Travallen

2010-07-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

The top picture is of Christian when we visited Buckingham Palace in London, England. The middle picture is Buhobe, the traditional food of the Lozi people. They eat it for every meal and if they have not had their Buhobe for the day they say they have not eaten at all. The bottom picture is the relish they dip their Bohobe in.

2010-07-05T14:16:00.001-07:00

We are back in the U.S.A. Actually, we have been back since Tuesday, June 29. But we are just now getting back to a semi-normal schedule. It was hard battling jet lag, and sickness for some of us. So, the blog was kind of forgotten for a few days. Todd has been very ill since our return and is finally starting to improve. At first, we were very concerned he may have Malaria. We did have many miles to travel this past weekend and 3 concerts to do. Todd was unable to drive, so Caleb took over. Gabrielle's ears did not give her trouble on the plane trip home, but our doctor here in the states wants her to be seen by a specialist. Thank you for all the prayers for the health of our family.

2010-06-28T15:50:00.000-07:00

We made it to London and Gabrielle had no ear pain on the flight. Praise the Lord! Please pray for her again tomorrow as we travel on to the U.S. As soon as we can, we will post more pictures of our mission trip in Africa, so continue to check the blog often. We won't know how to sleep tonight without mosquito nets. We laughed this morning on the plane as we left Lusaka because the airline had to walk through the cabin spraying bug spray into the air. It is a regulation because we were leaving a malaria area. Well, no insect repellent tonight but we are already missing Africa. We are nearly ready to plan the next trip!!

2010-06-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

Thank you all so very much for your prayers and concern for our family while serving the Lord in Africa. We have been richly blessed and forever changed by what we have seen and experienced on this great mission field. There is so much work to be done and so many hungry hearts to know God and His love that it humbles us to know that God would allow us such an opportunity to be a part of His work in Zambia.
We are traveling tomorrow morning ( Monday ) to London and then on to Houston on Tuesday where we should arrive at 2:35 C.S.T. Many of you following our activities via the internet know that Gabrielle has had some pain with her ears. We suspect that her eardrum burst a few days ago and are now praying that she will not have any problems with her ears while on the airplane. Please join us and cover Gabrielle with you prayers and may God answer our prayers yet again.

2010-06-23T02:14:00.000-07:00

We are at a beautiful safari lodge in Botswana, Africa. It is considered a luxury lodge, but you know you are in Africa when the amenities in your room include mosquito nets, insect repellent and bug spray. We have been on a river game cruise and an early, and I do mean early, morning game drive (and we nearly froze to death because it is winter here in Africa). We have had wart hogs right outside the door to our room, and we have been within a few feet of giraffes, lions, elephants, water monitor lizards, crocodiles, hippos, kudu, impala, baboons, monkeys, cape buffaloes, many species of birds, goats, and lots of bugs! Now we have seen an African sunset and an African sunrise. It is so neat to see all of these creatures along side each other in their natural habitat. God's creation is truly amazing! Our children will never again be satisfied with a zoo.
Thank you for all their prayers for our healing. Most of our family is totally well again. We do think Gabrielle's ear drum has burst and that had us concerned. But she is improving although she cannot hear out of that ear at all. Please pray she will not have difficulty on our return flights home.

2010-06-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we will travel 7 hours back to the capital, Lusaka. Then on Monday, we will drive 5 hours east to Livingstone where we will be transported by boat across the Zambezi River and across the country border into Botswana. We will be staying for several days in a safari lodge with our friends, the Lowe's. Part of our purpose in coming on this mission trip was to encourage the Lowe's in their work here. So, we planned a week of safari vacation with them. We are praying everyone will be healthy, and that this will be a time of fun, and refreshment for our families. We are also praying we see lots of animals:)

2010-06-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

This is Josh at the orphanage telling the message of salvation using Andrew the Gospel Worm. He is made of the colors of the faith. He asked if anyone wanted to pet Andrew and nearly lost him!

