2020–Not a Loss

Posted on December 31, 2020 by John Allen

Looking Back

Here are some highlights of our 2020:

Our 40 ft container of clinic, school, Bible college, and construction materials was shipped from the US and received here, and God provided for the clinic and school supplies to be forwarded on to Kunai.
We completed our draft of John in the Kamea language and began the draft of Revelation in Kamea.
God provided new nursing staff for Kunai Health Centre as other nurses rotated back to the US. Thank you to Kyle, Lauren, Chelsea, and Danya for serving! Thank you to Stacie and Becca for coming when it didn’t look possible, and for Mary Beth being there through it all!
We began renovation of our new home & office space in August and moved into the house in November (with just a few things left to be finished out).
Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby (BBIPOM) completed its 1st year with 20 students, covering six courses in spite of lock-downs and power blackouts.
Dear brethren in Australia provided school materials for the new Christian school at Kunai begun by Sarah Glover this year.

Looking Around

We’ve been thinking much about our ministry options for the present. Churches here have been able to continue their services and outreaches, with the only real limitation of not being able to hold conferences. Relatively few people in PNG have access to hear or watch a conference online, especially those pastors and churches located in more remote areas. Our national pastors around the nation need the fellowship. The Lord has provided us with much material for pastors and teachers, and we want to get those into their hands as well as have gifted, godly speakers teaching the sessions. Pray with us about the door opening back up for us (and other good churches) to resume hosting conferences.

Looking Ahead

These are the things we have mapped out, Lord willing, for 2021:

We have applied for a visa for a new nurse coming from Australia—
Pray the Lord will make a way for her.
We plan to begin our new term for BBIPOM (2nd year) on 25 January—
Pray the Lord keeps the doors open, and pray for our returning students
plus new students who plan to join us.
We want to continue our New Testament translation in the Kamea language, doing checks and reviews along the way—
Pray the Lord provides for our village translation team to be able to fly
out here to town and to return in a timely manner.
We desire to do more outreach and work with our believers—
Pray the Lord helps us to see and to seize the opportunities.

Most of our 1st Year Students at BBIPOM

All in all, we want to “follow on to know the Lord” (Hosea 6:3a), and to make Him known among the nations!

None of us knew what 2020 would bring, so when it comes to 2021—or even tomorrow—we say with the Apostle James, “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” (James 4:15b)

Thank you for your prayers for us, for our people, and for the Lord’s work, and thank you for making it possible that we can do it. Thank you again for allowing us to represent you. Please take time to look through this blog to see photos from this year and enjoy what God has done through you as you have stood with us!

Because He Is,
John & Lena Allen
2 Thessalonians 3:1

A special thank you to Pastor Tau Abary and Mary Beth Snyder for taking some of these photos!

A gift from our students as they finished their first year at BBIPOM.

Students listening attentively during chapel.

Missionary John Gray came to challenge our student body.

It was a privilege to have my son Matt come teach a class on sermon preparation for our Exegesis & Exposition course.

My son Matt Allen with Pastor Tau Abary of Shalom Baptist Church

It was our privilege to join several local pastors for the graduation and awards ceremonies at Shalom Baptist Christian Academy.
Here, Mrs. Suzanne Abary, wife of Pastor Tau and headmistress of the school, is being honored for 10 years of service at the school.

Thankful for our friends laboring out at Kunai: Becca Wyatt, Sarah Glover,
and Stacie McCary. (PC: Mary Beth Snyder)

Below are some photos of the set-up and conversion of our new house and offices. Special thank you to Curtain Brothers Construction for donating, delivering, and setting up the “donga” (formerly a bunkhouse at the Exxon plant near here). Thanks also to the staff men at Capital City Baptist Church and South Pacific International Academy for their tireless work on the project. Thanks to the contractors, Altra Builders and MZ Electrical for their expertise and long hours.

Here’s a sunrise view from our front veranda.

