The Stones are BACK

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!!!

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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!