2010-06-19T06:16:00.001-07:00

Hey!! This is Gabrielle. I get to update the blog today!! Which is sorta strange actually because I'm still not sure what a blog is...
Anyways, we almost decided not to go to the orphanage this morning. Daddy, Mommy, and Christian were so sick. Us kids went on with Uncle Jeff (yeah he's just like an uncle now!) and Hadassah. Our friends Bo Melissa and Bo Gerry came to share the experience. When we pulled up to the orphanage, there were, oh about 150 kids seated outside waiting for us. They were singing. It's hard to describe just how sweet that sound was. They sang a long time after we sat down. One song they sang said, "We have gathered here today by the mercy of the Lord." They had such sweet harmony it was hard to keep from crying. When they finished singing, one of the teachers said how glad they were that we had come. He said, "We have been waiting a very long time for the missionaries to come, and now they are here, just as they promised." Boy! Are we glad we didn't stay home today!! Uncle Jeff introduced everybody and then Caleb took charge- he's good at this kinda stuff :) We sang a few songs and shared our Creation to Christ story. We gave the orphanage a couple of soccer balls and all the children lined up so we could hand out little toys. They were singing the whole time :) It was a really cool way to spend our morning. I could've stayed all day and sang with them. These kids really don't have anybody. Both parents are dead (because, by law, that is the only way a child can be in an orphanage in Zambia), and they have no relatives to take them in. No way can we comprehend just how special our visit was today. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be here and it's amazing what we've seen and done. Praise God!!!

2010-06-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

Please continue to pray for the health of our family. Several of us are not feeling well and running fevers. We need strength to finish our time of ministry here.
We visited Cheshire home this morning, which is a medical rehabilitation facility for orphans and children who cannot afford medical care. It is run by the Catholics and is very well cared for. There were about 53 children there; some have cerebral palsy, some are mentally retarded, many of them have had a club foot repaired. The saddest thing is that some of these children are so old by the time they receive care, that some of their limbs must be amputated and they are given prosthetics. In more developed countries, some of these issues would have been corrected when the child was very young without a need for surgery.
They brought them into two classrooms and allowed us to sing, give the plan of salvation, and make a toy with them. Many of you have seen us in churches when we were talking about going to orphanages in Africa. We showed you a toy made from a plastic cup, a string, and a bead tied to the end. The object is to get the bead into the cup by swinging the cup back and forth. Well, we took the supplies to the orphanage and were able to help each child make one. They were so excited. They have very few things that they can call their very own. The children were precious and we spent the whole morning with them. We pray that they will always remember what we told them, "Jesus Loves you."

2010-06-15T15:12:00.001-07:00

Today was our last day of telling stories to the Lozi in their villages. We returned to Sefula and split into only two teams today. (This was partly due to the fact that one of our children and several members of our host family were sick and stayed back at the house. Please continue to pray for our health and strength.) Both teams went to visit members of the church who had gathered neighbors to hear our stories. One team finished before the other one, so we spent time visiting with the pastor's wife and two other ladies who had come to be translators. We sat in the little reed church and sang songs that one of the Lozi ladies had made up. She had put Scripture to music. So they shared their Lozi Bibles with us and taught us the tunes. They asked us not to forget the Lozi people when we returned to America, but to pray for them and sing their songs as we go around and sing in churches. What a precious time of fellowship we had with our family in Christ, the Lozi.

Tomorrow, if everyone is well enough, we are planning to drive 5 hours to Lukulu, where our host family, The Lowes, will be moving to minister in July. The men and older boys will be staying to work on the house for a couple of days, while the women and younger children will drive back the 5 hours to Mongu to be back before dark. It is very dangerous to be traveling on the roads here after dark. It is pitch black; there are no street lights! It will be a long day as we will be leaving at 6a.m., but we really want to see the place that will be there mission station. There has never been a Baptist missionary in Lukulu, but there is a Baptist church that was begun by a native who was trained by a missionary on the other side of Zambia several years ago. That is the goal - teaching these people to plant churches and minister to their own people.
On Thursday and Friday, we will be going into orphanages.