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby Mission Statement

The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same

Posted on July 3, 2020 by John Allen

Click here for printable copy

New Normal

All of us continue to adapt to a world that has changed much from what it was even six months ago. I realize that many of you are still under restrictions, yet in PNG we have only had 11 confirmed cases to date, none of them serious (on a side note…everyone is sure that it is here, it’s just that testing is very limited…and any severe cases may have been missed due to the various other sicknesses and diseases that take the lives of our people). As a church, we are able to meet pretty much normally, respecting those who wish to keep a distance.

*Members of Capital City Baptist meet outside after services to praise God for His goodness!*

New Classes

After a month-long lockdown, we were able to resume classes at Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby. We completed our latest 8-week course last week and plan to return to classes (Lord willing!) the first week of August.

*Students in class for the “Life of Christ” course at BBIPOM*.

New Opportunities

Because of the religious liberty in PNG, doors open up in places you could only dream about in other countries. Among other things we’ve done lately, we were able to go with Pastor Tau and Shalom Baptist to distribute Bibles at the University of PNG Medical School and speak to future doctors, dentists, nurses, and pharmacists. This is something we’ve looked forward to for over a year.

*Some of the students at UPNG Medical School who received Bibles and heard a challenge from God’s Word to know the Lord and to serve our people!*

New Construction

Lord willing, we hope to begin refurbishing our new home on the campus of Capital City Baptist Church soon. Through a series of “God-moment” connections here in Port Moresby, the Lord provided a used modular house for us, including the excavation work to prepare the site—at no cost to us! It will take a lot of renovation, but we thank the Lord for it, and look forward to the opportunity to use it for His glory!

*This is where our refurbished bunkhouse will be located.*

Same Great Bible

We have recently finished our draft of John’s Gospel and are working our way through the Book of Revelation. Keep this project in prayer! We are past the half-way point now, and long to see it completed!

Same Glorious Gospel

With all the problems we all see around the world, we must keep in mind that there is only one long-term (might I say, eternal) solution: The saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. From the global pandemic to the gender-based- and sorcery-accusation-related-violence here in PNG to the unbelievable unrest in countries around the globe, the one and only steady hope we have is Jesus Christ.

Same Great Need

Laborers are needed!

1. Pray with us for borders to open so we can get our new nurses for Kunai Health Centre. They are willing and waiting!
2. Pray for our students at BBIPOM that God will raise up laborers among them for His harvest. He is able!

Because He Is,
John & Lena Allen
2 Thessalonians 3:1

Kunai Health Centre: KunaiHealthCentre.com

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby: facebook.com/BBI POM

Here are some more photos to enjoy. Some of these were taken by Pastor Tau Abary and the people of Shalom Baptist Church (used by permission).

First, some of our BBIPOM students!

Materua, Tamarua, Braxstone, Tau, Peter, Emmanuel, Ricky, and Lawrence. Good men!

It is a blessing to teach those who are hungry for the Word and eager to serve the Lord!

UPNG Medical students were eager to receive their free Bibles.

Missionary ladies are a special bunch! Lena, Rebecca Florence, Chelsea Moorman, Danya Counts, and Trina Muldoon. All happened to be in town at the same time!

After months in the remote mountains, the expression on Danya’s face as she looks at all that ice cream is priceless. Yes, we got her some ice cream 🙂

A recent sunrise at Kunai–few places are more beautiful than this! (PC: Sarah Glover)

Only God

Posted on April 15, 2020 by John Allen

April 2020

Click here for printable text copy

ONLY GOD
When I wrote our last update in February, none of us had any idea what would soon transpire globally. Never have any of us been forced to say “if the Lord will” as much as we are saying it now, but regardless, our God is doing great things!

ANSWER TO PRAYER
We have two new nurses who are scheduled to come once the borders re-open here in PNG. We can still use more nurses, but we praise the Lord for these two ladies who stepped up to the challenge.

FAITHFUL IN THE FIELD
The team at Kunai are continuing the ministry there. As of this writing we have no active cases of the virus in PNG, but our staff are prepared as much as possible for what may come. There are no ventilators or machines available out there, and no way to fly out critical patients. Therefore, we ask that you pray for the team on the ground, not only for their protection but for their witness.

