MUCH TO HOLD FAST

Posted on November 5, 2023 by John Allen

November 2023 click here for printable copy

“Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me,
in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:13)

In September we held our first commencement exercises for Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby. There were 18 in our pioneer class. They persevered through a pandemic and personal loss. They sat for many exams in a classroom, and took many exams online. They learned, they laughed, they loved, and they lived out their profession of faith in Christ Jesus. They did outreaches, held public evangelism, taught day school, taught Sunday school, and preached in markets and homes and pulpits. Some went to the Highlands; some went to the islands. The reason we call our graduation exercises a “commencement”is because it is not supposed to be the end, but it is supposed to be the beginning. The beginning of learning, the beginning of reaching people for Christ, the beginning of discipleship, the beginning of a fruitful life in service of our King!

Our students’ stories are varied. Each one is dear to Lena and me. Our prayer is that God will use them all for His glory and the advancement of the Gospel in PNG and among the peoples of the world.

Soon after graduation, we had the privilege of having our son Nate coming to speak for youth camp here at Capital City Baptist Church, where our son Matt pastors. Nate brought our grandson Graham, and it was a wonderful, busy, and fruitful time of ministry and fellowship. God did great things at youth camp and in our local church. Our BBIPOM students even enjoyed a luncheon meeting with Pastor Nate while he was here too. God is so good!

HOLD FAST THE FORM OF SOUND WORDS

Our world is very different than it was just a few short years ago. Deception and division continue to rise, faster than any time in living memory. Strong beliefs in the Truth are necessary if we are to live and lead effectively. Wishy-washy idealism will not inspire confidence in others.

It is vital that we “hold fast the form of sound words,” those core beliefs of Christianity such as inerrancy of the Scriptures, existence of a personal God, the Deity of Jesus Christ, the necessity of the redemption of man through the sinless atoning sacrifice of the blood of Christ, etc. But too often we blindly repeat what others say, rather than stating truths which we ourselves have studied, meditated on, and been transformed by. In the early stages of our Christian life, it was good that we found others whom we could trust and lean upon for our foundation. But as we mature, we must “Prove all things; [and] hold fast that which is good.” (1 Thes. 5:21) In our present world with its constant challenges to historical, biblical Christian beliefs, we must have sound, biblical answers for ourselves and for those who ask a reason of the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15).

We must have a Bible-based theology to lead God’s people in an effective manner in these tumultuous days. We must be students of the Word of God. We must love it and search it and believe it and wrestle with texts that are difficult. The Word is our bedrock as shifting winds of culture blow against our beliefs and our faith in God. It must be the Word of God that points our people to Him as they navigate these same storms.

I am unapologetically dispensational in my theological outlook for the future. The Word of God and two eyes open to the world around us scream that this is unlike any time in world history. One could argue that such-and-such has happened repeatedly in human history, that there is “nothing new under the sun.” What one cannot ignore is that these things have never come to pass so concurrently on a global scale. Just think of the governmental instabilities, the military alliances, the rampant rise in anti-Jewish sentiment around the world, and the promotions of wickedness as normal; plus inconceivable advances in AI technology…we have never seen such a surging toward the end as we see it now. Even a cursory reading of eschatology (Ezekiel 38-39, Matthew 24, Revelation 6-18) gives one pause as to where we are headed.

We must know what we believe. To know what we believe, we must study the Word and learn from those who went before us, those whose testimony is biblical, faithful, and sure.

Hold fast what you know is true. Be ready to go or to stay. And be sure to keep telling others about Jesus.

Pressing on by His Grace and Goodness,
John & Lena Allen
Hebrews 12:1-2

BBIPOM: bbipom.com

Pastor Nate, Papa John, Bro Phil Parry, & Pastor Matt, Christian Life Seminar at CCBC Youth Camp 2023

Faith Bible Institute (FBI) comprises three years’ worth of lectures and thousands of pages of reading and study.

Pastor Justin Wohuinangu and Pastor Tau Abary

INVESTMENTS

Posted on September 7, 2023 by John Allen

Now also when I am old and grayheaded,
O God, forsake me not;
until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation,
and thy power to every one that is to come.
(Psalm 71:18)

Deacon Kidu with Lena, John, & Bro. Griggers (PC Kidu Morea)

In July I had the privilege of teaching again in India. Glory to God for the time with the students and with some choice pastors and servants of the Lord.

