SERIOUS THOUGHTS FOR SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS

Posted on August 28, 2022 by John Allen

AUGUST 2022

These have been a busy few weeks, including a fast trip to the US and back (more about that later). But before I touch on our own matters, please indulge an older brother in the Lord for a moment. I don’t usually write long letters, so I’d appreciate it if you would take time to read this when you can.

I speak as a fool in saying this, but with over four decades of ministry behind me, I have some thoughts from my perspective regarding the state of the Lord’s church today. If working through them helps me, maybe it will help you too.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)

As a whole, I don’t think we take seriously the spiritual warfare we are engaged in. The Scripture states clearly that the four categories of spiritual enemies are very real and very present. (This does not even include our daily battle with our own hearts’ desires for wrong things, nor our daily battle with a world that is not merely anti-Christian—it is increasingly “anti-Christ.”) In the spiritual world around us forces are at work that are utterly evil, relentlessly pursuing the silencing and destruction of the Word and works of God. The demon gods of the Old and New Testament are not false gods nor made-up idols; these demonic principalities and powers and rulers of spiritual wickedness in high places are still at work (John 14:30; 16:11; Eph. 2:2; Dan. 10:12-13; etc.) defiling the opinions of this world and forging a vile worldview against God. These fallen sons of God and their blasphemous breed have distracted, discouraged, and destroyed God’s people from Eden on, and they have not stayed nor slackened their venomous and sadistic attempts to annihilate the Word, the work, and the people of the Lamb even to this present hour. And this we must keep in mind daily.

Our beloved nation of PNG is held in the grip of Satanic opposition. God’s works are in constant conflict from forces without and within. The spiritual worldview of many here causes them to fear the spirits; and what you fear, you work to appease. Entire people groups still remain in the grip of demon oppression and control. Multitudes are taken captive in the snare of the devil at his will—so we must comprehend our enemy, and “in meekness [instruct] those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” (2 Tim. 2:25)

This is not only true where we live; it is true where you live, whether you sense it or not. Grasp that. We all are in a great spiritual warfare. We all must put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:11,13). We all must stand and fight.

I offer here some simple, biblical suggestions to fight this good fight, but they are by no means comprehensive.

PRAYER
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ephesians 6:18)

Pray for the Lord’s churches, His people, and His servants.
First, pray earnestly for your pastor and ministry leaders.

Then, read your missionaries’ prayer letters—and pray for them. [I always enjoy hearing from those who read our letters, though I fear there are many who don’t read them. I’d appreciate your input as to what we can do better. Email me your thoughts at johnallensr@gmail.com.]

If you don’t read a specific prayer request in a letter, remember there is always a battle going on for the souls of the missionaries themselves and for the people to whom God has called them—so pray!

Perhaps if Christians spent less time being distracted by Netflix, the news media, and social media, they could engage in this real spiritual warfare as soldiers, not as spectators.

PERSONAL CHURCH ATTENDANCE
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:42)

Get back in church, in person.
Ten years ago God’s people would have disdained the idea of staying out of church to watch the service online week after week. Now we have droves who stay home in their PJs on the couch. They have no fear of catching an illness; they simply have lost the godly habit of fellowship with the saints. And dare I say that most are not really paying attention to the online sermons they are hearing? Hear me, brethren—the Lord’s army doesn’t wear PJs under the armor of God. O Church, arise!

PROPHETIC VOICE
And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31)

Preach with biblical authority.
There is a lot of good, biblical preaching in the church today. A lot of it. But what seems to be lacking in much of it is a “prophetic voice.” Not the fake prophets who claim visions and words from God—we have God’s Word already, and His Word is inspired, complete, preserved, profitable, and sufficient for us today.

