During October and November, many young people received Bibles. Pastor Ronald Likius in East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea, traveled to several remote areas presenting the Gospel and distributing Bibles to Latlat Primary School, Tinganolam Junior Primary School, and Bitapetep Primary School. It is such a blessing to see the involvement of national pastors and laymen as they travel, speaking to the students and giving out Bibles. I could not do this without their help. It is a great opportunity to reach their Jerusalem. More were distributed to Holola Demonstration School by Pastor Holmes and the young men of Morota Baptist Church. Brother Pomat from Calvary Baptist Church in Lae traveled out to the Garam Primary School in Mutzing Village in the Markham Valley, where over 800 students and teachers heard the Gospel and received Bibles. Missionary Jason Russell has helped by taking his preacher boys, whom he is training for the ministry, to distribute Bibles in Kendobola Village and Bemadeven Village. He shared that the teachers expressed supreme gratitude for the Bibles. Travel to these areas can be a challenge and the bridges are not always secure as you can see in the pictures. 
A special three-day tent meeting was held in Pangia in the Southern Highlands on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas. Over 3,000 people attended and 71 souls were saved. One pastor who had quit the ministry came back to the Lord. The last day brought a celebration of 20 pigs slaughtered to feed the crowd. Many young people who received Bibles in their schools brought their new Bibles to the services and several trusted the Lord as their Savior.
It was great to have Pastor David Hemphill from Oswego, Illinois, and Brother Kenneth Fink from the Home Office travel to help with the Bible distribution in Papua New Guinea. One particular school where we distributed comes to mind. This is a Vocational school created for boys in Port Moresby who have grown up living on the streets and come from extremely rough backgrounds. The response to the Gospel was amazing and several wanted special prayer because they felt led to share the Gospel with others. What a blessing!
With great joy, we received the new Gospel tent from the United States. I had mentioned in an earlier update that Temple Baptist Church in Dulles, Virginia, had bought and paid to ship a 112’ x 48’ canvas tent to assist in the outreach and follow-up of the Bible distribution project. When it was delivered, we held a special dedication service for the new tent on a Saturday afternoon. The men of Morata Baptist Church worked hard to erect the tent and the ladies decorated it to celebrate the event. A “mumu” which is a special meal was prepared and served after the service. The men dug a deep hole in the ground and built a fire to heat rocks. The food was placed in banana leaves to cook. This meal consisted of three slaughtered pigs that the men prepared while the ladies prepared their version of sweet potato, taro root, cassava, and miscellaneous greens that were added and covered with banana leaves. It was quite a meal! On the following day, Sunday, the service was held in the tent and I was privileged to preach the morning message. Simeon, a young man who was raised in church but had never been saved, trusted Christ as his Saviour. This was a great way to begin the outreach with the Gospel tent.
We then held a tent meeting in the Gerehu area in conjunction with Faithway Baptist Church. This Gospel outreach was to kick off the “600 Ways” outreach project. This project is aimed at taking the tent to remote areas where we have distributed Bibles or are still distributing Bibles. Lord willing, we will hold Gospel meetings in hopes of starting fellowships that will become local churches through these meetings. Pastor Hemphill and I traded off speaking and we saw 400 to 450 people attend nightly and over twenty people received Christ as Savior. God truly gave us a great meeting. David, a 21-year-old university student, and Jesse, an 18-year-old young man, were two of the people saved.
Special prayer requests:
• I have been asked to take over as Interim Director for Southeast Asia. Please pray with me as I seek to navigate the added responsibilities of aiding other missionaries. With the internet and technology, I will be able to do this as I continue to work in Papua New Guinea. I am excited to know that God is the enabler and still desires to use us and challenge us to do his work!
UIt was a joy to have BIMI missionaries Mickey Schrimshire and Robbie Leonard travel with me to aid in the Bible Distribution Project. Although Mickey has come many times to Papua New Guinea (PNG), this was Robbie’s first trip. It was a great blessing to me personally to have these two experienced missionaries work alongside Pastor Holmes Tako, Pastor Ripa Nelson (both national pastors), and me. 
Reality hit us pretty hard when it took us eight and a half hours on the most challenging road. It had rained and the mud was unbelievable! We finally arrived well after dark at a small guesthouse. Even with no electricity or running water (unless you run and get it), we were all so tired from the day’s travel that we were thankful for a place to rest. God was so good as we started early the next morning going to secondary and primary schools. We had to have a large excavator that had been working on the road push the flatbed truck up one of the mountains and at other times, we added rocks to the truck to get enough weight. I am sure we amused the locals as we hung on the back of the truck bouncing to get traction up some of the hills, as the rocks were not enough. When I fell off the back of the truck, I was thankful after further inspection that I was limited to a few cuts and bruises but thankfully not any broken bones. Brother Mickey also went through some medical issues as well and we found ourselves grateful for a medical doctor to help. 
