Allen's African Adventures

Nathan's school photo - 2011

2011-11-22T13:49:00.000+02:00

Check out out our little man's school photo.....so looking like a little man...adorable! :)

Lottie Moon Emphasis

2011-11-22T12:32:00.000+02:00

Hey everyone! We are still alive and pressing on with life and ministry in Swaziland. I know it has been like forever since I have had the chance to sit down and blog. Hoping to do more blogs in coming days and weeks. We did want to express our thanks to everyone that supports the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. We hope to emphasize different areas that the Lottie Moon Offering assists us personally here on the mission field. Because of YOUR gifts, we are able to drive out in the truck (bakkie) provided by our mission board to rural areas to teach and tell the Swazis about Jesus Christ. THANK YOU!!!!

Allen Family May Update

2011-05-01T13:31:00.002+02:00

Hello everyone!

It is hard to believe that we are in MAY now! Wow...where did almost the first half of 2011 go already??? Lots happening and we are excited for the days, weeks and months ahead.

Our recent Easters services with many of our Baptist churches was an amazing time to reflect on all God did by sending HIS ONLY Son, Jesus, for ALL of us! It is such a blessing to worship with our Swazi brothers and sisters in Christ. Many of them we do not get to see too often so it is great to catch up on how everyone is doing in their own lives. Our kids were able to participate with the kid's worship and Lacie was even in the children's play on Easter morning. She had the only English line in the play as it was in siSwati but she was the angel that said, "He is not here!". What a testimony to share with others!

God continues to bring new people to our new outreach group at Ngowane, which is about 1.5 hours away from our house. The past couple of Thursdays, we were not sure what to expect because it is school break here in Swaziland but more than 50 people are waiting to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. This past week, the indvuna (chief's assistant) and his assistant both came to the Bible study. It is HUGE for community leaders to participate in Bible studies and shows us that God is ALL over this new outreach group. Continue to pray for leaders to rise up within this new group as they are already requesting to start meeting on Sunday mornings. Pray for wisdom as we proceed to serve alongside this new group.

Pray for our Baptist convention as they meet this Saturday, May 7, to evaluate the Easters services and for the convention to serve together in unity with all decisions.

Pray for Kym Pennington, our True Love Waits International consultant, as she is with our Swazi mission team this month to lead TLW trainings in three areas. She will be with our family May 16-18 to lead a training in the Hawane area.

On May 23 - 31, we have a team of five people coming from Clear Creek Bible College in Pineville, Kentucky, coming to serve with us. They primarily will be serving in the Ngowane (Hhohho region) and Lesibovu (Manzini region), our two newest outreach group areas. Pray for this team to have MANY opportunities to share the love of Jesus with the Swazi people!

On May 26 - June 30, Katy Hallock and Hunter Johnson will be serving with our mission team throughout Swaziland working mostly with children and youth. One big event they will be co-leading with one of our Swazi pastors, Pastor Mkhosi Fakudze, is our National Youth Leader's Retreat on June 3-5 in Manzini. Pray for their time in Swaziland to bear MUCH fruit and for amazing times with the Swazi people and our mission team.

On May 31, our team is blessed with SIX summer missionaries coming to serve with us for the months of June and July. They will be mostly living out at homesteads in the Shiselweni region sharing the True Love Waits message. Pray for Reh, Tori, Elizabeth, Adam, Tiffany and Jonathon as they prepare to come serve in Swaziland and for ALL the God-size opportunities while they are here with us.

Lacie starts the second term of school on May 3 (school term will be from May 3 - August 12) and Nathan starts on May 10. Pray for the kids as we adjust back into school routines, activities and all the ministry happenings, too.

As you can see, lots happening in the coming months so pray for strength and excitment to press on with ALL God has for our family, ministry and team in the coming weeks. May His name be continually praised!!!

Let us know of ways we can be praying for you and your family as well.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support and hope to hear from you!

An Update to an Update for the Allens

2011-04-10T12:17:00.002+02:00

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Greetings from Swaziland! So much is happening right now that we wanted to update everyone on several items...

Praises/Prayer Concerns:
- Steven is leading a baptism service at Peace Baptist Church today and praising God that the weather is beautiful. Pray for those that are being baptized that they will stay strong in their new relationship with Jesus!

-Kids and I are home today as Lacie has yet another ear infection and keeping her low for the weekend to rest. She is doing much better and plans to return to school this week. Schools begin their term break after this week (schools close from April 15 - May 3 or May 10, depending on the school).

- Steven was able to visit the new work area with some of the members from Hawane Baptist Church this past Thursday. He was also able to meet the indvuna, chief's assistant, and was granted permission to proceed starting a Bible study. God keeps opening the doors! Pray for this new work to grow strong with a solid foundation of God's Word and Truth!

- Our recent missionary meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, was one of the best mission meetings we have ever attended. So many of us came to the meeting tired and worn out but left with a very refreshed heart and spirit to press on with all God has for our various ministries. We thank First Baptist Orlando for sharing with us in preaching, worship and leading our children. You all were amazing and God used you!

- Praise the Lord that we received word from the Minister of Finance that the container of 648 in-home care kits can come into the country tax free! Woo! Hoo! Pray now for the tranportation issues to get the container from Durban (nearest port to us and only one day drive) to us quickly. Pray for our team as we seek to train our churches in passing them out to the right people that needs these buckets.

- Our churches are busy planning our annual Easters services (Thursday - Sunday, April 22-25) as it is a time of them to come together for preaching, worship and fellowship. The group that met for the Convention was small but they were able to proceed with making final decisions for the services. Pray each life will be touched in a special way during the Easter services.

- Pray for our missionary team as we are looking towards a very busy American summer months with lots of volunteers and teams coming to serve with us, especially from May - August.

SPECIAL REQUEST: (sent out by our prayer advocate, Barbara Myers)
In recent weeks political developments throughout the Middle East and Africa have been major headlines. As country after country struggles with inner conflict and turmoil, others watch hoping it will not happen to them. April 12, 13 and 14 the trade union in Swaziland has called for strikes in Mbabane, Manzini and Nhlangano. Although strikes and discontentment are not new to Swaziland, in view of current events there is need for concern. Political heads of our country are calling the strikes against the law and rumors of military preparedness are spreading. What will be the outcome? Please pray these strikes will not end in riots and the military/police will not be called to provide order. Chaos usually follows when the military or police get involved. Pray peace will prevail over the nation of Swaziland.

Our family is busy planning ahead with petrol for vehicles, generators, groceries, running necessary errands over the weekend and Monday. We will try to write with an update during these days if we still have electricity, phone and internet. It is all in God's hands!!!

Let us hear from you as you are able to write!
Thank you for your faithful prayer support!!!

March Update from the Allen Family

2011-03-30T09:31:00.005+02:00

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Greetings from Swaziland! Life has been busy and keeping us going but wanted to share a few praises and prayer concerns with everyone.

Praises/Prayer Concerns:
- Recent baptism service at Hawane Baptist Church on March 20, we saw 9 people baptized, including our daughter, Lacie. Praise the Lord! Check out my photos and a short video on my home page on Facebook.

- After much prayer, prayer drives and seeking the Lord, God is opening a door for a possible new work outside of Piggs Peak. The contact is through one of the families that attends Hawane Baptist Church. We were scheduled to visit there last week but the family needed to postpone until next week. Pray God opens the door completely if this is HIS plan to start a new outreach group that could move into a new church.

- Lesibovu Baptist Church is now finished with the walls of their new church building. They now will work on the roof and windows. Go God!

- Mphembekati Baptist Church has been relocated to a new piece of property as their church was too close to the community school. Pray for the church to continue to be a light in their community.

- Our family, along with missionaries from all over South Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, will be gathering this week in Johannesburg for our annual mission meeting. First Baptist of Orlando has sent a team to lead us in preaching, worship, encouragement and helping take care of our children with their own VBS type classes. Pray for safety as everyone travels, good health for the whole meeting...we typically seem to catch something at these meetings! :(, God to be with us in everything, great fellowship and refreshment for all.

- We are in the waiting mode to receive a container (approx. 600 buckets) of home care kits with Baptist Global Respones (BGR) into Swaziland. Our governement has approved the container to come in but we are waiting to see how much is the cost or if any. Pray the finance office will make a decision very soon and for them to find favor with seeing how these buckets will greatly assist their country. Pray for our team as we seek to train our churches in passing them out to the right people that needs these buckets.

- Our churches are busy planning our annual Easters services (Thursday - Sunday, April 22-25) as it is a time of them to come together for preaching, worship and fellowship. Many loose ends needs to be finalized and pray for our Convention as they make final decisions at their meeting this Saturday morning.

- Pray for our missionary team as we are looking towards a very busy American summer months with lots of volunteers and teams coming to serve with us, especially from May - August.

Let us hear from you as you are able to write!
Thank you for your faithful prayer support!!!
Steven, Monica, Lacie and Nathan Allen

February prayer update

2011-02-27T12:18:00.002+02:00

We realize it has been awhile since you have heard from us but we are still pressing on. In the past several weeks, our family has been adjusting to the new school schedule/activities (feel like Mom's taxi!), three out of four of us were hit with the flu for several days, busy with ministry and dealing with life in Swaziland (phone out, internet down, getting things fixed, learning to wait). We look foward to all God has planned for our lives in the coming weeks.

Praises:
- God is continuing to bring folks across our paths that need to accept Jesus into their lives. May all these new believers press on in their new walks with Jesus.

- We were able to baptize 9 people in the last month and several more are awaiting baptism, including our own daughter, Lacie.

- Steven started a new discipleship group with one of our churches to encourage them each week. The group consists of about 12 women that faithfully keep Peace Baptist Church going each week.

- Steven finally was able to do a prayer drive to check out a couple new areas for ministry. He came to a fork in the road and asked the folks along the road which was was better to go. He ended up on a road that took him about 1.5 hours away from our house. He said it was a good prayer drive but no open doors at this time. Steven hopes to check out another area soon.

- We have had LOTS of rain and enjoying cooler temps!

- Thank you to everyone that sent birthday greetings to Monica!

- Lacie and Nathan are enjoying their new schools and meeting lots of new friends. Nathan only goes Monday and Wednesday mornings, although he would love to go every day. Not yet!

Prayer Requests:
- Pray for Steven as he is currently teaching at three different Bible studies each week as well as a different church each Sunday to encourage our Swazi believers. Pray he is able to get the "office" time he needs to accomplish all God wants him to do each week.

- We have a few volunteer teams coming to serve with us in Swaziland in coming months. Pray for their preparations as well as open hearts for the Swazis during their time in Swaziland. Clear Creek Baptist College is coming in May, Hunter Johnson and Katy Hallock are coming in May/June, First Baptist Church of Washington, North Carolina are coming in June, Pastor of FBC Washington, NC and his wife (Jimmy and Karen Moore) are coming to Swaziland in July for part of his sabbatical leave, some of the camp staff of Camp Worldlight (Florida GA/Acteens camp) are coming in late July/August and there might be more! :)

- We will be attending our annual missionary meeting in Johannesburg March 30 - April 4 (our family is leaving on the afternoon of April 3 so Lacie does not miss another day of school). Pray for all the missionaries traveling from various parts of Southern Africa, including some of the islands, to this important meeting. Pray for First Baptist Orlando as they bring their pastor and team to share in worship as well as teach classes for all our missionary kids.

- Pray for our Baptist Convention of Swaziland as they are busy planning for our National Easter Services in April. A venue has been located, which is usually one of the hardest items to accomplish. The services are from Thursday - Sunday and a chance for many of our churches to come together for the Easter holidays. May the true meaning of Easter be shared and lives changed for eternity. Pray for all the logistical items still needed to be finalized.

- Nathan will have his 3rd birthday on March 7. Pray for a special day for our little bubba!

- Our crate from the USA has made it to African soil but it is in a warehouse in Durban. There has been a trucker strike in South Africa and we need one of those trucks to deliver it to Swaziland. Pray it is resolved soon and if possible, in time for Nathan's birthday!

- On March 2 and 3 (this Wednesday and Thursday), Lacie and I will be going to Johannesburg for updated appointments for Lacie's ears. She will be having an updated hearing test, CAT scan on her left ear and an appointment with the ENT doctor. Pray all the appointments go well, safety as we travel and our boys do well staying back in Swaziland. We plan to schedule a corrective surgery for Lacie in April. Side note: Lacie was born with an extra bone near her eardrum in her left ear causing what the ENT doctor thinks is her 30% hearing loss. It is now enough of a different in Lacie hearing similar words as she is reading more.

As alwasy, thank you for your faithful prayer support!

Visit to see Santa/Father Christmas

2010-12-24T16:52:00.002+02:00

Our mission team recently had their annual end of the year retreat in White River, South Africa, which is just north of Nelspruit. In Nelspruit, we can visit big shopping malls, shops, bigger grocery stores, movie theater and restaurants. The malls were all decorated for Christmas and one of the malls even had Santa Claus visiting already the second week of December. This was the first time we have seen Santa visiting quite so early in South Africa. The kids were excited to see him but only from a distance away. Lacie kept saying she wanted to see Santa and was not scared. She typically does not like anyone dressed up in costumes, including clowns. She was fine until we got really close to him. Nathan followed Lacie's lead and decided he did not want to see Santa now. So, I suggested for Daddy and Mommy to go up as well. They were fine with that idea and did great with the "help" of their parents visiting Santa. So instead of a photo with the kids visiting Santa, we decided to do a family photo with Santa! :) Thanks, Daddy, for taking one for the family team as Mommy knows you do not like to take many photos!!! ;) It was a fun Christmas tradition for our family although the kids realize Christmas is more than just Santa, it is all about Jesus' birthday!!!

Steve, Monica, Lacie and Nathan Allen visiting Santa Claus in Nelspruit, South Africa

Merry Christmas from the Allen Family!!!

2010-12-12T17:54:00.002+02:00

Sanibonani! Greetings from Swaziland, Africa! We cannot believe that it is almost time for Christmas and the year 2010 is drawing to a close. Where did this year go as it passed by quite fast? As we look back over the past year, it is the first time our family spent half the year in one country and the other half in another. This year was our time to be in the USA for our stateside time and we were all over the southeastern part of the USA for six months. It was tons of fun to be in the USA again with family and friends, mostly in North Carolina and Florida. It was a great time to share with churches and folks how God is working in Swaziland and giving our family many opportunities to tell others about Christ. We did our best to not overwhelm ourselves with speaking engagements and have some special family times as well. Not always an easy balance but we managed to accomplish seeing much and doing several different fun things, too.

Some of our big highlights this year were: Lacie asking Jesus Christ into her life on Father’s Day in June, spending time with all of Steven’s siblings and their families as we honored his parent’s 50th wedding anniversary, special trips to Sea World, Florida Keys, Disney World, Georgia Aquarium, the zoo and sharing many memories with family and friends for several months. Steven also spent much of his stateside time writing and recording an archeological dig he did in Eastern North Carolina back in the mid-1990’s.

At the end of September, we boarded the plane once again to return to Swaziland to continue serving our Lord together as a family. We hit the ground running with ministry and getting back into the swing of life in Africa again. It was good to be back with our Swazi brothers and sisters in Christ. Lacie returned to school again, Bible studies continued, our women’s camp was a wonderful time for our Swazi women, new personnel arrived to join our mission family and Steve had his appendix removed. Yes, it has been a roller coaster ride in many ways!

The kids are growing and growing. Lacie is now 6 years old, graduated from kindergarten on December 1, starting grade 1 in January, looking forward to her summer break and placed 2nd at gymnastics national competition. Nathan is 2.5 years old, energetic, full of life and keeps us going. He is all boy and we love to see him learning new things all the time.

Our prayer is that you will seek and find the real meaning of Christmas wherever you are this year and to remember - Jesus IS the Reason for the Season!

Love, Steven, Monica, Lacie and Nathan Allen

Snow in Swaziland?

2010-11-07T20:31:00.007+02:00

We have now entered the rainy season here in Swaziland and thunderstorms can come upon us rather quickly. We learned a long time ago to keep everything, except our refridgerator, unplugged when we are not using various appliances. Because we have rocks in our backyard, we tend to have lots of lightning hit very close to our house. The kids know our routine well and we all have torches (flashlights) in all our rooms as the electricity goes out quite often.
This past Friday afternoon, the sky looked very dark and I knew a storm was coming soon. I told Doreen Mabuza, our houseworker that comes to assist us with house cleaning twice a week, to go ahead and prepare herself to leave our house early. I was hoping she would have time to get ahead of the storm. Steve was at a Bible study for the afternoon and I was home with the kids. Nathan was still taking his afternoon nap. By the time Make Mabuza changed, the storm was practically at our house. We were expecting rain to come quickly but instead, a horrible hailstorm hit us fast. It started to hit our windows and sounded like it would come through at any time. However, it did not break the windows, praise the Lord! The kids were a bit scared so we immediately started to pray for safety for us and Steve as he was not home yet. Once the worse was over, I grabbed my camera to take a few photos and also assess for any damage. Not long after it was over, Steve came home and the whole storm went away just about as quickly as it had started. Whew....never can tell what crazy adventure we will have each day!

Looks like snow in our backyard but nope...just lots of hail!

Hail was bigger than golf balls but melting fast

Hail on the main highway as Steve was on his way home

Harvest Party 2010

2010-11-05T11:51:00.003+02:00

No, our family has not decided to start dressing this way on a daily basis! :) We were part of an annual harvest party with missionary friends hosted by Doug and Tasha Myers and their kids. on Saturday, October 30. The Myers family has been hosting the harvest party for several years now. It is a fun time for our families to fellowship, dress up, kids visit nearby missionary houses to get candy/story time, play games, eat together, do lip sync songs, and just plain have loads of fun! It is something our family looks forward to doing now every year and we are anticipating next year's event. Thank you, Lord, for such a great missionary community!
Enjoy some of the photos taken that night.....

Allen Family Photo at Harvest Party - the hillbilly couple, doggie and Barbie

The "girls" photo - great friends!

Group photo with just about everyone

Mr. and Mrs. Hillbilly

Updated Allen Family Photo

2010-10-26T18:40:00.004+02:00

Steve, Monica, Lacie and Nathan Allen

A Special Gift

2010-10-26T17:58:00.003+02:00

After living in Africa for over seven years, we have gotten used to folks giving us different items as their way of saying thanks and expressing gratitude. Mostly, we are blessed with various fruits and vegetables from different people's gardens and homesteads. We have even been given a couple chickens along the way as well but they quickly become dinner for our family. Upon our recent return to Swaziland, the Khanada family from our Lesibovu Bible study and church expressed to Steve that they wanted to give our family a guinea fowl. They raise guinea fowls at their homestead. We were honored that they wanted to do this for our family as we know the Swazis work hard for what they do have at their different homes. However, we had to admit this was a new and special gift for us to receive this time.