What we need is the voice of a prophet; the preaching that not only says, “thus saith the Lord,” but actually looks at the hearers and reminds them, “you need to obey this Word from the Lord.” Not a preacher’s thoughts, mind you, but God’s words. At times we are afraid to say, “you,” so we say, “we”; as in “we need to do this,” and “we need to obey the Lord.” We include the speaker, so as not to offend the hearers. But the prophets and apostles of old did not fear to say, “you”! Preacher, do not fear being labeled legalistic if what you are preaching is biblical truth. There is a prophetic aspect to preaching—the “forth-telling,” that authoritative word which is based on the words of the living God, not the preacher—and I believe many times that voice is lacking. Let us humble ourselves before our God and our people, and then let us preach the Word with boldness!

PERSONALLY SPEAKING

Wedding & Family

Lena and I were able to travel back to the US for the wedding of our oldest granddaughter, Ariel, to Luke Lunsford. It was beautiful! And best of all, we were able to be together with all the kids and grandkids in one place for the first time since 2011. (Would you pray for Luke’s family? A couple weeks after the wedding, his father passed away suddenly. Thank you.)

We were also able to be in a few churches, and how rich the fellowship! Preaching, teaching, singing, glorifying the Lord, —and how edifying it was to see old friends and to make new ones!

Back in Class at BBIPOM

We have started our new term at Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby. A good number of our students are in their third and final year, plus we’ve picked up 10 new first-year students. Praise the Lord! Pray for them and for me as I teach and mentor these servants of God.

*Third & final year for several of our students!*

Beginning the Front Translation of 2 Corinthians

The Kamea Bible Project continues to progress. I’ve begun working on 2 Corinthians. Pray for me to have minimal distractions from the project, maximum clarity in translating, and the power of the Spirit as I have the privilege of doing this holy work. Remember Pastor Ben Samauyo in the same way as he labors to translate the Word directly into his heart language.

Thank you for your continued prayers for the Lord’s ministry here and for Lena’s health, and thank you for helping us be your representatives here on the field in Port Moresby, PNG!

Because He Is,

John & Lena Allen
2 Thessalonians 3:1

Enjoy some photos from the last few weeks:

Ariel, Luke, & our son Nate, who performed their wedding–all having fun at the rehearsal

With our Kunai nurses: Lauren, Chelsea, Danya, and Kyle–what a great reunion!

Ps Tau Abary, and Bro Erick Bala…these two men planted the seed idea in our hearts to begin BBIPOM [PC Ps Tau Abary]

Having a devotional time with our whole family–when you only gather for a day every decade, these times are precious beyond words

Translating, Teaching, and Training

Posted on June 21, 2022 by John Allen

June 2022 Click here for printable copy

Bible Translation Read-Through

Three weeks ago, Pastor Ben, Yali, and I spent several days reading the Kamea translation of the Book of Revelation aloud.

Yali, Pastor Ben, Papa John doing a read-through of Revelation in the Kamea language

Our Bible translation process involves multiple steps. First, I prepare a front translation in Tok Pisin with notes regarding meanings in the text. Then Pastor Ben translates it into Kamea. When he finishes a section, he gives it to Yali, who translates it back into Tok Pisin to see if anything was missed or could be misunderstood. The final step is reading the text out loud together to see how it sounds. We’ve done that with every book we’ve translated.

Last verse in the Kamea translation of Revelation

This was our final draft check of this book, and we catch a lot more when there are three of us listening to it being read. Sorry to say, we didn’t get any special insights into the interpretation of the book, but we did deliberate over terminology. A translator’s work is to translate with as little interpretation as is possible. A hard part in Revelation is describing the things John sees. Just as we English readers find it hard to imagine some of these beasts, it is just as hard to figure out how to describe it without putting an interpretation on it.

Bible College Students

A few weeks ago, we finished another term of Bible college. These students are such a blessing! As part of their Bible college training, their home church pastors mentor them as much as is possible. I am grateful for the opportunities the men get to preach and teach, both in the marketplace and in the pulpit.

To attend BBIPOM, our students must have their pastor’s recommendation, and he must agree to train them…plus, our new students have to pay up front. We already have 30 students paid and registered for our next term! Pray for this ministry, and for these great servants of God.

