language.

 

So please be in prayer for both the trip up to Kavieng and the checking process, that things would run smoothly and we would be able to effectively evaluate and check the portions we have translated.  Once we return from Kavieng, we get back here to the village for just 2 days and then we are off.  

 

Due to some recent medical problems, we have actually changed our tickets to leave early and go thru Thailand to get some medical testing done for both Karrie and Landon.  This will be especially hard for the boys since we will be with Kar’s parents in Thailand and Grandpa has already promised rides on elephants for the boys.  Truthfully I could care less about elephants, but I was assured by my father-in-law there is indeed a McDonalds in Thailand and I will get to eat a Big Mac.  Can you imagine, almost 4 years without a Big Mac?  Now that’s suffering. 

 

We wanted to touch base with all of you and let you know how things are going here.  We are excited to get to Thailand and see Grandma and Grandpa Kennell and then to get home to the States on December 4^th to see all of you.  Please pray for us these last few weeks that we would be effective and focused on what needs to be done.  There has been a lot of attempts to distract that I can’t help but think is Satan doing his best to discourage us from the work here.  Well, we are confident not to give in to his attempts, but we still ask you to pray.  Our desire is to still finish the things we set out to do before leaving and we are working to that end.  Thanks so much for your prayers and support.  We have been sub-par to say the least, at saying thank you for the part you all play.  I am confident of this though, the reward for all of you and part you play in Siar work is hardly something from me, but the God who sees and knows all is watching.  We thank you for your “un-acknowledged” contribution to this work and we count it a privilege to work with you in this great work. 

 

Next time you hit a McDonald’s or a Burger King (or Santino’s for those in Jersey Shore), tell them to keep the grill burning hot cause we’ll be back soon…

 

Lane, Karrie, Landon, Kade, Luke

 

 

[Sanford News] Literacy_School.JPG

The attached file was originally sent with another message.

File Name: Literacy_School.JPG

[Sanford News] Literacy_School.JPG

The attached file was originally sent with another message.

File Name: Literacy_School.JPG

[Sanford News] Good News

In my last email I mentioned the proverbial snowball of life here and how things are moving ahead at an increasingly frightening pace, well not much has changed since!  Like I said before, these are exciting times for both our team here and for the Siar but the pressure meter is rising.  First I would update you on some of the things I mentioned in the last update.

 

Literacy:  Since the last update, our literacy consultants have come and gone and we have completed the necessary materials for the Siar literacy program.  Currently we have input the literacy primers into the computer and sent them away for final approval.  Once they are approved, we can begin producing the materials and preparing for the first Siar literacy class!  This is a huge development and a vital step in preparing the Siar for the Word of God, so we would appreciate your continued prayers for the Siar literacy program.

 

Language Check: We also have finished our language evaluations and they went very well.  Both Kar and I progressed well.  Kar jumped into the final phase of language learning and was checked as a capable speaker, speaking in paragraphs most of the time and easily communicating advanced concepts in the language.  I was checked out and passed the final stage of language learning and am officially finished with language study.  This is a huge praise for us as a team and for me personally.  I would be lying if I said there weren’t days when I thought the day would never come!  The most exciting part of this is that I can now go full time in translation to prepare us for developing the translation and bible lessons to begin our evangelistic chronological lessons.  I have been working on that for a few weeks now and am currently working on translating the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-46) as a preliminary task before jumping into Genesis 1.  A cool story about that – I was reading Genesis 39 that I had previously translated, to a group of guys, one of them being our big man in the village that gave us the land to build our houses on.  I started reading and he stopped me, “Lane, please stand up in front  of us and read that out loud so we can all hear it.”  So I did (even though I felt like an idiot standing in front of only 4 guys).  I read thru the chapter and at various points in the narrative that same big man kept shouting, “YES, YES!  This is it!  It is clear and we are finally hearing God’s talk in our language and it is clear!  You meant it when you told us before that you came for this - It is really happening!”  Wow, I gotta tell you that is an exciting thing to see.  How many times have you shouted at the Word of God being read simply because it was clear and you could understand it?  There is mountains of work to do and we are only at the start of this great task, but new light is shining in Siar land as these guys are getting pieces of God’s word into their language.  Nothing like a little light to brighten someone’s day… 

 

Plans and Prayer: So that leaves us with roughly 4 months before we head home for furlough and much to do.  Our major plans are to finish the Joseph story and get it checked and also to prepare the necessary materials for the first Siar literacy class.  Those might not seem like much in that amount of time but coupled with more culture investigation, more higher level grammar analysis, developing key biblical terminology in Siar, breathing, and the occasional snack, it is pretty ambitious on our part (quite possibly leaning toward ridiculous).  That being said, we ask that you all be praying for these next few months before we come home.  Lots to do and little time. 