*It may not look like much, but it brought lots of medical and school supplies!*

CONTAINER ARRIVED
Our container—filled with supplies that many of you donated—has arrived and cleared customs. At present it is difficult to find flights to transport the materials to our team at Kunai. Pray we can get these medical supplies and school materials up there soon!

BAPTIST BIBLE INSTITUTE OF PORT MORESBY
We reported in our last letter that our first week of classes went very well. Praise the Lord, the rest of the six-week term went even better! We had 20 registered students and anywhere from 15-25 visitors in attendance for every class. We finished on schedule just before the mandatory shutdown. When we reopen, we have even more students who have registered, and we are looking forward to getting back to classes!

*Start of BBI POM classes–with social distancing before it was cool!*

Because we wanted to continue teaching our students, we have begun a video series on the BBI POM Facebook page called, “Daily Words.” It is a brief lesson about how to study the Bible for yourself, using the text of Scripture as a reference. It is designed with our students in mind, but since it is in English, we hope others around the world will join us. Lena has also posted videos of most of the live sessions from our first class at either our BBI POM Facebook page or on our BBI POM YouTube channel.

In the uncertainty of these days, may we examine our hearts to see what the Lord may be trying to say to us as a church? Daniel prayed during the Judean exile, repenting for his people’s sins against their holy God (Daniel 9). Have we done the same? The present pandemic, the Australian bush fires, the locust swarms in Africa, the devastating tornadoes in the US—all of these in the last several weeks—can we not at least seek God and ask for His forgiveness, His mercy, and His favor? We who long for the return of the Lord Jesus—can we not admit that these present distresses are at the very least pictures of the birth pangs of judgment to come? And in confessing these things, can we not beg God for an unprecedented outpouring of His Spirit in reaching the world for Jesus Christ?

Thank you all for your faithfulness—and at such a time as this. The resourcefulness of God’s people to BE the church when they cannot assemble as the church has been amazing. May the Lord open doors of witness for us all, and may He do things beyond what we can even ask or think. He is able!

Because He Is,
John & Lena Allen
2 Thessalonians 3:1

Visit our Kunai Health Centre website for information about the clinic at Kotidanga

Some recent photos:

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby

The online services have allowed us to enjoy the preaching of men in Australia, PNG, and the US.

Our God is Able!

Posted on February 18, 2020 by John Allen

OUR GOD IS ABLE!

BAPTIST BIBLE INSTITUTE OF PORT MORESBY

Praise the Lord for the successful first week of classes at BBI POM! We averaged 45 in attendance per session for the first three evenings. Registration for full-time students is set for 17 February.

Our first six-week course covers Creation to Christ, giving our students a biblical foundation of redemption. At present we are meeting at Shalom Baptist Church in the Port Moresby, and we are grateful for their gracious hosting of the classes. Our God is able!

KOTIDANGA BAPTIST ACADEMY

Sarah Glover reports from Kotidanga that she has almost three dozen students in the inaugural classes of KBA. We are so grateful to Jubilee Christian College and Grace Baptist Church in Australia for their help in obtaining materials! The members of Kotidanga Baptist Church have prayed for this for over seven years!

*Willie Tapaqueo is the son of Kamea Bible translator, Yali Tapaqueo*

Pray for Sarah as she is doing two sessions; a morning session for the young students to learn to read and write, and an afternoon session for the older students (who are attending the local community school) to improve their reading, writing, and math skills. And best of all—Sarah incorporates the Scriptures and the Gospel into her teaching. Our God is able!

KUNAI HEALTH CENTRE—CRITICAL STAFF NEED!

Please take time to read this and to pray with us:

During our recruiting trip at the end of 2019, though we received many supplies for the clinic, and though we saw much fruit in the meetings we were in, we were not able to recruit the nursing staff we need for 2020.

