ThatTheyMayKnow - News From The Field

2012 Pastor's Conference Day 3 plus Attendees Going Home

John Allen — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:19:20 UT

Tags: Pastors' conference, preaching, special meetings

2012 Pastors' Conference Finished!

John Allen — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:25:59 UT

How do you describe it?

People hiking in from up to five days away. Some arrive two days early; some arrive in the dark and in the rain.

A young local church in the mountains of Gulf Province has successfully hosted its first ever Pastors’ Conference.

A young local church in the mountains of Gulf Province has successfully hosted its first ever Pastors’ Conference. Most of its members are less than three years old in the faith. Many have never seen a conference themselves. But with one heart and one mind they have planned, prepared, worked, and prayed for three years. They grew their own food to feed the attendees. They built strong shelters to house the many visitors from Gulf and Morobe Provinces. They assembled a huge meeting house out of local materials and tarps that they bought themselves.

A full house on Day 2 of the conference

The weather did not cooperate. During the week of the meeting we received over 15 inches of rain. On the final day of the meeting, the wind threatened to tear the roof off the meeting house. Strengthened by God’s Spirit and their desire to do something for God, they pulled together and made it work. No complaining was heard about the weather. Difficulties were simply faced and fixed.

Hundreds of pounds of sweet potatoes were grown, harvested, washed, peeled and cooked. The cooks worked in 24-hour shifts, preparing the food on a mud floor in a bamboo and leaf-covered kitchen. They cooked rice and instant noodles, adding greens and sweet potatoes. For two of the meals, they bought and butchered a cow for a real feast. They cooked in pits with hot stones and on long fires on top of the ground. They served the food in the dishes that the attendees brought, or in ones borrowed from church members.

The preaching was convicting. Cultural issues and ancient ideas were challenged by national pastors using the word of God. People were challenged to leave the satanic practices that long have bound them in darkness and to embrace the Cross of Jesus Christ. God was glorified, Jesus Christ was exalted, and God’s people saw Him move in their own hearts as well as the hearts of others.

Believers line the road to say “good-bye” to those walking home after the conference.

When it was finished, 59 people had put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation. To God be the Glory!

650 Attendees

from 48 Villages

with 39 Church leaders

in 15 inches of rain

heard 7 Break-out session teachers

and 3 Plenary speakers

from 2 Provinces

preach about 1 Awesome God!

Tags: Pastors' conference, preaching, special meetings

2012 Pastors' Conference Day 2

John Allen — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 07:35:42 UT

Scenes of the evening service on Day 1 and the morning services on Day 2.

Tags: Pastors' conference, preaching, special meetings

Notes from My Journal 01-27-2012

Matt Allen — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:10:50 UT

Instant gratification has an equal and opposite reaction—instant boredom.

We live in the most entertained generation of history—yet the most bored generation. How does that work? The rest of the world dreams of these opportunities and our generation squanders these same opportunities in boredom. Instant gratification has an equal and opposite reaction—instant boredom.

The hearts of men and women yearn to fantasize about the epic—romantic movies and fictional books; epic war movies, D-Day invasions that have been dressed up to feature the survivors; and yet, these same men and women eat Doritos™, while sitting on a plush leather couch and surfing both the internet and cable TV at the same time (and possibly DVR-ing another show, because they don’t want to miss something).

Well, there is an epic battle raging—it has been for millennia. It’s the battle for the souls of men. Why not jump in and join this battle? The King of kings has commissioned you, Christian friend, for this fight. Depending on your performance, He may choose to allow you to lead in the fight.

Quit fantasizing about the epic—join in the fight and live out the epic!

2012 Pastors' Conference Day 1

John Allen — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:28:37 UT

The morning sessions went well on Friday, January 27. Several people trusted Christ in the morning service. Here are some photos of the opening day.

Tags: Pastors' conference, preaching, special meeting

Prelude to 2012 Pastors' Conference

John Allen — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:55:18 UT

Papua Niugini: Our flag and our country

With the Pastors’ Conference just two days away, plenty of activity is happening at Kotidanga Baptist Church—including starting the meeting early!

