[Sanford News] Were 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