We all went and picked out a tree (a maple that has beautiful bright red leaves in the fall) and then picked out a spot on the farm to plant it.  The boys had great fun helping to dig the hole and then get the tree situated just right.

Over the years, it will be neat to take pictures by the tree  as the boys get older.  Here are a few photos of the process.

Luke, Titus and cousin Olivia with the new tree – it even came with a bird’s nest!

Almost done – just add some good farm “dirt”!

Mission accomplished!

The other thing we accomplished that day was buying our tickets for PNG.  As we looked back on the day, we joked, “Things done today – bought tickets for PNG and planted a tree.”  It was an exciting day!

]]> http://www.ntm.org/wp/bart_allen/2009/11/10/a-tree-for-luke-and-titus/feed/ 0 http://www.ntm.org/wp/bart_allen/2009/10/31/interesting-partnership-development-stats/ http://www.ntm.org/wp/bart_allen/2009/10/31/interesting-partnership-development-stats/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:09:34 +0000 bart_allen http://www.ntm.org/wp/bart_allen/?p=1331 In December 2007 we finished our linguistic training with New Tribes.   That concluded 4 1/2 years of study – 2 years of Bible school, 2 years of missions training and then the additional 1/2 year of linguistics.

So, in January 2008 we started Partnership Development (known elsewhere as deputation or support raising).  That time is quickly coming to a close as we anticipate leaving for Papua New Guinea in early December.  With only one church left to visit to share the ministry of tribal church planting, we thought you might be interested in some stats we’ve been keeping!  Enjoy!  Oh, and we’d love to hear which one is your favorite! 

Current support level – 95%

# of churches in which we have spoken – 45

# of ministry miles we have driven – 17,423

# of hours we’ve spent formally presenting our ministry – 66 ½

# of supporting churches – 13

$’s paid in tolls – $93

# of beds we’ve slept in – 53

# of people who have signed up to receive our email updates – 626

# of hands we’ve shaken – ???

# of times we’ve listened to the 7 Chronicles of Narnia books on CD in the car – 4 and working on our 5^th time through

# of times we’ve eaten fast food – way too many!

God has given us so many wonderful opportunities during this time of raising support.  We have met and fellowshipped with believers from many great churches.  We have seen the Lord answer prayer in too many ways to count.  We have grown closer as a family as well as in our trust in the Lord.

Thanks for your part with us in this journey.  May God be glorified and praised as we continue to serve Him.

Into the 90’s!!

Well, we’re really at 95% but we had already taken this picture so we wanted to share it.

If you haven’t seen the photo journal of our support changes, here are the previous photos.

And, in case you ever wondered, shaving cream will take the finish off of a table!  We now have a permanent reminder of being at 85%.

Stayed tuned for the next update and photo!!

And the photo booth they had available was a hit with the boys!

Before we leave for PNG and begin learning a whole new culture, we wanted to let the boys experience another aspect of our own culture – the classic American pastime of baseball.   A few weekends ago, our family headed to Pittsburgh and spent the evening with Grandma and Grandpa Weber at a Pirates game.  We were a little too high up for the boys to make use of the ball gloves they brought, but they didn’t care.   They didn’t even care that the Pirates lost!  It was fireworks night too and the view from the stadium with fireworks reflecting off the skyscrapers was really incredible.

Recently, even before we went to the Pirates game, Luke and Titus decided that they now have favorite teams – the Pirates for baseball, the Penguins for hockey and the Steelers for football.  A few days ago Luke told us that he also likes the Browns!  Apparently he hasn’t learned that, at least in this part of the country, it’s either one of those teams or the other – not both!!

While we aren’t avid fans for any sports teams, we’re glad that the boys are making some connections with our “home” culture.  They probably won’t see football, baseball or hockey while we’re in Papua New Guinea (unless some of you sports fans send us dvd’s of some games!) but at least they’ll know what people are talking about when we come home.

Earlier this spring our pastor approached Bart about being ordained before we leave for Papua New Guinea.  While ordination is not a requirement for being a tribal church planter, Bart felt that it would be a beneficial thing for him to go through.  So, the studying began!!!  In reality, he had been studying for this his whole life.

The first step of the process was organizing a council of other ordained men to question and examine Bart to be sure he was fit for the Gospel ministry.  Besides questioning him on doctrinal issues, they also talked to people in our church and neighborhood to evaluate his character. That ordination council took place in July and after about 2 1/2 hours of questions, the men determined that Bart was qualified to be ordained.

Our church planned an ordination service at the end of August and many of the men who were on the ordination council were able to attend.  In addition to the pastors from two of our supporting churches, a special treat was that Greg and Dawn Sanford came from Jersey Shore so Greg could give the charge to Bart.  Greg was one of our main instructors during our first year of New Tribes training in central PA.

So, Bart is now officially an ordained minister of the Gospel!  You don’t have to call him Reverend Allen, though.  He’s still the same old Bart!

A new playhouse for the boys?  Our new house until we leave for PNG? 

Here’s the answer.

We recently put up a shed on the Weber farm (Emily’s parents) where we will be able to store our belongings that we aren’t taking to the field.  We’re hoping that it will last us many years and will be a good investment.  Having it will enable us to keep some furniture and other belongings so when we are home on furlough we won’t have to buy everything again.

Just one more step in getting ready to go!

Then the next week we had a family celebration and you’ll see the Lego theme come out again.  If you haven’t guessed, both Luke and Titus LOVE playing with Legos!  It’s great to see all of the amazing creations they come up with.

While they do have quite a few Legos at home to play with, the majority of their Legos are on our container headed for PNG.  We heard just yesterday that it made it safely as far as Australia!!  Unless it gets held up in customs (which is a distinct possibility) it may beat us there.

Since we are still lacking $1,300/month in support, the extra time will be a blessing.  We continue to ask the Lord to work in the hearts of individuals and churches in which we have spoken that more might become a part of our monthly support team.  We are confident that He will get us there in His timing!

Our family "in" Michigan

As we get closer to leaving for PNG, at some point there has to be a last time visiting friends, supporters and churches. This may have been it for Michigan.

We always enjoy visiting the church in Jackson that we attended while at New Tribes Bible Institute (NTBI).  This time was no exception!  In addition to spending time with friends, we also were able to meet another NTM missionary family that has been serving in the same region of PNG where we are headed.  How exciting to see a picture of what is ahead for us.

It was also great to spend time at NTBI seeing friends who are on staff there.  So many of the missionaries who serve there do so with much lower support than those out “on the field”.  While many churches want to support only missionaries who are overseas, the ones who serve back here are vital to the whole process.  We value so greatly the investment that our instructors made into our lives.  They are training the next generation of missionaries and we are grateful for their service.  Anyway, time to get off that soap box and back to the story!

Our next stop was to visit friends from NTBI who now live near Kalamazoo.  The highlight for the boys was “helping” prepare the fish that Bart and Travis caught earlier in the day.  Very yummy!!

We also had the chance to see one of Bart’s fellow MK’s from Bangladesh as we traveled up north to another church where we were speaking on Sunday.

On Sunday after church we headed home to PA, getting to see a glimpse of Lake Huron on the way.  The boys thought it was cool that we got to be in 3 different states within a matter of hours.

Now we’re back in PA – with many more goodbyes ahead of us!