People from the villages would come out to the road to meet us to help get the Bibles to the schools. This trip was well worth the effort to give the Gospel to over 4,000 young people and hand each one of them a copy of God’s Word. To have young people and teachers with tears share their joy in owning their very own Bible was such a blessing.
Once we returned to Mt. Hagen in the Western Highlands, we were surprised to see the Attorney General and a member of the cabinet in Parliament, the Honorable Pila Niningi (a dear friend and faithful member of an independent Baptist church). While fellowshipping together, he shared his burden of the need for a missionary to come to his village in the Southern Highlands. He stated that they had had a missionary living there before but because of health reasons had to leave PNG. He also said that they already have a house and a church that has a building but no missionary or preacher. Please pray that God will send a missionary with a heart for these people and the village of Piambil, Southern Highlands. 
It was a joy to have Pastor Holmes Tako from Morata Baptist Church in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG), come to the United States for a short visit. He and I both had the honor of speaking at the Board of Trustees’ Meeting at BIMI. This meeting is held bi-yearly. Pastor Holmes shared the impact of the Bible Project on the churches, individuals, and the government as a whole. Your investment in the PNG Bible Distribution Project has greatly influenced the country. Many souls have been saved and in one particular service over 50 came to know Christ and were baptized. New churches have been started and the Education Department has launched a special Bible curriculum in the schools. Pastor Holmes also shared that because of the Bible Project, the government has started opening new roads to the remote school areas where we have traveled. These new roads have opened a door for better travel for evangelistic meetings. Through this board meeting, God led Pastor Pittman and Temple Baptist Church in Dulles, Virginia, to purchase and donate a Gospel tent (112’x48’) to be used in PNG for revival/evangelism. This tent will be used as a follow-up to the Bible distribution with the hope of starting New Testament Baptist churches. Please pray for this special endeavor.
Brother Max Nime Bartho is a very hard worker and a young preacher from Morata Baptist Church in Port Moresby. He has been studying and believes that God wants him to go to New Zealand as a missionary. He has traveled with me to many of the schools, assisting in the organization and distribution of the Bibles. Once when I was robbed by a young man wielding a bush knife, Brother Max boldly chased the robber deep into the bush in an attempt to recover what was stolen. He is a godly young man and witnesses for Christ everywhere he goes and has been teaching Religious Instruction classes at several of the local schools in Port Moresby. He recently traveled to Chimbu Province in the Highlands to personally distribute Bibles in an area where his family is originally located. There was a large landslide that closed the roads so he was unable to leave the area. During his time there, he was able to do some remote schools, most of the time carrying the Bibles personally to get to the schools. He recently spoke and distributed Bibles to Kundiawa Tech School in Chimbu Province where 639 Bibles were distributed to the students and teachers.
During the last week of March, my dear wife ended up in the ER of a local hospital suffering from extreme abdominal pain. While waiting with my wife, I heard over the PA system an announcement for Dr. Stanley to please come to the ER for another patient. I mentioned to the attending doctor that he, Dr. Stanley, was the surgeon who had operated on me in August of 2022. He is a fine Christian doctor and we enjoyed talking about the Scriptures and praying together on his visits during my 9-day hospital stay. The emergency room doctor proceeded to contact him to come to see my wife. It gave us great peace and assurance that God was leading and guiding our lives. Not only did God have me back in the States during this specific time but also God supplied the very doctor who had performed surgery on me a year and a half earlier, a compassionate doctor and the best-skilled surgeon for Donna’s need. Our steps are certainly ordered by the Lord and we are so thankful for His watchcare over us. Dr. Stanley made the diagnosis and do to the acute stage, surgery could not wait. She was immediately admitted and the surgery was performed the next day. Please continue to pray for her recovery. What a blessing to know that in this time when so many things can become discouraging, our Lord and God is the enabler and provider in times of trial for us all! When we do not know what to do, God in His mercy steps in and makes the way plain. Our prayer is that this experience will encourage you to know that our God is wonderfully there for all of us and will guide you in all things. 
In recent weeks, there has been rioting in the two largest cities in the country of Papua New Guinea—Port Moresby and Lae. Over 15 people were killed and many injured due to workers not being paid. There has also been tribal fighting in the Enga province, resulting in over 50 people killed within the last month. Many homes and businesses were burned. Much of the problems is caused by the poverty in the country or fighting among the tribes. A few months ago, a business advertised that they desired to hire 100 workers. Over 10,000 people showed up in hopes of gaining employment! 
