Dr. Phillip and Dr. Charlotte Allen (both present with the Lord). Missionaries in Brazil and to the Brazilian people 1969-2019 (mom) 2021 (dad)
Scott
I was born in Georgia. My parents, Dr. Phillip and Dr. Charlotte Allen, surrendered to God's, calling them into foreign missions in January 1969. Along with my three siblings, our family then arrived in Brazil in October of 1971, two months after my ninth birthday.
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We lived in São Paulo for a year while mom and dad studied the Portuguese language. I don't remember learning to speak Portuguese, though. I always assumed that I learned it from friends at church and school or on the street.
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Mom homeschooled us for a long time. And she gave birth to a fifth child in 1974. In the meantime, as a teenager, I helped my dad in various aspects of starting a church in Jardim Boa Vista, Good View Garden, a neighborhood of Orlândia. He even tried to get me interested in doing the books -once! In 1978, when I was fifteen years old, our parents enrolled us in a boarding school for missionary children, located in Vianópolis, Goiás, Brazil. It was a ten-hour drive away from home. We lived in dorms, and dad sent us an allowance each month. For a candy-bar or two from the concession stand, you know?
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When the plane from Paraguay bringing Donna to school landed at the school's airstrip, I was the first person to greet her as she exited the plane. Unbeknownst to us at the time, we would soon be fascinated with each other and wanted to date. The school's rule for dating required the boys to obtain permission from the girl's parents. So I introduced myself to Donna's parents and asked permission to date their daughter via ham radio.
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After I turned nineteen, Dad and Mom brought me to the States, dropped me off, and returned to Brazil. Donna and I were married in the US in 1982. God provided jobs for both of us. We joined our local Independent Baptist Church and got involved in the bus ministry and weekly visitation/witnessing.
Igreja Batista Rocha Firme
(Solid Rock Baptist Church)
Though I already spoke Portuguese, upon our arrival in Joinville, the three of us, Donna, Elizabeth, and I, enrolled in a local language school. God wonderfully blessed, and Donna and Elizabeth both acquired a good grasp of the Portuguese language. And I brushed up on my grammar. A little!
Meanwhile, following the Lord's directing, we began establishing a new work in the Bairro Nova Brasília, neighborhood New Brazilia. Souls have been saved, believers edified, and God has blessed us far more than we ever deserve.
"Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen" Philippians 4:20.
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We much appreciate your interest in the Lord's work here in Joinville. Thank you for your prayers on our behalf. We are honored to labor together with you.
Photo: IBRF Youth Day - Fishing Tournament!.
Our Story
Donna
My dad was a brick mason by profession before becoming a missionary. And, though his passion was sharing the gospel message of Jesus Christ with the Manjui (Mahn-who-ee) people, I enjoyed watching him teach them how to make brick as well. The Manjui children called me "Manzana" (apple). And one morning, my younger sister and I were awakened by several Indians watching us through our bedroom window. We were startled, of course, and they just laughed and quickly ran off. I remember my mother sometimes helping the Indian women with their newborn babies. Washing them and dressing them in clothes she had given to them. But the mothers would soon remove the clothes and store them away. We also gave clothes to the Manjui people. But they would only stuff them into "Nestlé Powdered Milk" cans that they had acquired from the missionaries.​
When the following school year began, our parents flew my younger sister and me to Vianópolis, Brazil, where we attended a boarding school for missionary children. I was fifteen years old at the time. And before the first semester had ended, I was in love and had had my first date with Scott.
Roland and Elizabeth Connery, missionaries in Paraguay 1978 - 1982
In time, God graciously blessed us with four children; two boys and two girls. A son-in-law and a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren, two girls, and one boy. Thus far!
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Meanwhile, I never lost my love for Brazil and have always wanted to go back, but not as a missionary! I was going to return on my terms. So I thought!
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Several times throughout the fleeting years, while under the preaching of God’s Word, the Holy Spirit brought me under conviction to surrender to His will. But that meant letting go of “my will.” My terms! So I ran! Instead, I pursued a carrier as an over-the-road (OTR) truck driver.
Twelve years would elapse when I received an email from my dad that would change our lives. In his email, dad shared with me that God had impressed upon his heart to start a church for the Brazilian people in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Then he asked, “will you help?”
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Suddenly! I was under conviction of the Holy Spirit, convicting me of my folly, and immediately I felt ashamed and repented of my selfishness!
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In 2004 Donna and I accepted dad’s invitation. We began working with him and my mom at Igreja Batista Filadélfia, Philadelphia Baptist Church, in reaching the Brazilian people around Atlanta. Our daughters, Rebecca and Elizabeth, were with us at the time. Our two sons were grown and pursuing their careers.
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Twenty-two years passed since I spoke any Portuguese. But right away, we discovered that God graciously allowed me to retain the language, and dad, also my Pastor, put me to work! He had me lead the singing, teach the young people’s class, and he gave me many opportunities to preach!
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During our years at Igreja Batista Filadélfia, the church helped pay for Rebecca to learn how to play the piano. Before long, she played for the church and us many times during our deputation years. She met Jonathan Smith at one of our meetings in North Carolina, and soon they were married. Jonathan was a young preacher-boy then, and today he’s a Pastor, and Rebecca is their church pianist.
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One Sunday evening, during one of dad’s spirit-filled, “missions emphasis,”
preaching. The Holy Spirit convinced me to surrender my will to God’s will and stirred a desire in my heart to preach. Once again, I struggled, knowing that it meant giving up my “American dream!”
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On the following Friday. I had run a load from Kernersville, NC, to up-state New York, and from there, my next run sent me to Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, for a Monday morning load. I argued with the Lord the entire trip! I arrived at the TA truck-stop in Woodstock on Saturday. While struggling to sleep that night, I gave in and told the Lord I would look for an Independent Baptist Church nearby and go to church in the morning.
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Unbeknownst to me, as I arrived at the church, I thought "I" had chosen to attend. I immediately realized God had directed me there. They were having a missions conference that Sunday! Regrettably and with shame, I must confess today. My inward thought was, "good grief, I can't seem to get away from missions!"
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During the preaching that Sunday morning, though, I felt the Holy Spirit's conviction again, and this time I quit resisting! Back in my truck after the service and parked at the TA. As I stepped back into my sleeper, I fell to my knees and asked God to forgive me. And I surrendered my will to His will.
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In due time (skipping a lot here), back home, the Lord had been dealing with Donna as well, and she too surrendered to the Lord. I graduated from Bible College in 2005. Macedonia World Baptist Missions accepted us in June 2008.
After a brief struggle with the matter of faith, Donna stepped away from her steady income. And in February 2009, we took the step of faith and began full-time deputation at 10% of our suggested needed support. My ordination was on May 30, 2010, and after four years of deputation. We departed for the mission field under-supported after much counsel and prayer, arriving in Joinville on April 22, 2013.​
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​Elizabeth came to Brazil with us, and God mightily used her in our children's Sunday school and our music for three years. She has since surrendered to God's calling her into missions and is in her senior year at West Coast Baptist College, Lancaster Baptist Church, Lancaster, CA.
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We covet your prayers as we advance onward in the cause of Christ!