RUNNING THE RACE WELL

Posted on July 6, 2023 by John Allen

July 2023

“…let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus..”
(Hebrews 12:1b-2a

Lately I have been reminded that our lives are so much like races to be run. Some races have stages to run, each with its own beginning and ending. In every race, how you finish is as important as how you start and how you run. As has been said, “Anyone can start, but who will finish?”

FINISHING WELL

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby’s first group of 17 students completed their 3 ½ years of study in mid-May. They learned from God’s Word, gleaned practical principles, and applied themselves in many different ministries. They also developed perseverance, overcame obstacles (including the pandemic, blackouts, floods, and fighting in their streets), and still completed their course with joy. I am blessed to have a part in their lives, and I thank the Lord for each of them.

RUNNING WELL

In April we held our second BBIPOM Conference, this one focusing on biblical preaching. It was well attended by pastors from Port Moresby, Central Province, and Gulf Province. Pray that we will be able to host more of these conferences each year.

During our trip to the US, we were able to visit churches in several states. Thank the Lord for those of you who faithfully serve the Lord through trials of affliction and keep finding ways to reach people with the Gospel. Lena and I were challenged by the spirit we found in you dear pastors and your people.

A highlight of the trip was being able to minister at our home church, after which I had the privilege of baptizing two of our high school-aged grandchildren, Beth and Abe. What an honor for a granddad!

We were also able to visit our son Nate and the new church plant in Indiana. Nate’s family and Dave’s family live within an hour’s drive of each other, so we were able to be with all of them. God has blessed us with a wonderful family (in the US and PNG) who love the Lord and His people.

BEGINNING WELL

Do we not enjoy finding those who are starting out serving the Lord? Seeing new believers begin walking in the truth and acquiring a hunger for the Lord and His Word is always exciting! Some of these are students at BBIPOM, others are high school students or graduates with a heart for the Lord. Praise the Lord for each one!

Our grandson Ben graduated from high school at our home church, and it was my privilege to be asked to speak at the commencement. Praise the Lord, no greater joy!

LOOKING UNTO JESUS

There are many dear ones who finish the race well. One of our dear students at BBIPOM, Sister Flora, finished her course a few months ago, graduating ahead of her husband and her class. Grief is the portion of those left to keep running; but the “well done” of the Savior was the greeting as our sister crossed the line, safely home.

Benjamin Luke and his family in April 2022

Some of you will remember a dear brother from our ministry days up in the mountains. Benjamin Luke became a paraplegic from TB. He trusted Christ over a decade ago and was a testimony to everyone who visited him. He suffered greatly in his affliction, but thankfully Lena and the faithful Kunai Health Centre staff were able to minister to him and alleviate some of that pain. Even when we moved to the capital, Ben continued to call us every couple of weeks from his hut on the top of a mountain. Just a few weeks ago Ben finished his course. He could not run with his legs for many years, but wow, I imagine he is running now! We will always remember him praying for us on the phone, for Lena’s health and for the blessing of God on the ministry. You ran well, my brother. Enjoy your new legs, and run to Jesus!

Pressing on by His Grace and Goodness,
John & Lena Allen
Hebrews 12:1-2

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby: bbipom.com

Enjoy some pictures from the last couple of months!

BBIPOM Conference photos:

Here are some pictures of our Saturday night translation checking squad:

We had a great meal and fellowship when we ended the semester at BBIPOM in May:

Here is Lena with Margaret and her son Alex. Margaret and Lena worked together for years at Kunai Health Centre. Margaret and Alex both went on to study and graduate as community health workers (think LPN in the US). We are so proud of their hearts to serve the Lord and their people!

