EMAIL US!
seth_sanford@ntm.org
CALL or TEXT!
Seth – (272) 209-6342
Kaitlyn – (272) 209-6733
In a stunning turn of events, a government institution did something faster than expected!!
Well, kind of …
The U.S. was still late in re-opening their offices … but instead of the expected 6 week turn around, our passports arrived in only 2 weeks! Shocking.
As of now, our girls’ visas have been submitted to the PNG government.
Now it’s back to the waiting game. Maybe God will do a miracle and make another government institution do something quickly.
It typically takes a month for the visa applications to go through the system and be approved. If everything goes well with this step in the process, we’ll get to start finalizing tickets for getting back to Konomala.
There might be some options for flights in December and January.
Everything is still totally fluid in regards to airlines, government regulations, and COVID restrictions, so we’ll just keep trusting the Lord to facilitate each step along the way.
It feels like things ramped up pretty quick. We were at a total stand still a few weeks ago, and now it feels like we’re needing to rush. We’ve loved our time home with family and it’s gonna be miserable saying goodbye to them again.
God has blessed us with some good friends here at home these last months too … more goodbyes. We sure need lots of grace in it all, but we’re confident that one day we’ll see Jesus and feel how worth it all this is.
A few weeks ago Luke and Ellenie and their boys came out to see us!
They made the long trek from the far-away country of California. It was such a treat to get see them. The girls could hardly contain themselves when the boys got out of the car. Those hugs set in motion three weeks of non-stop ridiculousness! It was fun.
We’re so grateful to be doing all this crazy stuff with Luke and Ellenie. They’re our best friends and such good teammates.
Making lists
Now that the ball is rolling, we’re switching into get-ready-to-go mode. It feels like there’s a huge mess of things in front of us. We sometimes don’t even know where to start.
So … we make lists.
We just went through storage and got rid of some more stuff that we had stored a few years ago. It’s amazing how something can seem worth keeping, then a year or two later it goes straight into the ‘donate’ box.
Now we’ll start sifting through the junk (I mean ‘stuff’) that we’ve collected in the last six months. Some of it will go into storage … and some of it will be released. We actually enjoy the purge.
We still need to get some last minute things on our list for taking back into Konomala. Random stuff like rechargeable batteries … it’s the worst when the batteries in the hot water heater die and the nearest replacements are 9 hours away. (Thanks for having a spare set, Luke!)
I wouldn’t dare bore you with the full list of stuff, but it includes things like: fun things for Christmas/birthdays, kids’ clothes for a couple years of growing, a bunch of deodorant, the next grades of homeschooling curriculum … and so on.
As we collect all the junk that we’re taking back with us, it’ll all have to fit into the limited amount of luggage that we can drag around on international flights, small single engine planes, and eventually our truck down to Konomala.
Please Pray
That we would remember the big picture and rest in our Heavenly Father in the midst of the unknowns. God is the one who is gonna have to open doors and facilitate all the logistics ahead: approved visas, potential flights, available tickets, the finances for it all … and hopefully our sanity =)
That these last weeks at home would be sweet for our families. They sacrifice a lot in all this too. We can’t wait for heaven when we’ll have eternity to be together! We’re definitely gonna make up for lost time!
That God would give us wisdom in raising our girls. Especially as they’re experiencing all the emotions of transitions, moving again, missing home, missing family/friends, worrying about their cat. We’re still learning how to handle all these things ourselves as adults … we need wisdom in discipling little girly hearts through it all.
That God would keep working in the hearts of our friends in Konomala. Even though we aren’t there and “making progress” right now, we can absolutely trust His love and work in our friends’ lives in Konomala.
KONOMALA 
It is a joy to read about your lives. Your family is beautiful. I understand little girly hearts because we had three little girlie ourselves and close together like yours. They are darling. and so sweet with their little boy friends. How great it is and that you are all together in your missionary work. Stay well and focused. So many things to do and think about. If you ever have time it would be so lovely to have a picture of the 5 of you. I have one of the four of you that I keep next to my desk so I can pray for you and feel like we are still acquainted. Your in Christ. Ann Heath
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Dear Seth & Kaitlyn,
This is such great news that your paperwork is progressing forward for you to return to PNG! I ache for you and pray for the goodbyes ahead, somehow they never get easier through the years. Thank you for your faith and determination to return, for the sake of the Konomala people and eternity!
In the Lord, the work you’re doing will not be worthless,
I loved the pictures of the girls…they are getting so big and always so adorable!
Love,
Esther
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