2010-06-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

Just a side note: We forgot to mention yesterday (Sunday) that one of the leaders of the Church at Mawawa was saved while he was in training to be a witch doctor. Isn't God good?!

Today (Monday) we visited the pastor and wife of a church in the bush community of Sefula. The church is a reed building with a thatched roof, about half the size of the church we went to yesterday. Very small! But it is actually very cool inside these reed structures.They had set up two visits in villages where members of their church lived. So, Todd and Christian walked with one of the missionaries and the pastor to one village and shared the stories. They had to share them three times because the people did not understand. When they were finished, they asked if anyone wanted to confess Christ as Lord. Some of the women wanted the missionaries to lead them in a prayer. But they refused and told them they could confess Christ on their own. (One reason for this is because the people put too much stock in the prayers of missionaries, as if they have a greater power than their own prayers.) Finally, one lady knelt down on the ground and raised one hand and began to pray in Lozi, confessing Christ as Lord of her life, and saying she wanted to turn away from her bad ways. Three more ladies then did the same thing. Michelle, Abby, Zach, the pastor's wife and one of the missionaries drove to another village where a visit had been prearranged. There was no road. We were already out in the bush at the church. But to get to this village, we had to go in four wheel drive and not stop once we started. We drove and prayed and nearly bogged down twice in the sand. When we arrived, they had chairs out for us to sit, and about 47 people gathered on reed mats around us. We shared our stories and then asked how they needed to respond. Two elderly women said they believed our stories and asked for someone to come visit them again for more teaching. One elderly man said, "Thank you for bringing the light to our village." These villages have never had anyone come to them with the gospel, so our visits are opening doors for the resident missionaries to return and teach them. Caleb, Gabrielle, and Danielle, with a missionary and a translator went walking to find people to talk to. The first two huts they came to told them they did not have time to hear their stories. That was the first time they had been told that. But the next hut they came to had a lady who had just had a baby 3 days ago, (after a dangerous pregnancy where mother and baby almost died), and her elderly parents, who do not live there but had come to see the new grandbaby. They listened and all three confessed Christ as Lord of their lives. They said they were so thankful for the visit. They did not expect a visit from missionaries today after they had just received a miracle when there grandchild was born safely. God had prepared their hearts before the visit ever took place. The fourth team, Josh, Jared, a translator and a missionary also saw several come to know Christ today. We praise God for what He is doing! Please continue to pray for our health and strength. Several members of our host family, the Lowes, are sick. There is always a concern about Malaria, so we are asking you to pray a hedge of protection about our family and the Lowes. Thank you so much. Also, those of you who are emailing us, please know that we cannot check our email until we return to the capital in another week. We are only able to update our blog from here.