SEEING THE LORD’S HAND

Posted on March 10, 2023 by John Allen

Click here for printable copy

…IN MERCY: We’ve all had a phone call…you know, the one that sets your heart pounding, mind racing, and hopefully, prayers flying. We got one of those calls in January. Pastor Ben’s wife, Anjuda, had delivered her baby early in a remote area and was in bad shape. Thankfully, she was near the highway from Kerema to Port Moresby, having come down from their village in the mountains. Our son Matt took one of our Bible school students, Braxstone, and Pastor Ben’s oldest daughter Selestine, and they sped off on an overnight trip to find Anjuda and the baby, and to bring them back to Port Moresby. Almost 14 hours after they left, after bouncing on the potholed road, avoiding a couple of attempted road blocks/car jackings, and having the truck stoned, they returned to meet us at the hospital. Anjuda took two units of blood; and by God’s grace, she recovered! The little baby boy also recovered quickly as well. Praise the Lord for His care of Matt, Braxstone, and Sele as they made the trip to literally save Anjuda’s life. And better yet—after recovering with us here at our home for several more days, Pastor Ben’s family was able to head back to their village.

Braxstone, Pastor Ben, Anjuda & baby, & Selestine

Not everything here is that dramatic, praise the Lord. The day-in, day-out routines of life are where we all live. For us it is two evenings of Bible college, one evening of translation checking, Wednesday evening Bible study in Boroko, plus daytime work on the translation projects, weekly preparation for preaching and teaching, and discipleship.

…IN OUTREACH: Some of our Bible college students spent December and January in outreach ministries at a distance from here. One went with another preacher to Southern Highlands Province, filling in at churches without pastors. Another went to the island of Bougainville, where he began three separate ministries in a few weeks. The door is open in so many places here, and we are working to get more laborers trained as we help them catch the vision! It is good to see the growth in spiritual maturity among our students, as well as seeing some begin to get a good grasp on handling the Word of God well in their study and in preaching and teaching!

*Preacher Flynn preaching at Shalom Baptist (PC Pastor Tau Abary)*

…IN TRAINING: Recently I was privileged to hold a Biblical Preaching Workshop for pastors on the other side of the island in Lae, hosted by Pastor Michael Saka. Most of these laborers preach and teach in Tok Pisin, so we adapted the materials for them. They are really hungry to learn and preach the Word!

*Practical work in studying a text at the Biblical Preaching Workshop*

Then we had a Workers’ Training Seminar for Pastor Tau Abary here in the city. It was packed with experienced and prospective workers for their classes and ministries. Thank the Lord for those who desire to serve and dedicate themselves to it!

Last week we were in Mt. Hagen with Pastor Camillus Kumbi and Missionary Kenny Seremak for the kick-off of their new Bible institute. It was encouraging to be with their prospective students and supporting pastors. We had great responses in each of the meetings. I look forward to hearing good things from this new partnership of churches in the Highlands.

*Baptist Temple in Mt. Hagen–home of the new Highlands Baptist Bible Institute*

…IN BLESSING: One last thing—can I brag on my wife? While walking through life as a grandmother to 10, and living with an oftentimes frustrating and painful disease, she manages to be a huge blessing. She’s my assistant in our Bible college classes, she balances her food budget to feed the whole crew of our weekly translation checks, and then washes dishes so we can go directly into the Word. I don’t know how it goes at your place, but at ours, an RN with a PhD fixes dinner, waits on guests, and washes dishes.

*Papa John, Mama Lena, & Pastor Ben’s daughter, Selestine. Sele is living with us while she finishes her high school training, and is also enrolled in our Bible Institute.*

We have an even busier schedule in the weeks to come. Pray we can do it all, and do it well, for the glory of God!

Pressing on by His Grace & Goodness,
John & Lena Allen
Philippians 1:27

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby: bbipom.com

Enjoy the photos!

*Mama and Papa with the Seremak family in Mt. Hagen*

*Bro. Kenny, Papa John, Pastor Camillus*

*Pastor Matt Allen & Braxstone Yansom, who is both a Bible college student at BBIPOM and a pastoral intern at Capital City Baptist in Port Moresby*

CONFERENCE SEASON

Posted on November 11, 2022 by John Allen

For printable copy, click here.

The ending of pandemic restrictions gave us back the joy of meeting together with the brethren in three conferences in the last three months.

NATIONAL PASTORS’ CONFERENCE

The local Baptist churches in Port Moresby co-hosted the national conference under the leadership of Pastor Paul Lahari at Bible Baptist, and they did a good job of it. BBC provided the venue and lots of ever-present assistance, and many churches from the city joined hands to take turns cooking the meals, feeding the crowd, and leading the services. Thank the Lord for being able to hear the Word preached and to fellowship with some brothers we haven’t seen in years.