Bible Training Materials

A pet project of ours for a while now has been a Tok Pisin Study Bible. The idea was born out of our translation work in the village, as our men shared how they would like to learn the Book of Proverbs better. Many Baptist preachers in Papua New Guinea like to use a King James Bible, but like their American counterparts (that’s us, folks!) they have difficulty with some words, phrases, and idioms. It turned out that other pastors from our region and up in the Highlands had the same desire, so I began revising some Tok Pisin text and editing notes.

Draft copy of our Tok Pisin Study Bible: Proverbs

A couple months ago we printed Proverbs, our first book of the study bible project. It has been distributed selectively so far in order to get more feedback on the notes and the text. It has been good to have nationals and missionaries working with us on it. My wife and some friends have helped type up more notes for other Bible books, and some notes have already been translated. This is a long-term project, but we hope it will be a good tool for anyone interested in learning the Word.

The ministries here in Port Moresby have seen souls saved and more commitment among the saints of late. Pray for God to continue to do His mighty work among us!

Thank you for your continued prayers for us, and for helping us stay in the work.

Gratefully yours in Christ Jesus,
John & Lena Allen
2 Thessalonians 3:1

Enjoy some more photos from the last couple of months here in Port Moresby:

These are some of our students doing ministry–proud of them all! All three of these young men are preachers, and Brianna is one of the Christian School teachers in our son’s ministry in Port Moresby.

Joe, Loita, and Glynn. BBIPOM students and laborers in the ministry of South Pacific International Academy (PC Pastor Tau Abary)

Our security dog, Teyla. OK, more pet than security dog. But she does bark really loudly!

We have some beautiful mornings and evenings here in Port Moresby.
God’s glory is everywhere evident!

The Gospel IS the Power of God unto Salvation

Posted on April 25, 2022 by John Allen

April 2022

Profitable Trip to Kunai

A few months ago there was a string of serious events that happened at Kunai involving the church, its leadership, and the community. It was serious enough that the missionaries felt it best to leave.

Early this month I was able to visit Kunai with my son Matt, who began that ministry back in 2004. Over a period of several days we met with the church and its leaders, as well as with the community.

*Kotidanga Baptist Church properties look little changed from the last ten years. Beautiful place!*

There were many things that needed to be repented of, and there was much to be settled in regards to the land on which the church and ministries are located.

It was more than evident that God had heard the prayers of His people, for He was well at work even before we arrived. We saw God move hearts that had often been obstinate against the ministries, and we saw God grant repentant hearts to many. We watched true spiritual reconciliation between church members and open reconciliation between community members. We had prayed that God would do “exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think”—and He did! It was evident that all the years of preaching and teaching God’s Word by national pastors and expat missionaries was not in vain, but rather it had found fertile ground that needed these trials to make it shine forth.

The invitation times during the preaching of the Word on Sunday brought many tearful souls to pray and confess their wrongs. And as if that was not enough, one dear friend, for whom we prayed and to whom many of us had witnessed for over a decade, put his total faith in Christ on that day! Truly, it was awesome to see God honor His Word among His people.

The church is now in a place where they are in the driver’s seat, as it were. Pray with us that there will be much fruit in the days ahead, and that perhaps we can see missionary partnership with that local church in the future, in reaching the Kotidanga region and in training our people!

Passover Conference in Port Moresby

I returned to Port Moresby just in time to preach a three-day Passover Conference at Shalom Baptist Church. This is our second year of the conference, a Bible conference that brings to light Old Testament truths which help us grasp New Testament doctrine surrounding the Lord’s Supper, His atoning sacrifice for our sins, and His glorious resurrection. Great highlights of the meeting included the one brother who came to Christ during the preaching, and the six young men who surrendered to ministry. Some of those are already attending classes at our Bible college! Praise the Lord!

*Six young men surrendered for ministry!*

Thank you for your continued friendship and fellowship in the Gospel ministry here in PNG. Please keep Lena’s health in your prayers as she is fighting with continual infections aggravated by her Lupus. She is pressing on through the problems, and is such a helper to me in the work here!