Babe (Father) Khanada told Steve that he needed to have a cage or coop for the guinea fowl when we brought it home or it would fly away the first chance it could get away from us. This was news to us as we had always seen guinea fowl just running around, not flying. So, Steve took one morning last week to make a coop for the guinea fowl but knew it would be a temporary home. Steve and Lacie went to Lesibovu this past Saturday and was given our special gift and temporary pet for the kids, G the guinea fowl. She did OK on the 1.5 hour drive home to our house and Steve placed her in her temporary home. She spent a little while crying out but soon adjusted to her new surroundings. We gave her some food and water and said good night.

When we woke up the next morning, we now had TWO guinea fowls in our backyard. One was in the coop and one was on the outside. Our plan was not to start our own guinea fowl farm! :) G's new friend hung around the house for a couple days until Steve had the time to move G from her temporary home to our freezer for a future meal. As always, life is an adventure for our family!

G the guinea fowl and her new "friend" that showed up on Sunday morning

G getting ready to leave her home at Lesibovu

Hoskins Arrive in Swaziland

2010-10-26T17:32:00.006+02:00

Our mission family is very excited to welcome Todd and Deborah Hoskins as they will be serving with us in Swaziland for the next two years. The Hoskins arrived in Swaziland on the early flight from Johannesburg to a cool, misty and overcast day on the morning of October 14. Our family was there to greet them with a sign made by Steve, gather their luggage and bring them to their temporary home. They were ready to go so I took them into town for an opportunity to see one of our grocery stores, ShopRite. Little did we know but the Hoskins have ShopRite back at home in Georgia so they said it was neat to have a reminder from home here in Swaziland. The day the Hoskins arrived was also the first day of our Baptist BoMake (Women's) camp and our team leaders, Wayne and Barbara Myers, were staying at our house during the camp. So, life was a bit hectic but fun for our mission family to be together off and on for a few days. Our kids LOVE having Aunt Deborah and Uncle Todd as part of our mission family and I am sure the kids entertained them in many ways! :)

The Hoksins are living next door to our family temporarily but the plan is for them to find housing in Manzini for their permanent housing. Todd and Deborah were only with us in Swaziland for less than a week before they needed to fly up to West Africa for our company's bush camp training. Steve led them to the main highway in South Africa and with the help of their GPS and our directions, they made their way into Johannesburg to catch their flight to West Africa. They will be back to Swaziland on Monday, November 22, after some orientation at our Johannesburg headquarters. We are thrilled they are here to serve with our mission family and we look forward to all God has planned for their time in Swaziland!

Todd and Deborah at Bible study at Lesibovu

Making new friends at Mphembekati Baptist Church

Greeting Mphembekati Baptist Church with Pastor Lloyd Dlamini as their translator

Visiting the Khanada family homestead with some of our Swazi helpers

Lacie holding their welcome sign at the Swaziland airport

Baptist BoMake Camp

2010-10-26T15:59:00.002+02:00

What a blessing to have so many of our BoMake (ladies) gather together for three days of worship, choirs, testimonies, games, fellowship and learning more about the power of prayer! Our annual Baptist BoMake camp was on October 14-16 at Manzini Baptist Church and we had about 45 ladies attend camp this year. For most of these ladies, it was a journey to travel quite a distance from their homes to come to camp in Manzini. They look forward to a time of getting away temporarily from the responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, working the fields, their jobs and taking care of kids and time to have fun being with other women. The women even played games like they were little children and enjoyed every minute of it!

The weather turned cooler for camp this year but we pressed on and made the most of everything despite the weather. Our speaker this year was missionary colleague and friend, Make Barbara Myers. She taught on prayer and not only just taught about prayer but had the ladies break into groups to pray as well as individual prayer. We know that God touched many lives at the women's camp this year and we look forward to future opportunities of serving our Baptist women.

Group photo of the ladies at the end of camp

Make Simphiwe Mavuso thanking Make Barbara Myers with flowers for
sharing with the women this year.

Nathan made a new friend

The women were blessed by clothes and other items given to our mission by fellow missionary friends. What a wonderful surprise and blessing to our women!

"I need another touch from the Lord!" :)

Back to our Swazi Churches

2010-10-23T17:09:00.003+02:00

For the last six months, we have been in many different churches in the USA and although we always enjoy getting to worship our Lord in our heart language of English, we have missed being with our Swazi brothers and sisters in Christ. There is no time restraints here in Swaziland and our church services can easily last 2 - 3 hours each Sunday. For our family, we typically are heading to church by 9:30 or 10:00am and not home until the middle of the afternoon. It is still a challenge to keep Nathan to sit still for the whole church service but this is the season of our lives. Nathan usually makes it to the start of the sermon and then he and I take a walk around outside if the weather is nice. If the weather is not nice, I give him a break and we go sit in our bakkie (truck) for a snack. Our churches are all in siSwati, the heart language of the Swazi people and we have learned many of their songs. Our desire is to be able to fully teach and preach someday but we still have not mastered to do so quite yet. One thing we do love about the Swazi worship services is to hear the testimonies each week of all God is doing in their lives. Since we are not able to be with the people every day, this gives us a small glimpse into their lives as they share during the service. On some Sundays, it could be three to as many as 15 people choosing to go to the front and give a testimony. Because many of the Swazis do not worship together as a family, our prayer is that we can be a testimony to the church and surrounding communities that our family is going to be together for church on Sunday mornings. Each Sunday morning is a different adventure for our family and we look forward to watching God grow the different Baptist churches in unity, love and wisdom. Many weeks we are in awe of how we are able to learn more and more from our Swazi brothers and sisters in Christ.

Lacie hanging with some of the Swazi kids after Mphembekati Baptist Church.

Children's choir singing at Peace Baptist Church

The two treasurers counting the offerings after service at Hawane Baptist Church.

Yes, Nathan has to have one car to keep his attention during church services! :)

Lacie sitting with the kids during a church service.

Lacie's Latest

2010-10-23T16:30:00.003+02:00

Our family has hit the ground doing all sorts of things since we have arrived back in Swaziland less than a month ago. Lacie has jumped back into school and a couple after school activities. We are blessed with a great mission community in our area and Lacie has a couple, very, special friends that are also missionary kids. She has enjoyed getting to have play dates with friends as well as play with her brother, Nathan, quite often as well. Lacie said she is happy to be home to her own room but she is missing our families back in the USA. Lacie remembered more from this USA trip and thankful for the special memories we were able to create with all of our family members. Lacie is also going out with our family to the rural areas for Bible studies and church on Sunday mornings. She loves all her Swazi friends but says she does miss not getting to attend kid's worship services anymore. Life is always full of transitions and changes, even for a missionary kid, too! Thought you would enjoy seeing some recent happenings in Lacie's life....

Lacie had "Children Around the World" at her school so she dressed up as "Miss USA"!

Our precious princess!!!

Lacie is reunited with her close friend, Ellie.

Lacie finishing her gymnastics competition

Lacie took home the gold....go Lacie!

Lacie with the welcome sign for Todd and Deborah Hoskins, our newest Swazi mission family team members, at the Swaziland airport.

Happy Birthday to Aunt Barbara

2010-10-11T21:22:00.006+02:00

We wish we could be closer to our own extended families more often but that is just not possible with our family living so far away. However, we are blessed and have been blessed by a wonderful mission family that we serve with in Swaziland. From the time we arrived in Swaziland, we have served with Bobby and Jo Carol Elliott, Wayne and Barbara Myers, Fultz family, Grayson family, Al and Belinda Jordan, Mary Wood, Poe family, Kimber Ringler, Julia Tarr, Oakley family and Warren family. Soon we will add Todd and Deborah Hoskins. Our mission family tries to be together for major holidays and as close to birthdays as possible, too.

Tomorrow, October 12, is Barbara Myers' birthday and our family was able to be with Wayne and Barbara today for both mission business as well as celebrating Barbara's birthday. Our kids had a blast making birthday cards and putting up the birthday banner. We ate pizza for lunch and had ice cream and cake, which the kids loved getting to help Aunt Barbara blow out her candles. We are all blessed by our friendship with Aunt Barbara and we pray she has a fantastic birthday!!!

Aunt Barbara with Lacie and Nathan

The kids "helping" blow out Aunt Barbara's birthday candles

Updates from our Facebook group

2010-10-11T16:26:00.003+02:00

Because we have had such a trial getting emails to go out with our africanonline email account, I decided to start a Facebook group to keep folks more updated on what is happening with our family and ministry. It is a closed group but if you are interested in joining on Facebook, just let me know. We did not want it open to the general public so all sorts of folks could write on the wall and so forth that we did not know. However, we know that not everyone has Facebook so we are going to try and update our blog with the group updates until we can get the email stuff all sorted out. Thanks for all your prayers and support!

It is hard to believe that we are all packed up and will be flying back to Africa tomorrow. We have had an amazing six months of stateside time and thankful for all God allowed for our family during this time. We wish we could have seen each and every one of you but not possbile. We are glad our paths did cross with many of you. More importantly, we are blessed with everyone's prayers and support.We hope to send updates more often so we can keep folks more aware of what is going on with our family, ministry and the Swazi people. God is doing exciting things in Swaziland!

Our biggest prayer concern right now is for our flight back to Africa tomorrow for our family. Traveling with a 2 1/2 year old is going to be a bit of a challenge so pray Nathan does well with sitting still when needed and that we are all able to rest some on the flight. We will land in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the 27th, spend the night at our Baptist guest house and then head onto Swaziland on the 28th. We look forward to connecting with you once we arrive back home and sharing more stories of our African adventures. Thank you for joining us as we continue the journey God has called our family in serving HIM in Swaziland.

It is still hard to believe that this time last week, we were still in West Palm Beach, Florida finishing up packing and saying our final good-byes to family and friends. We wanted to say thank you for all your prayers for our family as we traveled back to Swaziland on Sunday/Monday on the plane and then driving in our mission truck on Tuesday to Swaziland. The kids did AMAZING on all the flights and Nathan even took two long sleeps on the international 15+ hour flight to South Africa. Praise the Lord! Lacie returned to school on Wednesday after our family arrived back in Swaziland on Tuesday. She was warmly greeted by her classmates and enjoyed being back into her routine. We have been slowly unpacking more and more each day and getting the house back in order. Nathan is just happy to be playing with his cars. Steve has jumped back into some of his Bible studies, mostly just re-connecting with the Swazis and hearing how God has worked in their lives. Our family plans to attend Hawane Baptist Church in the morning at their invitation and we are looking forward to being with them for worship. The youth leaders in our area were at the mission property this morning for a meeting in preparations for our annual youth retreat for our area in December.

As we get back into ministry, pray for
- our family as we adjust back to our lives here in Swaziland
- God's clear direction to know new work areas- upcoming National Women's Retreat on October 14-16 with Barbara Myers, our friend and co-worker on our Swazi mission family, leading the sessions on prayer.
- our Swazi mission family is getting new missionaries, Todd and Deborah Hoskins, arriving in Swaziland on October 14. Pray for their final days in the USA and special times with family and friends. We are excited to see our mission family growing once again.
- Lacie is taking her entrance exam to start grade 1 at Sifundzani Primary School in January. She will do great but she is a bit nervous.Lacie is finishing up her kindergarten (grade 0) school year right now. We are blessed and thankful for Al and Belinda Jordan that covered our ministry work and stayed in our house for the past six months. We were able to be with them briefly before they departed back to the USA. We cannot put into words how much we appreciated their willingness to serve our Lord in Swaziland the past several months.

Check out our family blog at: http://www.allensinafrica.blogspot.com/ for more stories and sign up to be a follower to keep us accountable in writing stories more often.

We have been so blessed to have Lacie in a small, preschool since she was three years old. It is literally five minutes away from our house with great teachers. They have Christian principles, even though it is not technically a Christian school. She has great friends there and we have loved the environment for her. Kindergarten or Grade 0 is the oldest class at the preschools here in Swaziland. Lacie is now preparing to start Grade 1 in late January, when our new school year opens. The school year for us is all-year round, January - December, with three term breaks. Right now, Lacie is on the list to get into Sifunduzani Primary School and we hear great reports from others that it is an excellent, private school. Primary schools are grade 1 - 7 so our little Lacie will be quite the little fish in a big pond next year. She will be taking her entrance exam on Thursday morning at 10:00am, our time. It is more of a time to see how Lacie does with listening skills, see where she is at with her basic learning skills, interacting with adults and so forth. We know she will do fine but she is a bit nervous. She is afraid she will be asked to repeat kindergarten, which is so not true. We should find out fairly soon if Lacie has been accepted into the school and finalize the plans for her to start in January. Pray that if this is where Lacie is to be in school that everything will work out. If it is not, God would close the doors tightly. If she is not to attend there, give us direction on other options. We have homeschooling as an option but not sure if that is the right one for us right now, either. Education is so important and we know we are at crossroads to an important decision concerning Lacie. We appreciate all your prayers and any advice of others as well.

Hope this catches everyone up on our latest updates....

Meet the Hoskins

2010-10-11T15:29:00.002+02:00

Thanks for all your prayers for Lacie's entrance exam last week. All went very well and she did fantastic. We are now waiting to hear from the school if she has been accepted or not. At this point, it is a matter of space as the school only takes 60 students for two 1st grade classes. Praying for God's will to be shown to our family.

This week, our mission family will be receiving new personnel...yeah!!! They are Todd and Deborah Hoskins and will be serving a two-year assignment with our company. They will live next door to our family for a short time and then the plan is for them to move down to Manzini to be more centrally located. They will be doing church planting/developing in the Manzini area as well developing rural "schools" for leadership training, discipleship classes, etc. We look forward to all God has planned for their time in Swaziland.

Pray for Todd and Deborah as they are saying good-bye to family and friends for a couple years. They will fly out of the USA on Tuesday, arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa on Wednesday, spend night at our Baptist guest house and arrive in Swaziland on Thursday morning on the 7:40am flight, our time. Whew, they will need a few days of rest to get over all those travels! :) They will only be in Swaziland for several days before they head to Burkina Faso and Ghana for our company's 40/40 bush camp training.We look forward to sharing more about Todd and Deborah in future updates! As always, thank you for your prayers!!!!

HUGE thanks to the Jordans

2010-10-02T18:45:00.009+02:00

Our family was so blessed to have Al and Belinda Jordan come serve in Swaziland while our family was in the USA for our six-month stateside assignment. Monica met Al back in 2000 when Monica was serving a two-year term with our company and Al came with our company as part of a Baptist Student Ministers discovery team. Little did we all know how much God would guide our paths to develop a friendship over the years. Al and Belinda also came to Swaziland in 2001 to cover the ministry work of former Swazi team colleagues and friends, Sy and Ruth Grayson, but they lived in the house next door. During the 2001 time, Steve came to Swaziland in June 2001 for a mission trip and met the Jordans and Monica returned in August 2001 to help lead the National Youth Camp. We also had the privilege of serving with the Jordans living next door to our family in 2005-2006 as volunteer coordinators for our Swazi mission family. So you can see there is much history between our two families.

It was not an easy six months with ups and downs in Swaziland but we are grateful for the Jordan's willingness to serve the Swazi people in our absence. We know God's kingdom was advanced because of their faithful hearts.

Thank you Al and Belinda for ALL you did in Swaziland!!!! We are blessed by you both tremendously and love you tons!!!

Monica with Al and Belinda before they left the mission houses.

Al and Belinda (also known as Paw-Paw and Aunt B) with Lacie and Nathan before they left Swaziland on Thursday morning

Al and Belinda Jordan and Gogo Maria Shandu with Steve, Lacie and Nathan on the morning we left Swaziland for our stateside assignment back in March.

Back to our African Home

2010-10-01T00:04:00.002+02:00

It has been far too long since I have written much on our family blog. Our family was able to be in the USA for the past six months visiting with family/friends and sharing in churches about our ministry/lives in Swaziland. This blog would be too long to share all that we were able to experience while we were in the USA but we were blessed by many special times.

Our family left the USA on September 26 to return to Swaziland, our African home, for another term of service. The month of September marked our family's 7th year anniversary of serving as missionaries in Swaziland. Africa is home to our kids and Lacie, especially, could not wait to get back to her home, school and friends. When the plane landed in Johannesburg, Lacie turned to me and said, "Yes, we are finally home again!"

Upon landing in Johannesburg, we were blessed to have dinner waiting for us by some of our missionary friends and colleagues with our mission company. We spent the night at our Baptist guest house, re-united with our mission truck, loaded up all our luggage and headed for Swaziland the next day. We needed to purchase new SIM cards for South Africa for our cell phones since we travel into South Africa often. Little did we realize that to purchase new SIM cards required to be registered in the computer system now and it turned out to be quite interesting. The first store was offline, the second store was out of SIM cards to purchase, and the third store had the SIM cards but ended up going offline while they were in the process of registering our new numbers. So, I was sent back to the second store to officially register the new numbers. You would think that we would be able to begin using our cell phones immediately but no. I was then told it could take up to FOUR hours for the registration to be completed. Luckily, it took only about two hours so I was able to send a few text messages as we drove onwards to Swaziland. We arrived at the border and all of us needed to use the bathroom. However, not possible as the border was "temporarily" out of water but the border crossing was quite easy. Praise the Lord!

We returned to a cold day in Swaziland and scrambling to find winter clothes for all of us again. Remember, we just left sunny and warm South Florida so our bodies were in shock a bit! We pulled into our driveway and immediately was greeted by Al and Belinda Jordan, the wonderful volunteers and former missionaries with our mission family that lived in our house while we were in the USA. They had dinner ready for us and even a fire going in our living room. Yeah! :) So blessed and thankful for such a warm greeting. Lacie was beyond excited and really wanted to return to school the next morning. I thought it would be impossible with jet lag but she was up and ready to go. She was greeted by her class with much enthusiasm and she is thrilled to be back at school again. May she always be that excited to go to school! :)

Our team leaders, Wayne and Barbara Myers, came over to Mbabane yesterday to say hello to our family and good-bye to the Jordan's. It was a nice visit for everyone and yes, we were actually awake for it all! :) We visited a new Pick 'n Pay (grocery store) that just opened last week and it is nice...but so are the prices. It seems like everything has gone up in price since we left several months ago. Whew! We got home to find out that our phone line was out so no time to share with folks that we were safely back in Swaziland. Less than 24 hours back and no phone means no internet. Praise the Lord the phone company actually came today to fix it!

