Just Normal, Everyday Things for Us

Posted on September 11, 2024 by John Allen

A Python in the Translation Office: One day our maintenance guys were checking the air conditioner when they discovered a three-foot python living there. He had resided there a good while; and no, I had no idea. The snake has since found “other accommodations.”

A Broken Bridge: On a recent trip to Lae City, I crossed the Yalu River bridge just a couple of hours before it collapsed, leaving me (and many others) stuck on the opposite side of the river from my flight home. It was a big deal, as this bridge serves to connect all of the Highlands of PNG with the port of Lae. (Thank the Lord, I was able to get to my flight by crossing back over the river in a Land Cruiser driven by a good brother…)

With the Yalu bridge down, people and vehicles crossed through the Yalu River

Kamea New Testament: Even with a snake hiding in the office, July was a fantastic month for us translating the Kamea New Testament. Pastor Ben spent two weeks here while we read through corrections of our previous work in all four Gospels, plus we read through (word-by-word) the Kamea translation of 2 Corinthians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1 Timothy! We will update you more later on our progress, but snake or no snake, the Kamea translation is getting close to being finished!

Men’s Meeting: I got to Lae before the bridge collapsed in time to speak several times at Calvary Baptist Church’s Men’s Camp. It was a great time in the Word of God, with 20 men making professions of faith, and many others making decisions. I relish the fellowship of these dear brothers on the other side of the island. Yalu Bridge may have collapsed, but God made a bridge for many during the meeting!

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby: BBIPOM held its second graduation in August. Both of our 2024 graduates have already been active full-time in their local churches’ school ministries. Janelle teaches here at South Pacific International Academy, and Preacher David is in Western Province in PNG right now preaching a youth camp!

BBIPOM 2024 Graduates David Yuro and Janelle Kila

BBIPOM is already five weeks into our new semester, with many visitors attending our Tuesday evening classes on “Marriage and the Home.” We count it a privilege to have a part in gospel preaching, Bible translation, leadership training, and family building!

An Illness: Lena has had a difficult time these last several weeks with various health issues. After some internal bleeding, her hemoglobin dropped to 8.1, and she has had back-to-back infections. The blood issue seems to be healed, but as she recovers from that, the infections continue.

Not everything in life, even on the mission field, is victory and bliss. Sometimes our wise Lord chooses a more difficult path for us to walk, that He may get the glory and be our all in all. In God’s sovereign plan for us, these health issues are what they are, and they remind us that God is good, all the time.

With that said, Lena and I covet your earnest prayers for her health. We have no plans to leave the field. We are grateful for the Lord’s gift to us of a good doctor here in Port Moresby. What we need are those who will partner with us in prayer daily on our behalf. With all that we see the Lord doing, we can see why the level of spiritual opposition is high. The adversary doesn’t want God’s Word translated into another unwritten language; he doesn’t want more people saved and stirred; and he doesn’t want more ministers trained for the work. We believe the Lord has given us this work for this season, and we believe He has given you to us as partners.

We concur with a good brother of mine, who says, “We continue to have need of nothing except your prayers.” Will you pray for us specifically, daily, that we can keep running our race here, and running it well? For those friends who can and will partner with us in this prayer, we thank you!

Pressing on by His Grace and Goodness,
John & Lena Allen
Psalm 71:18

Here are some more photos from the last two months:

We had a wonderful meeting of Baptist Leaders in PNG at the end of August. Pray with us for this to develop into a furtherance of Gospel advance in PNG and beyond.

Men’s Camp at Calvary Baptist Church, Lae

BBIPOM Classes for the Fall Term 2024

At the beginning of September there was a huge fire near our church campus. Our water delivery truck teams from the ministry here delivered water to the fire trucks to keep them on site fighting the fire. Over 230 new vehicles in an import storage yard were destroyed in this “brush fire” gone wild. The quick work of the water truck teams kept the fire from spreading to the offices and warehouses.

REACHING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE

Featured

Posted on July 3, 2024 by John Allen

Reaching People Where They Are

This has been as varied a ministry season for us as I can remember. In April I finished teaching classes on church history at Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby and headed to Amman, Jordan to teach at the Biblical Theological Seminary.

The trip itself was eventful, at least all around us. As we flew to Dubai, Iran was launching armed drones west over Jordanian airspace. As we passed through Dubai, they experienced record flooding—and so did we. (Dubai is in a desert…lots of rain is not really their thing.)

It was my second trip to teach Ecclesiology (Doctrine of the Church) at BTS, but this time I got to teach for a week without my Bible or my notes, as our bags got lost in the craziness in Dubai. BTS had my notes from last time, but alas, the notes were already translated into Arabic and not much help to me. We made do until the Lord graciously gave us our suitcases with my Bible and notes.

Bill and Ghassan and their families are great hosts, and are doing a great work for the Lord in a difficult place. They just purchased their own building after 20-plus years, so now the church and seminary can have a permanent home.

The in-class students were from different countries in the Middle East. There were also two students following along online from another country in the region. It humbles me to have the opportunity to teach these dear brethren; and I, too, learned from them.

After finishing up in Amman, we crossed the Jordan and spent four days in Israel shooting video and photos to use in future videos in Tok Pisin for our people in PNG. We made similar videos back in 2013, and they have been widely distributed. It is such a help for our people to actually see what the lands of the Bible look like!

After arriving in the USA in May, we headed up to Dearborn, Michigan, to be with Pastor Chris Staub. Dearborn is home to the largest concentration of Arabic people in the US. How exciting it was to learn that Bro. David Gates is there working with Silvery Lane Baptist Church to reach the 80% majority of Arabic people right around the church! Other Baptist churches have moved out of that area, but Pastor Staub and his people are staying put and reaching those whom God has sent.