2010-06-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

We attended church this morning at Mawawa Baptist Church. In order to get there we had to travel down very bumpy dirt roads, and then on a road of deep sand. The vehicles had to go in four wheel drive. The service is supposed to start at 9:00, but we got there at 9:30, and most of the people were there by 10:00. There is no concern about time in this culture. They are not in a hurry for anything. When we arrived, we met the chief of this village, then they seated us at the front of the church, as an act of respect to us. Their "choir" was singing and dancing. It was awesome. This church is made of mud with a thatched roof. It is very small (about two-thirds the size of our bus in length and just a little wider), and by the time everyone arrived, there were at least 100 people packed into it. People pressed in every available space. One of the missionaries said he wondered if this was what Jesus felt like when the crowds pressed in on Him. They have crude log benches for the adults, and they placed reed mats on the ground at the front of the church for the children. The choir is seated among the congregation in a group and they just stand where they are when it is time to sing. Young boys play handmade drums, (like bongos), to create the rhythm, and one person starts singing. Then the whole choir joins in perfect harmony. It is incredible, all acapella. The choir "dances" as they sing, but it is like choreographed movements. Everyone seems to know which dance goes with which song. The women have babies tied to their backs in slings (made of their sitanges) and the babies just bounce around as they dance. The singing was all in Lozi. After about 20 minutes of singing from the choir, they decided they wanted to have "Sunday School", so they asked me, and my children, along with one of the missionaries, to take all the children outside. Todd and one of the other missionaries stayed inside and taught the adults.
After about 30 minutes, we brought the children back inside for the worship service. They asked our family to sing. We sang several songs and a translator would tell them in Lozi what each song was about. They recognized "Amazing Grace", and "God is So Good", which they sang in Lozi back to us. Then the choir sang some more and concluded with a song especially for Todd, who was going to preach to them. We were able to pick out the word "missionary" in the song, and they kept doing a motion like we use to mean someone is crazy. We were told that they were singing, "I was crazy until the missionary came to tell me the truth". When they were finished, Todd preached to them about letting their light shine before men so that others can come to Christ. When the service was over, they did not have an invitation like we do. This is a community society, so they make decisions as a whole group, not individually. This particular church was begun because the entire village of Mawawa decided to follow Christ at one time. The chief decided and the people followed. At the close of the service, they sang their way out of the church. The chief went out first and everyone followed. They formed a line and shook hands with everyone. As you leave, you shake with the chief and whoever else is already in line, then you move to the end of the line and shake with everyone else who comes out. In this way, everyone shakes hands with everyone. They form a circle until all are outside, then they finish the song and it is over. It was now 1:00.
No one leaves church to go to the bathroom. By the way, there is no bathroom; just a "pit toilet", which is a hole in the ground. The church had a nicer one than most people do. It had a nice reed structure built around it. They don't dress up in fancy clothes. They have no bulletins, or lights, or electricity, or air conditioning, or padded seats, or carpet... Their worship is real. Its not that any of those things are evil, unless we think we must have them in order to worship God. We have seen hopelessness in the eyes of children and adults all week as we told stories in the compounds, but today we saw hope and joy in the eyes of the people of Mawawa Baptist Church. The difference is Christ in them, the Hope of glory!

2010-06-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to the house of a man in Kapalanga who had asked for more teaching and offered his home (a reed home) as a gathering place. Ten adults came to the teaching on baptism. Two of those adults want to be baptized. We will attend their baptism next Saturday morning. Many children (35-40) gathered in the yard outside the hut for teaching as well. They laid reed mats on the sand for the children to sit on, and brought out stools for us. Todd and one of the missionaries taught the adults. Michelle, Gabrielle, Joshua, Jared, Danielle, Zach, and another missionary told stories and sang songs with the children. The children crowded around us. They wanted to touch our hair and lean on us. As we left, they all wanted hugs. They receive very little attention from adults in this culture. They are starving for love. Young girls, 5 and 6 years old, are caring for babies. They carry them around and are responsible for them. But they are children, just like our children. They play and laugh. They like to play ball, but do not have money for balls. So they take lots of plastic bags, shape them into a ball, and tie them with strings. This is their "soccer ball".

2010-06-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

This morning we had the privilege of singing and telling stories to the children in the Mandanga school. The school is just a crude collection of reed buildings with thatched roofs (about four of them), no doors, and dirt floors. They had the children bring their desks outside around their flagpole. They made a square of the children on three sides and us at the head (the fourth side). Before we sang, they sang for us. They were singing about God, saying "He is Lord". Then we sang, and each of our children told one of the stories from Creation to Christ. Then one of the resident missionaries led an invitation. When we were finished, the headmaster spoke to us from the center of the gathering. He thanked us, and said the missionaries were welcome anytime to come share from God's Word with his students. This is a wonderful, amazing opportunity and open door for the missionaries here.
In the afternoon, we went to see the palace of the King of the Lozi people. He is the king of the entire Western Province of Zambia and is more powerful than even the Prime Minister of Zambia. He rules the Lozi people as he wishes. He is the one that determines how much "modernism" comes to the Western Province. We also toured their small "museum" and learned more about the Lozi. We saw many of the items they use in their witchcraft.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