In spite of this turmoil, I continually receive invitations to come to even more remote areas asking for Bibles and for someone to teach them. It burdens me so deeply and I wish that I were ten men instead of one and a lot younger because there is so much that could be done. Papua New Guinea has such an open door for someone to come and shine the light of the Gospel to those in need by teaching and preaching God’s Word. No one knows how long this door will be open. Over one million fifty-thousand Bibles have been distributed and that same number of young people have heard the Gospel. I am grateful that where sin abounds grace abounds even more. Will you pray with me that the Lord of the harvest will send forth laborers into His harvest field?
The updates by email will be sent in a PDF format so they can easily be printed for distribution. If you would like to request the PDF format instead of a letter in the mail, please email us at alanb@bimi.org. Be sure and include your name, address, and email address to properly update our lists. If I do not hear from you, nothing will be changed. You will still receive our update as you always have. I presently send out approximately 150 PDF emails every update at this time and if you are receiving both, please let me know your preference in receiving our prayer letters—email or hard copy. Thank you for your help in this matter. We are grateful for your interest in our ministry and for partnering with us.
I stand in constant awe as to what God is doing in the country of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Doors continue to open and schools are being reached with the Gospel and the distribution of the Bibles. Pastor Holmes and I flew to Kokopo/Rabaul area where we had shipped pallets of Bibles. It was a great blessing to work with Pastor Ronald Likius of Kokopo Bible Baptist Church. He is a retired military officer in the Papua New Guinea Defense Force. He trusted Christ as his Savior and has worked in this church for years. When the former pastor retired, the church called him to be their pastor. God is using him in a great way as he leads this strong church. We were able to do many schools in the area. At one specific school, God held back the rain until we were able to finish speaking. As I was closing in prayer, the rain began to fall. The students and teachers were overjoyed in receiving the Bibles and they said that God had not only given them His Word but also sent them the blessing of the rain because of us. Many of the places in PNG rely on the rain to supply drinking water for their homes and schools. I shared with them that we did not bring the rain but perhaps God was honoring them for their desire for the Word of God. Pastor Ronald has now been invited to come back weekly and teach the Bible to the students in the school. Praise the Lord for this open door!
While I was in Kokopo, God allowed me to meet with Coach Michael Murum. He is the former coach of the SP Hunters and the PNG Kumals, their World Cup rugby team. In the last election he was voted as the Governor of East New Britain Province. We have been friends for years since his coaching days when God opened the door for me to give devotions multiple times to his ball teams. Coach introduced me to the district leaders in the province and asked me to speak to all the district presidents of the provinces’ LLGs (Local Level Governments). These presidents would be similar to our county mayors in the States. I was able to share the Gospel and our desire to help each of the schools in their districts to receive Bibles. Only God can provide these open doors of opportunities.
It has been our prayer and desire to travel to the province of New Ireland. This is an island province on the far eastern side of the country. I had made an initial visit years ago but very little distribution had been accomplished. We recently shipped pallets to the island. I appreciate Pastor Ronald Likius and Pastor Graham N’Drou for joining Pastor Holmes and me to fly by way of a very small plane over to Numatani and then travel four hours to Kavieng. God allowed us the opportunity to distribute thousands of Bibles in multiple schools, but sadly much more needs to be done. Please pray God will send forth laborers to this much-needed province. There is a great need for strong churches on this island and the doors are open. We will be returning again to continue distributing. Please pray God will raise up missionaries and national preachers to come to this remote area and start strong churches. Another open door, praise God!
Many times in traveling to other countries, one can easily become ill and just push through the best he can. Not long ago, I became so ill that I decided I needed to go to a local clinic in Port Moresby where I was diagnosed with “high count malaria.” After seven days of medication, I was able to fly home because the Malaria was exacerbating other health issues I already have. In the early morning on the day after I arrived in the United States, I ended up in the ER due to dehydration and other complications and was then admitted into the hospital. The amazing thing is that the particular parasite (Plasmodium vivax) from the mosquito that caused my malaria is resistant to the medicine normally used by the doctors here. My doctor had to special order the medicine for the 21 more days of treatment. If my malaria outbreak had happened while in the United States, it would have been very difficult to procure the right medicine in time. The outbreak of malaria has affected my immune system and has caused my Meniere’s Disease to flare. Presently, the parasites are not in my bloodstream, but my doctor has said he cannot guarantee that I am completely cured. He said the parasites can reoccur at any time or stay dormant in the liver for years. We are asking God for strength and healing as this project continues. Thank you for your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit as He leads you to lift us up in prayer. Words cannot express how grateful we are for all that you do. Sometimes it is only when we look back that we see God’s handiwork and what doors He has opened for His children. It is an exciting life to live as Christians, knowing that God can direct our steps as we walk in His way. What door does God want to open for you this week?