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

Click here for printable copy

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby: bbipom.com

*Hiking to Mewari with Matt, Jon Amon, Judas Gideon, & Yali Tapuqueo.*

*Don’t you love it when the photo doesn’t really show how hard the hike is? 🙂*

*I climbed with Yali up through the shadowed jungle on the left side of the ridge. Insane hike.*

*At Ben Luke’s house on top of the ridge, almost 5,000 feet elevation. And he is paraplegic! He grows all these onions himself. He’s an amazing brother in Christ.*

*Ben Luke and his wife Francesca (on his left) with their adopted baby, plus their children, grandbaby, and Ben’s mother, Elizabeth. They’ve been friends for many, many years.*

*John Mark sitting inside his new house. For being totally blind, he gets around in amazing fashion.*

*Yali & Patrisa, and their children Sina, Kalemi, & Willie*

*Here’s Kalemi when she’s not hiding behind the flowers.*

*This is Nancy. She worked for us at Kunai Health Centre. It was her husband who trusted Christ on the Sunday we were at Kunai. Their daughter Vila is also a miracle story from Kunai Health Centre.*

*This is Ilu, a new milk baby. She came with her parents Leonard & Leah.*

*Kunai from the air, looking northeast.*

*Send off by the elder landowners and three men from the church.*

*Beautiful Kerema town, capital of Gulf Province.*

*Nothing juicier than a Kamea pineapple!*

*Passover Conference with Pastor Tau Abary at Shalom Baptist Church.*

*Looking across the beautiful Tauri Valley to the multiple mountain ranges beyond.*

*Dawn at Kanabea Airstrip. May there be a new day dawning among our dear Kamea brethren!*

Baby Milk Update, January 2022

Posted on February 23, 2022 by John Allen

We thank the Lord for another year of His provision of baby milk for our clinic ministry at Kunai Health Centre. In 2021 we were able to distribute 258 cans of formula, serving many infants and young children who are malnourished.

In some cases, the mother has died in childbirth, or shortly thereafter. In other cases, the parents have to give the child away as they are unable to feed another mouth…and others of our “baby milk babies” have mothers who are malnourished and unable to produce sufficient milk to feed them.

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The baby milk program began in 2009, and it has served over 425 children since then. Some of these children are school-aged now, and by God’s grace, they are doing quite well.

Thank you to everyone who joins with us in prayer and financial support of this vital program. Going into 2022 we have a good stock of baby milk, and for that we are grateful to those who give monthly or occasionally, and thank you all for keeping our people in prayer. The children thank you too!

2021
Income: $3971.43
Expenses: $5,445.03
Total cans purchased: 380
Cost per 2 lb. can: $14.33 (price increase due to increased transport charges)
Babies served: 34

2020
Income: $3,252.97
Expenses: $3,326.48
Total cans purchased: 246
Cost per 2 lb. can: $13.52
Babies served: 32

2019
Income: $3,595.00
Expenses: $4,420.92
Total cans purchased: 320
Cost per 2 lb. can: $13.82 (price decrease due to exchange rate)
Babies served: 38

2018
Income: $9,118.42 (including a generous gift of $5,000 on Dec. 31, 2017!)
Expenses: $4,063.79
Total cans purchased: 270
Cost per 2 lb. can: $15.05 (increase due to extra air freight costs)
Babies served: 30

2017
Income: $4,180.41
Expenses: $5,341.75
Total cans purchased: 420
Cost per 2 lb. can: $12.72 (price decrease due to exchange rate)
Babies served: 45

2016
Income: $5,715.00
Expenses: $5,638.34
Total cans purchased: 400
Cost per 2 lb. can: $14.10 (price decrease due to exchange rate)
Babies served: 50

2015
Income: $6,875.00
Expenses: $8,280.37
Total cans purchased: 558
Cost per 2 lb. can: $14.83 (price decrease due to exchange rate)
Babies served: 29

