Bart and Emily Allen Tribal Church Planters in Papua New Guinea By far, the most common way to get around here in PNG is to walk. We don’t know any statistics, but privately owned vehicles are a rarity as far as we can tell. The road to town is lined with people walking. And they are often carrying heavy loads.
Life in PNG – Getting Groceries
A Husband’s work is never done! And now that includes getting groceries. Read the rest of this entry »
Merry Christmas!
The day is winding down on our first Christmas in Papua New Guinea!
(There was supposed to be video clip here, but we can’t get it to upload!! Sorry!)
We enjoyed spending the morning together as a family talking about the true meaning of Christmas and then opening some presents. A special part of the morning was getting to talk to most of Emily’s family on Skype. (We had talked to Bart’s parents yesterday.)
Christmas morning
Life in PNG – Doing Laundry
Here’s another peek into what life is like for us. Doing laundry is a little more time consuming now and we thought you might be interested in how the process works!
Our washer – called a twin tub washer – is in the storage room underneath our house. We do not have a dryer – other than the sun and wind.
The twin tub washer
Life in PNG – Getting Settled
What is life like for us here in PNG? We’re glad you asked!!
These first few days and probably the next week or so we are spending most of our time getting settled into our house. When we arrived, our house was furnished with things here from the center that are available for new families. Just yesterday we finished bringing over our things that we shipped many months ago in the container. They had been stored in the shop and are now in a storage room under our house. Slowly but surely we are going through the trunks and putting things where they belong. As we get out our own things, we will return the borrowed items that were here in the house.
Our storage room
However, many of the things that we shipped are for the next few years so those items need to be sorted out and packed back up again – tools, extra clothes, bigger clothes for the boys…
Bart getting some help unloading our things
Along with getting our house in order, we have taken several trips into town for groceries and supplies. Town is about 25-30 minutes away. Each evening we have had dinner with a different missionary family here on the center. It has been a great time of getting to know our new friends and co-workers.
The boys are doing great. There is tons of room for them to play and explore. There are interesting bugs and large toads to catch. There are also plenty of mosquitos and other biting insects, however we have been told that the malaria mosquitos only come out after dusk. Most days are sunny, hot and humid, but there is often a nice breeze blowing that makes it seem cooler. We are all sleeping well and haven’t really had any jet lag issues.
As time goes on we plan to share more detailed descriptions of different areas of our life here. So, stay tuned!! (In this, and hopefully other posts, you should be able to click on the pictures to make them bigger.)
We Are Now in PNG!!
We made it to Papua New Guinea! Our trip, although quite long, went very smoothly and the boys did great! After 6 flights, we are pretty sure we could give the safety demonstration perfectly if we ever needed to. We saw the Lord provide many little blessings along the way. Here are just a few: Read the rest of this entry »
New Prayer Requests for December 14-20
December 14 – 20
- Time to unpack all those things that we shipped over in the container!
- For endurance as we set up our house
- For the adjustment of going to a church where a different language is spoken
- For the boys as they make new friends
- For us to find a good schedule for homeschooling
- For ears to quickly adjust to the sounds of a new language and for alert minds to be able to begin studying full time
Travel Prayer Requests – December 7- 13
Yesterday was a very special (and at times, emotional) day as our home church held a commissioning service for us. Friends and family traveled from several different states to join us. Thank you to all of you who came! We love and appreciate you.
In a few hours we will head to the airport. As Bart shared yesterday at church, we are now off on the adventure the Lord has for us! Here are some more prayer requests for this coming week. Thank you for praying!
December 7 – 13
- We plan to leave Meadville on Monday before noon for Pittsburgh
- For airline check-in personnel who are kind, understanding and in a good mood
- For all of our luggage to be checked in without any trouble
- Saying goodbye!
- For all of our connections to be smooth and on time
- From the time we leave Pittsburgh until we arrive at our final destination in PNG will be about 80 hours of travel!!
- We have an overnight in Seattle and then 23 hours in Singapore
- That the boys (and us too) would be able to sleep on the plane
- For no trouble as we pass through customs
- For our adjustment to the extreme heat and humidity of PNG (it’s been in the high 90’s and is supposed to get hotter)
- For strength and flexibility as we adjust to a new language and culture
- For wisdom and grace as we meet and get to know our new teammates and coworkers
Prayer Requests for November 30 – December 6
Right now we are busy packing our luggage! We leave for PNG in one week!!!
November 30 – December 6
- For the packing process – we are allowed 8 pieces of luggage each no more than 50 pounds. We have to decide whether to spend the extra money to take an extra piece or two of luggage if necessary.
- For wisdom to decide on final purchases as well as possibly deciding what will not go if we don’t have the space/weight allowance in our luggage
- There are lots of little things that need to be wrapped up before we can go
- For the final packing up of things that will be stored in our shed
- For patience and understanding with each other as we have many added stresses
- For the busy day of the commissioning service (Sunday December 6 at our home church in Meadville, PA)
- For strength and courage as we say goodbye to friends and family
- For our immediate family here who will be adjusting to us leaving
- For a peaceful and restful night’s sleep on Sunday night as we anticipate leaving on Monday December 7
Thanks once again for praying for us. Our lives are going to change drastically in the next few weeks. We rest in the knowledge that even though we are facing many unknowns, the Lord will be with us all along the way!
Prayer Requests for the Week
Two weeks from today we will be leaving for Papua New Guinea!!!!
As we countdown to our departure, there are still many things that need to be done and many goodbyes to be said. Here are some specific prayer requests for this coming week.
November 23 – 29
- For God’s peace as we face many new and unknown things in the days and weeks ahead
- For our travels to visit two of Bart’s sisters
- Final paperwork that needs to be completed
- Bart is trying to meet with a former co-worker who, as far as we know, is unsaved
- For special times with our family at Thanksgiving
- For balance as a family as we have many things that must be done – at the same time we don’t want to neglect family time and doing special things with our boys
- That we would all remain healthy
- For patience and understanding with each other as we have many added stresses
Thanks for praying with us during this time of transition.