The Papua New Guinea Bible Distribution Project continues steadfastly. We are grateful for the national pastors and leaders who desire to assist with this work. During this past year, I was contacted by the administrator of Kilakila Secondary School. We always leave a few extra Bibles for the students who may have been absent the day we distributed. The administration building had completely burned down. He wanted me to know that as they went through the rubble of the destroyed building, the only things that did not burn were the Bibles! He was so amazed and wanted me to share with the contributors that God protects His Word. This should encourage us in our faith to know how important the Bible truly is and the way God continues to do miracles. 
In my April prayer letter, I mentioned some events that took place in the village of Malalaua, located in the Gulf Province. The Malalaua High School is the school that had been temporarily closed because of gang fighting. I was invited to speak to the parents and teachers that were meeting in hopes of reconciling this problem. As a result of this meeting and the distribution project, the village leadership had offered land to start a church. Preacher Ricky Kaika, a national preacher, has been able to start services in the village. They have put up a small pole shelter for a meeting place. Almost every week he has reported people being saved. Just recently he shared that the wife of one of the village leaders Chris Lafe trusted Christ. Please continue to pray for Chris Lafe, the man who traveled with us to show us where all the schools are in the area. Brother Ricky also shared a picture of a crocodile that was caught right after we left from the same river by which we traveled. They warned us about being careful and this is a prime example as to why we covet your prayers for our safety.
Pastor Holmes shared with me that while he was speaking at a local church, a young man, Lance Patrick, told him that he was training to be a preacher and that the “Bibleman” had given him a Bible at his secondary school in Madang. The “Bibleman” is what many of the students call me. This young man had trusted the Lord as his Savior and felt the call of God on his life to go into the ministry. He proudly showed the dates he had recorded in his Bible. I traveled over to Milne Bay to the city of Alatou. We worked on some more remote schools during the day and preached a special meeting at Bemari Baptist Church in the evening. The church has no pastor and is having a very hard time. On that Wednesday night a young woman, Elphnie Elliot, came and raised her hand in need of salvation. I spoke to her at the end of the service and one of the ladies in the church led her to Christ. She then told me that I had given her a Bible at her secondary school on August 2, 2017, while she was in grade 11. She still has the Bible and has the date written in it. Thank you to those who so sacrificially have given to make this project possible. This shows the power of God’s Word and how reaching one can reach many. Hallelujah!
Greetings from Papua New Guinea! James Chalmers was one of the first missionaries to enter this country. In 1875, he began his travels up and down the coast of the country and then inland to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was sent by the London Missionary Society to the South Pacific from Scotland. 
The students were sitting in an open area for the assembly and there was a covered platform for the school leaders and me. It began to rain quite hard during the meeting. I stopped and had a word of prayer with the students asking God to stop the rain. God did not see fit to answer my prayer in that way, in fact, it began to rain even harder. When I asked the principal if we should stop the assembly in order for the children to seek shelter, he said not to worry because the children were use to the rain. I decided if they were going to get wet so was I, so I left the platform to be with them to speak. The children all started clapping with joy. I thought to myself, sometimes God will say yes and in the past He has stopped the rain in our meetings. This time God’s answer was “no.” God had a much better plan. Now that I look back, I realize that He allowed the rain and by stepping down to be with the kids, it endeared me to them and caused them to listen more intently. If the weather had been normal, they may not have been as attentive. God always knows what is best. I am grateful for His guiding hand. God gave us a great gathering. Isaiah 55:8 states, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. So grateful for His guiding hand! Amen and Amen!
Our final distribution in this area was in the actual village of Magarida where we had been staying. The primary and secondary schools joined together for the assembly. God gave us a great day and trees for shade. The children listened so well and then sang many songs in their traditional language of Motu. They also honored us with special gifts of necklaces, Belum bags, and sleeping mats that had all been handmade. There is no Gospel-preaching churches anywhere around this area. The school administration contacted me and asked if I could send a Baptist preacher to their village to start a church. They will gladly give land, a place to live, and also pay him to be the school chaplain. Only God could have orchestrated this opportunity. Please pray that the Lord of the harvest would send a man of God with a heart and compassion for these dear people and this open and needy area.