Tags: Pastors' conference, preaching, special meetings

A New Hope in Christ

Lena Allen — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 06:27:46 UT

It often happens that a family member will come to our clinic and ask for pain medicine for someone else, and our policy is to review each request case by case. But with Benjamin I always sent a package of Advil with his brother, child or mother. You see, Benjamin is paralyzed and lives downriver two hour’s hike from here in a bush hut across the river at the top of a hill. He had TB of the spine as a young father of three, and it left him with no use of his legs, making it impossible for him to come to clinic.

Benjamin & his mother with visitors from PCC

A couple of years ago a message came from the family that Benjamin was having more problems and needed transport to the Catholic hospital in Kanabea. His brother carried him on his back down the hill, across the river and placed him in the back of the mission’s Kawasaki Mule. This was the first time we met Benjamin in person, finding he had been to school and spoke some English. He and his mother, who accompanied him, were very polite and appreciative.

He stayed at Kanabea’s hospital for months and then was flown down to Kerema General Hospital for further treatment. Months later he returned to Kanabea and stayed at the hospital while receiving further TB medicines. It was during these times that we became friends. When bringing other patients over the mountain to Kanabea, we would check up on him, sometimes even bringing small things like a package of biscuits. He always was eager to chat with us, and his soul was always on our minds (he later told us that our visits were the only ones he received, and that his mother would weep each time after we left, rejoicing that someone cared for Benjamin).

One day he asked for Pastor James to come pray with him. When Pastor James returned from his visit, he told us about our new brother in Christ, Benjamin Luke!

When the day came for us to move him back to his bush hut, John loaded him back into the Kawasaki Mule again. This time they stopped at our home and we gave him a Tok Pisin Bible because he could read. Between the Mule and his brother, he safely arrived back at his bush hut with a new life and a new Bible.

Soon after this, the family started requesting “band-aides” and medicine for sores. Upon inquiring, I learned Benjamin had some sores that started under the skin and had broken open. So, I sent the bandages and more Advil.

About the same time, we began a new church in Aminawa, the next village past Benjamin’s place. Each Sunday we would pass near Benjamin’s hut, so we began stopping by on our three-hour trip home after services. That gave us the opportunity to help him grow by re-preaching the messages from the services at Aminawa.

It was also at this time that Andrew Schellenberger and Rachel Muldoon started their one-year internship (which has turned into full-time missionary work for both of them, as well as a new life as a married couple). Andrew and my husband John worked together at the new church at Aminawa, and so Andrew too became a close friend of Benjamin. Nurse Rachel worked in the clinic, and both she and our other coworker Sarah Glover would make “hut calls” to check on him. Any visitors who came with us to Aminawa also got the benefit of visiting Benjamin. When John and I went on furlough for most of 2011, Andrew and Rachel continued visiting and caring for Benjamin (as well as the many other roles they covered for us).

The very first visit we made to Benjamin in the fall of 2010, however, was terrible. He was clearly had sepsis, with fever and infection throughout all his body. Along with the terrible smell, we saw his wounds; he had huge bed sores from laying on his hips and back. They were the largest and by far the worst I have ever seen. I asked the family to come to the clinic the next day, as I needed to consult US doctors by email as well as my textbooks on the correct treatment. I wept, as I was sure he was dying. Short of a miracle, I could see nothing that could really help.

As the weeks went by, Benjamin began to improve! Thanks to the instructions of US doctors and a wound care nurse, we taught his family how to do special daily dressing changes. We gave him medicines, and we even helped him by bringing high protein food to add to his diet. There was a lot of work involved, but God had something special planned for Benjamin.

