WHEN LOVE LOOKS LIKE A PINEAPPLE

Posted on March 27, 2024 by John Allen

March 2024

For almost eleven years Lena and I lived at Kunai in the remote mountains of Gulf Province, PNG. In the Wenna Valley the ground was not very fertile, so our people did most of their gardening (their only food source) on the other side of the mountains that surrounded us.

But one thing grew quite well in our valley: Pineapples. When they were in season, you could get a juicy one for a few cents. We ate a lot of pineapple in those days, and loved it!

Living in the capital now is quite different. Pineapples brought in from great distances can cost upwards of $5.00 each—and they don’t taste nearly as good.

One of our young Kamea men from Kotidanga Baptist Church, Ryan, lives here on the church and school campus, while working as an apprentice electrician. His grandfather passed away last month, so Ryan caught a truck to Kerema (7 hours away) and then hiked two and a half days back through the mountains to Kunai.

Ryan grew up in Kotidanga, and we’ve known him ever since we arrived here over sixteen years ago. He continues to be a faithful Christian, serving the Lord in the church here, and helping us as one of our bible translation checkers. His dad and mom are still members of the church back in Kotidanga. His dad is a village leader. His mom worked with Lena at Kunai Health Centre, where Lena trained her to read microscope slides to look for malaria and tuberculosis.

For a lot of the young people here, we get to be Mama and Papa. Counseling, encouraging, witnessing to lost friends they bring over to our house. Some of the young people are our Bible college students.

After Ryan returned, he brought us word of how the believers are doing back in the village. We were able to share with him that another of the youth with whom Ryan grew up, Judas, is finishing up his Bible school training this year with Bro. Wil Muldoon, and plans to return to the area to minister among the Kamea people.

When Ryan hiked back from Kotidanga, he carried this pineapple and two large cucumbers for us. They added at least another 8 pounds to his load, which he gently carried for two and a half days as he hiked down out of the mountains. All because he knew that Mama Lena and Papa John love Kunai pineapples and cucumbers.

That’s how love looks like a pineapple.

FRUIT THAT REMAINS

Pineapples aren’t the only fruit that grew at Kunai. Over the years many people were saved, and trained, and nurtured. Some of the youth, like Ryan, Braxstone, Caleb, and Selestine have gone on to become blessings in the church here in Port Moresby.

Our son Matt’s ministry at Capital City Baptist has had many people saved in the last several weeks. Resurrection Sunday will see many of these following the Lord in believer’s baptism. Lena had the joy of leading a lady to Christ at CCBC this last weekend.

I had the privilege to teach and preach a Biblical Preaching Conference for Pastor Michael Saka in Lae in February. Then in March we had the joy of being with Pastor Camillus Kumbi and Missionary Kenny Seremak for a three-day meeting to kick off their new Bible school year. Thank the Lord for the ministries around our nation who invest in training men and ladies for ministry. And thank you for partnering with us in the work the Lord has given us!

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

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby: bbipom.com

Our old Boroko Faith Family meeting place on Wednesday nights.

Below: The Biblical Preaching Conference in Lae (at Tent Siti Baptist Church) had time during the day sessions for everyone to practice what they were learning in reading and comprehending the biblical texts assigned.

Below: Praise the Lord for our BBIPOM students and graduates. Some have developed into skillful preachers of the Word. And thank God for students who will endure those hot evenings when we have power blackouts–which are quite frequent. (PC for some photos: Kidu Morea)

Below: Special moments of recent note.

Selestine’s birthday with the translation checking squad!

BABY MILK PROGRAM FINAL POST

Posted on July 21, 2023 by John Allen

In late 2021, due to circumstances beyond our control, we had to cease operations at Kunai Health Centre after over 13 years of service to our dear Kamea people. It was a painful decision for all of the staff involved. Some of the reasons were:

A lack of funding for the Health Centre. We paid our PNG staff from our own support, including one CHW nurse graduate. We could not afford to pay anyone else, and we needed more PNG nurses. The reason for that was:
We were no longer able to use the visa we had used to bring in our nurse volunteers from the USA and Australia. We had been informed by the government we could use that visa, and we did for over 8 years. In early 2021 they changed their ruling regarding how we used it. Going forward we would need to get all of our incoming expatriate nurses full PNG visas and PNG nursing licenses. Since all of our nurses were coming as self-sponsored volunteers, none of them had the time to wait for all that paperwork. They were not sponsored missionary workers, and it just would not work for them or for us.
We needed full-time management of the clinic on the ground at Kunai. There was no one who could take that position, which would include doing all the supply and medicine buying and taking care of all the transport costs of procurement and delivery to our remote site.

When Kunai Health Centre closed, we no longer had a means to administer the Baby Milk Program. The remaining cans of milk were given to our national pastor to distribute to those who were on the program. He continued to do that until the supply ran out. The final cans were distributed in mid-2022.

We are so very grateful to those who gave to this program, and for those who kept our dear moms and babies in prayer. The Lord did much through this ministry, not only helping babies get a good start on life, but also through showing the love of Jesus through the hands-on labor of loving these dear families.

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!

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!

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.

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 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

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.

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!

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!