It has been a joy to have five men travel from the United States to Papua New Guinea to work with national pastor Holmes Tako as well as with some of the faithful Christian workers from his church and me with this Bible Project. BIMI Southeast Asia Director Steven Maldoff and Pastor Greg Powell from Calvary Baptist Church in Red Bank, Tennessee, came for six fast and furious days with boots on the ground to help with the distribution. Pastor David Hemphill from Valley Baptist Church in Oswego, Illinois, along with his two assistant pastors, came for nine days to also work with boots on the ground. All of these men were a great example to the national workers with their willingness to do whatever it took to get the job done. During this time, we traveled on difficult roads and by dingy boats and then by hiking in order to reach the schools. This was not an easy task, and I appreciate so much their good attitudes and hard work.
It is amazing what God will do if we simply put our trust in Him. We had been distributing to schools in the Gulf province. We pulled into an area where there was a large high school in Malalaua. There should have been classes but no students were present. I was approached by an elderly gentleman Rex Kiri Karaua. As we introduced ourselves, I learned that he was the chairman of the Governing Board of the school. I informed him of the reason for my visit—the desire to distribute Bibles to all the students and teachers. He shared with me that the school had recently been temporarily closed because of the outbreak of gang fighting within the school and in the village. I was told that the staff, teachers, and Governing Board were having a community meeting with all the parents the next day to try to solve the violence problem. The chairman said it was obvious that God had sent a man of God to help them. He proceeded to ask if I would return the next day to speak to the group from the Word of God. I was able to adjust my schedule to drive back from an hour away to meet with them. 
Arriving the next day, I saw a gathering of over 300 parents and officials. God led me to speak on Onesimus and Philemon concerning the only way to change a person and that is for Christ to change his heart. God gave us a great meeting and I was asked to come back the next week to speak to the school of over 600 young people. As I was saying my goodbyes after the meeting, three local policemen approached me. Sergeant Thomas Lafe said he owned a boat and motor and would like to take me to the remote schools in the area that can only be reached by sea and then up the rivers. He said he would have police with us to make sure we had no problems. Pastor Holmes Tako turned to me and said, “Brother Alan, this is such a miracle from God!” We had the names of the schools but did not know the locations nor how to even get to them because there are no roads to reach them. 
We have been able to distribute over 6,000 Bibles to these extremely remote schools up and down the rivers and on the coast by boat. Sergeant Thomas’s younger brother, Christopher, is a manager of a vocational school and village leader in Malalaua. He traveled with us to all the schools by boat and truck and then by hiking through the bush to reach the schools. He was so excited to see what we were doing for his people and he said he wanted to help us by giving land for free to start a Baptist church! At one vocational school of 150 students in the area of Malalaua, the manager decided after we had distributed the Bibles to take all the students to church the next Sunday. He said that if we had a Baptist church in or close to this village, he would take them there. Sadly, there is no Gospel-preaching church in the area. Please continue to pray for the village of Malalaua. Only God could orchestrate this opportunity. There are people wanting a church and land has been provided. Please pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send forth laborers. Actually, if space allowed, I could tell you of four villages/towns that currently want to give land for churches to be started. Again, please pray that someone will answer this call.
It is exciting to see so much going on here in Papua New Guinea. Mickey Schrimshire and I recently traveled to Kundiawa in the province of Simbu in the highlands to distribute Bibles in the schools. What a blessing to see hundreds of young people listening intently! Usually when we are doing a school, the principal or head teacher will help begin the assembly then slip off to do other school business. The head teacher at Kundiawa Secondary School stayed and went down to stand with the students and listened with great interest. She came to me at the end and wanted to tell me that she was so impressed with our program. She said, “Many talk in general about God and Christianity but this was made so personal. You guys did not just talk about religion but made it really personal and like a true relationship. I really enjoyed it and believe the students did too!” We also have done many schools in the Lae area. It is so hard to describe the joy it is to see thousands of young people gathered to receive their own Bibles. 
After years of training and encouraging others to be involved in the distribution, it is a blessing to see many national pastors who are working hard in their respective areas. Pastor Ricky Mongo has been doing schools in the Eastern Highlands. Pastor Jason Huhuku is in Wewak in the province of East Sepik and has been busy distributing Bibles and speaking to the students as well. The men of Calvary Baptist Church plan to distribute Bibles in schools outside Lae in Morobe province. Missionary Jason Russell reported that one school desired for all to come to the church to have a special dedication service and allow the students to receive their Bibles. 