2014
Income: $1,320.00
Expenses: $6,468.40
Total cans purchased: 400
Cost per 2 lb. can: $16.17
Babies served: 44

2013
Income: $6,414.16
Expenses: $8,396.37
Total cans purchased: 471
Cost per 2 lb. can: $17.82
Babies served: 58

2012
Income: $627.51
Expenses: $10,446.22
Total cans purchased: 547
Cost per 2 lb. can: $19.10
Babies served: 58

2011
Income: $1,415
Expenses: $5,325
Total cans purchased: 300
Cost per 2 lb. can: $17.75
Babies served: 42

Whatsoever Thy Hand Findeth to Do, Do It with Thy Might (Ecclesiastes 9:10a)

Posted on February 18, 2022 by John Allen

It was a busy season for us as we finished up 2021 and began 2022. Here are some highlights:

Family Conference

In December I had the honor of preaching a family conference at a local church here in Port Moresby, just as we ended our Bible school term. There was a good attendance each night, and the people seemed to get help from the Lord and His Word.

Baimuru

Just a few days later I flew out to be with Wil & Trina Muldoon at Baimuru to preach for Pastor Danny and Baimuru Baptist Church hosted their youth camp. No roads will get you to their place; the youth came by canoes and a dinghy! There were a good number of youth from four churches, and a dozen of them made decisions for Christ. It was good to see the Lord’s work out there in the swamps of Gulf and to spend time with some of God’s choicest servants.

New Bible College Term

We began our new term in January with 23 students and a good number of visitors. One of our subjects is “Baptist Ecclesiology.” (As someone once said, “You pay the big money, you learn the big words.”) This class is a study of the workings of a local church, including its membership, its leadership, and its practices.

1^st Printing of Kamea Scripture Portions

We achieved a milestone in our ministry in January. Through the generous giving of a church in South Africa, we were able to print—for the first time, and in one volume—all the books of Kamea scripture that have been completed and checked to date. It is 300 pages long, and includes Matthew through Acts plus several shorter epistles. To date Ben, Yali, and I have been able to complete 2/3 of the New Testament, and seeing it all bound in one copy is exciting to say the least. We were also able to print copies of portions of Mark’s Gospel in a larger font to use in literacy classes. Pray for the Lord to use His Word to reach the hearts of our dear Kamea people!

We always appreciate your prayers for us and the Lord’s work here. Thank you all for standing with us in prayer and support!

Because He Is,
John & Lena Allen
Colossians 3:23-24

For printable copy of this letter, click here.

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby: bbipom.com

Enjoy some recent photos:

Pastor Tau Abary, our friend (PC: Pastor Tau Abary)

Back to class, January 2022 (PC: Pastor Tau Abary)

“Kamea New Testament: Some Books of the New Testament”

John 17: Tok Pisin revision (left) and Kamea (right)

Literacy book using selected portions of Mark’s Gospel

A very important project we’ve been working on for a while now…details later!

October 2021

Posted on October 21, 2021 by John Allen

This has been an interesting month for sure. Our nation has seen little of the ravages of COVID since the beginning of the pandemic, but that all changed a few weeks ago.

A new set of restrictions came down, but the only one that really affected us was maximum of 20 people in any meeting, including church and Bible school. Since the end of September, our students have been watching videos of the teaching on their own.

At the end of September, both Lena and I came down with the virus. At the time I am writing this, we are both back up and mostly normal (well, as normal as I can be, anyway). It was 19 days I’d rather not repeat again, ever.

Thank you all for praying for Lena’s Lupus, it did not seem to flare during her infection. She is still dealing with the effects of the Lupus, and as always, we appreciate your prayers for her.

Before everything went wonky for us, we were able to enjoy spending time with the Kunai team (Sam & Mary Beth, Sarah, Hannah-Rose) as they flew out here to the capital for their supply buy. Our new schoolteacher for Kotidanga Baptist Academy, Lizzie Adams, got out of her arrival quarantine at the same time, and we all were able to be together before they headed back to the village.