Being in Jordan and Israel reminded me how hard it is when you cannot share the Gospel because you don’t speak the language. It does, however, make me press in and use the languages I know to tell the old, old story!

Thinking back this year, there have been different places as well as different people…

…like walking through the Gospel with David as I drove him to the bus stop
…or giving out Bibles and a testimony to Tony and his workmates at the gas pump
…or sharing with Thaddeus about what Christ has done for him while waiting for the 4 AM bus to come
…or the many times Teresa has visited our home, and heard a Gospel presentation.

While I haven’t seen David, or Tony, or Thaddeus again, I did hear that Teresa trusted Christ just a couple weeks ago. Whether we are sowing or watering or reaping the harvest; whether we are in Port Moresby or Amman or Dearborn; we are laborers together with God in the great business of building His church!

Pressing on by His Grace and Goodness,
John & Lena Allen
Psalm 71:18

More photos below:

Flooding in the streets of Dubai as we passed through–deserts are not supposed to flood

We are in the process of producing short videos for YouTube of biblical sites in Israel and Jordan. They will be in Tok Pisin, the trade language of Papua New Guinea. We will let you know as they release.

Sunset over the Dead Sea, looking from Jordan over to Israel

Shooting a video in Tok Pisin at the site where Jesus was baptized at Bethany beyond Jordan

Tell Al Hammam, the biblical location of Sodom & Gomorrah in Jordan

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.

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!*

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.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_0508-e1622159505540.jpg

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!

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.

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.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Baby-milk-can.jpg

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!

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

Bufort’s Story

Posted on February 3, 2021 by John Allen

by Sarah Glover, missionary at Kunai since 2010

When living and ministering to provide health care in a communal society, your history with your patients runs deep. They are your friends, not simply a chart to be pulled out of a file, and your friendship deepens with each interaction with them. Such is the case with Bufort. But let me back up a bit and put his story into context.

Bufort’s grandmother, Linda, has been a translator at Kunai Health Center for years. She is faithful in all her areas of responsibility in the clinic, but she truly excels in her work in our prenatal clinic. So it was a special day for all of us when her oldest, newly married daughter came for her first prenatal visit. We were able to provide her with care throughout her pregnancy, including diagnosing and treating malaria during her pregnancy, which can be potentially life-threatening for both mom and baby.

I was already in bed one night when the knock came on my door. It was Linda. Julie was in labor. We had no midwife on the property, and since we encourage all of our first time moms to deliver in a health facility, we decided to transport her to the rural hospital on the other side of the mountain. A landslide on the trail prevented us from taking her the whole way, but we were able to take her a little over halfway in our Kawasaki Mule, and we waved goodbye in the wee hours of the morning as she continued her trek another 45 minutes to the rural hospital.

The next afternoon we were delighted to see Linda, Julie, and a precious baby boy on the clinic porch. They named him Bufort nearly right away, which is unusual for our people. They often wait a year to name their babies to prevent over-attachment should the child not survive his first year. But that’s ever so gradually starting to change, especially among younger parents. I can’t prove it, and I’m sure they could never articulate this, but could it be tied to a generational shift in thinking because they grew up knowing that Kunai Health Centre was there? Could it be perhaps some hope has been born in their hearts that there will be someone there to help their babies through the preventable and treatable diseases of childhood which so many wee Kamea warriors had succumbed to in the past?

Julie and her husband, Tom, are good parents, and Linda loves her little grandson. But when Bufort was about 3 months old, a crisis struck their family. Julie became desperately ill. Without the ability for any major diagnostic testing, and based only on experience and on her symptoms, we began treating her for meningitis. She rallied for awhile and seemed to be responding to the twice-a-day shots we were administering, but then her condition gravely worsened, and she began experiencing seizures and hallucinations. We knew she needed to have access to medical care that was closer than the next village down the trail, so we made the decision to again transport her to the rural hospital on the other side of the mountain. We took her in the same Kawasaki Mule to the same landslide, but this time there was no walking to the rural hospital for her. Instead, she had to be carried in a sheet tied to a pole. We prayed, believing God could do exceedingly great and wonderful things. But we also kept an eye on the trail out front every day should things not go well, and we happen to see them walk by carrying her body back to the village.

Her conditioned worsened, and at times she was in a near comatose state, unable to rise from her bed for any reason. Eventually her deterioration was so severe that she was unable to nurse Bufort anymore. She had so beautifully given him life, but now she could not sustain it, so they turned to us for help. Before in such cases, there was a high likelihood that the baby would not survive. But thanks to the Baby Milk Program at Kunai Health Centre and all of those who support it, this one got to live and be nourished even though his mom was so sick.

Julie remained in critical condition for months. God heard the prayers of many around the world, and He turned our sorrowing into rejoicing. Many months later she walked him home to her village. Bufort has a mom, and Julie has her sweet baby still. Thank the Lord–and thank you to our supporters for the part you played in this story.

Babies like this one benefit from the baby milk program. Thank you for your support!

The Team at Kunai

Posted on December 17, 2018 by John Allen

We are so grateful to work with such a wonderful team at Kotidanga Baptist Mission at Kunai. Enjoy the photos!

[Photo credit: Marie Bell, Mary Beth Snyder]

Look at how many hiked over the mountain on December 4th to greet Sarah Glover and to help her carry her bags! It’s a 10-mile round trip, climbing and descending about 1,000 feet.