[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

[Sanford News] Update

Hi again all of you,

 

I have received a few emails asking me about the baby that I mentioned in the last email and so I thought I would drop you all a quick update on him.  The baby finally got back here to the village a week or so ago.  Thankfully the doctors were able to put a shunt in to temporarily fix the problem but they are planning a full surgery on March 4^th.  So all things considered, we are very happy that he is alive and doing well.  Actually today we saw the little guy again and we are all a bit concerned that he might have other issues that aren’t yet really made evident.  He has some apparent deformities in his hands and his general appearance does look different, but like I said before, I certainly am no doctor.  We just pray he stays healthy and grows.  Thanks for all your prayers on his behalf.

 

We are doing well and looking forward to some exciting things coming up in the future of the work here in Siar.  It looks like we will be attending 2 workshops in the near future that will prepare us for both the beginning of a literacy program and translation.  Both of these are major steps in the work and we are trusting the Lord that He will have us prepared and strengthened for both of these.  We are very excited to be taking these steps but also feel the pressure of what it brings.  It is sort of like overhauling an engine (so I hear).  Once you open the hood, you stare at it blankly for awhile, then start taking off bolts, hoses, filters, wires, etc.  You get to a point where there is just no turning back.  You start getting freaked out trying to remember where all those little bolts and screws went and you could almost kick yourself for not paying the professional to do it, but you realize – I have to finish this thing.  That is sort of where we are now.  We are getting further down the road and realizing that there is no turning back and no professional to hire!  Lucky for us, we can lean on the Creator of the universe for wisdom and we don’t need to ask Bubba from “Joe’s Radiator Shack”.  That is probably the most valuable lesson of all that we are learning – if God doesn’t supply the increase for this work, we definitely aren’t gonna get it done!  So all that to say that we are excited and nervous all wrapped in one.  Please be praying with us as we head down this road and move along. 

 

Yet again we thank all of you for your part in the work here in Siar land.  God is preparing to do a mighty work here, we are confident of that and we are thankful to be a part of it with you.

 

Lane

 

How could I possibly not thank all of you for loyal and rabid support of my beloved Steelers?  I must say, I think it was all of you that made the difference.  Wave those terrible towels with pride!

[Sanford News] A little update...

I thought I would update you all on some recent happenings here in the village.  We have had a few busy days this last week and this week we hope to get back into the normal routine again and make some progress. 

 

A few days ago Chris and I went down to a village south of us for 2 days where a huge death ceremony/feast was taking place.  It was a great opportunity for us to see this very significant event and talk with many older men that explained a lot of the meaning and purpose of the ceremony to us.  The basic importance of the feast is to satisfy the dead so that everyone will be ok.  It is a time to settle all debts and/or hard feelings between the living and the dead.  It is traditionally a long process that requires the building of a special meeting house for men, planning for the feast (this one involved the killing of 26 pigs), and hearing the spirits of dead people screaming and crying in the nearby jungle (people of course acting like spirits, but at least the children believe they are the spirits of the dead).  It was a good time for us to learn and see this part of their belief system lived out.  We got back at night and the next day had to go out to town for a supply run. 

 

After arriving back home here, we were told the news that a new baby was born the night we were out in town.  It was the baby of my village brother and good friend to all of us on our team.  Everything seemed to be ok until this afternoon (a day and half after he was born) my village brother called Chris over and showed him that the baby didn’t have a rectum.  Of course we about flipped and immediately pulled our boat and sent them out to town to take the baby to the hospital.  Our prayer is that it already isn’t too late for him and that there will be a qualified doctor in town to perform the surgery.  If you think about it, please be praying for them as they go thru this challenging time.  He and his wife, like so many of the Siar that we live with here, have become dear friends to us, and we hurt with and for them as they go through hard times.

 

Other than that, life is normal here and we are doing well.  We got a particularly good boost when we got the news that the mighty Steelers have returned again to the Super Bowl!  I trust that all of you fans of other teams will root for the Steelers just on my account! 

 

Thanks so much for your prayers and support of us out here.  We are always thankful for your part in this ministry. 

 

Lane

[Sanford News] Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you and we hope you all are having a great Christmas!  It is now Christmas afternoon and we are getting to have Lujans come over; we are all gonna cook Christmas dinner and eat together.  The boys already opened their presents last night (our family tradition) and so they have been running around in Star Wars costumes, and playing with new Lego’s so life is pretty good for them.  This year many of the presents sent to us from America actually got here before Christmas so we were able to open them on time which was fun. 

 

We have had a busy but really fun Christmas this year.  We finished up our language evaluations on the 23^rd and then got ready for Christmas and here it is!  We do love Christmas out here albeit without family, snow, trips to the mall, and a gazillion programs to go to.  We have had a lot of time to be with the kids and try to focus on what it really means in the first place.  All in all it has been great.  We are planning to take off until the new year before we get back into language and culture study again.  We are hoping to rest up good and get a little recharged to get back into it in January. 

 

Well, I am sure you are all busy with Christmas and family so I will let you peel your eyes from your screens now.  Thanks so much for your prayers and support of us out here.  We look forward to the day when we can celebrate Christmas with the Siar, hopefully that day will come soon…

 

God bless us all, every one (a little Tiny Tim there)….