We were also able to attend a Missions Conference here in the city and a bride price ceremony for two of our students. Classes were really going well for BBIPOM, and we were averaging 70+ in attendance every week for our Marriage and Home class.

A group of people posing for a photo

Description automatically generated — *TJ, Sam, Bethany, Mary Beth, Leland, Hannah-Rose, Lizzie, Lena, & Sarah*

We look forward to the abating of the virus and its deadly effects on our nation, plus lifting of the meeting restrictions soon. We are ready to get back to Bible college classes in person.

Thank you for standing with us and for helping to keep us here on the field. God bless you all!

Visit our Medical Clinic: www.KunaiHealthCentre.com

Visit our Bible College: www.BBIPO M .com

Missionary Life August 2021

Posted on August 19, 2021 by John Allen

Missionary Life

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. (Eccl. 9:10)

This season of life finds Lena and me living and ministering in the capital of our large island nation. While the previous 11 years had us laboring in a remote place with no external infrastructure (roads, power, water, communication), now we are based just outside a city that has all the things we “lacked” before.

During those years in the village, life itself took time. You walked (or hiked) everywhere. Very few manufactured goods are available out there, so all your projects revolved around the bush flights to town 4-5 times a year. If something broke, you fixed it or patched it or did without. To minister at another church meant a 3-hour hike or more, one way. Getting rained on was normal, sandals were the footwear of choice, and you got used to the ever-present moldy smell because your clothes didn’t always dry in the solar dryer (aka clothesline). Crossing through creeks was often necessary—and to be honest, sometimes it was welcomed by your sore feet.

The trail always seemed to need maintenance to get the Kawasaki Mule to the airstrip located five miles away over the mountain, just to transport patients or bring back medicine and supplies. The Mule always seemed to need maintenance from the beating it took on the trail, even though you babied it. There always seemed to be a piece of a wooden step or a bridge or something that had rotted because of the weather, and it needed repairing or replacing.

Pastor Don Mangus used to tell us,
“God always works in the routines of life.”

Yet these were the routines around which ministry was framed. It was hiking single file down those trails where we did much of our discipling. It was in those more distant villages that the Gospel was preached, and the Word of God was taught. Those cold creeks cradled many believers as they followed the Lord publicly in baptism. The lack of the “necessary things” taught you a contentment that cannot be learned when everything is at your fingertips. The hiking helped keep your weight down and your heart strong. And it was in the quiet of the night in that remote place that great fellowship was had with co-workers and local friends.

There is still a team of wonderful missionaries and nationals serving at Kunai. We miss the place, but it is another season of life for us now.

Our last two months have been uniquely “city ministry”:

For the last several weeks, Lena has been counseling and sharing the Gospel with young people from a nearby village who were injured in a tragic bus crash.
Lena and I are currently holding a biblical marriage seminar for a large organization in the city.
BBIPOM (our Bible college) just began a new semester, with one of the courses being, “The Home, Marriage, and Relationships.” Thanks to the promoting done by Pastor Tau Abary and Shalom Baptist Church for this particular course (and our mutual desire to use it to reach our communities with the Gospel), the first night we had over 80 in attendance for the course —22 of whom are our students.

PERSONAL NEWS

We mentioned in our last update about Lena’s health issues associated with SLE (Lupus). She has continued having problems, and yesterday her doctor told her that she is in another Lupus flare. As you think of her, please pray for her strength and healing.

We are aware that your prayers and giving allow us to teach and train and translate and tell others about the Good News of the Lord Jesus. Thank you for your part in helping us stay at it here in PNG!

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

Enjoy this month’s photos!