We will be critically short of nurses in the next few months! The last few months we have had five wonderful, capable nurses on staff. Two of those finished their one-year internship last week and returned home; another two will leave at the end of June, leaving only our national nurse Manandi. Last year the clinic saw over 16,000 patients, and that is too many for three nurses, let alone one.

Dave Armstrong (left–Sarah Glover’s uncle) returned to Port Moresby on a flight with Lauren and Kyle Murphy–our RN couple who just finished an incredible one-year term at Kunai Health Centre. We will miss them!

Because of the time it takes to obtain paperwork for new nurses, as well as the need to give them a minimum of two months’ training before they can begin to take patients on their own, we need commitments from nurses now. If the Lord does not provide nurse interns by March 15, Kunai Health Centre will have to close temporarily beginning July 1, 2020, until such time as we get the staffing we need. We already have one nurse who has surrendered to come; and another, very experienced missionary nurse who is scheduled to come in October—but we need one or two more RNs to commit within the next few weeks.

Is the Lord burdening your heart to serve for one or two years as a nurse intern at Kunai? Do you know an RN who would be interested? Take a look at our new website, www.KunaiHealthCentre.com and learn about the ministry. Then, email lenaallen@yahoo.com to get more information about this awesome opportunity to serve in missions on the front lines, meeting spiritual and physical needs among a remote people group in the mountains of Papua New Guinea.

And please, everyone, pray! Because—Our God is able!

Because He Is,
John & Lena Allen
2 Thessalonians 3:1

*A note of thanks to Marie Bell and Rachel Beard, who crafted our Kunai Health Centre website—great job!

Click here for a printable copy of the newsletter without the pictures

Moving Along

Posted on July 9, 2019 by John Allen

MOVING BOXES

Soon after our last update, we finished packing and sent our household goods (and somebody’s small library) from the Highlands down to Port Moresby. The Lord provided a good place for us to rent, just five minutes’ drive from Capital City Baptist Church.

We are renting in Edai Town, about 25 minutes from downtown Port Moresby, and 5 minutes from Capital City Baptist Church.

Already we’ve met many new people and are adapting to ministry in the city. The contacts we have made thus far regarding government and clinic work have been providential, and we thank the Lord for how He is sovereignly putting things together to advance the work at Kunai, even as we now live in Port Moresby.

MOVING WORD

Last week I was privileged to speak at the Pastors’ Workshop at Calvary Baptist Church in Lae. Pastor Ben and Pastor Kevin were able to fly out from the village to attend, and it was good to spend some personal time with them. The meeting was in conjunction with Calvary’s World Missions Conference, and it was exciting to see the strides our national churches are making in looking outward to the fields beyond.

All the pastors attending the Workshop at Calvary Baptist in Lae

An even bigger blessing was watching the Lord work in all of our hearts through the teaching of His Word. How precious it was when a holy hush fell on the room, followed by an altar filled with praying pastors who were moved by the exposition of the Word of God. Pray with us for God to move in a great way in our nation, advancing the Gospel here and abroad!

MOVING FORWARD

Another new nurse, Jennifer Thompson, is scheduled to arrive within a month. When she flies in to Kunai, Pastor Ben and Bro. Yali will fly out to be with us for two weeks of translation work here in Moresby. We also hope to do some New Testament recordings while the men are here.

Lena and I are visiting the city churches to get to know the pastors, their people, and the city. There are some wonderful saints here, and we trust that number will increase as we all labor together for the cause of Christ.

Because He Is,
John & Lena Allen
2 Thessalonians 3:1

Enjoy the photos from the last few weeks:

Pastor Phillip Sorulen of Calvary Baptist Church, Lae

Justin McGann, general manager for Curtain Brothers Construction in Port Moresby; Justin volunteered his time to do the road survey for us. He’s manager of the biggest construction firm in Port Moresby–it was an honor to have him do this for us!

Patrick, our pilot, and the trusty steed that took us from Port Moresby to Kotidanga and back. Low, and slow, and oh–what a view!

Sarah Glover and Kyle Murphy took Justin, me, and Pastor Ben to the top of the mountain to begin our damage assessment of the Kotidanga road.