Benjamin & his family with his “talking Bible”

As he recovered, his desire for the Word grew. He eagerly awaited the preaching, singing and prayer on Sundays. Realizing he always had people with him in his hut, we gave him a solar-powered audio device (a Proclaimer) that plays the Tok Pisin New Testament. Giving him the spoken Word was just what he and his family needed. Daily they would gather and listen. On one Sunday afternoon, right after arriving, his father met us at the hut. Benjamin’s father told us they had just listened to the Bible and proceeded to give us an outline of the book of First Corinthians. Truly, faith comes by hearing! They love to tell stories, and this audio device was doing just that. Pray that Benjamin’s mother and father will come to know the Savior soon.

When Andrew came to the US to get married to Rachel in October 2011, he brought two videos he made with Benjamin. The first video was Benjamin giving a testimony telling of how he came to know Christ, and how that he is almost well now (Rachel told us his wounds are almost totally healed) from the care given to him. He is thanking us, thanking and praising the Lord, smiling and rejoicing over what God has done for him. The second video was of him playing the guitar and singing songs of praise. And I did not even know he played guitar!

Recently I was looking at some pictures a visitor posted on Facebook of his visit to Papua New Guinea this past summer. One of them was of Benjamin, sitting upright and smiling. American visitors surrounded him, and his mom was sitting right beside him. He had gained weight, and pain looks to be something of the past…physical pain and spiritual pain. He looks to have gained weight spiritually too.

Thanks for praying for us and for the medical ministry. It does open door for the Gospel as this letter shows. What a joy to be a part of a new hope in Christ!

Tags: Bible recordings, medical, TB, Tok Pisin

Whose Child Is This?

Lena Allen — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 04:23:55 UT

Culture and customs vary among the different peoples of the world. As Americans, we fall in love and marry. We have children and hope to live happily ever after. But among the Kamea in Papua New Guinea, even the very definition of “family” can be different.

Adorned with a flower petal, one of our beautiful Kamea children!

In my regular rounds of going to market and attending to people’s health needs, I have become close to several ladies and their children. Luci and her youngest children, Atama and Pepita, are good examples. Atama is about 7 years old, outgoing, always ready to shake my hand. But Pepita, who is maybe 5 years old, is shy, wanting to be picked up and hugged while hiding her face in my shoulder. She will smile from a distance and walk quietly over to me, climb into my lap and cuddle against me. In my mind I can see them grown and married, caring for their own children.

While on furlough I heard the sad news that their father, Sovi, had been killed. He had been beaten and they buried him very quickly due his body’s condition. I could only imagine what would happen to his family now. Here among the Kamea and in much of Papua New Guinea, the children belong to their father. When the father dies, the children remain with the father’s family. This can become even more complicated if the father had not paid the “bride price” for the children’s mother. But for Atama and Pepita, they not only lost their father, but this month they lost their mother too. They were taken from their mother and now live with their father’s family. It was something that Luci was expecting, as this is their custom.

Their new family is in the next village, and I can see the girls often. Their father’s sister now cares for them. Sarah (Sovi’s sister) had two boys with her husband. But when he decided to move to town to find work, Sarah had an inappropriate relationship with her husband’s brother and word got back to her husband. He came and took the children to town with him. So her own two children don’t live with her, and the two that she has are not her own.

A broken arm healed well!

At Baptist Bible Translator’s Institute in Texas we were taught to consider the relationships and terms given to each member of the family. With our Kamea children, all of the mother’s sisters are called ‘mother.” All of the father’s brothers are called “fathers.” Conversely, mother’s brothers are “uncle” and father’s sisters are “auntie.” This should give a clue to the fact that if something happens to the child’s “real” father, he usually has another one that he calls “father” that will care for him.

How sorry I used to feel here for children or teens that told me they were “orphans”. Often visitors from America would ask about opening an orphanage. Over time, I learned that an orphan here is one whose father has died, like Atama and Pepita. However, in truth there are no real orphans here; there are usually family members who will take in a child. While considering this subject, it occurred to me that I know of few families nearby that have just the father, mother, and natural born children ONLY. Every family seems to be a “blended family,” taking care of extended family members along with their own children.

Happy face!