Back to class, 16 August 2021! (PC Pastor Tau Abary)

Signing in for class (PC Pastor Tau Abary)

The class on Home, Marriage, and Relationships is open to the public. We had a great turnout on the first night! (PC Pastor Tau Abary)

The Home, Marriage, and Relationships class on 17 August 2021 (PC Pastor Tau Abary)

Our friends at Kunai, the Sam Snyder family roasted this coffee themselves.
I love what it says on the package! (PC Mary Beth Snyder)

Yes, this stuff is for us Bible translators! Gotta keep us on our toes!
PC Mary Beth Snyder

And here’s some family news–our oldest grandson, Ben, soloed this summer in a glider. He’s been working at this a long time due to Covid restrictions, but he finally made it!

The tradition of “cutting the tail off the new pilot’s shirt” after his first solo signifies that no longer will the training pilot in the back seat be tugging on his shirt tail to get his attention!

Investing in the Future

Posted on May 28, 2021 by John Allen

June 2021
PASS IT ON,
THE 2 TIMOTHY 2:2 WAY

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”

We wrapped up another term of our Bible college here in the city this week. Our final exam last night was over Church History, where we covered 1,800 years in 18 weeks. Our other classes this term included the doctrines of the Holy Spirit, Satan, and Man, plus studying through the Pastoral Epistles and the Old Testament books from the era of the Decline and Fall of Israel and Judah. All 20 students did well in their course work, and I love seeing the Lord work in their hearts to stir them to ministry. Our students include two pastors, two deacons, several preachers-in-training, and several men and ladies already in some sort of teaching ministry. Among them are several husbands with their wives, which blesses me to no end!

We recently had one of our dear PNG pastor friends go home to his eternal reward. Pastor Philip was a champion and a close friend. His passing, plus thinking about my own students, has served to remind me of my own spiritual mentors. I’m sure if I tried to make a comprehensive list, I’d leave someone out…but those who poured the most into me in my early years were my pastor, the late Dr. Don Mangus; my main Bible college teacher and friend, Pastor Dennis Hardin; and my missionary friend, Dr. James Griggers. These men invested time and teaching into my life with grace, patience, and a kick in the pants as needed! I doubt any of us thought this lanky soldier boy would ever be doing what I get to do today—but by the power of God’s Holy Spirit and through the influence of these men (and many more!), Lena and I get to serve Him here. I can say that I have a “goodly heritage”!

PERSEVERING SERVANTS
Nurse Stacie McCary finished up her time with us recently and has arrived safely back home. Thank the Lord for Hannah-Rose and the rest of the team who hold the fort at Kunai Health Centre. Please pray that the Lord will continue to use them to meet the physical and spiritual needs that they see daily.

PASSOVER IN PNG
A highlight of the past couple of months was a three-day Passover Conference at Shalom Baptist Church where I was privileged to speak. It was a packed house as we taught (and preached!) through the connections between the Passover and the Lord’s Supper.

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The second night we did a Passover Seder, showing the types of Christ throughout the meal and how much of the meal itself is displayed in the Gospel recollections of the Last Supper. There were many public responses to the Word and at least one precious soul trusted Christ.

PERSONAL NEWS
Some of you know that Lena has health issues associated with SLE (Lupus). She has had a serious flare of the disease for the last three months, and is on IV antibiotics for a related infection even as I write this. On top of it all, she got Dengue fever, but that seems to be about over. She is not a quitter, that’s for sure! As you think of her, please pray for her strength and healing.

Because of your grace, prayers, and giving, we are able to teach and train and translate and tell others about the Good News of the Lord Jesus. Thank you for your part in helping us to keep at it in PNG!

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

Kunai Health Centre: KunaiHealthCentre.com
Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby: bbipom.com

Christina & Glynn enjoy the lecture with Ps Justin and Sogona

Powerful words from a great servant of our Lord (PC Bethany BC, Makati)

Some of the staff of South Pacific International Academy at the Passover table

Construction begins on the building expansion!

John 3:16 has been translated into a new dialect!

Posted on March 12, 2021 by John Allen

MARCH 2021

The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved

We have delayed posting this blog so we could update you on the progress of the Kamea New Testament translation.