BBIPOM CONFERENCE
Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby hosted its first annual conference right on the heels of the National Conference. It was so good to see our students looking sharp as we enjoyed the teaching from Pastor Cranston Knowles from the Bahamas and Pastor Ed Thierbach from the USA.

A highlight of the conference was the round-table discussion by the more seasoned PNG pastors regarding balancing ministry and family. It was a blessing to our students and to the pastors in attendance. We trust the Lord will allow us to continue holding these special meetings.

IRON SHARPENETH IRON CONFERENCE

In early November I spent a few days in Lae City, PNG, where I was honored to be part of the “Iron Sharpeneth Iron” Conference hosted by Pastor Michael Saka of Tent Siti Baptist Church. There were several dozen pastors in attendance, plus many of their wives.

I was privileged to speak alongside Missionary Pastor Dala Momo (from PNG, who serves among the Aboriginal people of Australia). It was a biblically sound, theologically rich conference that God used to speak straight to our hearts. It was definitely a time of refreshing and challenge!

PRESSING IN & PRESSING ON

I want to thank all of you who have labored with us in prayer for Lena’s health. This has been a long, difficult season for us. Recently she has seen some relief, and has actually started to feel alive. We do not take this for granted, and we definitely praise the Lord for it.

Having just taught on prayer in Bible college here, and also teaching on it currently in our Wednesday evening fellowship meetings in Boroko, I am all the more aware that the answers we get from the Lord in answer to prayer are pure grace. He calls us to pray; but more than that, He calls us to trust. What rich lessons we have been learning by experience about trust—and what encouraging lessons we have been learning about God’s providence and wisdom. Difficult seasons test and prove our faithfulness to God, but more importantly, they build our faith in His faithfulness to us.

Please continue to pray for us. The harvest is great, and the open doors are many. In two weeks, Lena and I will celebrate 45 years of being married, with one-third of that time being in PNG. 40 years of our marriage has been invested in full-time ministry. There is much to do here for our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Keep praying for us!

Because He Is,
John & Lena Allen
Philippians 1:27

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby: bbipom.com

Enjoy some pictures from recent weeks here in PNG! [PC: some by Pastor Tau Abary, others by John & Lena Allen]

Pastor Dala teaching during the frequent evening power blackouts.

Pastor Ben Samauyo, our village pastor from Kotidanga (and lead translator on the Kamea New Testament) with Pastor Cranston Knowles from the Bahamas. Ps Cranston and his wife Susanna were a GREAT blessing to all of our people when they were here. He spoke at Capital City Baptist Church’s Youth Conference, the National Pastors’ Conference, the BBIPOM Conference, and at Capital City Baptist and Shalom Baptist. We are so grateful for his ministry among us here.

Our Kamea kids came in for the Youth Conference here at our son Matt’s church. So good to see them–and to host some of them while they were here!

Malcolm and his wife Metiyai have been friends of ours since we moved to PNG in March 2008. Malcolm worked with Missionary Tom Palmer on the translation of the Hamtai New Testament, and Malcolm has always been an encouragement in our Kamea project.

In 2009 Dr. Micah Yawing was deputy director for Morobe Province Health Department. He wrote one letter and made one phone call–and from that our Kunai Health Centre received whatever government medicines were available, for the next 13 years until we closed in late 2021. When our own province refused to help, Dr. Micah stepped in and opened great doors of supply for us. I saw him in Lae at the conference; we had not seen one another in nearly 15 years.

Pastor Tau and me with our new BBIPOM banner

Our dear Sister Sarah Glover served the Kamea and PNG people from April 2010 through September 2022. It was a blessing to honor her service at the BBIPOM Conference. God is doing great things through Sarah!

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!*

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

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:

Because He Is

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

Category Archives: Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby

MUCH TO HOLD FAST

November 2023 click here for printable copy

INVESTMENTS

RUNNING THE RACE WELL

SEEING THE LORD’S HAND

CONFERENCE SEASON

Translating, Teaching, and Training

The Gospel IS the Power of God unto Salvation

October 2021

Investing in the Future

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

November 2023 click here for printable copy

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