Ahhhh....such is life in Africa and although there will be MANY more adventures yet to come, we are thankful that God is going before us and guiding us with HIS mighty hand!

Reports from Swaziland Youth Camp 2010

2010-08-28T17:51:00.002+02:00

The first full day of camp seemed to be a huge success. The NYC is doing an excellent job. They have done a tremendous job of putting everything together. This morning, Kym Pennington, our new TLWI rep is doing a short True Love Waits presentation. The team is leading well and will be facilitating discussion groups this afternoon. The choir festival last night was good. Thank you for your prayers and I will update as I receive more information from Swaziland. As you can tell by the numbers, many of our Swazi youth were able to attend camp and we are trusting that God is speaking to many of them during youth camp!

Youth Camp 2010

Getting ready for one of the services to start

First Baptist, Belton, Texas, introducing themselves at youth camp

Pastor Nizio is translating for our volunteer team as well as introducing Kym Pennington, True Love Waits International consultant

Pray for Youth Camp!

2010-08-26T18:29:00.005+02:00

The Swaziland Baptist Youth Camp is starting today and will run through this Sunday, August 29, 2010. This year's theme is" Running Towards the Super Race" and a volunteer team from First Baptist Church, Belton, Texas is with the youth to assist them with teaching/preaching, games, discussion groups and building relationships. Youth camp is a highlight for all of our Swazi youth as it is an annual event for all our Baptist churches to come together for four days of fun, fellowship and hearing the word of God. The youth pay a small camp fee to attend to assist the costs of food and school rental fee. They also have to pay their own transportation to get to camp so it is something the youth save up for together with their churches for many months.

Youth camp is quite special to my own heart as I helped to re-start the national youth camp back in 2000 during my two-year journeyman/ISC term. Youth camp had happened a few times in the past with other missionaries and national leadership but it was not consistent. During my first two years in Swaziland, God gave me the vision and direction to establish a National Youth Committee that was going to lead and plan for the youth camp each year. Yes, I have been on the committee, too, for most of the past ten years but it is really planned and led by our own Swazi youth. Each year, they take on more and more responsibility and I am very proud of all of them. At youth camp, the new NYC members are chosen and prayed for by their pastors, leaders and other youth peers. Through the years, the NYC has grown to plan other regional youth events as well as national youth leader's retreat. God has grown several of these youth into awesome leaders in many of our churches today.

This year's camp marks ten years of consistently having a youth camp each year. We always plan for August because it is a school break for our students. The schools have three breaks throughout the year. The Easter services are in April and too much is going on with the Christmas holidays during the December break so the August break is the best time for youth camp. Through the years, we have had fellow missionaries from Zambia help lead/teach at youth camp, volunteer teams from churches come lead at youth camp, fellow missionary colleagues in Swaziland teach/preach at youth camp as well as other Swazi pastors giving of their time to share at youth camp. It has been a learning process to prepare for camp through the years but a great time for our youth to grow both individually and together as a group.

I am asking if you would join me in praying for youth camp over the next few days that God would move in a mighty way among the hearts and lives of our Swazi youth? HE has great plans for ALL of them!!!

-Pray for the services, sessions, game times, fellowship, meals, etc. that every conversation would glorify God!

-Pray for our volunteer team to have strength and stamina each day as they serve the youth at camp.

-Pray the translation is clearly understood as the word is being shared from English to siSwati.

-Pray for the chairman of the NYC, Musa Dlamini, and the rest of the NYC committee to serve at camp with servant leadership.

Even now, I give God ALL the praise for the great things HE is going to do at camp this year. I look forward to hearing the stories and seeing the photos. My heart waits expectantly to hear of HIS good news from everyone!

Lacie has been going to youth camp since she was a little baby. Youth camp 2005 was her second youth camp.

Playing games at youth camp - not all about sitting all day!

Youth camp shirts - 2006

National Youth Committee 2006

Break out sessions - youth camp 2005 -

volunteer team from FBC Washington helped to lead the youth camp

Youth camp shirts - 2005

Hanging with friends - youth camp 2009

Youth camp 2006 meeting at a school for the first time because we outgrew our churches!

May Prayer Update

2010-05-28T17:51:00.004+02:00

Over the past six weeks, we have been in and out of 10 different states between sharing with churches about Swaziland and able to spend time with family and friends. We are thankful for the opportunities to continue the story of all God is doing in Swaziland and for times of rest and fun times with family as well. Right now, we are in eastern North Carolina, where Steven lived about 13 years, connecting with churches and precious friends. It has been loads of fun showing the kids where Daddy used to live or work or attend church.

Over this weekend in Swaziland, the National Youth Committee met in Mbabane for their annual planning retreat concerning the upcoming national youth camp in August. We are thrilled to know that a volunteer team from First Baptist Church, Belton, Texas (where Al and Belinda Jordan are members in the USA) will be coming to assist with youth camp this year. The camp theme has been chosen to be a sports theme with the World Cup emphasis so much throughout Southern Africa in June and July. Please be praying for all the logistics and schedule planning that will be finalized in the coming weeks. Pray even now for the many youth that will be attending youth camp in August that their hearts will be open to learning all God has planned for them. Youth camp is also celebrating their ten-year anniversary...how exciting!

Continue praying for Al and Belinda Jordan as they are staying in our house and covering much of our ministry area while we are in the USA. There have been ups and downs with their time in Swaziland, which is all part of life in Africa! :) Pray for strength as well as times of renewal for their lives as they faithfully serve the Lord each day in Swaziland. A huge inconvenience has been the issue with internet. Pray the internet line can be corrected soon and they would have a consistent and reliable internet connection during their stay in Mbabane.

On June 13-14, Monica has been asked to represent the International Mission Board at the National Women's Missionary Union meeting in Orlando, Florida. Monica is excited to represent the IMB, her home state of Florida, the ministry of Swaziland but most importantly, Jesus Christ, as the daughter of the king! Pray for these speaking times of being able to convey how God is working in and through the kingdom of Swaziland!

On June 17, Lacie will be celebrating her 6th birthday. She is looking forward to a Little Mermaid birthday celebration with lots of her daddy's family.

We recently heard a startling statistic that Swaziland is well on its way to being the first nation to wipe out their existing population due to the devastating AIDS crises. This news breaks our hearts but yet pushes us with the urgency to get the gospel of Jesus Christ out more than ever. Pray for the AIDS crises in Swaziland and for people to make lifestyle changes.

Our family will be moving from North Carolina to West Palm Beach at the end of June/beginning of July. If you are in the West Palm Beach/South Florida area and would like for us to share at your church, Bible study group, youth group, women's group, school, etc, please let us know soon so we can finalize our schedule. We plan to be in West Palm Beach until around September 26, when we will be returning to Swaziland.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support!
Steven, Monica, Lacie and Nathan Allen
IMB missionaries serving in Swaziland

Attached is an updated photo of Lacie and Nathan taken by Pastor Jimmy Moore of First Baptist Church, Washington, North Carolina.

Precious photo of Lacie and Nathan...wow, they are growing up fast!

USA update...FINALLY!

2010-04-15T03:15:00.002+02:00

Greetings from the good 'ol USA! :) Our family arrived in the USA on March 27 after a very long plane ride and now trying to get our feet underneath us. We have had lots of problems with our email server but we are praying the kinks are all worked out now. Keep praying we can stay in the land of the internet and communication! :)

We enjoyed one week of being at Steve's parent's area in northwestern North Carolina and Easter weekend with family before we started off for our first round of travels. Last week, we were at our company's stateside conference for debriefing and further training. It was nice to be with other colleagues that are literally serving all over the world. The kids enjoyed being in classes for their different age groups. Right now, we are up in Havre de Grace, Maryland, where Steve was born and raised, hanging with his brother and family for the week. It has been great spending time with family and catching up with one another's lives. We have also started sharing with Bible study groups, churches and schools about our lives and ministry in Swaziland. We praise God for these contacts and opportunities to share how God is moving in the kingdom of Swaziland. We will be heading to one of Steve's sister's house in western Maryland this Saturday to spend several days with her family. Then, we will return to North Carolina later next week. Our family will then head to Pineville, Kentucky on April 26-28 to share with Clear Creek Bible College and a church. Steve met folks from this college while he was in Israel last year on his archeological dig.

Ministry is continuing in Swaziland with Al and Belinda Jordan holding down the fort for us and we are so grateful for them being there to serve with the Swazi people. We heard amazing reports that our annual Swazi Baptist Easter services (Thursday - Sunday) went very well with no major problems. This was great encouragement to us as the past two years have had huge issues that caused conflict among our leaders and churches. Both Hawane and Lesibovu Baptist churches are pressing on with their building projects and have slowly begun building/dedicating their plots of land to start building their own church buildings. Praise the Lord! Continue to pray for the ministries in Swaziland and for the Jordans as they press on with the daily days in and out of life in Swaziland. Our team leaders, Wayne and Barbara Myers, have moved into their new house, just 2km down the road from where they were living. Pray for them as they are sorting through the final boxes and getting house set up for the final time, we pray.

A huge praise for our family is that we have found a place to stay while we are in West Palm Beach in July - September. One of my Monica's closest friend's growing up, Jennifer Story Peavey, has a family member that has recently moved to assisted living. Her condo is available for us to use and it fits our budget, too. Thank you, Lord!!!

We should be getting a permanent cell phone to use while we are in the USA until September sometime this week. We will send out the number when we receive it. Until then, feel free to email us through this address or we have set up a temporary gmail account to use as well - allensinafrica@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from many of you and we appreciate your ongoing prayers. Our family is adjusting to life back in the USA - crazy traffic, busyness of life, parks around every corner for the kids to play, too many choices, huge portions of food at restaurants, church services in English, great family times/memories, free internet, missing friends/school for Lacie back in Swaziland (she has had the hardest adjustment of us all!), times of naps and rest, etc.

Attached are photos Al and Belinda Jordan, Maria Shandu and Steve with the kids as well as our family on the day we left Swaziland for the big trip to the USA. Enjoy!

Blessings and prayers,
Steve, Monica, Lacie and Nathan Allen
IMB missionaries serving in Swaziland

Our family saying "see you later" to Swaziland for several months!

Passing the baton of our house and ministry to Al and Belinda Jordan, along with Maria Shandu (the kid's Swazi Gogo) as well!

Leaving "home" to go visit "home"

2010-03-24T00:14:00.003+02:00

The bags are pretty much packed and the house has been sorted through over the past few weeks in preparation of heading to the USA for six months. You would think by now that the transition of leaving our home to go visit our home would get easier but that is not always true. As a missionary living in a foreign country, I have embraced Swaziland as my home. Our family is in our seventh year of living in Swaziland and for our children, Africa is more home to them than the USA, where I grew up. Do not get me wrong, I long to see my family and visit with friends but I also do not necessarily want to leave my home in Africa at the same time. I wish Africa was closer to America! :) The Atlantic Ocean is tooooo big!!!!

Through all these mixed emotions, God has been faithful to give me a peace that He is still in control and He understands what I am going through, even on days when I do not! On Sunday, we were saying farewell to a church, Hawane Baptist, that is dear to our hearts as it is the first church we planted and started in our last mission term. The church asked us to greet them and say a few words before Steve began preaching. God impressed upon me to share with my brothers and sisters in Christ that the same God that is here with them in Swaziland is the same God that will be with our family in America. Praise the Lord! It was a great reminder for me, too, that God is not leaving me just because I was leaving Swaziland. He IS going with me and will stay with me!!!

In sorting through several closets and stuff in our house over the past few weeks, I ran across an older issue of Today's Christian Woman. In it, there was an article about a wife that kept struggling with moving all the time due to her husband's job. No, I am not moving all the time but the few key principles that were shared impacted my mind and heart greatly.

1. Dwell in the Land based on Jeremiah 29 - stop wasting time and energy fussing over the loss of leaving and carry on the business of living. Enjoy living in the present and not the past!

2. Learn to be Content based on Philippians 4:11 - be happy and content whatever the circumstances. Focus on the here and now and be thankful for all God has given me...whew!

3. Set My Mind on Things Above based on Colossians 3:2 - Look ahead to the eternal home Jesus is preparing for me in heaven and that is definitely something to look forward to!

4. Be a Living Sacrifice based on Romans 12:1 - I choose to be a living sacrifice - to please God. I desire to place all my different longings on an altar sacrificing them to the Lord.

I am beginning to look forward to our furlough time in the USA for six months. It will be amazing times with our family and re-connecting them with our children. I look forward to worship services in English (rare for us as we are in siSwati language services each week!) and also opportunities for my children to be with kids their ages at church. All in all, it is going to be precious times of rest for my family and truly resting in God's arms as He revives our bodies, minds and souls to continue the ministry He has called us to do for His glory.

I hope to see many of you on my journey as I visit my "other home" and a chance to catch up on all God is doing in our lives.

Thank you for praying for our family

2010-03-09T18:35:00.002+02:00

Thank you for the many emails we received concerning Lacie's unplanned surgery this past Friday morning. Your prayers and support mean the world to our family.
Lacie did great with her surgery, although she did come out with some minimal pain in her left ear. Praise the Lord for good pain meds! :) Lacie was such a trooper through it all! Lacie and I were able to come home Friday around lunch time and it was great to be reunited with our guys. Nathan was sooo excited to see his sissy. Aunt Jane Lawson, missionary friend from Jo'burg, has come to spend the weekend with our family and we always love having friends with us. Today is Nathan's 2nd birthday and we are so blessed by his precious life in our family. He is our active, little man and adds so much life to our household! :) We praise God for such a blessing to us.

Our family is sorting through our house and belongings as we will be leaving for the USA on March 26 for our stateside (furlough) time. We will leave Swaziland on March 25 to be in Jo'burg for one night before flying out on March 26. Pray for the packing process and long travels for our family, esp for Nathan. We will be on a plane for 18 hours with an active two-year old! :) We will be landing in Charlotte on the morning of March 27 and staying with Steven's parent's in the northwestern area of NC. We will be going to our company's stateside conference April 5-10 and then onto Maryland to visit with family and connecting churches for a couple weeks. We will send out a more detailed schedule at a later time. Our biggest prayer concern is that we STILL need a place to stay when our family is in West Palm Beach from July 1 - September 25 or so. Pray a place opens soon for our family to rent or house sit.

Pray also for Al and Belinda Jordan as they will be coming to live in our house and cover some of our ministry areas while we are on our stateside time until the end of September. They will be leaving the USA on March 16, landing in Jo'burg on March 17 and driving onto Swaziland on March 19. We are very thankful for their willingness to come at their own expense to assist our family, mission team and Swazi people during these next six months. Pray for their last minute preparations and for safe travels in a couple weeks.

This past week, our team leaders, Wayne and Barbara Myers, received word that the rental house they are staying in is no longer available to them. They have been given two months to find a new house, pack and move to a new place. Pray for the RIGHT house for them and clarity through this tough time. They have just returned from their stateside time back in January and had just gotten settled into their current house in the Tshaneni area. We are trusting God to provide the right place for them.

Happy 2nd Birthday Nathan!!!

2010-03-07T21:09:00.008+02:00

Nathan doing the maize mill at one of the homestead

Nathan loves playing in the water anytime!

Nathan at his first birthday party....loves any kind of cars! :)

Nathan at birth...what a cutie!

Nathan saying..."Hi world, I have arrived!"

It is hard to believe that our little man is already two years old. Wow, where does the time go? It seem like yesterday that Nathan was born and we were becoming a family of four. Nathan has added tons of energy to our family and he is such a precious gift from the Lord. We are learning that it is way different to raise a little boy vs. a little girl! :) We often say that if we could figure out a way to bottle up a kid's energy level, we would make millions! Nathan loves cars, balls, blocks and books. He loves being outdoors and playing with his sissy, Lacie. We look forward to watching Nathan grow up each day and all the wonderful plans God has for his precious life.

Climb Every Mountain

2010-02-09T09:41:00.005+02:00

One of my all-time favorite movies is "The Sound of Music" and hoping my kids will enjoy the movie one day as well. This past Sunday on our way to church a song from the movie came to mind several times. It is "Climb Every Mountian" because we literally climbed a Swazi mountain to attend church services with one of our churches. Ntsintsa Baptist Church has been a church since the mid-1990's but has always met in the Red Cross Building in the community "center". Until just recently, the church now has their own building for church and the people are so excited. The church was full and the worship was sweet with these precious believers in Christ. The weather was hot, kids were crying (including my own little Nathan!) but it did not dampen the spirit of the Lord filling this place for worshipping Him. We look forward to visiting with this church again soon! Enjoy the photos that tell the story better than words can this time.

Small, twisting road we had drive to in our truck to get to the bottom of the mountain path near the church. I must admit I was glad Steve was driving to church! :)

Steve, Lacie and Nathan almost making it to the top of the mountain path

Just a small part of the mountain path we had to climb up and down to get to church. NO way the truck was going on this path!

The new building for Ntintsa Baptist Church!!!!

Nathan hanging with some of his Swazi friends. Notice that Nathan loves to sit and squat just like a Swazi! :)

Steve preaching for the first time in the new church building, althought the church does have a pastor. It is typically tradition to have a visiting "mfundisi" pastor preach for services.

Beautiful scenery of a nearby homestead from the top of the mountain outside the church doors.

Steve was asked to pray for the newly elected church committee along with Pastor Maseko.

Church is over and making our way back down the mountain path

Ntsintsa Baptist Church literally up near the top of the mountain

Steve, Lacie and Nathan with Pastor Saiko (pronounced "psycho") Maseko

Nathan walking between the two pastors. Mmm...could be a third pastor one day?!?!?!

Praises and Prayer Updates - February

2010-02-02T23:18:00.002+02:00

Dear Prayer Partners,

Greetings from Swaziland!
We have much to be praising the Lord for and we want to share with our faithful prayer partners. The month of January literally flew by us and we are busy trying to catch everyone up on things with our family and ministry.