When we sent Sarah Glover and Hannah-Rose Winter up to Kunai with a load of supplies in February, Pastor Ben Samauyo and Bro. Yali Tapakoeo caught the plane back to Port Moresby. Together we did a two-week intensive read-through of the entire Gospel of John in Kamea. Lena cooked and washed and kept the distractions away while the three of us locked ourselves in the office and poured over the translation.

How does a read-through work? The first step in the process was the preparation of the document from which the work was to be translated. I did the front translation in Pidgin with notes, accompanied by the text in English. I emailed those up to our coworkers at Kunai, who passed them along to Pastor Ben. He then typed up his translation in the Kamea language. Once he translated and checked it, he passed it on to Yali, who then took the newly translated Kamea text and translated it back into Pidgin to see if the meaning was still the same.

When we all sat down together, Pastor Ben read the text out loud for Yali and I to hear and comment on. We made corrections in comprehension, wording, and spelling. When it agreed with the text, was clearly understandable, and sounded good, then we printed our draft.

**Read John 3:16 in English, Tok Pisin, and Kamea!**

A couple of notes for those who follow this sort of thing:

1. Teaching literacy in the Kamea language is a slow process. At present there is little interest in learning to read in Kamea, but a lot of interest in hearing the Scriptures read. They love hearing God’s words in their mother tongue.

2. We began our project in 2014. At present we have translated over 5,300 verses (about 2/3) of the New Testament, with mostly smaller books left to do. (Not bad considering all the other ministry things happening here!) Presently, we are working our way through our last large book, Revelation. All of our work will need further review by our people, but by God’s grace it keeps moving forward!

The God Who Loves to Answer Prayer

Since our last update, the Lord heard your prayers and opened the door for our first Australian nurse to join the team. Hannah-Rose Winter arrived just a couple of weeks before our first Canadian nurse, Becca Wyatt, headed home this week. We are so grateful for the team at Kunai Health Centre (Sam, MaryBeth, Stacie, Manandi, Jon Mark, Judas, Linda, Ellie, Piyaro, and Nancy) and their service for the King!

*Becca Wyatt holding twins who are now on our baby milk program*

Thank you all for helping us in prayer. It is our privilege to serve God with you!

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

Kunai Health Centre: KunaiHealthCentre.com
Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby: bbipom.com

Lena and I sporting our new Bible college shirts.

Enjoy some recent photos from the ministry here:

Baptist Bible Institute students busy during class.

Watching our video class on Monday nights…

Even after the power blackouts–just keep watching the teacher’s computer!

Checking the read-through of John’s Gospel in Kamea.

Making the edits and adding words to the dictionary.

Finished draft of John’s Gospel in Kamea, printed and ready to go.

Beautiful sunset after a big rain and long time with no sun.

Baby Milk Update, January 2021

Posted on February 3, 2021 by John Allen

BABY MILK UPDATE as of January 2021

We thank the Lord for another year of His provision of baby milk for our clinic ministry at Kunai Health Centre. Even though we had to limit services at times during the pandemic, in 2020 we were able to distribute 246 cans of formula, serving many infants and young children who are malnourished.

The baby milk program began in 2009, and it has served over 400 children since then. Some of these children are school-aged now, and by God’s grace, they are doing quite well.

These twins were just 2.86 pounds each when they were born. They were so tiny! Before we had the supplement program in place, fresh-squeezed pineapple juice or sugar cane would be the usual liquid for any baby that mom could not nurse. Thanks to your support of the baby milk program, we are able to supplement them so that they can stay with their birth mom. She is breastfeeding and supplementing with the baby formula. Way to go!

This year, 10 babies came to us severely malnourished because their mothers were malnourished, too. On the baby milk program, they all became chunky little bits!

Another 14 babies were adopted and fed with baby milk by someone other than their own mother. Take a moment to read Bufort’s story.

Thank you to everyone who joins with us in prayer and financial support of this vital program. We are grateful for those who give monthly or occasionally, and thank you all for keeping the clinic ministry and our people in prayer. The children thank you too!