I received several emails from Missionary Eric Fair. He has been in Papua New Guinea most of his life as a missionary kid and now as a missionary. He has a tremendous burden for the remote areas. If you closed your eyes and listened to him speak, you would think he was a Papua New Guinean national. He and another national preacher traveled way out into some extremely remote areas. He shared the following: “Below are all the details and schools that Jason and I have completed in the bush near the Western Highlands and Southern Highlands border. The roads are pretty hard to navigate but we were able to get out there without getting stuck too many times.” We are asking all to please pray for us as we work to finish strong. There are so many things I could write. It is truly hard to narrow the stories down to put into one letter. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes (Psalm 118:23 KJV).
If you have not watched our newest video update, please view it at www.BIMI.org/png. I think you will really enjoy hearing the young lady’s testimony at the end of the update. 
With grateful hearts, we sincerely thank you for your financial support and sincere and fervent prayers. Without your help, the Bible Distribution Project would not be possible. May God richly bless you in all that you do.
The theme this year for BIMI is “Achieving the Impossible…Because God Can!” When we first started the Papua New Guinea Bible Distribution, many thought it could not be done! I must confess I had times of doubt myself, but God has truly shown Himself strong in so many ways. The simple fact is that 1,100,000 Bibles have been shipped into the country and 960,000 of those Bibles have been personally handed out to the students and teachers across the country. Only God’s providential grace could achieve that work. Satan has thrown many obstacles in our way: COVID, robberies, personal health issues, and even the deaths of dear friends and co-workers. Through all the trials, God’s Word has continued to go forth. 
My wife and I have had several health issues in the last two years. I share this with you so that it will enable you to pray more specifically that God will keep us strong to finish the task He has set before us. We truly need God’s people to hold us up in prayer to the Lord to make the impossible—possible. We have 140,000 Bibles to still distribute. I thank God for all those who have been involved in this project and am excited that Missionary Mickey Schrimshire, who has also battled several health issues, is determined to return to PNG to aid in this work. Please pray that we can finish strong! 
Brother Akso Peters is a preacher in PNG who has been assisting in the distribution of Bibles. We first met Brother Akso when we started the project. He was a faithful Christian attending church but not completely involved in the ministry itself and would help drive us around at the beginning but rarely said anything. He is now preaching and working diligently in the ministry and is one of my go-to men in PNG. I asked Brother Akso if he would share what he thinks of the PNG Bible Project. The following are his comments. 
I want to give glory to God for this BIMI PNG Bible Project. This project gives us, the national pastors, preachers, and missionaries opportunity to preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to teachers and students throughout all the schools in this beautiful country of Papua New Guinea. Thank you to the independent Baptist churches from overseas and the individual Christians who have donated to this project. I do not want to forget the pastors and missionaries who came from all over the world like Canada, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand. The biggest thanks go to the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY and the Bible-man, Alan Brooks.
(Please check out the link below for the BIMI World pages 18–19 where there are other testimonies of other PNG national pastors and a fellow missionary. (Please check out this link below for the BIMI World pages 18–19 where there are other testimonies of other PNG national pastors and a fellow missionary.)
I recently read a devotional thought on Thanksgiving that I found very enlightening. “Thanksgiving is not just an event; it’s a celebration of God’s grace and mercy.” As I thought on this quote, I thanked God for all He has done. God has been so good to allow my health to recover enough to travel back to Papua New Guinea (PNG) to coordinate the delivery of the last two containers. We have received 20 containers making a total of 1,100,000 Bibles. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes (Psalm 118:23). 
I thank God for friends in the ministry that assist us. Pastor Dennis McChargue from Brayton Baptist Church in Brayton, Tennessee, graciously traveled with me. The doctors would not allow me to pick anything up at this time because of the colon surgery and Pastor McChargue worked hard to make sure that I did not. I am so grateful for his help during this time of recovery. This man truly has a servant’s heart. I thank God as well for the many national workers who have tirelessly labored to unload the containers and then store them safely for future distribution. It gets very hot inside a forty-foot container near the equator.
Many days were spent doing paperwork in order to get the containers out of the port. On the weekends, Pastor McChargue and I preached at some of the local churches. God blessed Pastor McChargue and me, as we were able to see many come to the Lord. At Liberty Baptist Church in Kwikila, one young lady, a niece of the pastor, came to Christ in tears. An elderly lady who had been attending the church for years trusted the Lord, revealing that she had never been saved. Praise the Lord!