Praises:
- Hawane Baptist Church FINALLY received their plot of land for their own church structure this past Sunday. Praise the Lord!
- Wayne and Barbara Myers, our team leaders, returned from their stateside time at the beginning of January and are getting settled into their new home in Tshaneni. It is great to have them back with us, although we do not see them too often as they are still about two hours away from us.
- Al and Belinda Jordan will be coming to stay in our house and cover some of our ministry while we are in the USA for our stateside time from March - September. The Jordan's have served in both Swaziland and South Africa previously. We are thrilled they are willing to return to Swaziland to assist us, our team and ministry!
They will be arriving March 17 in Johannesburg and then coming onto Swaziland on March 19. Pray for all the logistics they need to finalize on their side before coming to Swaziland for six months.
- The National Youth Committee had a great meeting last month and began plans for the National Youth Leader's Retreat in late May as well as discussing ways to keep encouraging our youth in our churches. Continue to pray for the NYC as they faithfully lead throughout Swaziland.
- Lesibovu is being faithful each week, despite the many rainy days we have had the last few weeks. Their numbers are growing every week and we are excited to see what God has planned for this new church.
- We have had LOTS of rain!!! We keep saying this is the most rain we have ever seen in a rainy season.
- January 10-14, the Helgren family, who serve in Zambia with our company, came for a holiday to visit Swaziland and be with our family. We had a blast and enjoyed being with these precious friends very much!!! The kids loved playing together for four days straight! :)
- On January 12, Steve and I celebrated eight years of marriage and had the opportunity to get away to another part of Swaziland for about 24-hours without the kids a couple weeks after our actual anniversary. Thanks to Jacci and Janet and Gogo Shandu for all their help in watching the kids during that time!
- Our family had a wonderful visit with Don and Pam Lynch, our new associate strategy cluster leader. We have known Don and Pam for several years but our paths do not cross often with them. However, with the many recent changes of our company, Don is the ASCL for town/rural/country areas. They had never been to Swaziland so it was our pleasure to show them our beautiful country and the ministry God has for our family here. Pray for Don and Pam as they are moving from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town this coming week.
- Thank you to all those that generously gave to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering!!! We are hearing great reports of many churches that reached or exceeded their offering goals. God desires to accomplish much through the gifts given for others all around the world to hear about Him!
- Today, 11 years ago, Steve and I met here in Mbabane when he was on a volunteer mission team and I was just starting to serve my two-year missionary term. Steve had developed a kidney stone and I was asked to drive him to Nelspurit, South Africa, for more medical assistance. Little did we know all God had planned for our lives!
- Lacie started Grade 0/kindergarten and is loving being in school! I will be homeschooling Lacie while we are in the USA for our stateside this year and then she will re-join her class in Swaziland when we return in late September.
- I managed to catch tick bite fever this past month but praise the Lord, I did not experience the high fevers that usually occurs. I was able to rest for a few days and then get back into the normal routine of life again quickly.

Prayer Requests:

- Lesibovu has their first official work day to begin clearing their new plot of land on Saturday, February 13. Pray much is accomplished and the weather will be nice as the church starts their journey to building their own church structure.
- Pray for the Baptist Convention of Swaziland as they meet on Saturday, February 6, to make plans for the Easter services coming up the beginning of April. The Easter services is the biggest event for our all our Baptist churches and there is much to be discussed and planned. Pray for unity with decisions and God's leading on the venue, schedule, speakers, food plans, etc.
- Pray for First Baptist Church Belton, Texas, as they are considering coming to lead our National Youth Camp in August. This is the church where Al and Belinda Jordan are coming from and they are praying to finalize plans before they leave the USA in mid-March.
- Continue to pray for our churches to be faithful in serving the Lord in their lives daily among their families, churches, schools and communities. Many of our churches are without pastoral leadership and we are believing the God is going to raise up spiritual leaders for these churches.
- We are praying about where to start the next new work when we return towards the end of the year. Pray for God's direction on where He wants us to begin a new ministry for His glory.
- Our family will be leaving Swaziland on March 25, flying to the USA on March 26 and landing in Charlotte, North Carolina on March 27. We will be spending the first three months in northwestern North Carolina with Steve's family and then July - September in West Palm Beach, Florida. Pray for us as we are finalizing our speaking schedule with partnering churches as well as visiting with family. Our biggest prayer need is a place to stay while we are in West Palm Beach. The missionary housing we used last time is no longer available and there is not another option. If anyone knows of somewhere in the WPB area we can house sit or rent not too high for three months, please contact us ASAP. We know God is in control of everything! Plus, churches in the WPB/South Florida area, please contact us soon if you want us to speak at your church, Bible study group or other groups as our schedule is starting to fill quickly.
- Pray for Barbara Myers' mother, Shirley, as she recently fell and broke her hip. Surgery went well and she is in rehab now. Pray she is able to heal well and has no further complications from the fall.

Lacie starting grade 0/kindergarten and Nathan wanting to go with her!

Lacie and Nathan with the Helgren kids (Lily, Easton and Lauren) on one of the big rocks in our backyard on their recent visit.

Crossing the river to reach Lesibovu for weekly Bible study. (shows how much rain we have had - usually a dry piece of land)

Community elders marking the plot of land for Hawane Baptist Church

Updated family photo from this past Sunday

You have WHAT?!?!?!

2010-02-01T11:43:00.002+02:00

Our five-year old daughter, Lacie, just started Grade O in school. It is like kindergarten and she loves being in school. She attends The Little Brown Hen Preschool, where she has been since she was in the 3-year old class so she with many of her friends each day. She attends school 8am - 12:30pm each day.

Last week, we had missionary colleagues visiting us as they had never been to Swaziland and wanted to touch base with our family before we left for our USA furlough time. We were busy with showing them ministry areas as well as local tourist areas, too, as well as keeping the family and home going each day.

Lacie came home from school on Wednesday and announced that she had "HOMEWORK"! I was like, what??? You are in kindergarten! :) Sure enough, she had homework and we had fun doing it together, along with Aunt Pam. Lacie had to cut out items in a magazine that went along with the short sound "a", like apple, animal, ant, etc. It was fun and Lacie was way excited to cut and then paste them in her "homework" book. I thought...girl, you have many, many years ahead of you for homework! :) I hope you stay excited as you are about learning and loving school. I work with Lacie at home, too, and preparing to homeschool her through part of kindergarten while we are in the USA for six months.

I thought it was just too funny that homework is already starting...wow! However, I must admit it will be fun to have yet another time to spend with Lacie watching her grow and learn new things in her life. I thought...mmm, I wonder how that is with our Heavenly Father in that He cannot wait to spend time with each of his children watching us grow and learn each day?!?!

Church plot FINALLY marked

2010-02-01T10:49:00.004+02:00

Hawane Baptist Church was our first church plant that started as a Bible study at a local roadside curio market back in 2004. The doors opened for the group to begin meeting on Sunday mornings in 2005 and quickly, the group formed a new church, Hawane Baptist. It has been a great joy in our lives to watch this church grow and grow, not necessarily in numbers, but in their walks with the Lord. The church has waited and waited for their own land so they could begin building their own church structure. Praise the Lord, they were approved to use a community building that also serves as a preschool during the week. However, the church quicky was outgrowing this temporary structure. Steve and several members of the church tore down a wall that was dividing two rooms to add more space.

The church began requesting their own plot of land in 2007 but it has taken until yesterday to "officially" have the land marked as their own. Amazingly, their new land is plot of land just up from the temporary structure so the church is not moving far from its current location. On their new land, there is a run down structure that can be refurbished and part of their new church building. It has been a long road of "waiting" for Hawane Baptist but they never gave up. They kept their heads up and seeking God's direction for their church daily. The main reason for such a long delay, which is not the usual case here in Swaziland, is that the chief in the Hawane area passed away a few years ago now. The chiefdom is an area of five communities coming together. The communities have not been able to agree on a new chief so much is placed on the indvuna's shoulders in the different communities. The indvuna is like the assistant to a chief.

Steve collected the indvuna at his homestead at 7am to take him to the church to start the meeting. The meeting ended up starting at around 9am or so as they were waiting on one of the community elders to arrive at the church meeting. It did not take long once the meeting started and then the church fed the indvuna, community elders and church members at the meeting. Steve was asked to take the indvuna and community elders to the next community, Nkhaba, for another meeting and then Hawane Baptist was ready to start their Sunday morning worship service. Services yesterday was filled with much celebration, singing, praising God, shouting (literally), testimonies and preaching on Nehemiah (Steve did a wonderful job!). I actually got to hear most of the sermon, which is rare these days with an almost two-year old wanting to run around during the service. The church asked me to share with them at the end of the service and the biggest challenge I gave them was to continue to, "press on" in their journey as a church, their walks with the Lord, with their families and with their community. God has done much through Hawane Baptist Church and although they do not have a consistent pastor, they have sweet spirits that truly love the Lord with all their hearts. I look forward to seeing all God has planned for this precious church in the near future.

So, we challenge you...."PRESS ON"!!!!

Lacie helps to end the church service by singing, "Building Up the Temple".

The indvuna in the Hawane community leading the meeting for the

church to have their land "officially" marked as their own.

Hawane Baptist Church in their temporary structure.

It was a great day of celebrating all God has done through His church so far!

The indvuna and community elders "marking" the new plot of land granted to Hawane Baptist Church. The church is excited to start building their own church building very soon!

As with any "meeting", food is always served! :) It is custom to serve the community elders after any special meetings and Hawane Baptist did this graciously and with a servant's heart.

That time of the year....

2010-01-25T14:44:00.002+02:00

January is a tough time of the year for us as it is the neverending flow of people asking us to assist them or their family with school fees. School officially opens tomorrow for all the government schools, although some private schools and preschools opened last week. For any age of school children, preschool to form 5 (grade 12), school is not free. There are costs for school fees, uniforms, school supplies, extra activities (sports, arts, etc) for each child. I cannot imagine what it is like for families that have many kids. Most of the time, boys are kept in school longer because girls can help out at home more and also help to watch the younger children still at home. Education is needed to further someone in life here through a job or going onto university. I just wish it was not so difficult for any child that wanted to attend school to be able to do so.

Monday is typically the day we try as a family to be our "day of rest" as Friday, Saturday and Sunday are quite busy for our family, especially Steve, with ministry opportunities. Lacie does attend school on Monday mornings but we attempt to keep our gate closed, cell phones on silent and not work on business items all day long.

Well, this morning, we had visitors at our gate by 9am, which is not too bad because folks have stopped by much earlier in the past. We knew that it would be about school fees and it was. Fortunately, this issue has been a huge matter of prayer for Steve and I in recent months and we felt the Lord leading us to a solution that fits our situation as well as our finances. Unfortunately, we had to tell the people sitting in our lounge (living room) that we could not help them with school fees. If we helped every person that asked us for help, we would have run out of money in our second week of our time in Swaziland! The needs are overwhelming in many ways but we also know that we have to teach our Swazi brothers and sisters how to save their own money, look for resources that are available to them, build within the church support and on and on. It broke my heart to see this young girl, probably age 15, starting to weep in my home because she is not sure how she will attend school this year. In the past much jealousy and tension arose in many of our churches when folks would find out that so and so was helped by this missionary or so and so was helped by that missionary and so on. We know that for now we cannot give to direct individuals because this cycle of dependency has to be broken. God has blessed us with different resources and we are being led to give through our Baptist churches.

This youth girl also has been ill and somehow we are looked upon as medical folks sometimes, too. We are comfortable in sharing Tylenol with people but we are not doctors and nurses. How I wish we had a bank account that never ran out of money but that is just not reality! For the orphans, there is supposed to be money that they can attend school for free due to outside contributions and government scholarships. However, corruption gets in the way and the funds are not available to all those that desire to attend school. The process is ongoing and a solution does not seem to be one that can be "fixed" with our own hands.

God, give us wisdom to know how to deal with this stressful time of the year and to wisely share resources and finances you have provided for our family to those in need.

This is by no means a blog post asking for folks to contribute but rather a window into the daily happenings of our family during January and part of February. Thank you for your prayers!

BGR Haiti updates

2010-01-22T19:08:00.003+02:00

Please help us spread the word! Do you know other believers who care about helping people in need? Why not forward this e-mail and encourage them to subscribe by visiting gobgr.org!

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The five-member BGR assessment team is on the ground in Haiti, driving toward Port-au-Prince. They are accompanied by Mark Rutledge, who has 26 years of experience serving as an International Mission Board worker in Haiti. The team will be connecting with Haitian Baptist leaders, surveying earthquake damage, and delivering relief supplies.
A strong aftershock measuring 6.1 in magnitude struck Port-au-Prince at 6:03 a.m., Jan. 20, according to news reports. The shock sent people scrambling for open ground as buildings damaged by last week’s quake shuddered and rubble began falling to the ground. Eyewitnesses said people already traumatized by the horrors of the past week cried and screamed at the new tremor. More than 40 significant aftershocks have hit since the Jan. 12 quake.
Members of the assessment team reported they did not feel the aftershock at their base in the Dominican Republic. However, Steve Leach, a member of Round Grove Baptist Church in Miller, Mo., who operates an independent hospital in northwest Haiti, reported the aftershock “brought down some of the damaged buildings that were still standing and will keep anyone from going back to what buildings are still standing for many days to come. With so many severe aftershocks over the last week and now another new quake, who knows when people who have a place to go will feel safe to return there.”
Leach said about 1,200 refugees have come to the hospital for treatment and he has been sending trucks into the capital to look for survivors with family who live near the hospital.
“We live in a place that is about as far from the capital as you can get and still be in Haiti and yet we have watched these very poor people trying desperately to figure out a way to get their family members out here so they can take care of them,” Leach said. “The truck drivers are less and less willing to [drive into the city] as the situation in Port deteriorates.”
Relief efforts are struggling to get essential relief supplies to hundreds of thousands of desperate people, but destroyed infrastructure and disorganization are hampering the effort. Officials are concerned that the desperation people feel will boil over into violence. Looters by the hundreds have been fighting each other with broken bottles, clubs and other weapons over whatever goods they can still find in damaged stores.

“Pray specifically for God to give those in control wisdom to direct the relief effort,” Leach said.

HAITI CONDITIONS BAD, BUT RELIEF PIPELINE OPENING

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Conditions on the ground in Haiti are very difficult, a member of Southern Baptists' joint assessment team reported from Port-au-Prince Jan. 20. A U.S. military commander, however, said important progress has been made on enlarging the conduit for relief shipments into the quake-ravaged island nation."We've seen quite a bit of damage – more so toward the center of the city," reported Jim Brown, U. S. director for Baptist Global Response, in a terse e-mail sent from his cell phone. "We've helped with a couple of deliveries. Helicopters everywhere. People still being found alive!"In another report, relayed to a meeting of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network, team member Bruce Poss indicated that traffic in Port-au-Prince is terrible and milling crowds are making travel and security serious concerns. He reported seeing 5,000 or more people lined up outside the US Embassy in the capital.The five-member team delivered relief supplies – water, plastic sheeting, bottled gas, beans, rice, eggs, diesel fuel, canned goods – to a couple of churches and orphanages, Brown said. They were planning to connect with a Florida Baptist assessment team later in the day.A U.S. military commander said the flow of relief supplies into Haiti would be helped by the opening of three new airfields and the country's seaport, news services reported. Gen. Douglas Fraser, who heads the U.S. Southern Command, told the Miami Herald newspaper the capital's seaport would reopen Jan. 21 and could accommodate about 150 shipping containers per day. The port's capacity is expected to grow to 250 containers per day by Jan. 22.The main airport in Port-au-Prince, which has one runway and one loading ramp, has been a bottleneck for the arrival of humanitarian aid, even after it was reopened. A total of 1,400 flights are backlogged to land at the airfield, Fraser said. Because congestion on the roads has been hindering delivery of relief supplies, 63 U.S. helicopters have been dropping water, food and medical supplies into the most inaccessible areas, he told the newspaper.The U.S. Military has distributed 1.4 million bottles of water, more than 700,00 meals, and about 22,000 pounds of medical supplies directly to people in need, Fraser said.As many as 2 million Haitians are homeless because of the Jan. 12 earthquake, relief officials say, with vast numbers of people living in makeshift tents made of sheets and sticks. The estimated death toll stands at 200,000, but humanitarian medical groups warn that number will continue to grow as people die of untreated injuries and disease that infects the ramshackle camps, news services report.Southern Baptist medical personnel who are willing to help in the relief effort can e-mail haitiresponse@imb.org to register their availability. Baptist state convention disaster relief offices also will be organizing teams of volunteers to help once the assessment teams have returned with strategic recommendations for the response.The Southern Baptist relief effort, like the one mounted after Hurricane Katrina and the South Asia tsunami, will be focused on the long term, Mickey Caison, who directs disaster operations for the North American Mission Board, told the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network Jan. 20. Previous strategies have focused on short-term help for people being missed by large-scale humanitarian projects and a long-term emphasis on helping people rebuild their lives and communities.

Pray for Haiti

2010-01-17T14:16:00.002+02:00

Dear Prayer Partners,

As many of you have watched the devastation of what happened in Haiti this past Tuesday, January 12, many of us have felt helpless and asked ourselves, "What can I do?" We wanted to share with you resources and prayer requests that we are receiving from our own mission organization. To our knowledge, all of our personnel are safe but dealing with much heartache in Haiti. I, Monica, have been to Haiti back in 1998 with Florida Women's Missionary Union as part of a Florida Baptist partnership and Haiti has definitely touched my heart in many ways. It was by far the worst devastated country I have ever seen personally (and yes, I live in a third world country even now in Africa) so I cannot imagine how this earthquake has devastated the country of Haiti even more. We know that prayer is the biggest support we can give to Haiti right now but we know they need financial and manpower resources for those that are able to assist them.

Here is an excellent website and related article that we highly recommend for folks to check out as well as prayer requests for Haiti:

Haiti relief assessment underway after quake
Jan. 13, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Southern Baptists are mobilizing to assess disaster relief needs after the largest earthquake in more than 200 years rocked Haiti the evening of Jan. 12.
The initial Southern Baptist disaster relief effort will be led by Florida Baptists, who have had ministry relationships in Haiti for more than 20 years and currently have six staff members who live and work in the country, said Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global Response. The Southern Baptist International Mission Board does not have long-term personnel stationed in the country.
The North American Mission Board’s disaster relief office is organizing an emergency consultation with state disaster relief directors to coordinate response to the catastrophe, Brown said. Disaster relief teams in Mississippi and Kentucky are on standby for immediate response.
An assessment team is being organized by Baptist Global Response, International Mission Board, North American Mission Board and state convention disaster relief directors to enter the country as soon as possible, Brown said. They will work with Haitian Baptists to identify immediate needs that must be addressed and will draft mid- and long-term plans for an ongoing relief effort.
Initial funding for the relief effort will come from the International Mission Board’s disaster relief fund. Contributions toward the relief effort also can be made at gobgr.org.
The 7.0 magnitude tremor hit 10 miles from the center of Port-au-Prince, a city of 3 million people, at around 5 p.m. Jan. 12, according to news reports. One source said the quake could be felt more than 200 miles away. The earthquake triggered a tsunami watch for Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
Multiple strong aftershocks continued to rock the country after the initial tremor, said David Brown, who with his wife, Jo, directs Baptist Global Response work in the Americas. Reports from inside the country indicate infrastructure and many buildings suffered catastrophic damage. The main airport is closed; power and communications are down and security is a serious concern. Specialized search and rescue teams and military units from several countries are being rushed into Haiti to help secure the situation and begin relief efforts.
Apart from donating to the disaster relief fund, concerned individuals can help greatly by joining in focused prayer for Haiti’s 9 million people, more than 80 percent of whom live below the poverty line, David Brown said.
“Please pray for us as we assess and monitor the situation in Haiti after the 7.0 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks this evening,” Brown said. “The initial information indicates 2 million people in Port-au-Prince are directly affected. Please pray for victims and their families. Pray for wisdom as responses are initiated.”
The situation in Haiti is very fluid and additional information will continue to flow in on a daily basis, Brown said. Updates will be released as new information becomes available.