2010-06-11T03:56:00.000-07:00

Although posted on June 11th, the following relates our experiences on Thursday,June 10th. The first picture shows Michelle, Abby, and Zach "storying" amongst the people.The second picture shows several Allen children, along with the Lowe's children, being transported in the back seat of a truck. When we went to Kapalanga this morning, we sang in the open air market place. We first received permission from the owner of the market. He was very kind and said we could sing "some hymns". The people loved the music and gave loud tribal cheers as we sang. The idea was to gather a crowd so the missionaries could pass out gospel tracts in the Lozi language. On the tracts we had written information about a Saturday Bible Study we will be doing at the home of a man who lives in Kapalanga. Todd will be teaching on Baptism and answering questions. We may also be sharing our stories with those who have not heard yet. One of the missionaries is planning on storying to some of the village children during the Bible study, and our children will be helping with that.Tomorrow our whole family is going to the primary school of Mandanga to sing and story from "Creation to Christ".

2010-06-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

Look close and you can see Zach surrounded by all the kids as he tells stories!

We shared our stories today with many people in the compound of Mandanga. Overall, the missionaries did not feel that this compound was as receptive as Kapalanga, the one we went to yesterday. However, Todd's team was asked to come to someone's home and pray over his sick wife. The team that Michelle was on, with Abby, Zach, and one of the missionaries, was invited into a yard of a man who was a Baptist. He wanted his family to hear our stories. Several adults gathered in the yard. They brought out stools for their guests (that's us) and they sat on the ground. The stools are very small and low to the ground, so you kind of perch on them. They went to their neighbors huts and borrowed more stools so we would all have a seat. Even the elderly sit on the ground. You cannot refuse to sit on the stool or you will offend them. They feel this is the only thing they can do for us, to honor us by giving us a place to sit. One of the men in the yard was blind. They all listened to our stories and when we were finished, the blind man said he believed God had sent us there today to encourage them. He said it was so encouraging to hear children (Abby and Zach) tell these stories from the Bible and it made them want to teach their children to know these stories, too. Following that visit, we talked with several ladies who were selling fry bread in the market. They listened to our stories and when we finished and asked them what they thought and if there was some decision they needed to make, 3 of them (who are part of one of the cult churches here), said they wanted to follow God's way. They said they had never heard the story we told about Jesus dying for their sins. They said they wanted their children to go to Sunday School so they could tell the stories of Jesus like our children could. The recurring theme for us today seemed to be that our children telling these stories is making a bigger impression on these people than we realized. Tomorrow we will go back to Kapalanga and share with more people. The missionaries have asked our family to sing some tomorrow at the market. Then on Friday, we will go back to Mandanga. The headmaster of the primary school asked if we would come to the school on Friday and sing and share stories with the students. Continue to pray for these dear people. Also, thank you for your prayers for Christian's ears. He seems to be much better.

Gabrielle helping out with the young children with Zambian onlookers.

2010-06-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the compound of Kapalanga. Our four teams shared stories with many people. As we begin to share with just a few, more come to hear what is going on. We especially attract an entourage of children. After we tell our stories we ask them what they thought about the stories. Many of them will stop us as we are telling and ask questions. Some of them want to follow God when we are done. There are a lot of different religions here in Zambia, many of them are cults. The Zambians mix these religions with their tribal practices, like witch craft. So, there is a lot a demon possession and they believe very much in good and bad spirits. When telling them about Christ, we have to stress that he is more powerful than any other power. We tell the stories of how He had power over the storm, and how he cast out demons. The people are very receptive and some have asked us to come back for further Bible teaching. One man offered his "yard" for us to come back on Saturday and teach. We are learning a FEW words in Lozi and the people are very gracious and friendly to us. One of the most beautiful things here is the clear blue sky. Each day as we walk among the people we think of God and His majesty as we look up and see this gorgeous sight. It is their dry season, so there are NO clouds anywhere; all you see is clear blue sky. WOW!