Real friends walk with you in the mud and the rain.

Part of the gang who walked with us to survey the road damage. So grateful for dedicated friends up there at Kunai!

Flying back to Port Moresby: View from inside the R44 helicopter–and what a view it was!

In May we visited the YWAM medical ship when it was docked in Lae. Here are Sarah Glover, April Harper, and Lena together on the deck of the ship. April came to visit Kunai last year and taught our Kunai clinic team how to prep and read tuberculosis slides.

The YWAM medical ship team does eye surgery and dental work as they travel around our island.

Young children at Runway Baptist Church in Port Moresby, reciting their memory verses.

We got to be part of a BIMI Bible distribution in some nearby schools. Amazing response by the youth and the teachers!

And meet the newest member of the Moresby squad–King Cat (KC).

New Things

Posted on February 17, 2019 by John Allen

NEW OPPORTUNITIES

MABT Students at WorldView India. — James & Toree Overton oversee these students in the Master of Arts in Bible Translation course at WorldView India.

Lena and I had a wonderful trip to minister again at WorldView India in January. James and Toree Overton do a wonderful job leading and teaching the Bible translation students at the college. It was a joy to share how to use Chronological Bible Storying as a tool in church planting simultaneously with translating the Scriptures. These students come from around India and Myanmar, and are a delight to work with. We praise the Lord for all the opportunities to speak in church, chapel, small groups, and one-to-one. Pray with us that the Lord will continue to raise up faithful ministers of the Gospel in this needy area of the world!

NEW NURSES

The clinic at Kunai Health Centre has been extremely busy the last several months. The nurses and our national staff are doing a great job ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of our Kamea people. Next week we will be in Lae city for our medicine and supply buy, and there we will be meeting two incoming nurses: Chelsea Moorman and Danya Counts. Chels was with us for 2017-2018, and this is Danya’s first time.

On cool mornings, patients prefer to sit out in the sun on the grass.

Pray for them and the team on the ground as they continue to treat patients, and as they labor in discipleship and evangelism.

NEW SCRIPTURE USES

Since we began translating the New Testament into Kamea almost five years ago, we have labored to find ways to make it accessible to our people. Pastor Ben has taught the church directly from the newly translated text, and Sarah and Laura-Lee have used it in literacy classes. We have produced videos of the Life of Christ using the Kamea New Testament, and these are shown daily at the clinic as well as distributed on mobile phones. Now the nurses have begun using the Kamea New Testament portions to do discipleship with the young ladies in the church. They said that the girls are really excited to hear and to read the Word in their own heart language!

NEW VISION

Lena and I believe our next step is to move to Port Moresby and to partner with our son Matt, his family, and the ministry of Capital City Baptist Church. We have always felt welcome there, and the Lord has given us sweet friendships among those believers. We can continue the Bible translation project and keep giving logistical support to Kunai Health Centre, as well as orienting new missionaries as they arrive, plus all of the many ministry opportunities in that growing city.

Capital City Baptist Church Campus, 9 February 2019

The move will involve building a place to live and obtaining a vehicle, and we are sure our great God will take care of those details in His way and in His time. As you remember us and these ministries (Kunai and Port Moresby) in prayer, could you also pray for Lena? It looks as though she may need surgery on her neck again, perhaps later this year.

How blessed we are to be such privileged children of the King! He lets us work for Him among His people in many places, He lets us see His power in transformed lives, and He blesses us with His presence, His Word, His grace, and His love. And then He gently reminds us, “Freely ye have received—freely give.” May we all be busy about giving that same good news of the Gospel that He so freely gave to us. The world, near and far, is waiting…

All glory to Christ,

John & Lena Allen

2 Thessalonians 3:1

Enjoy a few photos of our visit to India. The Gospel is being preached in that great land, but there is so much more to do!

Enjoying a visit with our good friends, Dr. Babu Varghese and his family.

Neena, Lena,and Jessie; we are blessed to know such faithful believers.

Several thousand attended the five-day preaching convention while we were there. Over 200 made professions of faith.