Consider the family of our national pastor, James Naudi. He has a son from his first wife (who died a few months after their son was born). He remarried, but they have had no children of their own; last year they adopted a baby girl. They just wanted a baby and a family gave them one. They also have his wife Kelisa’s young brother living with them as well as James’ brother’s daughter. Thus, they comprise a family of six.

I thought about the family of Margaret, our clinic worker. Her husband lives in town after taking another wife. Margaret has three boys plus another adopted boy. This boy’s parents both are alive, but they just gave him to Elijah and Margaret. Now Margaret looks after all four boys without her husband. Last year she decided it would be nice to have a little girl to train to help in the house, so she adopted one. Both of this little girl’s parents are still living, too.

Sometimes a mother dies in childbearing. Breaking with the old custom of deserting that child to die, now those babies have hope; our baby formula program has changed the outlook of the people. The infant can now be given to the grandmother or a sister of the husband. This new “mother” can come and get formula for the baby. This program has saved the lives of many babies.

Though we might find the Kamea different than Americans in their definition of family, we must continually return our thinking to what the Biblical standard says. What does the Bible say is right? Is the American way right, or the Kamea way? There are some absolutes such as one husband and one wife, but what about who raises those children? As Bible-believing Christians, we take our responsibility seriously and believe that each child is a gift from God. But what if you had 10 children already and could not raise enough food in your garden to feed them all? What if five of your children had already died? For me, I am finding it is enough to say that we are different.

Pray for us that we will have wisdom as we work to teach Biblical truths about the family while discerning what is simply different but not wrong. The most important thing for any of our Kamea children is that they come to know Christ at a young age. Pray that we can keep this most important task high in our priorities and prayer life.

Tags: Children, death, family, father, medical, mother

Don't Forget My People"

John Allen — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:57:30 UT

On the west side of our Kamea people lives another people known as the Tewata or Tainae. Their numbers are much smaller than the Kamea, perhaps numbering only around 1,000. They live in a few villages in a very isolated area, without an airstrip, an aid post, or any development. We know them because they hike a full hard day to come to us for health care.

My wife has ministered to many Tewata peoples’ health needs. Most that we meet come from a village called Pangoni (Pan-go-nee).

Andrew is their spokesman and representative. He speaks some English and can write in Pidgin. Somewhere along the way he heard the Gospel and trusted Christ as his Savior, and has a good testimony of it. He never asks for anything; well, nothing, except for a missionary. He knew a missionary would bring some medical help to his people; but more than that, he wanted us to plant a church there so that the Gospel could be preached to his people and they could learn for themselves what God said in His Word. Andrew was responsible for some of his own people coming to Christ, but he wanted help.

On every visit to us, Andrew always had a warm handshake and time for a story. I enjoyed seeing him come. And our parting always ended like the same. “Brother John,” Andrew would say, holding my hand and looking into my eyes, “Don’t forget my people.”

“Don’t Forget My People”

It was the same when I last saw him before I came home on furlough. “Don’t forget my people. Tell your people in America that we need a missionary to come live with us, to learn our language and tell us about Jesus. Don’t forget my people.”

Yesterday I met with two new PNG missionaries, and we did talk of Andrew’s people. I also shared it with their pastor.

Two hours later I got word from my son Matt: Andrew was dead.

Andrew suffered with chronic breathing problems, as many of our people do. He had just received medicine a day before, and seemed to be all right. But in the night, he had a breathing attack. His last words to those with him were, “Take me, Jesus.”

John & Andrew from Pangoni

I write you this story to fulfill my promise to my friend Andrew. I won’t forget his people. Friends, they need a missionary among the isolated Tewata/Tainae people. They have no spokesman now. Open the attached picture of me and my friend Andrew. And then, will you pray “the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest” among the Tewata/Tainae people?

Will you consider going yourself?

Look at Andrew in the picture, and hear him say, “Don’t forget my people.”

Tags: Andrew, church planting, healthcare, need for missionaries

PHOTO ALBUM: SPECIAL MEETINGS & VISITORS 2010

John Allen — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 19:29:03 UT

Tags: construction, devotions, preaching, salvation, visitors, youth