-----To donate to BGR's Disaster Response fund, click here. or www.baptistglobalresponse.com - an excellent resource of information on keeping up with Haiti as well as needs all around the world!!!

Or you can always check out our mission organization's main website for more information as well: International Mission Board - www.imb.org

Prayer Requests:
HAITI. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust’” (Psalm 91:1-2, NKJV). With the devastating situation in neighboring Haiti, personnel in the Dominican Republic have requested help in post-trauma counseling and training in the area of spiritual support. Since this is such a critical need in Haiti, training will be held next week in the Dominican Republic. Please pray for the trainers as they travel and prepare the materials for the conference. Ask God for the emotional health of personnel as they confront the dire needs. Pray also for those who will receive counseling and training as they share God’s love with a nation that is in deep spiritual darkness.
INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS PRAYERLINEIMBFriday, January 15, 2010
"The LORD reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He is enthroned above the cherubim. Let the earth quake. .Exalt the LORD our God; bow in worship at His footstool. He is holy" (Psalm 99:1, 5, HCSB).

What is different about us? About Christians? Just like our neighbors this week, we have heard numerous stories about the horrendous events in Haiti. We watch news clips, read twitter and blog reports-we gather information to be aware of what is going on in the world. Just like our neighbors, our hearts have been broken for the people of Haiti. But what is different about us?
The difference is that we know the One who is able to help. We all have opportunity to give and many will be able to assist physically by going. But we Christians do not have to wait a single minute to send aid. We don't have to look in our wallets to see if there is any money to send. We can talk to our Lord immediately, begging for His mercy throughout these days of recovery.
Please take every opportunity to lift the Haitian people to our heavenly Father, asking in these earliest days that He will fill the people with a sense of calm and unity of purpose. Gunshots have been heard on the streets, but violence will obviously not improve the situation. Ask the Lord to comfort the frightened. Many are sleeping on the streets even though their homes have not been damaged. They sense no hope for the future.
Intercede for the initial responders who have worked diligently through the long hours, praying that they will find rest in Him. Ask God to provide unexpected ways for aid workers to get through the destroyed roads so that they can provide necessary supplies.
Lift up Haitian Christians who are striving to serve others while grieving their own losses. Plead for them to have God's mighty endurance and vision as they love their neighbors through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Exalt the Lord our God and pray that His holiness will be demonstrated throughout Haiti.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support!!!
Serving Jesus in Swaziland,
Steven, Monica, Lacie and Nathan Allen

Allen's Christmas Letter 2009

2009-12-17T10:13:00.002+02:00

Greetings from Swaziland, Africa! We pray extra blessings on each of you during this special season of celebrating our Savior’s birth, Jesus Christ.

As we look back on the year of 2009, we have much to thank the Lord for in our family. Ministry has been challenging, exciting, fun, and busy all at the same time! God has done many great things this past year with the Swazi people and it is only a privilege to serve with such amazing people. We are thankful for all the volunteers that have come to Swaziland this past year to work among the Swazi people. Our mission team reduced as three units returned to the USA and we miss them all greatly. We are blessed with many prayer partners that faithfully pray for our family, team, ministry and the Swazi people. Without you, we could not continue the work God has for us to accomplish in His timing.

Our family is doing well and staying quite busy balancing family and ministry each day. Lacie is now five years old and will start kindergarten/grade 0 in January 2010 at The Little Brown Hen Preschool. She has attended half days there for the past two years. The school year here is from January – December, with three school term breaks. She started ballet, gymnastics and swim lessons this year. She loves them all and even placed first in her age group for the Swaziland gymnastics competition in November. Lacie asks many questions about “asking Jesus into her heart”. We know God is working on her tender heart.

Nathan turned one this year and is quite an active little boy! :) He loves cars, trucks, trains and balls. He loves anything that moves or he can throw. The kids play well together and one of Nathan’s favorite words is “Sisi” (siSwati for sister)! We are blessed with two, amazing kids…thank, you, Lord!

Steve took the trip of a lifetime to Israel this year with Southwestern Seminary to assist with their Tel Gezer project, an archeological dig. He thoroughly loved his trip and one he hopes to do again someday in the future. Monica’s mom, Gogo Polly, came for a visit on her summer break and our family enjoyed having family visit us in our African world. Lacie and Monica made a quick trip to the USA in October as Lacie was one of the flower girls in Monica’s cousin’s wedding in Florida. It was a fun trip for mother/daughter and the “boys” had their male bonding time back in Swaziland.

Our family is looking forward to our stateside time in 2010 as we will be in North Carolina from end of March – end of June and in West Palm Beach, Florida, from end of June – end of September. We want to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We are sending you hugs and love from Swaziland to your family! May God richly bless each of your lives in a special way in 2010!

Love and prayers,

Steven, Monica, Lacie and Nathan Allen

Something to think about....

2009-12-17T09:45:00.004+02:00

With 1 week before Christmas REMEMBER:

JESUS is Better than Santa

Santa lives at the North Pole.
JESUS is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year
JESUS is an ever present help.

Santa fills your stockings with goodies
JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited
JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart.

You have to stand in line to see Santa
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.

Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"
JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly
JESUS has a heart full of love.

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO
JESUS offers health, help and hope.

Santa says "You better not cry"
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.

Santa's little helpers make toys
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle but
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts under your tree
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.
It's obvious there is really no comparison.

We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put Christ back in Christmas.

Jesus is STILL the reason for the season.
May the Lord Bless and Watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2009
And may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year.

Lasik Surgery Adventure

2009-11-20T22:17:00.005+02:00

Whew...what a past several days for me! I found out on Monday morning that Lasik surgery will never happen for me. I was very disappointed to hear this news but glad the doctor had enough wisdom not to do surgery with possible complications. I had so looked forward to being able to wake in the night and actually read the clock or be able to jump out of bed to get to one of the kid's rooms quickly without the need to reach for glasses or even read signs or license plates from any distance. However, I am grateful for glasses and the ability to see most things! :)

Back in February, I saw the eye doctor for a consultation about Lasik surgery and he asked me to stop wearing contact lenses for at least six months. It seems the blood vessels on my cornea were deeply affected by many, many years of wearing contact lenses. I have faithfully worn my glasses (except for a few rare exceptions of wearing contact lenses) in hopes of having Lasik surgery this year. However, it was just not meant to be as the blood vessels had improved but not enough to have Lasik surgery without possible complications. I am a candidate for PRK laser surgery, which will have the same end results. The PRK surgery is a bit more evasive and has a longer recovery time vs. the Lasik surgery. The doctor was ready to schedule me for the surgery this past Tuesday but I could not stay in Johannesburg for a week as well as take care of Nathan all on my own in recovery, too. I am not sure if I am going to do this surgery and would love to hear from anyone that has had PRK laser surgery. If I do decide to proceed with the PRK surgery, our whole family will go over to Johannesburg sometime in the next couple of months so we are all together for my recovery time. Please pray that I make the right decision on whether to proceed with the surgery or be content to wearing only my glasses for the rest of my life.

The trip to Johannesburg was quite an adventure in itself as Nathan ended up getting sick Sunday evening, not long after we had arrived at the guest house. I had bought Clover First Growth Milk in small boxes for him to drink to make it easier for traveling. I did not realize all the extra ingredients (like iron and so forth) that is added to this "special" milk as Nathan normally drinks full cream (whole) milk every day. Well, he had an allergic reaction (the best I can tell based on the fact that his daddy is lactose intolerant!) to the milk and poor little guy threw up five times in just a few hours. It was Nathan's first time to throw up so he was quite scared and did not like it one bit. Once it was all out of his system, he turned over and was back to his old, usual self. Praise the Lord it was nothing else and he bounced back quickly.

Whew....always an adventure!

Allen's African Adventures - November

2009-11-15T00:25:00.004+02:00

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:1-2 (NASB)

Thank you for your continued prayers on behalf of our family and ministry in Swaziland. The work is greatly enhanced and empowered by your prayers on our behalf.
Since we last wrote we have had some encouraging developments in the work in the Lesibovu community. This is an area about an hour and a half southeast of Mbabane. Last month we had our second baptism service and baptized nineteen new believers. We have continued holding weekly chronological Bible story lessons every Saturday. This week we had over one hundred adults, youth and children present. The church has begun conducting Sunday morning worship services on their own, with different members taking turns leading. I have reduced my preaching there to once per month. Last Sunday the church held its first Sunday school, with assistance from members from Hawane Baptist Church. We also celebrated our first Lord's Supper together as a church family. On Thursday I met with church members and local elders concerning a plot of land for the church. The location which the church had requested was granted and a down payment made. The only thing left is to have an official celebration with the putting in the boundary stakes by the local authorities. Please pray that nothing would create division among this enthusiastic group of believers. Pray that strong internal leadership would continue to develop.

We are the only IMB personnel in Swaziland at the moment, as Wayne and Barbara Myers are in the US for their stateside assignment. They will be returning in January. Please pray that the Myers would have a time of refreshing in the states as they visit with family and friends. Pray also for their safety as they travel to different churches to speak about the ministry work in Swaziland.

Please continue to pray for various churches that are seeking plots of land on which to build. The plot for Hawane Baptist Church has still not been officially marked due to an unresolved issue between two competing chiefs for the area. Mpembekati is also seeking a plot as their church is being relocated due to the construction of a school on land which they had previously been granted. Other churches currently have buildings under construction. Please pray that the churches would be able to see these projects through to completion (Ntsintsa and Victory Baptist Church).

Please pray for the upcoming National Baptist Women's Retreat, which will be held December 17-19. The theme is, "Power of the Journey" based on II Corinthians 3:5. Hannah Poe will be the keynote speaker for the event. You may recall that Greg and Hannah Poe, and their two sons, Joshua and Elijah, served on the Swazi team for two years in 2005-2007. The whole family will be coming to minister December 10 (leaving the USA) - December 25 (arriving back in the USA). Please pray that they would have traveling safety and a wonderful time of ministry and reconnecting with old friends in Swaziland.

Thank you for your prayers for Monica and Lacie as they took a short trip to the states for a cousin's wedding last month. They had an enjoyable time visiting with family and friends, and Lacie had an opportunity to serve as a flower girl in the wedding. Their trip was an enjoyable and safe one. While they were away, Steve and Nathan stayed behind to continue ministry. Nathan was a real trooper, and he and daddy had some good male bonding time. It is good, however, to have the family all back together again.

Please pray for Monica and Nathan as they will be traveling to Johannesburg on Sunday, November 15th. On Monday, Monica will be having a medical consultation in Johannesburg for possible Lasik eye surgery. If all looks well she is slated to have surgery on Tuesday. She is really looking forward to seeing normally again without the need for glasses or contact lenses. Steve and Lacie will be staying in Swaziland in order to continue ministry and schooling. Please pray that Monica will be able to proceed with her surgery and have a good outcome.

As the holiday season approaches, please remember to give to the annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. This year, more than ever, the International Mission Board is in need of everyone's financial support if the work of missionaries, such as ourselves, is to continue around the world. God is at work and this is your opportunity to join in HIS activity and plans! The goal for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is $175 million.

***Remember, we live in Africa and there is no guarantee that our e-mails are received or even sent out correctly. If you have written and not heard from us, please write again. We would rather receive e-mails two times than not at all.***

Family Blog - www.allensinafrica.blogspot.com - leave us a comment so we know you stopped by to visit! - Be looking for new stories shortly....
Skype - allensinafrica
Monica and Steve are both on Facebook so look them up!
Team prayer blog: www.swaziprayerbytes.blogspot.com

Blessings and love,
Steven, Monica, Lacie and Nathan Allen
IMB missionaries to Swaziland

Baptizing a new believer at Peace Baptist Church

Getting ready to show the JESUS film to a primary school

Precious children at Ntsintsa Baptist Church

Church under the trees

Preparing to take "The Lord's Supper"

Steve, Monica, Lacie and Nathan hanging out after church at Lesibovu

Updates on Requests....already!

2009-09-15T17:31:00.001+02:00

First, Steve just phoned me from Johannesburg and surgery is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, our time. He will go to the hospital (Linksfield Hospital) around 12pm, our time, and then spend the night for observation. I know he is so ready for this kidney stone to be removed. The doctor says the cysts found are insignificant and does not see them as a problem at all. Praise the Lord! Not sure if Steve will be coming home Thursday or Friday. All depends on when he is released and if he is on medication and cannot drive home yet. Thanks for all your prayers!

Second, Barbara Myers also just phoned me and the movers just arrived at their house. The movers are packing up everything now and then meeting the Myers in Tshaneni at 8:00am to unload their stuff in their new house. Pray everything goes smoothly and no problems with the mover's trucks (reason for delay with movers today) until all their stuff is safely in their new house. The Myers will not have much internet service until they start their stateside time in a couple weeks. I know they appreciate all your prayers as well.

Third, Lisa Warren sent an email to me this afternoon to let us know that Sarah Warren's MRI results show that there is NO tumor...praise the Lord!

Allen's African Adventures - September 2009

2009-09-15T17:11:00.003+02:00

"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be."
Philippians 3:12 (New Living Translation)

PRAISES & PRAYER REQUESTS:
Thank you for praying for the National Youth Camp last month. We had about 175 youth from our Baptist churches all over Swaziland. The theme was "God Chooses Me!" based Eph. 1:4-5. The speakers did a fantastic job and the national youth committee led the camp in unity and focus together. All in all, we know that many chose to return to their first love, Jesus Christ, and pray for all the youth as they press on in their personal walks with the Lord. The National Youth Committee met in Mbabane this past weekend to evaluate youth camp, turning over of new old to new committee members, and sharing new ideas and vision for the coming year. The NYC desires to host at least three leadership retreats for our youth leaders in the coming year for further training and learning more about our Heavenly Father. Pray for direction, unity and logistical planning for these upcoming leadership retreats as well as planning for national youth camp 2010. Attached are a couple photos from youth camp. One is the national youth committee (a few former reps included) and one of a morning teaching time.

Lesibovu, the new outreach group that was started back in February, has had three Sunday afternoon services. It is better for the people to meet in the afternoon vs. morning at this time. We had been allowed to use the community building for Bible studies each Saturday afternoon until last month. Steve had talked to the community elders way back and permission was granted. However, the Zionist group in the area is not happy about an evangelical group coming in to share with "their" people. They are quite surprised that we keep coming each week and now are doing Sunday services at least once a month. We are meeting under the trees, which is no problem on most days but the rainy season is starting. Pray we are able to find a building or home to meet in for Bible studies and services. The enemy is NOT winning as we have seen over 60 people pray to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This past Sunday, we had their FIRST baptism service and it was an exciting time for everyone. We had eight people follow the Lord in believer's baptism. We know that many more are desiring baptism but was curious about the whole process. In a Zionist baptism, folks are dunked repeatedly and not just one time. We sense that several people were hesitant and probably a bit scared, too, to choose something going against their cultural beliefs. Pray for the ones that have accepted Jesus in recent months that they would grow each day following Him. Pray for the folks that followed in baptism this past Sunday as they share with their families and communities how Jesus has changed their lives. Pray, too, for leaders to rise within this new group for training to lead this new group as they grow into a church. Attached are a few photos of the recent baptism service.

Pray for Steve and I as we are prayerfully seeking the Lord about a new work area in the Hhohho region. We plan to do a prayer drive in the next month or so. Pray for God to guide us and for open doors and receptive hearts as we pray and talk with Swazis in different rural areas.

Pray for several churches that are currently trying to obtain plots for building new churches or shifting existing churches. Hawane Baptist is STILL waiting to have their plot of land marked by the community council. They will get ready to start building their church very soon. Victory Baptist and Ntsintsa Baptist were recently approved for new plots for their churches and both have begun building their new churches. Victory plans to move a bit closer to the main road and use most of the existing church materials. Ntsintsa Baptist has met in a Red Cross building since it was started in the 1990's and desires to have their own church. Mphembekati Baptist has to move their existing church due to being too close to a school. Peniel Baptist recently lost their church meeting place so they are seeking a new one temporarily until they can begin building their own structure.

SWAZI MISSION TEAM NEWS:
Pray for Wayne and Barbara Myers as they are moving this week to their new home and ministry in Swaziland. They are moving to Tshaneni from Nhlangano, where they have lived since 1994. Pray for the move to go well and the movers to arrive on time and accomplish everything quickly. It is about a 2.5 hours distance between where they had been living and now going to be. It is in the same region that they assist but on the other side of Swaziland. Pray for this new work area and for great relationships to be established with nationals. Wayne and Barbara are also preparing for their upcoming stateside time starting September 23 - end of the year. They will be in Kentucky and the southeast part of the USA for time with family and sharing in churches. They are still in need of borrowing a vehicle for their time in the USA. Please pray they are able to find one this week!

Please continue to pray for the Warren family as they are adjusting to being back in the USA. Pray for direction on employment and ministry opportunities for Bert and Lisa as well as for the kids (Jessie, Matthew and Sarah) as they are back in school again. Pray for Lisa's parents as they adjust to living in the Warren's house and for her father's improvement and rehabilitation after his stroke this past April. During kindergarten assessment Sarah’s pediatrician notice a weakness in her right eye. She was referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist and was prescribed eyeglasses as well as a “pirate” patch. She underwent a MRI on Friday and the family is waiting to hear the results today (Tuesday). She has a follow-up appointment on the 12th of October. Please pray for God’s will in this situation and that He will be glorified.

When we were home in the USA for our last stateside time, Monica's home church helped us come up with a way to remember to pray for the Swazi people. Will you join us in praying for them daily?

