June 2012

Hello Everybody,

I’m writing this month’s newsletter from the road… and I’m reminded what a wonderful country God has blessed us with! After the kids got out of school, we headed to Dallas to spend Memorial Day with Heather’s Mom and Step-Father, Tom. Hannah and Abbey got to spend the night at Lake Texoma with a ministry friend and was blessed to go out tubing the next morning. The younger guys went to the local pool there in Flower Mound. We all met up for dinner at the house for hamburgers which turned into an unexpected and glorious evening. Tom, a Vietnam Vet and a winner of two Silver Stars (that is the third highest honor the country can bestow on a citizen) was coaxed by me and the kids into sharing some of his war stories. It was the very first Memorial Day our family has ever spent in America. And it was forever immortalised in our hearts as we sat with tears in our eyes around the table and listened to a hero speak of other heroes and the sacrifices made by men to make us free. We sat amazed hearing the gut-wrenching horrors and glories Tom shared from his experience as an infantry commander who led three companies into battle. It brought the saying home: War is Hell. Thank God for Heaven! And thank God for this great Gospel nation and the men that have made it so.

I was so proud for my kids to hear first-hand experiences and the price paid by many! And you never know what kids are thinking. We were talking about the National Cemeteries where veterans can be buried and telling of how America honors it dead. We told them about the 21 gun salute as we conjured up proud images in our minds of uniformed men responding to the call of: Ready, Aim, Fire. We were abruptly interrupted by a question from Matthew who looked horrified. He said, “Dad, why would they be allowed to shoot the man over and over again?” Funny, he had never seen a 21 gun salute, had no idea what we were talking about and why we were misty-eyed at the thought of somebody shooting a to-be-buried soldier for 21 extra times just for fun! Hahaha!

We then loaded up the car and headed West. I’m sitting on the front porch of a guest house in New Mexico looking down an arroyo and across Alamogordo at White Sands National Monument. We were so blessed to get the minister this morning for a friend of ours who is now a pastor here. His name is Couy Griffin. You may remember Couy from previous letters. He is the cowboy we met years ago that had a vision to ride a HORSE from the Golden Gate of San Francisco, CA to the East Gate in Jerusalem… and DID IT!!!! Our church in Ireland was privileged to help in in the journey and it was a joy to see him doing so well. He took a church about a year ago of around 25 people and has by the grace of God grown it to about 80 (adults) in that short time. It’s a cowboy church! We had such a terrific time with everybody. We had a pot-luck dinner afterwards and are about to take the kids horseback riding with the family we are staying with. After twenty years on the mission field, we feel as if God is blessing us with a family break to see our own nation. Praise God! We are headed to the Grand Canyon tomorrow on the way to California where we have a pretty busy schedule with meetings, conferences and such. What a thrill to get to show my children this country by car… and to get to preach and meet God’s people along the way is simply “cooler than the other side of the pillow”!

This is such an important time in the course of events of this amazing country. As the French diplomat said to his countrymen after returning from visiting America for the sole purpose of finding what made America great, “America is great because America is good. If she ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great”. As we travel through our beloved country after twenty years of missionary service, we see the desperate need in our own nation for revival. Remember that Jesus said, “There is none good but God”. If we are to retain our goodness, we must return to our God. Pray for America! Pray like never before. I believe her best days are not behind, but before her. Heather and I are so very excited to see what God has planned for us here and feel privileged to get to serve God in the greatest nation in the world, at the greatest hour in human history. God Bless! Semper Fi!

Much love,
The Sanfords