Making Him our Destination | Tyler and Allegra Sanford

We are technically off of official ‘Medical Leave’ and Tyler’s health is improved but still isn’t back to ‘normal’.
Allegra is due in early July and doing well with the pregnancy so far.
We’ve made a few trips to visit supporters, and the current plan is to head back to the field in October.

Hi Friends,

We are loving the beauty of Spring this time of year. The perfect temperatures and beautiful blossoms feel almost too good to be real. God sure is an amazing artist. I’m also amazed at how God has invited us into a genuine relationship with Him. We just celebrated how He sent His Son to die as the payment for our sin’s debt… and then was raised from the grave to bring us back to life. It was an invitation to each and every one of us sinners to believe and be forgiven but also to live a new life with Him.

Back before Easter I was reading the first part of Hebrews 12 and I was reminded to lay aside all the things that hold us back from running the race of life well. I’m so often held back by distractions like too much entertainment, stressful worry, and an unhealthy desire for being comfortable. Verse 2 then reminded me to focus on “looking to Jesus” instead of trudging through life, hefting my burdens from one point to another. The Asia Pacific Bible translates that phrase “looking to Jesus” with a word that means: to make Him our destination, or our goal in life. I love that idea, what better destination could there be than Jesus Himself? If Jesus made it possible for me to be forgiven and made right with God on that Easter morning long ago then I certainly want to take His invitation to make Him my goal and get rid of all the things that are slowing me down. Let’s make Jesus our destination together.

Hebrews 12:1b-2 – “let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We are so thankful to be able to do regular life again with my health improving so much over the last few months. It has allowed us to adjust from just focusing on medical stuff, to being able to travel and see some of the friends, family and churches who help make it possible for us to be overseas. It’s been fun to share at several churches and catch up with some of you. The travel has been a good test of my stamina. Unfortunately, I have not exactly passed with flying colors and we recognize that I have a ways to go yet. However, we’re still very thankful to be up on our feet.

Allegra’s pregnancy has been relatively smooth for the most part, and we pray it continues that way through this last trimester and doesn’t follow the trend of her previous two pregnancies which got very complicated and risky near the end. We’re grateful to be so close to good healthcare for this season!

We are trusting the Lord for direction on when to go back to Asia Pacific and are planning on October at this point. Allegra and the baby will need time for recovery and we’ll need a couple months to wait on paperwork. But we can’t wait too long because we have to be back in country by early October in order to keep our visa/permission to live there. Anyways, that’s the plan if the Lord allows. Thanks for following along on this journey with us!

A highlight of our Canada trip was seeing our co-workers (on this side of the world!) and meeting their newest little one.

PRAISE:

For the improvement we’ve seen in Tyler’s health
For the encouragement received from the churches and sweet friends we were able to visit in Ontario and Maine
For the van that God provided just in time for our travels
For the girls’ willingness and ability to make new friends everywhere we go
For the availability of good healthcare in America

PRAYER:

We have been through wave after wave of sicknesses and are ready to have that in the rearview mirror
For fortitude for Tyler with the Long Covid recovery; this month marks one year since getting it!
For Allegra to finish strong in this pregnancy and for baby to remain healthy and developing well
For wisdom in parenting our growing and changing children through seasons of both stability and transition

Please pray for the two teams on our island who continue the ministry without us. Our small team continues to do survey trips and build relationships in hopes of gaining access into one of the language groups there. The second small team perseveres in their efforts of building their houses and moving into a village where they can start learning one of those languages and hopefully begin reaching those people with the hope and truth of Jesus. Right now they would appreciate your prayers for figuring out a sustainable source of clean water for their homes and families.

Glimpses of our Trip to Maine…