Pray for the Swazi people:
S-salvation please pray for the salvation of the people of Swaziland.
W-workers please pray God will provide workers (leaders) to lead Swazi Baptist churches.
A-AIDS please pray the Swazi people will understand how to stop the spread of AIDS.
Z- Zionism pray the Swazis will turn from Zionism (African Traditional Religion) to follow Christ.
I-increase pray the number of Swazi Baptist churches will increase.

FAMILY NEWS:
Thank you for all the prayers for Steve recently concerning his latest kidney stone attack. Steve is on his way to Johannesburg today (Tuesday) to see his urologist and more than likely, he is looking at having surgery this week to have it removed. He has not been in constant pain the last three weeks though so that is a huge praise. He did have a CT scan done recently and it was discovered that he has four more kidney stones "waiting" to come some day as well as cysts on his left kidney stone and liver. Pray for the doctors to have wisdom in everything this week and for Steve to have complete healing to his body. He has still been pressing on with ministry and life in general but know he is not quite himself. The kids and I stayed in Swaziland this time so pray as we are apart from one another. We will keep everyone updated as we are able to do so.

On September 29 - October 16, Lacie and I will be taking a short holiday to West Palm Beach, Florida, to visit with family and be there for Monica's cousin's (Tarrah and Jesse) wedding on October 10. Lacie is going to be one of their flower girls. She is way excited! Steve and Nathan will be staying in Swaziland as Steve already took part of his holiday time this year with his trip to Israel. Pray for all of us as we are separated from one another. Friends will be helping Steve with Nathan while I am gone. Plus, he is a great daddy anyway! :) Pray for safe travels for Lacie and I to the USA and back to Africa and special times with family and friends.

Pray for our family to have strength and wisdom as we balance family and ministry each day. Pray for our walks with the Lord to grow more and more and specifically direction for our family as we lead/teach Lacie and Nathan to love the Lord Jesus with all their hearts. Since the weekly church services are conducted in siSwati it is difficult for the children as they don't understand what is being said. Pray that we would continue to find ways to make weekly worship at home positive and meaningful for the children, especially Lacie.

During the third school term, we need to get Lacie's name on a list for grade 1 at one of the two private schools in our area. We hope to visit both schools in the month of September to make the final decision. Although Lacie is only starting kindergarten in January 2010, we will be gone for our Stateside for six months next year. We need to have Lacie on a list for school before the school year ends this year. We are leaning towards one school but we want her to be in the right school environment that will be best for Lacie.

As of now, the plan for our USA time next year is that we will be leaving South Africa around March 26 or 27, 2010, and landing in Charlotte, North Carolina. We have to be at a conference at home office April 5-10 in Richmond, VA. We will be in North Carolina for the first three months and Florida the last three months. We will return to the mission field around September 26 or 27, 2010, for another three years or so at this point. If anyone has contacts on a way we can borrow a vehicle for either our three months in North Carolina or three months in Florida or the whole six months, let us know. Also, Florida family and friends, we are also looking for a place to stay (house sit or rent) for our time in the West Palm Beach area as there really is not enough room for our whole family with anyone for quite that long. Probably will be in Florida around mid-late June - end of September. Pray for all the logistical planning and speaking schedule to be finalized in the coming months.

National Youth Camp 2009 - morning session

National Youth Committee 2009-2010 (couple former members, too!)

Steve and Sandile baptizing at Lesibovu

Lesibovu starting church services

Two adorable kids hanging in the rural area!

Pray for Swaziland Baptist National Youth Camp 2009

2009-08-26T20:40:00.011+02:00

I cannot believe that it is time again for our annual youth camp tomorrow. Wow, it seems like just the other day that camp ended in 2008! Youth camp is very special to me as it was in 2000 that I was able to help re-establish our national youth camp and the forming of a national youth committee. The youth committee, made up of eight youth representing the four regions of Swaziland, works all year long in planning and preparing or youth camp. The committee changes through the years but is an opportunity to raise future leaders for our churches.

Some years, we have been blessed with volunteer teams to come lead and assist with youth camp and other years, we use national leaders for camp. This year, the committee has asked Lad Chapman, missionary friend, to lead as our main speaker for the evening and Sunday morning worship services. The theme is, "God Chooses Me!", based on Eph. 1:4-5. Lad's wife, Crystal Barkhouse Chapman, and I grew up together in the same youth group at First Baptist Church, West Palm Beach. We had seen each other in over 10 years and then we have been reunited in Swaziland. It really is a small world!

A few years ago, we started having youth camp at a school because we outgrew any buildings of our Baptist churches. Camp has always been planned in late August because it is a term break from school for all our students. This year, we will be having camp at Mbekelweni Lutheran High School. Camp is not the same as back in the USA. The students here will sleep on grass mats or cardboard boxes on the floors of the classrooms of the school. Basins of water will be the classrooms for washing and bathing every morning. Toilets are outside and not the convenience of indoor ones. However, the presence of God is alive and real! Worship is sweet and lively at the same time. Most of the youth do not see each other except at youth camp each year as our students will come from literally all parts of the country. It is a highlight in many ways!!!

*Pray for final logistics of youth camp tomorrow morning.

*Pray for Lad Chapman, Kelly Woody, Pastor Gamedze and other speakers sharing at camp.

*Pray for safety as the youth will be traveling from all over tomorrow.

*Pray for the youth to come with open ears and receptive hearts to receive all God has for each one of them.

*Pray for the election and selection of a new national youth committee during camp.

Here are some youth camp reflections from camps past....

The beautiful Kingdom of Swaziland

Lad Chapman, main speaker, for youth camp 2009

Takes a LOT of food to feed the youth camp crew

Sunday worship service - ending of youth camp

Hanging with great friends

Youth Camp under the big tent - morning worship service

Always time to play some fun games at camp! :)

Praise the Lord for the many ladies that sacrifice their time to cook for our youth!

National Youth Committee 2006 - this committee works hard all year long and I am so thankful for them and blessed by their commitment to serve the youth, churches and communities.

Happy Birthday Gogo Polly

2009-08-24T16:35:00.003+02:00

Happy Birthday Gogo Polly!!!!

Sending you love and hugs from Swaziland! Wish we could be there to celebrate with you this year but we plan to join you next year when we are back in the USA for our family's stateside time! :) Pray you have an amazing day and lots of fun with Uncle Mike and Caroline!

We love you very much!

Lacie and Nathan (Monica and Steve, too!)

Rare photo of Gogo Polly with both Lacie and Nathan....our son, Nathan

does not like the camera as compared to his big sis, Lacie!

Gogo Polly with precious Lacie at Summerfield's

Gogo Polly hanging with cutie Nathan

The Stones are BACK

2009-08-24T15:08:00.005+02:00

No, we are not talking about The Rolling Stones or any other group but rather Steve's good 'ol kidney stones. Kidney stones seem to be a part of Steve's life as he is now facing the 6th one! ;)
It must be some sort of a genetic thing for him as several folks in his family have all faced the good 'ol stones. He has tried various diets over the years to avoid "making" more kidney stones but all seem to result in more stones rather than stopping them.

The stones are kinda sentimental to Steve and I as we met as a result of one of his kidney stone attacks back in February 1999. Steve was on a volunteer mission trip with a group from First Baptist Church, Washington, North Carolina, and a kidney stone attack hit him while out in the rural area down in the southern part of Swaziland. I had arrived in Swaziland in January 1999 to serve two years as a youth ministry worker missionary with the International Mission Board. Steve was taken to the Mbabane clinic and they did all they could for him. He was not able to pass this stone on his own with the meds so I was asked to take him to Nelspruit, South Africa, about a two-hour drive from Mbabane, Swaziland, to see a urologist. Surgery was needed and I stayed with her supervisors living in Nelspruit. Little did we realize at the time, but meeting like we did gave a whole new meaning to "Romancing the Stone"! Plus, Steve likes to share with folks that he met me when he was "stoned"!!! Ha! Ha! Everyone thinks Steve is the quiet one but he has some really good stories and jokes to share!

When Steve and I returned to Swaziland to serve as career missionaries, Steve had an ultrasound right before we left the USA. The scan showed that Steve had three kidney stones in his system and we did not know when they would decide to make an appearance. The first stone caused problems when we were in Kenya in January 2005 for Steve to finish modular class with Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Steve eventually passed the stone right after we got back to South Africa before we headed home to Swaziland. The second stone decided to come last month, July 2009, when we were already in Johannesburg taking my mom back to the airport for her return flight to the USA. Again, he was able to pass the stone within a couple of days. Now, the third and we pray FINAL stone is causing issues and we are praying Steve can pass the stone in the next 24 - 48 hours.

Steve got out of the Mbabane Clinic last night around 6pm, our time. He has felt pretty well, with the help of some great meds! :) On our way home, we stopped to get take-away pizza at Debonairs Pizza in town. Wow, take-away two nights in a row is really a treat for our family! Steve thought is would be appropriate for him to order a Stoney Beer in honor of The Stone. By the way, Stoney Beer is a ginger beer so no, this Baptist missionary/pastor is not drinking! :)

So, as you can see, there is a history of stones in our family and we are praying for a new kind of stone or gem to come our way now. Mmm....diamonds are cheaper in Africa!?!?

Daily Life with the Allen Family

2009-08-22T19:05:00.004+02:00

Thought you might be interested in learning how crazy life can get for our family....

It all started last night when Steve got a call from one of our pastors that they needed him to be at a meeting with the community council/elders of one of churches first thing this morning. The meeting was for the council to show and mark the land for the church's new plot. Steve had to leave the our house by 7am to collect our folks and be ready for the meeting by 8am. Steve dressed up for the meeting as this is expected since he is a pastor and was on his way early. By 9am, the ladies of the church brought out tea and sandwiches for a tea break. By 10:30am, the elders still had not come (which is typical with Africans as they are normally not on any set schedules) but Steve had a Bible study to head to by 12:30pm. The ladies of the church told them to go ahead and leave as the elders were now in another meeting and did not know when they would be finished. Steve took our folks back to catch their bus home and he headed home for a quick bite to eat.

Kelly Woody, our True Love Waits International consultant, is here with us in our area and along with three of our Swazis, were going with Steve to Bible study at Lesibovu. Kelly planned to teach the True Love Waits presentation with the adults and youth and Steve and Ntombi were going to lead the children at Bible study. Well...they left on time and Steve, Kelly and Maria headed to our local grocery store, Spar (great meeting place as it is not far from the bus rank/station), to collect Ntombi and Jane for the Bible study. However, they got to the Spar parking lot and discovered they had a flat tire on the mission truck. Steve changed the tire in the parking lot and then discovered the spare tire was flat, too! Big time bummer! So...the plans to get to Bible study, unfortunately, did not happen today. It is always difficult to cancel Bible study out in the rural areas because folks are waiting all along the roads to be collected for the Bible study time. Praise the Lord, we do have a cell phone (amazing that so many folks have cell phones but yet no running water or electricity at their homes!) for one of the men that attends the study faithfully each week so he was able to tell folks nearby that the study had to be cancelled today. Too bad, we had not no way to get word to the kids waiting on the side of the roads. Hopefully, they did not wait too long for Steve today and realized he was not going to make it.

Meanwhile back at the Allen homefront with Monica the kids (Lacie and Nathan)....
We were eating our lunch, which was not much for Lacie as she has been under the weather, and watching the monkeys in our backyard (yes, we do live in Africa!). Nathan is our bread boy and wants bread at every meal. Monica was eating such a healthy meal of hot dogs and potato chips! :( Nathan had his usual yogurt, fruit and bread. We have been blessed with great eaters and Nathan loves to eat! :) He was shoveling in his bread roll (small part had gotten hard and Monica did not realize it!), which is normal, but this time, he began to choke. He had a large piece stuck and it was not coming out. Amazingly, Monica stayed calm (for the most part!) and immediately flipped Nathan upside down and hit his back about five times. Praise the Lord, the piece of food eventually came out. Monica was praying and praying to the Lord to help Nathan get the food out so he could breathe again. It was a scary few moments but praise the Lord, Nathan is OK! After it was over, Nathan was crying, Monica was shaking and Lacie was hugging us all! What a precious big sister!!!

We decided it was a night to get take-away (carry-out) from Nando's restaurant (chicken place), which is a real treat for our family. Kids are bathed, dinner is over and we are now watching a family movie. Steve is working on his artifacts collection and Monica is finishing writing this short story about our family.

Whew....we say all this to tell you that there is no "normal" or "typical" day in the life of our family, which we are sure if the case with most families. We are often asked, "What is the typical day of a missionary?" so here is one day....

God is always teaching us new things each day and we are so thankful for His grace, love, mercy and unending faithfulness. Even though things do not always turn out as we plan, God's plans are bigger and better than we can ever dream or want for our lives, even in the simple and daily things of life.

So....how has your day been? :)

Allen's African Adventures - August 2009

2009-08-10T13:53:00.003+02:00

Dear Prayer Partners,

Thank you for praying last week for the first Sunday worship service in the community of Lesibovu. Steve started a chronological Bible storying class in this area in February. There was definitely spiritual warfare in play Sunday. All of the family members were fighting colds. Thunderstorms and torrential rains began in the early hours Sunday morning in what should still be our dry season. Half of a major concrete bridge on the way to Lesibovu suffered a collapse. At a place where the road crosses what is usually a wide, dry river bed, the water was flowing about a foot deep. Despite the rains and high water, Steve made it to the church for the service. Thirty people braved the inclement weather to come to the service and one man prayed to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. This is a huge praise as men are typically hard to reach in Swazi culture. This makes the 50th profession of faith in the Lesibovu community since the Bible study started. Please pray that those who have made professions of faith would remain faithful to the commitments that they have made. Pray that Steve would be able to effectively disciple these new believers. Pray that a church would be started in this community and that leadership would develop internally.

Steve had a wonderful experience on his two-week archaeological trip to Israel last month. He participated in a project at the biblical site of Tel Gezer, sponsored by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Israel Antiquities Authority. Steve used vacation time to pursue one of his long-time passions - archaeology. He has really missed his former profession and enjoyed getting back into the dirt again. He had the opportunity to uncover walls and lots of artifacts of Gezer from the time when the city was destroyed by the Assyrians in the 8th century B. C. When Steve's artistic abilities were discovered he was immediately put to work doing artifact illustrations, which will be used in next year's publication of the site progress report. In addition to working at the archaeological site during the week, weekend historical and archaeological fieldtrips were taken to biblical sites such as Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Caesarea Maritima, Megiddo, Hazor, Dan, Caesarea Philippi, Herodiom, and Capernaum. While visiting the Jordan River, Steve was asked by two of the archaeological project participants if he would baptize them. After questioning them about their salvation he did baptize them in the Jordan, with fish nibbling at their toes. That was a truly memorable experience. The trip was life changing and contributed a lot to Steve's understanding of places that were key in the biblical story. (A couple of photos from the Gezer excavation are attached at the end of this message.)

Our team is sad to report that our fellow team members, the Warren family, have had to end their term early to return to the states, due to a medical issue in Lisa's immediate family. Lisa's father, Lloyd Claiborne, suffered a stroke several months ago and is being released from the medical facility where he has been treated. Lisa is an only child and her mother is not physically able to handle the care of the continuing needs of her husband on her own. Please pray for Bert. Lisa, Jesse, Matthew and Sarah as they returned to the states this week. Pray for their readjustment to life in the states, for employment, schooling for the children, and for the strength and wisdom to know how to minister to the needs of the father. Mr. and Mrs. Claiborne will be moving to live with the Warrens. Please pray for the adjustments for all of the family members to these new living conditions.

Our family was blessed to have three guests for part of the summer. Monica's mother, Polly Trice, was able to spend about five weeks in Swaziland with our family during her summer break from her job as a school nurse. It was great having her here to spend time with the family. Our children do not usually have the opportunity to spend extended time with family, so it was a special treat for Nathan and Lacie to have Gogo Polly here. Part of her trip overlapped the time that Steve was away in Israel, which gave Monica help with the children and special times together as mother/daughter. Hunter and Brinkley Johnson, from First Baptist Church, Washington, North Carolina spent about a month ministering with our family, the Warrens and the Myers this summer (winter on our side). Steve has known both of these young ladies since 1995, when they began attending the same church. Both of these sisters have been to Swaziland multiple times. This was Hunter's third summer to spend in Swaziland and Brinkley's first trip that was not part of a team. They ministered in a wide range of teaching roles and locations among our Baptist churches in addition to working with mission partners from another denomination with medical clinics. Hunter also was the keynote speaker for the annual planning retreat in preparation for the Swaziland National Youth Camp. It was great having Gogo Polly Trice and the Johnson sisters with our family.

Please pray for the Swaziland Baptist National Youth Camp which will be held August 27-30 at Mbekelweni Lutheran High School. The main camp speaker will be Lad Chapman, who works with Children's Cup, an orphan ministry in Swaziland. Lad's wife, Crystal, and Monica were in the same youth group at FBC West Palm Beach, Florida in the states before they both ended up in Swaziland years later. The camp theme this year is "God Chooses Me," based on Ephesians 1:4-5. Please pray for Pastor Chapman as he prepares and leads the sessions for the National Youth Camp. Pray for the national speakers who will be sharing in other teaching times. Pray that the hearts of the Swazi youth would be open and responsive to the word that God has for them.

***Remember, we live in Africa and there is no guarantee that our e-mails are received or even sent out correctly. If you have written and not heard from us, please write again. We would rather receive e-mails two times than not at all.***

Family Blog - www.allensinafrica.blogspot.com - leave us a comment so we know you stopped by to visit! - Be looking for new stories shortly....
Skype - allensinafrica
Monica is part of Facebook so if you are on, let her know. Steve has joined, too, so look him up.

Blessings and love,
Steven, Monica, Lacie and Nathan Allen
IMB missionaries to Swaziland

What a cutie! :)

Hanging with Gogo Polly during her visit to Swaziland

Steve having the time of his life....doing archeology!

Tel Gezer Archeological Project

Hunter and Brinkley Johnson receiving their gifts from Maria Shandu at the National Youth Leader's Retreat in June 2009.

Lacie's Sports Day

2009-07-26T10:45:00.003+02:00

Lacie had her sports day at her preschool, Little Brown Hen, yesterday, July 25. It was really cute seeing all the 2 through 5-year olds doing their races. It was like a Field Day from back in the USA. There was no serious competition for the wee ones. Everyone received medals and sweets at the end of the races. Lacie did not like the "egg race" as she was afraid she was going to drop her egg! Too cute! It was really cold, though, so we about froze cheering all the little kidddies! :) I know we are blessed for Lacie to have these opportunities of fun times growing up in Africa. Enjoy!

