Translating, Teaching, and Training

Posted on June 21, 2022 by John Allen

June 2022 Click here for printable copy

Bible Translation Read-Through

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

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

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

Last verse in the Kamea translation of Revelation

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

Bible College Students

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

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

Bible Training Materials

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

Draft copy of our Tok Pisin Study Bible: Proverbs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Gospel IS the Power of God unto Salvation

Posted on April 25, 2022 by John Allen

April 2022

Profitable Trip to Kunai

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Passover Conference in Port Moresby

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

*Six young men surrendered for ministry!*

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

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

Click here for printable copy

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby: bbipom.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Kunai from the air, looking northeast.*

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

*Beautiful Kerema town, capital of Gulf Province.*

*Nothing juicier than a Kamea pineapple!*

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

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

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

Baby Milk Update, January 2022

Posted on February 23, 2022 by John Allen

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

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

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

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

Posted on February 18, 2022 by John Allen

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

Family Conference

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

Baimuru

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

New Bible College Term

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

1^st Printing of Kamea Scripture Portions

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

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

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

For printable copy of this letter, click here.

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby: bbipom.com

Enjoy some recent photos:

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

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

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

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

Literacy book using selected portions of Mark’s Gospel

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

October 2021

Posted on October 21, 2021 by John Allen

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

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

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

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

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

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

A group of people posing for a photo

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

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

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

Visit our Medical Clinic: www.KunaiHealthCentre.com

Visit our Bible College: www.BBIPO M .com

Missionary Life August 2021

Posted on August 19, 2021 by John Allen

Missionary Life

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PERSONAL NEWS

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

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

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

Enjoy this month’s photos!

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

Signing in for class (PC Pastor Tau Abary)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

2020–Not a Loss

Posted on December 31, 2020 by John Allen

Looking Back

Here are some highlights of our 2020:

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

Looking Around

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

Looking Ahead

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

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

Most of our 1st Year Students at BBIPOM

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

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

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

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

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

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

Students listening attentively during chapel.

Missionary John Gray came to challenge our student body.

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s a sunrise view from our front veranda.

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby Mission Statement

The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same

Posted on July 3, 2020 by John Allen

Click here for printable copy

New Normal

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

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

New Classes

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

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

New Opportunities

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

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

New Construction

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

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

Same Great Bible

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

Same Glorious Gospel

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

Same Great Need

Laborers are needed!

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

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

Kunai Health Centre: KunaiHealthCentre.com

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

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

First, some of our BBIPOM students!

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

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

UPNG Medical students were eager to receive their free Bibles.

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

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

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

Only God

Posted on April 15, 2020 by John Allen

April 2020

Click here for printable text copy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some recent photos:

Baptist Bible Institute of Port Moresby