Feeding the multitude at convention is no easy task!

Delicious Indian food…
…made with delicious Indian spices.

Our Last Week at Kunai, December 2018

Posted on December 17, 2018 by John Allen

This is a photo blog of our last week at Kunai. Enjoy the photos!

Visiting with Benjamin Luke in Mewari. Ben has been crippled by TB of the spine, yet maintains a sweet spirit in his trials. He was saved a few years back, and he is a glowing testimony of God’s grace in his village!

There were a lot of good-byes and tearful hugs

We’re grateful for the discipleship our nurses do with our youth ladies at Kotidanga Baptist Church!

Yali Tapaqueo is one of my Kamea translation partners. He is also our song leader, and a wise, godly leader in the church. He and Patrisa have four children: (left to right): Willie, Liven, Sina, and Kalemi.

Pastor Ben is my other translation partner in the Kamea Bible project. He and Anjuda have four children: (left to right) Nosah, Selestin, Becky, and Ishmel.

Ben and I preaching together on our last Sunday

The ladies packed it in in the back of the church

The youth choir sang and blessed our hearts

Kotidanga Baptist Church choir, directed by Mary Beth Snyder

How our youth have grown in the Lord!

Carrying our household things to the airstrip on December 11

Half-way down the mountain, with the Kanabea airstrip in the background

Waiting at the airstrip

Good-bye at the airstrip just before we flew out. We were blessed to have so many friends and fellow-believers join us!

Back in the work!

Posted on May 12, 2018 by John Allen

May 2018 update

Great Opportunities
We have shared the Gospel and stories of God’s goodness with so many in the last five months. While passing through the Middle East, I had the blessing of sharing the Gospel for a good while with a Hindu man while we rode in a small bus filled with Afghanis, Pakistanis, and other nationalities. When in the US we had many chances to preach the Word and to testify of God’s mercy and grace in His work in PNG. Since arriving back in PNG, we’ve already had opportunities to share the Gospel with people great and small. As we get settled back in at Kunai, we look forward to resuming our duties in the clinic and in Bible translation and teaching, all of it with a view of making Christ known even more among our people.

We were the youngest missionaries at this conference! Hard to stack up against Dr. Don Sisk, Margaret Stringer, and Randy & Jeannette Alderman…we felt like newbies! Thanks to Pastor & Mrs. Rusty Smith for the blessing of being in such a conference.

Great Provision
We are thankful for the new interns the Lord gave us as we recruited for missionaries around the US during the last four months. The Lord also touched many to give supplies for Kunai Health Centre, and when it was done, we shipped over half a ton of items for the clinic, plus another 150 pounds of vitamins and medicine we carried back in our suitcases. To God be the glory!

Sorting supplies with Bruno Keller at JAARS (photo credit, Geoff Russell)

Great Co-workers
While we’ve been away, the Kunai team has held a great youth camp with many saved, and brought Good News FM Radio (our new radio station) online. Would you pray for our team as we continue to work together to fulfill the Great Commission among the Kamea?

Co-workers: Sam & Marybeth Snyder, and Sarah Glover;
Clinic staff: Chelsea Moorman, Manandi Dagoino, Ellie Polmek, Jon Mark, Judas Gidion, Linda, and my wife Lena;
Kamea New Testament Translation team: Pastor Ben Samauyo, Yali Tapaqueo, and me;
Our new interns: Emma Stout and Laura Lee Alford, who will join the team over the next couple of months.

Great God
We enjoyed seeing how the Lord is blessing in our son’s work, Capital City Baptist Church in Port Moresby, as we transitioned back through there and did our supply buying. We were able to visit with our dear friends, Pastor Tau & Suzanne Abary, at Shalom Baptist Church. Pastor Tau suffered a severe stroke earlier this year, but by God’s grace he is recovering. Pray that God will heal him completely, and that He will strengthen his family during the long recovery process.

John & Pastor Tau Abary

Great Thanks

Jon Mark said to tell everyone who prayed for him, “THANK YOU!” What a smile!