Allen's African Adventures - June 2009

2009-06-03T22:59:00.001+02:00

Allen's African Adventures
June 2009

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that
works within us to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NASB)

The month of May was one busy month for our family, mission team and ministry but God did some great things. As always, we treasure and cherish your prayers and support for our family, ministry, team and the Swazi people.

Praises/Prayer Requests:
- Steven is faithfully teaching at a new outreach area called Lesibovu each Saturday afternoon. The group is averaging around 50 people, including children, youth and adults. In recent Bible studies, 28 people one week and 11 people the next have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Praise the Lord! Continue to pray for this new outreach group and God's direction in reaching the Swazis for Jesus. Plans are being discussed to start a Sunday morning service in July.

- Because of some doctrinal issues that arose among our national leadership at recent national meetings, a leadership retreat was held on May 22-23 that was addressed by the missionaries. Discussion was wonderful and very well attended. Continue to pray for wisdom and discernment as we seek to teach the truth of Jesus Christ. There is false teaching that is easily influencing people all over Swaziland. Plans are being discussed for a follow-up retreat with our national leadership in July.

- Hawane Baptist Church has been "promised" a plot of land but they are having quite the time to get the community council to come and mark the property for them. They will be meeting with the community council this Sunday for a meeting and a hope for a date for them to come mark their property for them. Pray the meeting this Sunday goes well and for a date of the marking for the property to come soon. The church is quite eager to get started on building their own structure. A baptism service is planned for June 14, pending weather conditions.

- Next week, Hunter and Brinkley Johnson (sisters) will be arriving in Jo'burg on June 9 and staying until July 8. They will be serving with our mission team leading in children and youth Bible studies, leading our national youth leader's retreat, and other ministry opportunities. Pray for their safe arrival to Africa next week. We are trusting God to do mighty things during their time in Swaziland. Hunter and Brinkley have both been to Swaziland several times so we feel like we are welcoming "home" some of our own family members! :) They will be serving with our family in the Hhohho and Manzini regions from June 10 - June 22.

- Another exciting visitor coming is Monica's mom or Gogo Polly to our children. Gogo (siSwati for grandmother) Polly Trice arrives in Jo'burg on June 12 and will be with our family until July 17. Pray for her safe travels and health as she is with our family for several weeks. We are all looking forward to fun times with Gogo! :)

- On June 26-27, we will be having our National Youth Leader's Retreat at Manzini Baptist Church. Hunter and Brinkley Johnson will be leading this important event this year. The theme is "The Leader God uses...." and will be an awesome time for all our youth leaders. Pray for God to meet them in a special way and teach them new things they can learn about leading the vast amount of youth in our churches.

- It is sad to report that members of Victory Baptist Church have been threatened and beaten by youth in the community. The police have been contacted and we are praying for a speedy solution to this situation. Many of our women are fearful in attending church or getting out right now. Pray for God's comfort to these being attacked and threatened.

- Thank you for praying for our daughter, Lacie, with her surgery early this month. She is doing well and recovered from her tonsillectomy. Lacie did have a scan done on her left ear and the ENT doctor discovered that Lacie was born with a bone not in the right place. He believes this could be the reason Lacie has been experiencing some hearing loss in her left ear. We praise God for this great report! Plans are being discussed for surgery on her left ear later this year for the ENT doctor to remove the bone that is potentially obstructing her hearing. We will keep you posted. On another note, Lacie lost her first tooth and that was quite a funny story!
Nathan is walking everywhere and into everything. His favorite word is, BALL! He really keeps us on our toes right now! :) Nathan also had a minor birth defect corrected earlier this month and he is doing great, too.

- God has given Steven a fantastic opportunity to do something he has always dreamed about doing in his life. He is going to Israel for an archeology dig!!! He will be joining about 50 other participants through a program with Tel-Gezer project with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for two weeks this month. His trip will be from June 21 - July 8. Pray for safety and a wonderful experience for Steven. He is way excited and we are thrilled for him, too.

- We have a new team prayer blog that Monica has created and maintaining for our mission team. We are thankful for the folks that upkeep our team's website and partnership prayer website. We wanted to build another avenue for folks to pray for our team, family and ministries as well as share stories and photos. If you have ever been on one of our volunteer teams and would love to share stories or photos, please send them so I can add them to the blog. Personal stories add so much!
Check out the new blog and leave a comment!
www.swaziprayerbytes.blogspot.com

***Remember, we live in Africa and there is no guarantee that our e-mails are received or even sent out correctly. If you have written and not heard from us, please write again. We would rather receive e-mails two times than not at all.***

Family Blog - www.allensinafrica.blogspot.com - several stories updated recently - leave us a comment so we know you stopped by to visit!
Skype - allensinafrica
Monica is part of Facebook so if you are on, let her know.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support!!!
Steven, Monica, Lacie and Nathan Allen
IMB missionaries serving in Swaziland

Congratulations Andrew!

2009-05-28T11:52:00.003+02:00

CONGRATUALTIONS ANDREW!!!!

We are so proud of you on finishing high school...what an accomplishment!!!! We wish we could be there in person to celebrate with you but know that we are thinking of you this week. Although we do not get to see you too often, Lacie talks about you quite a bit! In fact, she took your senior photo this week to school for her show 'n tell day. She also wore her, I Love Hockey, shirt as well. It was way too precious! You are loved and missed greatly! I am sure both Lacie and Nathan will look forward to spending time with you next year when we are home for our next stateside time.

Know that we are praying for you and your next chapter of life. God has great plans for you and we look forward to watching it all unfold! Jeremiah 29:11

Much love and prayers,

Steve, Monica, Lacie and Nathan

Aww....Lacie and Nathan love their cousin, Andrew!

Lacie "learning" to play a bit of street hockey! :)

Lacie LOVED getting to wear Andrew's own hat one day at lunch...very special!

Lacie lost her FIRST tooth

2009-05-28T11:10:00.003+02:00

Lacie came to me yesterday telling me that her tooth was hurting a bit. After inspecting the tooth, I saw that it was almost about to come out. WOW...her first tooth is coming out. It was hanging barely inside but she wanted her Daddy to have the honor of getting the tooth out. So, we headed out to Daddy's office and he finished the job! :) We all gave high fives and Lacie just kept smiling. We found her tooth pillow (given to us by Sarah Warren!) and put her tooth inside to wait for the tooth fairy. We went to church last night (rare treat for our family but friends from another mission organziation is hosting a huge pastor's conference. It was so special for me to sit with Steve in a service (where he was not preaching) and the kids were watched by volunteers in children's church. After I came home with the kids, (Steve stayed with several of our pastors/leaders for another session at the conference.) we got ready for bed and I asked Lacie if she wanted to put her tooth under her pillow for the tooth fairy to come get her tooth? She said no way. She wanted to leave her tooth pillow by the phone so we could CALL the tooth fairy for her to come get her tooth. Way too cute!!! :)

When she got up for school this morning, she had E10 in coins (about a little over one dollar)waiting for her and she is looking forward to going to town soon to buy her OWN candy!

Now she tells us that ANOTHER tooth is loose....we told her the goal is to not lose all her teeth at one time! So, I have one child getting his baby teeth and one starting to lose her baby teeth. Steve said it may not be too long before he starts to lose his teeth and

needs his first set of "false teeth"....what a hoot! :)

Lacie's FIRST tooth is gone...what a smile! :)

Lacie's tooth pillow and little tooth (the little white thing to your left of the pillow!)

The tooth pillow is ready and waiting for the PHONE call to the tooth fairy!

BALL!!!

2009-05-28T10:59:00.003+02:00

Nathan's new favorite word is....BALL! Every type of ball...the soccer ball, basketball, football (yes, the American one!), volleyball (thanks, Kimber!), dryer ball from the dryer, ALL balls!

He is definitely all boy in many ways...cannot wait to see what sports he likes to play.

Meet the Lesibovu Area

2009-05-28T10:35:00.004+02:00

Back in February, the Lord opened the door to begin new work in an area called Lesibovu, which is south of Manzini and about one and half hours from our home in Swaziland. Steve was invited by the indvuna, chief's assistant, to come show the JESUS film and lead in a week of revival services. Through these opportunties, hearts were changed and several made decisions for Jesus Christ. Folks asked when could Steve come back to teach them more about God's word. Steve started going every Saturday afternoon to this new work area and sharing the love of Jesus Christ. Each week, the group is hungry to hear more about Jesus and how much He loves each one of them. This past Saturday, May 23, 28 people out of the approx. 50 people in attendance decided to make the most important decision of their lives and chose to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior....Praise the Lord!!! We thank God for His faitfulness and for all our new brothers and sisters in Christ! Pray for God's peace and comfort for all these new believers as many struggle with leaving behind deep, seeded traditional beliefs. Pray for their thirst to be fulfilled by the true source of living water, Jesus!

Enjoy the faces of Lesibovu...Bible studies, times with the kids, showing the JESUS film, talking to local schools, etc....the Swazis are beautiful creations of God!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

2009-05-28T10:20:00.002+02:00

Lacie and Mom enjoyed a fun day together on Mother's Day with other friends as Daddy and Nathan were back in Swaziland. Our family spent some time together before we lost our "boys" to Swaziland. On Mother's Day, we ate at Mugg and Bean for lunch after attending church, shopped at the mall a bit and spent time together. Lacie even bought me beautiful flowers...go Lacie and where did you get the money?!?! :)

I LOVE being a mom and sooo blessed with two beautiful and precious children that God has given to Steve and I!!! Steve and I are also thankful for the great moms God has given to us, too, even though we could not be with them in person on Mother's Day. We thank God for them in our lives! We love you!

Hang on tight, Lacie!

2009-05-28T10:14:00.002+02:00

Lacie and her friend, Ellie Anderson, both had their first ride on a camel while Lacie and Monica were hanging in Jo'burg follwing Lacie's tonsillectomy surgery a couple weeks ago. Friends came from Swaziland for a holiday and to hang with us for a few days. We had a blast! The camels were at a craft market and the girls were way excited to go on it all by themselves. We just told them to hang on tight! :)

Lacie and Ellie on the camel ride....Lacie finished her ride and asked when she could go again? :)

After it was all done....Lacie did not want to get off! Oh, the adventures of growing up in Africa!

Hanging at the Hospital

2009-05-28T09:59:00.002+02:00

Last month on April 28, our family left home in Swaziland and headed to the big city of Johannesburg for both kids to have different surgeries. Lacie was scheduled to have her tonsils out on April 29 and Nathan a corrective birth defect procedure on May 4. Well....Lacie ended up getting a cold that went to her chest so the doctor was not comfortable in doing the surgery as scheduled on April 29. He then postponed the surgery until May 5. In the waiting game for the kids to have their surgeries, they both also caught a stomach bug. Needless to say, we rested quite a bit, watched a LOT of movies and did our best to be patient in the waiting time. God was so good to give us missionary friends that helped us out in many ways during this time, too. Both kids did have their surgeries and did very well. Steve and Nathan were able to return home to Swaziland on May 8, while Lacie and Monica were released to return home on May 13. We thank God for great medical facitilies, doctors and a company that sees the importance of gret medical care for the whole family.

While we were in Jo'burg for this visit, Lacie's ears, nose and throat doctor, Dr. Hockman, had a CAT scan ordered for her left ear. Lacie has currently been dealing with about a 30% hearing loss in her left ear. It has been discovered that Lacie was born with a bone that is not in the right place of her left ear structure. Plans are now being discussed on when the next surgery will be done to prayerfully correct her hearing loss. This is a HUGE answer to prayer!!! Although from a mother's heart, it was hard to hear that my little girl has to endure yet another surgery in her little life. God is much bigger than surgeries and we know He will take care of her!

Praise the Lord we are all home again and doing great....thank you, God, for taking care of us!

Lacie and Daddy hanging out before her scheduled surgery

Nathan not quite sure what is happening but doing his best to hang in there!

Aunt Jane teaching Lacie how to play the card game, Uno. Lacie did pretty well for a four-year old but thought her Leapster game was better! :)

Mommy and Nathan in his scrubs right before his surgery procedure. Isn't he just too cute??? :)

Nathan on the GO

2009-04-26T21:34:00.002+02:00

Nathan is FINALLY starting to take several more steps. Yeah!!! Go Nathan! Last week, he took his first two steps but then nothing really since that time until this weekend. Look out now...Nathan is moving up into the walking league! He will really be into everything more and more...whew, this is definitely a fun but challenging season of life with a little one. Hey Gogo Polly, by the time you come see us in June, Nathan will be walking everywhere! :)

Nathan's little sleep outfit says, "Probably the cutest baby in the world"...well, there is no doubt that he IS the cutest baby in the world!!! We are sooo blessed by his precious life!

He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

2009-04-26T12:44:00.004+02:00

Lacie loves to sing and sing. Sometimes, she makes up songs as we are in the car or just hanging out around the house. It is too cute! Every night, we do devotions with Lacie (she calls them "debotions" as she does not say the "v" completely....way too precious!) and she gets to pick out two songs before we read a Bible story. One of her favorite songs right now is, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands", with the hand motions. I thought this video was adorable and hope you enjoy seeing our little sweet pea singing!

Happy Birthday Steve/Daddy

2009-04-26T12:33:00.003+02:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE/DADDY!!!!

Steve's birthday was on April 20 and we were traveling back on that day from our annual mission meeting. So, we celebrated the next day at our house with making Daddy breakfast, spending time with him before he left for Bible study, making him dinner and a birthday cake with his favorite frosting, cream cheese! :)

Steve, we are so blessed to have you in our lives. You are a wonderful husband and an awsome father to Lacie and Nathan. We continue to pray for you and that God will guide you as you are the spiritual leader of our home. May God renew your joy in Him every day!

Lacie helping Daddy to blow out his candles...we made it easier for him...put a number 4 instead of all the candles for his age! :)

Lacie sharing a special moment with her Daddy...boy, does she love him!

The boys hanging out together....Nathan loves his Daddy bunches, too!

Our most recent family photo taken on Easter

Lacie's Five Year Service Pin

2009-04-25T22:36:00.005+02:00

Lacie and her missionary "cousin", Christie Quarterson, both received their five-year service pins at our annual missionary meeting last week. It was such a special and sweet time for both girls as they were both born in Africa and have grown up together at our mission meetings. Christie's family serves in South Africa with her dad, mom and five siblings. We wish we could see them more often. It is neat to see the special bond these girls have of not only being missionary kids but literally knowing each other since birth. During the service, the girls were both given an African pendant with the number 5 engraved on the back. The missionary that spoke to them was a missionary kid herself that is all grown up and back on the mission field raising her own family. She talked about how she, too, had been born on the mission field and also in Africa. She gave the girls the verses, II Timothy 3:14-15 to affirm them as she prayed for each one of them. It was definitely a highlight for both of our families.

Another neat thing is that our son, Nathan, and Christie's youngest brother, Micah, were both born in 2008 in Africa so give them four more years and they will then be getting their five year service pins! :) We are blessed by a mission organization that sees the great value of how much our children are missionaries, too. Many times they are the open door for meeting new people and starting conversations with those around us. They are truly missionaries, too!

Playing with Big Sister

2009-03-18T16:05:00.004+02:00

Check out Nathan playing with Big Sister, Lacie! She did not realize Mommy was taking a video so we did our best to get her to say hello on this one. Again, too cute of Nathan trying to walk and just listen to the kids laugh and laugh...brings such joy to our hearts to hear them playing together and laughing together! We truly are blessed as a family. Thank you, God!

Watch Me Learn to Walk!

2009-03-16T20:50:00.005+02:00

Check out Nathan learning to walk....

Too cute with his walking toy! He can get around fast now...won't be too long before he is walking alone. Oh no, he will be into everything faster and more often and he gets in everything quite fast right now! :) Watch out world...Nathan is ready to make his mark on his own!

Allen's African Adventures - March 2009

2009-03-11T03:59:00.004+02:00

Allen's African Adventures

March 2009

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" Phil. 3:14

Dear Prayer Partners,

Yes, we are still here and going strong. We want to say thank you to those that sent birthday greetings to Monica last month and most recently to Nathan over the weekend. It is hard to believe that our little boy has turned one year old already. It seems like yesterday that we were all praying for him to not come early and for a healthy delivery. God is so good, huh? :) We have spent the last several weeks going strong in ministry and we are pressing onwards each day, week and month. We are thankful for you prayers and support for our family, ministry, team and the Swazi people.

Highlights from the past several weeks....

- God has opened the doors for a brand new work in the Lesivovu area, south of Manzini, here in Swaziland. Steven showed the JESUS film three different times to a total of over 600 people. A Bible study has been started on Saturday afternoons with about 50-60 adults, youth, and children regularly attending each week. There is several men in the community coming and we are excited as this is rare to have men faithfully attend. Steven was called by the indvuna (chief's assistant) for this area as he wants revival services to occur next. Plans are being finalized for these revival services to start next week. Pray for Steven as he leads these services and for hearts to hear about the love of Jesus!

- The garden project at Hawane Baptist is going well and the church is happy to see the crop growing just as well as old, traditional farming methods. Remember, Farming God's Way does not burn the fields prior to planting and other methods commonly used as well. Pray for Steven to have opportunities to share this farming technique with other churches and communities in coming months.

- Our team was sad to release Julia Tarr back to the USA as her two-year term ended in February. Continue to pray for Julia as she has accepted a new position as a children's assistant at First Baptist Church Tifton, GA. She starts her new position this month. Pray for all the transitions to yet a new place to live, minister and serve the Lord.

- Our team will also be releasing Kimber Ringler back to the USA at the end of April. Pray for Kimber's final weeks in Swaziland to finish well and for great closure with the Swazi people, our mission family and friends. We will miss Kimber greatly and thank the Lord for all she has done for Him during her time with us. Our team is praying through personnel requests for future needs to be added to our team so other folks can join us soon.

- Continue to pray for someone to fill the much needed Manzini request! We are trusting God to send us the right person, couple or family to serve Him in Manzini! :)

- Last month, a volunteer team from the South Roanoke Association in North Carolina came to serve in the eastern part of Swaziland as well as a time of visiting the Shiselweni region with the Myers. Steven was able to assist Bert Warren in leading his first volunteer team for a few days and it was a special time of serving together. Three of the team members were with Steven back when he came to Swaziland the first time in January 1999. A very special event that took place while the team was in Swaziland was a baptism service at Vuvulane, thus making this outreach group a new church. Praise the Lord! We are thankful for all volunteers that come to serve in Swaziland as they give of themselves, their time and resources to reach the Swazi people for Jesus Christ!