2010-06-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today, Monday, was our first day of ministry here in Africa. We went prayer walking in 2 compounds (neighborhoods), and if someone asked what we were doing, we told them we would be back tomorrow to tell stories. The people in this culture love to hear stories, so they want us to come back. We split into four teams with one of the local missionaries and a native translator in each team. Several of our children were able to share parts of the stories of Creation to Christ today because people were so interested and did not want to wait until tomorrow. Pray for us as we go out tomorrow into the compound of Kapalanga. On Wednesday we will go to the other compound Mandanga and we have been asked to visit the home of a lady who has a demon possessed daughter. They have taken her to the hospital in the capital city and the doctors could not help her so they continue to take her to the witch doctors. There are many, many people out on the roads to talk to. Each compound has its own market, and everyone goes to market everyday. They have no way to store food - most of them live in mud huts with thatched roofs or reed houses - so they buy what they will eat day to day. They are a day by day, survival kind of society. They are very friendly and polite and we are looking forward to sharing about Jesus with them.

2010-06-05T06:23:00.000-07:00

We made it to Zambia. Thanks for all the prayers. We had no trouble getting through immigrations and customs. One Zambian singled us out at the back of the line as we were waiting to go through immigration. He brought our whole family to the front of a line then waited with us and helped us get all the luggage. We figured out he was looking for a tip. He got a rather nice one since we did not know any better. Now we know that Zambians earn about $2 a day. Anyway, after we loaded all the luggage (all 25 pieces made it), we headed to the Baptist Guest House here in Lusaka and took a two hour nap. After lunch, we went to watch a polo match. We will eat out here in the city tonight and head out to Mongu (7 hours from Lusaka) at 8a.m. in the morning. Once we leave the city, there will be no place to eat or use the restroom (except behind a tree) until we arrive at Lowe's home. Todd said everyone needs to learn how to say, "Turn your head!" in the local language. Off we go...

2010-06-04T09:56:00.001-07:00

We are checked in at the airport, soon to be on our way to Lusaka, Zambia. Please pray for Christian. He complained of ear aches last night and did not sleep well. He seems ok right now but we are praying he has no difficulty on the plane. Thank you for praying for our family. We would not want to take a journey like this without the prayer cover.

2010-06-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

Another long, but fun day touring London. We left the hotel this morning at 7:30a.m. and have just returned at 10:45p.m. We are exhausted. Much of our of time today was spent on public transportation. London is a nice place to visit but we would not want to have to get around here on a daily basis. We leave for Zambia tomorrow night and will arrive at 7a.m. Zambia time, which is 8 hours ahead of CST. Once again, please pray that we have a safe journey with no problems through customs and immigration. And that all the luggage makes it!

2010-06-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

We made it to London!! And all 25 pieces of our luggage made it to London with us. Now that is a small miracle! Thank you for your prayers. At least for this leg of the trip, we had no difficulties. For the last two days we have been touring London. We arrived here at 6:30a.m. (London time) yesterday morning and could not check into our hotel until 3p.m. So we took a bus to Central London and toured Hampton Court Palace, where King Henry VIII lived. Every day they stage the wedding of King Henry to his sixth wife. It was very interesting to see, but the weather was cold and rainy all day. So, we shivered as we walked and tried to figure out London's public transportation. Needless to say we were beat by the time we went back to the hotel and checked in. After skipping a whole night of sleep because of the travel, and then touring in the cold rain, the Allens were asleep by 7p.m. Those of you who know us very well, know that is not the norm. After a good nights sleep, we took a speed boat ride on the River Thames this morning. It was fun and amazing to see all the historic sights down the river. Then we took the kids ice skating, and later went to see Kensington Palace, where all the princesses lived from the 1600's until the 1990's, and had Afternoon High Tea. Some of the children were not overly thrilled with cucumber cream cheese sandwiches or the sliced salmon sandwiches, but they loved the scones and flavored teas with cream and at least now they can say they've been there and done that! We are having a great time together and have one more day of touring London before we leave for Zambia.