While we were gone to the US, our son Matt and our friends at Capital City Baptist in Port Moresby took care of our friend from Kunai, Jon Mark. Jon is a worker in our clinic and a faithful member of Kotidanga Baptist Church. He is also completely blind! He has lived in constant pain for the last several years, and earlier this year Matt flew Jon to Port Moresby for his third eye surgery. This time his pain is finally gone! Praise the Lord, and thank you to everyone who has prayed for Jon Mark!

We appreciate all of you for your faithful support of the work here. We were blessed to visit many while we were home, and we thank each of you for being a blessing to us. Special thanks go to our home church, Landmark, for being faithful in preaching of the Word of God and for their God-glorifying music program. It was so refreshing!

All glory to Christ,
John & Lena Allen
2 Thessalonians 3:1

PS…enjoy some extra pictures!

This is a bookshelf in the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. Each yellow book represents a language in which the Word of God has not yet been translated. By God’s grace, one day we will see the Kamea language moved out of the yellow book section!

We recently received a donation from the Ukarumpa International School in Papua New Guinea towards the operational expenses of Kunai Health Centre. Thank you all for your generosity to help our people!

Aerial view of the campus of Capital City Baptist Church and South Pacific International Academy in Port Moresby, PNG, where our son Matt and his family serve. The facility is located to the right of center in the middle of the photo.

Our US family at our home church in Louisville, KY.

Providential Meetings

Posted on March 10, 2018 by John Allen

Home for the Holidays
Lena and I made it to the US just before Christmas. It was great to be with family and friends for the holidays before we hit the road during the first week of January. We do have to admit that leaving temperate PNG for the frigid Midwest was an adjustment!

Open Doors
The Lord opened a door for Lena and me to visit the Middle East on our way to the US for our furlough. I had the wonderful opportunity to teach for a couple of weeks in a seminary in Jordan. There were both Jordanians and Egyptians in the class, and it was a blessing and joy to work with them.

I’m grateful for Dr. Ghassan Haddad and the work of Biblical Theological Seminary as they train laborers for the Arab-speaking world. We passed through Dubai on the way to Jordan, and were also blessed to see the work being done there in the United Arab Emirates. The Word of God is not bound!

A couple from the jungle trying to blend into the desert.

Recruiting and Replenishing
The Lord has given us great meetings in January and February. We have seen the Lord move in hearts as we’ve shared what God is doing in PNG. We’ve seen many long-time friends and met many new ones. God has been truly good to us!

One of our major goals this trip is to recruit nurses for Kunai Health Centre and to recruit teachers to start a school for our Kamea children at Kotidanga. We have met some fine people and have had appointments at Christian colleges to speak to prospects. Praise the Lord, He gave us two new workers for the clinic: Emma Stout, from Franklin Road Baptist Church; and Laura Lee Alford, from our home church. Amen! Pray with us that the Lord will raise up even more missionaries, nurses, and teachers!

Finally, we are looking to ship these specific medical-related supplies (and only these items):

ibuprofen (Advil or generic)
naproxen (Aleve or generic)
band-aids
ACE wraps (2”-6”)
muscle rub (i.e. Ben-Gay)

If you wish to help by donating these items, please send them before March 31, 2018 to:

John Allen c/o David Allen
1077 Weavers Run
West Point, KY 40177

We plan to pack and ship them in early April, just before we head back to PNG on April 19th. We are thankful for the donations received already. May God richly bless all of you who have given to this cause!

Back Home in PNG
Kotidanga Baptist Church held its first Youth Camp in January. Our good friend Phil Parry was the main speaker, and he, along with Pastor Ben, Matt Allen, Sam Snyder, and a host of others put on a camp like our villages had never seen. 17 young people came to faith in Christ, and many more made life-changing decisions. We thank the Lord for all the work that everyone did to make this happen. So many stories to be told! (Click here to see the video of the camp.)

Crazy games!

Real crazy games!

Biblical preaching!

