Australian Trip 2010

Kerry and Mona Allen are leaving for Australia today. They will again be spending the month there with Jim and Becky Newman, teaching and preaching. Please continue to Pray for them and the ministry there.

Mona and I have arrived safely in Australia. We made our trip with no problems. Thanks for all of the prayers. Today is rest, and tomorrow we will start ministering with individuals. Our first seminar begins Friday. Please pray for the most effective mission we have had to date. We need to rejoice that over the weekend there were three baptized into Christ here.

Thanks again for all of the prayers! Please keep them going for us personally and for the work. It is a totally exhausting trip.

August 12th, 2011:
Mona and I are adjusting to being back in Australia. Each day we notice a considerable difference that we feel more rested. Our sleep patterns are not normal yet, but they are much improved. Every day we have been able to visit one on one with members of the church. These brethren have become dear friends to us over the years. It is always so special to get these times where we can visit and strengthen our friendship, but where we can also minister in very specific ways by dealing with the issues and questions they have personally. God is so good to open doors that we really could never have imagined when we made our first trip here in 2005.

Tonight I start teaching my first seminar on this trip. It is on The Family. God is so amazing!!!!! Just this week the principal at the school where Becky Newman teaches passed out the results of a study What Australians Want Most. The #1 item was A GOOD MARRIAGE. There is no doubt that this seminar is relevant at this time. Please pray that God will use me to honor Him and minister effectively to those who attend. I am excited to get to do it.

Tomorrow I will be speaking at a men's breakfast, and on the Lord's Day I will continue teaching the seminar and preaching. On Tuesday Jim and I will be going to Brisbane where I will speak to a group of church leaders. Please pray for our strength, safety, and usefulness while we are here. We have truly been blessed with opportunities for service.

August 17th, 2011:
Our 2011 Australian mission is progressing nicely. We have had a wonderful series of meetings thus far. Last weekend I taught a seminar, spoke for a men's breakfast and preached. On Tuesday I was invited to Brisbane to meet with and speak to some other church leaders (mainly from non-instrumental congregations). That was a very rewarding time, and I look forward to a follow-up with a couple from that group before we leave to come home. Later this morning we leave to head to New South Wales to teach and preach. Lord willing, we will maybe even get to Sydney for a day before returning to Queensland. Upon our return next weekend we continue our series of seminar studies and preaching. God has blessed these trips here with far more opportunities to share His word than I ever could have imagined. Please pray that all will go well, the church will grow, and that we will be kept safe. Our plans our to come back to the U.S. on Monday, Sept. 5. Thanks for lifting us up to God as you do.

We had a very good trip to New South Wales. The seminar and preaching were very well received. I also got to meet personally with brethren and discuss specific issues and situations they were dealing with. It was an exhausting trip as we travelled nearly 1,500 miles. As we were on our journey a kangaroo almost hopped into the side of the car. It tried to stop and turn around so fast it literally fell down in the road. We were certainly blessed that it didn't hit the car. Kangaroos here are like deer are to many of us in the U.S. We did get into Sydney and went to the Costco store there. That type of store is a new concept here. It was incredibly busy, but I understand it wasn't as bad when we were there as at other times.

I would appreciate your continued prayers. Tonight we meet with a couple who have almost no knowledge of God. The lady seems to be very curious, but her husband is more cautious. They are friends of a couple in the church here. The lady attended this past Lord's Day, but Jim and I were out of town. We are going to the church members' home for dinner so we can all meet and answer questions.

We continue our seminar studies this weekend, and have a combined house church assembly. I am looking forward to getting some time with the elders of the church for study as well. We also have a couple of luncheons on our schedule to meet with brethren. I especially would ask your prayers as we meet with a non-instrumental elder. We try to take every opportunity we can to establish and build fellowship with them.

God continues to bless us, and I know it is due greatly to your faithful prayers.

Our 2011 Australian trip is now coming to its close. It is Sunday morning as I write this. We will have a combined assembly of all the house church groups, share lunch together, come back to the house and collect our bags, head to Brisbane for the night, and leave for the U.S. in the morning. We are scheduled to arrive in Cincinnati on Delta flight 1814 at 6:08 p.m.

Since I last wrote you it has been a good time, but very busy. We had activities scheduled every day. Our church meetings have all gone very well, and the meetings with individuals and families have been most productive. During our journeys in the community we have seen more kangaroos this year than we ever had. Spring arrived here September 1, and today is Father’s Day, so we do notice drastic differences from home in many ways.

We are anxious to get home, but sad to leave dear friends. These Australian brethren have become very dear to our hearts. We know some of their personal issues, and we are aware of the challenges they face as the body of Christ here. We realize the opportunities before them, and pray that they will seize them as they have them.

We look forward to starting back in the swing of things back home. We should arrive Monday night, and then Thursday night I am scheduled to speak in Bluefield, WV for the 40th reunion of Bluefield College of Evangelism. (Probably not too smart of planning on my part as I usually can’t even keep my thoughts straight the couple of weeks I’m home.) The 11th I preach at Martinsville, OH, and on the 18th I start my fall revival schedule. Please pray for physical strength and spiritual power in all these endeavors.

Thank you for all your prayers during this trip. By God's grace and your prayers we anticipate a safe trip home.

Thanks for all of your prayers on behalf of our 2011 Australian mission trip. Mona and I are back home now. We had a good trip back (meaning no problems of any kind.) It is an extremely long trip, (we've now been up a day and a half non-stop.) Our bodies are weary, but are spirits have been renewed. Much work was done, with seeds being sown for cultivation and future harvesting. I would love to talk to each one of you personally and share how God blessed through listening to the prayers you have prayed. Please pray for a quick adjustment to being back home. Thursday night I am scheduled to speak in Bluefield, WV. Sunday I am speaking at Martinsville, OH, and the next week I begin my fall revival schedule along with various other speaking and brotherhood events.

To view Southern Cross' latest newsletter, visit http://scmaustralia.net/News/files/August2010.pdf

August 2010 Model Prayer Seminar

August 2010 Charlestown Church Service