- Plans are being finalized for our National Easter Services next month, April 9-12, and there are a few issues that need to be finished soon. Pray for our leadership to make wise choices on behalf of all our churches and how their decisions impact all the people, not just a few folks. Pray for the schedule, speakers, logistics, etc. to go smoothly and for lives to be changed forever. The theme is, "The Grace of God".

- Our company has a large mission meeting scheduled in Johannesburg April 15 - 20. Pray for all the missionaries as they are traveling from several different countries to attend the meeting, planning/logistics still to be finalized, speakers as they prepare to share, mission business to be discussed and more importantly, for God to draw each of us closer to Him and to one another as a mission family.

- Pray for Lisa Warren's father, Lloyd Clairborne, scheduled to undergo surgery for a blocked carotid artery on the 17th of March. Pray for peace and comfort to Lisa's mother. Pray God will guide the surgeon's hand as He alone is the Great Physician.

- Pray for Wayne Myers' families' health issues...continue to pray for his brother Terry diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Pray also for his youngest brother encountering circulation problems in his left leg due to diabetes.

- On a personal note, our family is taking a much needed holiday to Cape Town for a few days at the end of the month (March 29 - April 4). Pray for a time of rest, safety and special memories as a family.

Lacie's Little Notes:

I love going to school and love my new teacher this year, Aunty Pushpa. I am learning lots of new things and excited about being with all my friends. I have also started gymnastics and love going each week. I am looking forward to our family trip to Cape Town in a few weeks so I can play in the ocean, see marine animals and be with my family. I also love going to the Sibebe children's Bible study each week with Aunt Kimber and Gogo Shandu. I am asking lots of questions about believing in Jesus (pray for us parents to have wisdom and discernment in sharing with Lacie!) which is really exciting for me to understand more about God's love.

Nathan's Notable Notes:
I am now one year old!!! I am not quite walking but gaining more confidence each day in standing and holding onto anything in my path. I am on the go all the time and keep my parents hopping to keep up with me. I love playing with my big sister as she makes me laugh and laugh. My family is enjoying cooler weather these days and my daddy says it feels like fall weather back in the USA to him. I have four teeth now and enjoying eating more table foods.

***Remember, we live in Africa and there is no guarantee that our e-mails are received or even sent out correctly. If you have written and not heard from us, please write again. We would rather receive e-mails two times than not at all.***

Thank you for your faithful prayer support!!!

Steven, Monica, Lacie and Nathan Allen IMB missionaries serving in Swaziland

Children having Bible study at the new work area, Lesivovu

Pastor Jimmy Moore from FBC Washington, NC, leading a baptism service at Vuvulane Baptist

Our Swazi mission team....front - Lacie Allen, Wayne Myers, Barbara Myers, Lisa Warren and Julia Tarr. back - Steve Allen, Monica Allen, Kimber Ringer and Bert Warren. (Nathan was sleeping and the Warren kids were in school)

Allen's Family New Prayer Card

2009-02-17T22:17:00.002+02:00

Here is our family's newest prayer card...we needed to update to include our precious, Nathan, who is almost one year old! :) If you are interested in receiving our prayer card for yourself or church via mail, please send us your mailing address to: TheAllens@SwaziMissions.org

Most importantly, we appreciate your faithful prayer support for our family as we serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in Swaziland, Africa!

Seven Years Together

2009-01-12T20:09:00.001+02:00

Wow...it is hard to believe that seven years ago today, Steven and I were married! Lots have happened in those seven years and we thank God for giving us one another as well as two wonderful children. I am so blessed by a wonderful, godly husband and I look forward to many more years together. Happy Anniversary Steven! Remember, I love you more! :)

More Blessed to Give than to Receive

2009-01-09T23:30:00.004+02:00

Our four-year old daughter, Lacie, is truly beginning to understand the meaning of how it is more blessed to give than to receive. Lacie has been blessed from many family, friends, volunteers and churches back in the USA with toys and gifts since the day she was born. I remember telling Steve when I was pregnant with Lacie that I wondered if she would have all the things in life, like toys, because we live so far away from folks in the USA. Oh, how God has blessed our family more abundantly than we could ever ask or imagine! Me...how little faith I have a times and yet God completely loves me anyway.

Recently, Lacie and I have gone through lots of her stuffed animals, toys, books, clothes, etc. that she has outgrown or does not need anymore. It has been one big chore but so worth it to bless another life with these items. We wanted Lacie to understand what it meant to give of herself to others so we are letting her pass out some of her tosy and clothes to the children in some of our churches. She has enjoyed watching the Swazi kids get soooo excited to get ONE new toy. It has been a life changing experience for Lacie to give something away that is from her own room. We pray that she will continue to grow and understand more about how blessed it is to give than to always be the one to receive. We are blessed by so much and know that many of you have given tons to our family over the years. Thank you!

Lacie with some of the Swazi children she was able to bless recently...thank you Jesus!

Such a precious gift...the face of a child!

Can you tell that she is quite happy with her new stuffed toy and this one plays music, too?!?!

Happy New Year 2009!

2009-01-09T23:19:00.003+02:00

Unfortunately, we have not been doing so hot in the blog department but we are seriously looking into obtaining a faster internet connection (guess you could call it fast in Swaziland?!?!?) quite soon so should be posting more often. God is doing great things in Swaziland and we want to keep you updated! Thanks for all those that are praying for our family...it means a lot to us!
Keep checking back for more posts and photos soon...

Christmas family photo taken at a Christmas Eve service...rare treat for our family to attend a church service in town where we live (we are typically in church in the rural areas each Sunday), service was all in English (our services are in siSwati!) and Steve was not the one preaching. It was a tradition to celebrate the birth of our Savior as a family that we hope to continue.

Lacie and Nathan enjoyed the Christmas holidays as it was very special for our family to celebrate Nathan's first Christmas. What two great kids the Lord has given us!

Like Father, Like Son

2008-10-30T23:48:00.004+02:00

Our family took a trip to Kruger National Park in South Africa with Monica's friend, Candace McIntosh, visiting us. While we were stopped to see some animals, Nathan kept wanting to try his hand at driving the truck. Monica took this photo of Nathan already wanting to copy Steven in learning to drive. Too precious! Do not worry...Nathan is far from his driving days! :)

Is it not amazing how much our children desire to learn from their parents each day? Our prayer is that we are teaching Lacie and Nathan to truly love their Heavenly Father with all their hearts...He is the One they need to be wanting to imitate!

Swaziland Baptist National Youth Camp 2008

2008-09-28T13:38:00.007+02:00

The National Youth Camp is a special annual event for our Swazi youth and a highlight each year for me personally. Although I was not as involved in the whole youth camp planning and camp event as in years past due to Nathan joining our family this past year, it was still great to see our Swazi youth for a short time each day. God really moved in the lives of many youth! Back in 1999 when I came to Swaziland as a two-year missionary, I helped to lead and re-start the national youth camp. It had been several years since the youth had a national camp. I spent the next year teaching the youth leaders the basics of how to plan and lead camp and the national youth camp was revived in August 2000. Since that time, we have had camp every August and more and more responsibilities are handed over to our national youth committee. Little issues are being worked on every year and no, it is not always easy but it is like watching a child grow more and more each year. God is so good! The youth camp this year was four days, August 28 - 31, and had around 190 youth coming from our Baptist churches all over the country. Each youth has to pay a camper fee of E30 (about $4 and pays for all their meals, place to sleep and assists with the rental of the school for the camp location) as well as their bus transportation to and from camp to their homes. The theme was being made complete in Christ and it is our prayer that each youth understands that only Christ can bring full completion in their lives! This past weekend, the national youth committee met to evaluate youth camp and yes, even begin plans for the national youth camp 2009 scheduled for late August. Let us know if anyone is interested in coming to help us lead camp or bring a team to speak, lead worship, lead games and just hang with the youth!

The National Youth Camp worship session under the big revival tent!

Swazi praise and worship style of singing and dancing to the Lord!

Our Baptist pastors praying over the newly elected and current representatives of the National Youth Committee. There are eight representatives on the National Youth Committee, two reps for each of the four regions of Swaziland. Lacie and her new little friend enjoying some hang time at youth camp! Lacie loved going to see the "kids" as she calls the youth each day at camp.

I'd like to teach the world to...drink Coke!

2008-09-28T13:20:00.003+02:00

We have learned that you pretty much can go anywhere in the world and you will find a Coca-Cola to drink! So, of course, we had to introduce Nathan to Coke...just kidding! He has not had Coke yet and will not for a long time.

By the way, folks that know us well...we have given up buying Coke for home and only drink Coke now on special times because of the high cost. That is huge for us! Now of course, if we only had Dr. Pepper in Swaziland, we would be all over drinking DP! :)

MK's at Prayer Retreat

2008-09-28T12:45:00.007+02:00

MK's (missionary kids) are a special group of kids! I have been around lots of kids growing up in minister's homes as well as other missionary kids. However, now I am raising two MK's of my own and they are such a blessing in more ways than one. I love that my children are exposed to different cultures and backgrounds on a daily basis. They know Africa as their home, not the USA. It is not always easy on that one as Steve and I grew up in the USA but God has called our family to be in Africa now.

Going to mission meetings and prayer retreats with our company is special times for not only the adults but for the MK's, too. Many of them do not get to see each other very often so they love getting to play with their missionary "cousins". On the mission field, the other missionaries are our family away from home. Our children have many missionary aunts, uncles and cousins here in Africa, although we all miss our family back in the USA at the same time.

At meetings, the MK's have their own classes led by volunteer groups so they can hear Bible stories, sing songs, play games, do crafts, etc. For Lacie, she looks forward to these meetings with great anticipation as she does not have a weekly Sunday school class to attend at church. Yes, many of our Swazi Baptist churches have Sunday school classes for the kids but it is not the same. For our family, we are in siSwati speaking churches each week with attending a different church on top of the whole process. Lacie does great being out in the rural churches and our family does have nightly devotions with her but it is not the same as her MK classes at mission meetings. Plus, these meetings give her a chance to be with other MK's that are all facing about the same issues and situations of growing up on foreign soil. What a blessing! On top of my children getting to be in classes (yes, even Nathan is class, too!), Steve and I have the opportunity to sit in sessions not worrying about watching our children as well as enjoying worship services in English. The next time you meet a MK or one comes to your mind, pray for them. They are a special group that are with their families on foreign soil experiencing all God has for them to learn as well as growing up to just be kids. We are thankful for our own MK's, Lacie and Nathan! :)

Lacie getting ready to perfom with her MK class the last night of our prayer retreat.

Thank you, Shadow Mountain Community Church, for your time you invested into our children during the prayer retreat.

Our MK's in action...go Lacie!

Puppy Love

2008-09-28T12:38:00.003+02:00

As we were leaving the USA last month, our family had a layover in the Atlanta airport. We were able to see Monica's brother, sister-in-law, niece and two special friends. One of them was Monica's best friend, Jennifer Peavey, that she has grown up with since they were seven years old. Jennifer had her youngest son, Heath, with her and Lacie and Heath enjoyed some time at lunch together before saying our good-byes once again for a couple more years. It will be fun to look back someday and show photos to the kids! :)

Lacie with Heath Peavey - cute puppy love! Only God knows what the future holds...

Indian Ocean for the FIRST time!

2008-09-28T12:22:00.004+02:00

Going to the ocean is always a treat for our family as we live in a country that is landlocked. However, Monica grew up right next to the Atlantic Ocean and misses getting to see the ocean. Our family was able to visit the ocean when we were in Florida in July so technically Nathan has been to the ocean already but he slept through his first visit! :) So, although the weather was much cooler and windy in South Africa last month, we had to visit the ocean for a few minutes. Our annual prayer retreat for our mission cluster was south of Durban, South Africa last month. Getting there took would take us almost nine hours by car so our family spent the night at Richard's Bay to break up the road trip for us. We had to stick our feet in the water and enjoy the ocean breeze for a few minutes, even though the wind about knocked us over! :)

Lacie absolutely loves the ocean but passed on getting in this time with the cooler temps.

Nathan's first time to be in the Indian Ocean. We missed the photo moment where he cried and was not too sure about getting his feet (and his pants!) all wet. It was too cute!

Happy 1/2 Birthday Nathan!

2008-09-11T22:28:00.004+02:00

It is hard to believe that our little man, Nathan, is already six months old! Nathan officially turned six months old on September 7. He is such a joy in our family and we thank God for him every day. We look forward to watching Nathan grow more and more. Our prayer is that Nathan will grow up loving the Lord with all his heart. Nathan means "Gift of God" and we definitely know that Nathan is a very precious gift from God!

Nathan on his baby swing outside...yes, it is cold here in Africa...we are finishing our winter and going into spring! Nathan likes the outdoor swing but does not care for his baby swing in the house..go figure! :)

Special Grandparents

2008-09-11T21:57:00.007+02:00

Our family is very thankful for the special grandparents that have impacted our lives in many ways. As we are celebrating grandparents this week, (National Grandparents Day was this past Sunday, September 7), we want to take time to say...Thank you, Jesus, for our grandparents! You all are very special to us and we treasure the memories we have with each one of you. Even though we are not able to see you in person much because of the great distance from us to you, know that we think of you often, miss you greatly and love you much!

Our family (Steven, Monica, Lacie and Nathan) with Steven's parents and Lacie and Nathan's Granddaddy Sidney and Grandmother/Gogo Glenda Allen during family reunion in August in Creston, North Carolina. We miss you and love you both! Come see us anytime in Africa!

Gogo Polly Trice (Gogo is grandmother in siSwati - the language spoken here in Swaziland) with her three precious grandchildren, Lacie and Nathan Allen and Caroline Trice, during our recent trip to West Palm Beach, Florida. We love you and miss you, Gogo Polly! Come visit us in Swaziland!

Grampie and Grammie Trice (Ron and Mary Trice) with Lacie, Nathan, Caroline and their newest addition, Maddison. Maddison is in the process of being officially adopted by Monica's dad and step-mom. We miss you and love you miss you, too! You are welcome to visit us in Swaziland anytime!

Monica with her Grandma Daisy Dean during our recent visit to West Palm Beach, Florida. Grandma, I love you and am so thankful for you in my life!

Steven with his Grandmother Graybeal. Grandmother Clara Graybeal went home to be with the Lord in July and we miss her very much. However, we know that she is now in a better place with no further pain or sufferings. Steven fondly remembers his grandmother in many ways and looks forward to sharing stories about her with our children.

Five Years in Swaziland!

2008-09-11T21:46:00.002+02:00

WOW...we cannot believe that we have been serving and living in Swaziland for FIVE years already...whew, where does the time go? Steve and Monica landed in Swaziland to begin serving as missionaries on September 12, 2003. Our family has had quite a roller coaster ride but what joy to know that we are right where God has us...in the middle of HIS plan! Since that time, we have added two amazing and precious children...Lacie Joy born on June 17, 2004 and Nathan Curtis born on March 7, 2008. We know we are blessed beyond measure! :)
We love serving the Swazi people and consider it a honor to work with so many that have such a deep hunger to know more about Jesus Christ. We are constantly striving to futher the kingdom of God here in Swaziland through leadership training. More and more, we want the nationals to take ownership of reaching their families, communities and churches for Jesus Christ.
We have no idea how long God has planned for our family to serve in Swaziland but we are thankful for tons of prayer support that has kept us going through the last five years. Thank you to everyone for your faithful prayer support!

Back in Swaziland

2008-04-25T19:18:00.006+02:00

It is has been sooo nice to be back home in Swaziland once again!!! We have been slowly getting back into ministry and adjusting to being a family of four now. God has recently given us the honor and priviledge of baptizing nine people at one of our Baptist churches. What a blessing!
It was our first time to take Nathan to one of our Swazi Baptist churches and formally introduced to the church. He has been given the Swazi name of Mswati and yes, that is the name of the king of Swaziland as well. We guess it is a honor to have the same name! :)
Keep praying for our family and ministry as we serve the Lord in Swaziland!

Steven baptizing a new believer in Christ at Hawane Baptist Church in our portable baptistry.

Daddy introducing Nathan Curtis Allen to the church during testimony time...Nathan is a wonderful gift to those around him!!!

Nathan sleeping through his first sermon...sorry, Daddy, the preaching was really not that bad! :)

New Family of Four

2008-03-16T12:09:00.005+02:00

The New Allen Family:

Daddy Steve, Mommy Monica, Big Sister Lacie and Baby Nathan

Always the Big Sister...

2008-03-16T10:55:00.007+02:00

Our daughter, Lacie, is three years old and has been quite excited for several months of the pending arrival of her baby brother, Nathan. Having grown up with siblings of our own and both with great relationships with our siblings, Steve and Monica pray Lacie and Nathan will have a special sibling/friendship relationship in the years to come. The day Lacie came up to the hospital to meet "her" baby brother, Nathan, for the first time was one we will remember for many years. She was so excited and immediately wanted to hold him. We look forward to watching them grow up together, learn together and be there for one another. We know there will be times of sibling rivalry in days to come but that all comes with being the big sister. Poor Nathan will probably grow up with not only a big sister but in reality, two moms! :)

Lacie meets Nathan for the first time!

I love my baby brother, Nathan!

Unto Us a SON is given...

2008-03-11T21:57:00.008+02:00

Our family is thrilled to announce that we have been blessed by the birth of Nathan Curtis Allen on March 7, 2008 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He weighed in at 6 lbs. 8 ozs. and 19 1/2 inches long. We are praising the Lord for his safe and healthy arrival!

Hi World!...I am finally here and not a moment too soon...praise the Lord!

Precious Baby Nathan!

Nathan with his Daddy and Mommy!

Sweet Caroline

2008-03-01T14:54:00.004+02:00

Our family was blessed last month on February 6 with the birth of our beautiful niece, Anna Caroline Trice. Enjoy the photos!

The New Trice Family - Mommy Suzanna, Baby Caroline, and Daddy Mike!

Sweet Caroline and her daddy!

Baby Caroline (this is what her cousin, Lacie, calls her!)

Up and Running

2008-03-01T14:47:00.002+02:00

We are finally getting a family blog up and running so folks can keep up with our family and ministry in Swaziland. Our family has been serving in Swaziland as missionaries since 2003 and we are currently waiting for the birth of our second child due next week! Swaziland is quite special to our family as it is also the place where Steven and Monica met back in February 1999. You just never know where the Lord is going to have you meet your future spouse and life partner! :) Our daughter, Lacie Joy, was born in South Africa in June 2004 and our son will be born in the same hospital in Johannesburg. We look forward to sharing the exiting news with everyone very soon. Keep checking for future posts and prayer updates for the ministry God has given us with the Swazi people.