Thank you all for your faithful prayers and support. We are only able to do what we do because of your faithful prayers and support. May the Lord put credit on your account for your part in His work in PNG!

Serving Him in the Field,
John & Lena

PS: Enjoy some more camp photos!

Bird’s eye view of Kotidanga Youth Camp

Here are some of the people who made the camp happen:

Bro. Phil Parry lead the teaching.

Pastor Ben Samauyo lead the camp for Kotidanga Baptist Church.

Bro. Sam Snyder

Mrs. Ellie Polmek

Our nurse, Miss Chelsea Moorman, with her friends

Bro. Yali Tapaqueo

Bro. Matt Allen

God is still God!

Posted on August 25, 2017 by John Allen

GOD IS STILL GOD! click here for printable copy

Hello from Kotidanga Baptist Church in Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea!

BEN’S ORDINATION

We had a packed house at Kotidanga Baptist for Pastor Ben’s ordination.

In January 2017, Kotidanga Baptist Church voted to make Ben Samauyo their pastor. During our recent Pastors’ Workshop, we held Ben’s ordination.

Ben presents his doctrinal statement before his ordination.

It was a great to have Pastor Philip Sorulen from Calvary Baptist in Lae, Matt Allen from Port Moresby, and my co-worker Sam Snyder take part in the ordination service. Pastor Philip preached several times while he was with us, and he was a great blessing to our people and to Pastor Ben.

TTMK director and founder of Capital City Baptist in Port Moresby, Matt Allen, and his Kamea translator, Pastor Kevin Samawe

BAPTIZING NEW BELIEVERS

At the end of the special meetings, Ben baptized 11 who had been saved in recent months. Thank the Lord for these young converts!

Jon Mark, one of our most faithful church members, is blind. He works at Kunai Health Centre and he doesn’t let much slow him down! He was one of those who followed the Lord in believer’s baptism in June.

BRING ON THE VISITORS

We also had ten visitors from Pensacola Christian College who came to observe the clinic ministry. Nine were nurses or nursing students, and they got to experience a lot while they were here.

PCC visitors pose with the staff of Kunai Health Centre.

During their visit we had a school health check day, with over 600 students coming from villages as far as three hours’ walk away. It certainly was busy! While they proceeded through various stations (vision, hearing, etc.) they also heard the Gospel in groups and in personal witness.

Youth who came for health check day

In addition, June was a record month at the clinic with 2,100 regular patients PLUS the 600 who came for health checks. That’s a lot of patients, and a lot of patience 🙂 Thank the Lord for all the opportunities we had to share the Gospel during those busy clinic days.

BETHEL BAPTIST IN LAE

Bethel Baptist Choir

Lena and I recently returned from Lae where I had the privilege to speak for a few days at Bethel Baptist Church. Many responded openly to the preaching of the Word of God, including some who put their faith in Christ.

Singing men from Liberty Baptist in Lae

Visitors came from several different churches around the city, including some students from Lae University of Technology. Special thanks to Pastor Timothy Sogori, his wife Ruth, and his people for putting the meeting together!

BUSY DAYS AHEAD

We had two new nurses join us this week. Chelsea Moorman (from the US) and Manandi Dagoino (from our neighboring village) are now part of the Kunai Health Centre staff. Pray that they orient well and that the Lord will bless their labors for Him.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our people. Several responded to our last post, and we covet your continued fervent prayers for our country, Papua New Guinea. God is still God, and as a friend wrote recently, “our enemy has an expiration date.” Amen!

Serving Him in the Field,

John & Lena Allen
2 Thessalonians 3:1

Enjoy the extra photos!

Ben & Anjuta flew out with us to attend a pastors’ conference.

Many patients are still captivated watching the “Jesus Film” whether in Pidgin or in Kamea.

Ben came to the clinic and shared the Gospel with this young church member whose life was ending. The young man affirmed his faith in Christ alone, and in a short time he passed into eternity. Are you ready if your time were to come today?

Because He Is

Knowing Christ…Making Him Known… John & Lena Allen in PNG

Tag Archives: bible translation

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April 2020

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