After receiving the first container, we flew to the Highlands for a Preachers’ Meeting. Our goal was to motivate and coordinate the distribution of Bibles to the remote schools in that area. When we use the word travel, it carries a lot of meaning. First, we traveled by plane, then we drove a Land Cruiser four hours on some of the most challenging roads you could ever see. We then met with 19 local church pastors who had traveled from their areas to meet us. God gave us a great meeting and I believe much was accomplished. After meeting for two hours, we then drove eight hours to the city of Lae on the coast, arriving late at night in order to receive the second container of Bibles.
We traveled two and a half hours the next morning to distribute Bibles to four schools that came together for one great assembly. The students had prepared a traditional example of their heritage. The coordinating teacher cried openly as she told how she had been praying that God would supply Bibles for the children. She was not the only one crying after her speech. We not only have a God who listens to our prayers but also truly answers.
The next few days were spent distributing Bibles. One school in particular was PolyTech, a university level school with 800 students. The young people were so attentive and God gave us a great meeting.
In early August, we were asked to distribute Bibles at one of the top universities in the country. This university has a matriculation of 4,000 students and only allows the brightest and smartest young people in the country to attend. I spoke multiple times giving the Gospel message to the students and each person was given a Bible. At one meeting of male students, 20 young men asked to receive Christ as their Savior. On Friday night, I was asked to speak at a Christian fellowship meeting on campus. A young man, Gideon, who is a last year physics major, came forward to trust Christ as his Savior. He is also from Tari town in Hela where there is no Baptist church. He and I have continued to correspond concerning the things of God. His hunger for the Bible and desire to grow in Christ are so encouraging. 
Missionary Mickey Schrimshire, who has traveled with me many times to PNG, prepared a very special Gospel tract for the country. Over 10,000 were shipped and they have been gladly received as we have distributed them around the country. Also, a church in Columbus, North Carolina, printed and shipped 10,000 Gospels of John and Epistles of Romans to be given out in the jails and prisons. 
Please pray for us as we have distributed approximately 960,000 of the one million Bibles that have been sent to the country. We have bought and paid for another 100,000 more Bibles that are presently being shipped to the country. God’s people have been so generous to help make this project happen. This will bring our total to 1.1 million Bibles! 
PNG Update
Pastor Holmes and I were scheduled to fly back to Port Moresby later that week. Our flight was to be at 1:15 p.m. but was cancelled and rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. that evening. A young man, Lawrence, was scheduled to leave at 10:00 a.m. but his flight was cancelled and delayed as well. He noticed me at the airport while we were both waiting for our flights. He approached me to tell me I gave him a Bible in 2019 at his secondary school. He said he was not a Christian. He wanted to know if I could tell him again how to become a Christian like I had done at the school. We sat for a long time going through the plan of salvation and he prayed to trust Christ. He said, Now, I am a Christian and God says I will go to heaven.” We talked further and we exchanged contacts. He looked up at me and said, “I am so glad that my flight was canceled so that we could meet.” While waiting to pick up our bags, Lawrence approached me again to thank me and to tell me that it was worth waiting all day at the airport to understand the Gospel. My first thought was how God had orchestrated the whole trip, even the delays. Then I thought of the law of sowing and reaping. We sow and never know when God will allow us to reap a harvest. Praise God that His Word never returns void!
While I was in West New Britain, it was a blessing to see the students of Hoskins Secondary School receive their Bibles with over 1,100 students and teachers. The headmaster of this school asked if a local pastor could come back every week to speak to the students about God. This has happened multiple times here in PNG. I had the privilege to meet a deputy headmaster from another school. He shared with me that the distribution of Bibles to the students was one of the greatest events he had ever experienced. He also asked me if I would come back weekly to share God’s Word to the students. This broke my heart as I knew that I could not do this as I must continue with the Bible Project. What an opportunity for missionaries and national pastors to teach this next generation! They could literally stay busy preaching and teaching about God in the schools full-time. What a window of opportunity!
PRAYER REQUESTS
PNG Update
One of my prayers has been to get into the very rural province of Hela. This area is called “the last frontier of PNG.” We had tried to go in several years ago but the area was hit by a bad earthquake and then the government advised us to wait because of the constant tribal fighting. The door was opened and we finally were able to travel into the province to give the Gospel and hand out 13,800 Bibles. All the secondary schools and almost all of the primary schools were issued Bibles in a short amount of time. We were also able to assist in starting a Baptist Fellowship in the capital city of this province. There are no Baptist churches here, so we are praying that this Fellowship will develop into a strong church. By the way, while in Hela I was robbed a second time. This time it was while standing by the vehicle asking for directions. A man came at me with a long bush knife (machete) solely to steal my phone. I had to remind myself that God had led me to be here and do this project. God helped me again to realize that I was attacking some of Satan’s strongholds and he hates to see the Bibles given to young people who can change the nation of Papua New Guinea. The devil does not like what God is doing in this country.