 

The Team:  Please continue to pray for our team here.  Lujans are progressing well in language and culture study and will be left with a big load when we leave so keep lifting them up as well.  The Jacksons are still home and are encouraged in spite of the loss of Jonathan’s sister.  They are awaiting the arrival of their baby and their prayer, as well as ours, is that they would be able to return here to PNG as soon as possible after the baby arrives.  We would appreciate your prayers for our team as we collectively move ahead.

 

Well that’s all for now.  Also we wanted to say a huge thanks to all of you who have prayed and supported us financially.  We greatly appreciate your partnership and even in spite of our pathetic attempts at “thank you’s”, we know you will receive a far greater honoring by Christ Himself when all those prayers and gifts are taken into account by Him.  He is worth it and the Siar are worth it, so thanks for your part and for rolling along with us in this snowball…

 

Lane, Kar, and boys       

 

 

[Sanford News] the rolling snowball...

Do you ever feel like so many things are happening in your life and there is nothing you can do to slow it all down?  I’m not talking about over-eating, I’m thinking more about ministry or other things that really impact your life.  For us, these last few weeks have brought us into many new things and we feel like we jumped directly into the proverbial snowball and it is getting bigger and bigger as it moves down the hill.  We have been a part of training for translation and we have consultants coming to help us prepare for the Siar literacy program and for planning and strategy of the church planting goals here in Siar as well.  It will all culminate in another language and culture fluency evaluation in a few weeks. 

 

So there is much going on here but they are all good things for sure.  We are excited to see the work here progress and move ahead, but we are also feeling the pressure of being productive and maintaining a good pace to the work.  Sometimes we feel like there is so much to do and half of it we don’t know what we are doing anyways!  Needless to say, I have never in my life felt the need to depend on the power of God than I do now.  It makes me wonder, what was I doing before?  If it was so easy and comfortable before, was I really doing what God wanted me to do?  I think this is kind of place He wants all of us to be in – total dependency and confidence in the power of God to do the supernatural work of ministry thru us.  I know it sounds simple, but it has taken me 30 years to get here where I really feel like I am finally experiencing that kind of life.  It is a really cool thing but sometimes is also a very “AAAAHHHHHHH!!” kind of thing. 

 

Anyway, we would appreciate your prayers for us these next few months as we have set some high goals to finish prior to coming home for a short furlough in December.  We ask that you pray with us for strength and perseverance for these goals:

 

·         Finish formal language and culture study

·         Further linguistic analysis

·         Finish preliminary translation of Genesis 37-50 (prerequisite to begin translation of Old Testament portions needed for Chronological Teaching program)

·         Prepare the necessary materials for the Siar Literacy Program

 

Again we want to thank you so much for your interest in the ministry here and for praying us thru this time.  We are very grateful to those of you who support us both financially and with prayer.  We couldn’t do the work without you all!

 

Rolling with the snowball,

Lane, karrie, Landon, Kade, Luke

[Sanford News] A Little Update

I wanted to send you a quick update with a few prayer requests and just let you know what is happening over here in PNG.  We have been real busy and we have a lot on our plates coming up in the next few months.  We just had my in-laws (Kennells) here for a visit and we had a great time with them.  In a little over a month my parents are coming for a week visit here in Kaboman and then we all will fly out for a regional conference where my dad will be the speaker.  The kids are getting excited to see Grammy and Grampy since it has been 3 years since they saw them last!

 

Once my parents leave, we have a couple weeks until we have another language evaluation and the kick-off of our literacy program as well.  This means exciting times for us but also the onslaught of a lot of work and preparation.  We are thrilled to be moving along mainly because we know these are all major steps in the timeline leading up to us sharing the gospel with the Siar.  The further we go, I am more freaked out but also more relaxed (talk about multiple personality disorder).  What I mean is that the responsibility of the work can be overwhelming but I am truly convinced more and more that the Lord must go before us and provide the means to do this because I just really don’t have what it takes!  It is also cool to work on these things as a team too.  It is encouraging to see God use the gifts he has given us and filling gaps with the different personalities and engiftments on the team. 

 

Speaking of the literacy program, the community here has already begun work to clear the land and prepare the site for our school building.  It was a neat opportunity for us and the community to work together to raise the money and materials for the school building and now we are getting close to the actual construction.  It is neat to see them get excited about learning to read and write and beginning this “new thing” for their community.

 

We have a lot to be thankful for this Easter.  I went to one of the churches here and heard their Good Friday service and the message given only solidified my already strong conviction of their need for the gospel here.  Imagine an Easter service with no mention of sin, atonement, sacrifice, salvation, grace, or redemption!  We really appreciate all of you and the part you are playing in keeping us here and working with us for the sake of the Siar people.  They might not clearly know Him and His work for them now, but that day will come – of that I am sure.

 

Again thanks so much for all of you and the role you play in this ministry! 

 

Lane for all of us

 

PS – a little picture of my kids for all those living in Arizona