 

Lane, Karrie, Landon, Kade, and Luke

[Sanford News] King Tides

Hey everyone,

 

We just wanted to send out a quick update and let you all know that we are fine and have not been affected by the recent king tides that hit PNG this last week.  To the best of my knowledge, there was shifting of plates somewhere in the middle of the ocean north of our island that caused dramatic increase in the tides to the point that it flooded and did a lot of damage on the north side of our island.  It actually took out a major hospital, so it definitely a point of prayer for the people that live here on New Ireland.  We have noticed a slight increase in the tide, but nothing major at all for us.  Anyway, just wanted to send this out quickly so you would all know that everything is fine down here, even if the news reports tell otherwise. 

 

We are busy getting ready for second language and culture evaluation which is this coming week.  Our consultant arrives on Tuesday for about 4-5 days of testing so once that is finished we will try to get out an update so you know how it went and what the plans are from here.  Again we thank you so much for your prayers for us and support of us and our partners in this ministry.  God has been opening the doors of this culture to us and we are more convinced than ever before that God has a mighty work in store for the Siar people.  We can’t help but think of how cool it will be to celebrate Christmas with the Siar once they know the reality of Christ and His birth, life, death, and resurrection for them.  That will be one cool day…

 

Thanks again for your part in our lives.

 

Surfing the high tides in Siarland,

 

Lane

[Sanford News] We are still alive

Wow it has been quite awhile since our last update.  We have had good intentions of writing an update, but you know what they say about good intentions.  So I wanted to get this out to you all so you would at least know what has been going on with us.  I’ll try to make it short and to the point with as little bad jokes as possible…

 

Language Check – Since our last update, we had a visit from our friendly neighborhood consultants to give us a check on our progress in language study.  After 2 days of different forms of testing and evaluation, the Siar Team got a good review.  I am very glad for the progress that our team is making.  Karrie is doing very well considering all the other responsibilities she has (cooking, cleaning, homeschool, etc.).  She is certainly a natural language learner and has to put very little effort into it to move ahead.  Me on the other hand, I still can’t say “hello”.  OK, so it’s not that bad.  Even though it can be frustrating at times, even I am making progress!  The encouraging thing was that the consultants encouraged us to keep moving ahead at this pace and we could potentially be done with language study within the next year and a half or more.  So we have a goal that we are looking toward and asking that you pray with us along those lines.  We want more than anything for the Siar people to hear the truth and this is our biggest hurdle right now.  Thanks for your prayers for us and our team and we ask that you keep it up! 

 

Visitors – Just last week our nearest missionary neighbors (3 hour boat ride up the coast) came down to visit with us for a few days with their 3 young girls.  We had a great time hanging out and getting to know each other better.  They are preparing lessons to begin teaching the men and women in their village for the first time!  We are so excited for them!  Believe it or not, the other day we also had a boat pull up to the shore here with a few Americans in it.  It was kind of a nice surprise for us to see some fellow countrymen and here that good ole American accent again.  They were doing a diving/cultural exposure trip around PNG.  One of the guys was a graduate from Penn State University, so it was especially nice to talk to a good Central PA Nittany Lion fan.  Even more interesting was that the other guy is a part owner of the LA Lakers and LA Kings.  Let’s just say that I didn’t let the guy know that I am a Celtics fan…Anyway, it was neat to meet those guys and talk to them.

 

Birthdays – Another big event this month is the birthdays of Landon and Kade.  Landon had his birthday on the 8th and turned the big 6.  I am starting to feel like a real dad of a bonafide kid.  No babies, no diapers, no disobedience (if only…), it is amazing how times flies.  He had a cool Spiderman birthday which his mom whipped up for him.  He had all his buddies over (9 total kids all 6 years old and younger) and they had a great time.  Kade’s big day is this coming Monday so he is getting pumped for that.  He turns 4 and is getting to be a big boy too.  He’s the serious/intense one of our boys, but slowly but surely giving us glimmers of hope that he won’t be in jail when he grows up.  Now don’t get mad at me for saying that, my mom used to say that to me all the time when I was kid and I turned out somewhat normal!  As for Luke, he is still a clown and has picked up other admirable habits like saying to Uncle Chris, “you want a piece of me punk?”  Where does he get it?

 

Good News – In other more serious and much more exciting news, we are more than happy to let you all know that Landon has received his adoption papers – that is to his new family, the family of the Living God!  We have long been talking and teaching him thru scripture all with the hopes that the truth would ring clear and the Holy Spirit would use the truth to convict Landon of his need of a Savior.  I am never quick to quantify another person’s faith, but we are convinced that he knows the issues of the Gospel and how he personally needs a Savior and that Jesus came to provide the way for him to be reconciled to God.  With Landon it was never an intellectual problem with understanding the Gospel, we just wanted to make sure that he truly believed that this salvation was bought for him personally and he needed to put his full confidence in the work of Christ.  We really believe he has come to that realization and is resting in the finished work of Christ.  Please be praying for him that he would learn what it means to be a child of God and how to walk with Him.

 

Along those same lines, we have had a few good conversations with Kade lately and it seems that he is thinking about spiritual things much more and we want to capitalize on that if possible.  Please be praying for him too as we teach him and try our best to help him understand God’s work for him.

 

Thanks – We know how many of you faithfully pray and give financially to us and this ministry and we are so thankful for you and your part in what God is doing here.  We are every mindful of the necessity of this work and we couldn’t do it without you.  Please know that even though we might be delinquent e-mailers, we love and appreciate you for your part in our lives.  No seriously, thanks so much for everything and more than anything, we ask that you continue to pray for the lives of the Siar people.  I am more convinced than ever that God will do a mighty work here and we are excited to see it happen.  Thanks again

 

Lane for all of us