After Hela, I flew up to an island on the north side of Papua New Guinea to the province of Manus. This is where General Douglas MacArthur led the US Military in taking back the country from the Japanese in February 1944. We traveled by trucks and boats to remote schools to speak and distribute Bibles. One of the pastors from Manus said, “I thank God for America. You physically freed us in World War II and then spiritually. You sent missionaries to show us how to be saved.” 
My weekdays are filled with traveling, shipping Bibles, and distributing them to schools. On the weekends, I speak at different churches. One Sunday night, we held a street meeting in the market in the capital city. After the preaching, Mr. Ray Lotive, a former captain of the PNG Kumuls, (World Cup Rugby Team) walked forward. This was amazing as he stepped out in front of hundreds of people to put his faith and trust in Christ. I had the privilege to see 15 people trust Christ during these Sunday services. It is so refreshing to see people respond to the Gospel call. 
Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support. We ask that you continue to pray for God’s protecting hand on our lives, His wisdom, and guidance daily. I do not have the entire list of those who wish to receive email updates because of my phone being stolen. Would you please drop me an email at alanb@bimi.org so that I may add you back to the list if you are interested? In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Sincerely, 
PNG Update
PNG Update
It is also a joy to share an update that I received from national Pastor Davie Karol on the island province of Manus. He has been able to travel by boat and four-wheel-drive vehicle to reach out with the Gospel and distribute Bibles to over 16 schools in extremely remote areas. Many of the headmasters and teachers of the schools have expressed joy in seeing their small remote schools not overlooked or forgotten. Can you imagine what God can do with these young people that most of the world knows little about? God cares and loves them all no matter where they live geographically, even in the most remote areas. God delights in taking the little and making much of it.
PNG Update
There are approximately 200,000 Bibles left that are presently in storage out of the 1 million Bibles already purchased. Our mandate from the beginning has been “As long as we have money, we will continue to buy Bibles.” We have not been actively fundraising since we met the goal of one million Bibles, but God’s people have continued to sacrifice and give. Because of this, we have experienced the tremendous blessing of having enough money to order two more containers of Bibles. Each of these Bibles again will contain the plan of salvation, the Old and New Testament, and a Bible dictionary. This will bring our total for Papua New Guinea to 1,115,000 Bibles brought into the country and distributed to students and teachers alike. This also means 1,115,000 people will have heard the Gospel. Amen and Amen!
As we begin to travel through 2021, our minds are drawn to what the future holds. The late Evangelist Lester Roloff when asked what he thought the future held would respond, “As bright as the promises of God.” How true the statement is for our day!
In an earlier letter, I asked that we pray for a team from the Haven of Rest Baptist Church outside of Lae in Morobe Province as they traveled to the remote area of Finschhafen. A team of six Christian men, several who are preachers, took the challenge of this trip. The following is a portion of a report.
They further reported that during the evenings, services were held in many of the villages. Students came with their Bibles and parents to hear the Word shared by Preacher Robin Leo and Preacher Rueben Bill. During these evening meetings, 20 students trusted the Lord as Savior and 11 adults did likewise.
I wish there were room to tell all of the stories. Men have been working in East Sepik and Sanduan in the far north. Others have been working in Wewak and on Karkar Island, while others have been working in the Highland provinces. I guess one of the great things in heaven will be to hear how our Lord has brought so many to Himself.
In an earlier prayer letter, I mentioned that “the most fertile ground will stay barren unless the seed is sown.” Pastor Holmes Tako often reminds me of one of my favorite sayings, “You can’t have a harvest if you don’t sow the seed.” Pastor Holmes reported recently of a revival he was part of in the Western Highlands where in three days 117 people were saved. Meanwhile, at Morata Baptist Church in Port Moresby, 32 young men were saved at a special youth service. Truly, God is working in PNG in a big way!
I do have several prayer requests that I would ask you to join with me in prayer. In the last two months I have had some health issues arise that have slowed me down a bit. I am working with my doctor in hopes of being able to control them. Also, please pray for me to be able to travel back to PNG when school starts again. The COVID-19 outbreak has almost totally stopped the international travel to Southeast Asia. I am working with travel agents and trying to get special help from some of my friends in the government. The paper work, red tape, limited access countries, extremely limited flights, and quarantine requirements are quite overwhelming. As most understand, government issues do not move along quickly. 
Alan & Donna BrooksRead more about the Brooks family. He can be contacted through the BIMI office (423) 344-5050.
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