2010-05-30T15:57:00.001-07:00

Well, we leave for Africa tomorrow morning. Everything is packed...well, almost everything:) Our travel agent, who just happens to be a wonderful Christian lady, told us that it was a miracle they were able to reaccommodate all ten of us on a different flight. She said, "God is with you on this trip, I just feel it in my bones!" So, off we go and we are praying that everyone we come in contact with on this journey will help us along, and not hinder us...you know, like the people who have to check in our 25 pieces of luggage and trunks of things for the missionaries, and the all the customs and immigration officials, etc. Anyway, you can pray with us about all these little things, but most of all that all ten of us, even little Christian, would be vessels our Lord can flow through to everyone we meet. We are also still praying that a van will be available at the mission in the capital city for us to use. We have no plan B if there is no van available, we are just trusting God for His plan.

2010-05-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord! They have reaccomodated us on another flight. It leaves 8 hours earlier on Monday, May 31, and has to connect through Chicago. Our original flight was direct from Houston to London. But that's Ok. We are just so thankful that the Lord has worked it out. Back to packing!!

2010-05-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

British Airways has canceled our first flight from Houston to London. But our second flight from London to Lusaka, Zambia is confirmed. However, that does us no good if we can't get to London. Our travel agent is working very hard to find a solution for us, but she is having difficulty rebooking a large group like us. Please pray for God's will to be done. We should have an answer later today.

2010-05-20T16:45:00.001-07:00

British Airways has told us that they will not confirm our flights until May 26, five days before we are supposed to leave. We are just praying and packing!!

2010-05-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Guess what...British Airways Crew was going to go on strike. They announced yesterday that the court called off the strike, but they are still not able to reinstate all of their canceled flights. We are waiting right now to find out if our flight has been canceled on May 31. Please pray with us that this strike will not affect our trip. We will post details as we know them. We are counting down the days until we leave for Africa.

2010-05-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

We are packing for Africa. Actually, we aren't packing our things yet, just the items we are bringing to our host family. Lots of convenience items are unavailable in Zambia, so we are bringing several trunks of things the missionaries have requested. We have found out that we will be going into to "neighborhoods", Kapalanga and Mandanga, and one village, Namushakende, to tell stories. We will share stories from Creation to Christ, to share the Gospel with these people. Storytelling is a large part of African culture. We have been practicing in the bus with each other. It makes for some fun evening entertainment. Please pray for our health and strength this month as we are preparing to go. We want to start our journey strong.

Singing in the Sun

2010-04-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we just got through with a week at Myrtle Beach Convention Center for the annual Singing in the Sun. What an incredible time! Compassion International had a table set up there and after we gave the pitch from the stage one day for Compassion, a young lady from Uganda came up to meet us and thank Compassion for all they are doing in her country. What a blessing to meet someone who has seen the effects of that wonderful ministry. We are privileged to be spokesmen for Compassion and privileged to have a new friend from Uganda!

2010-03-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

Our new song, "That Family Will Be Mine", was sent out to radio in February. Please pray with us that the song will be played and heard by many people. It is our prayer that the song will encourage families to stay together no matter what storms come their way, and also that it will bring hope to families whose homes may have fallen apart. If your house has fallen, you can rebuild on God's Word, our solid foundation, and have a home - a family - that stays together. "If there's a family that can stand the test of time, by the grace of God, That Family Will Be Mine!"

2010-03-10T08:05:00.000-08:00

We are still raising money for the mission trip to Africa. We are finding out that it will cost more than we originally anticipated. Traveling internationally with ten people is not that cost effective. Transportation in Africa is a bit difficult, so please pray that our host family can locate a van for a reasonable price. Thanks for your prayers.

Allen's New Blog

2010-02-04T19:31:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the new blog for the Allen Family. We've created this site to keep you updated on our ministry, so you will know how to pray for us as we are on the road. There are so many new things on the horizon for our family in 2010 and we can't wait to share them with you. Stay tuned and we will fill you in on all our latest trials and triumphs...

BlesSINGs,
Michelle