Meet The Hosts
Meet Your Hosts
The Allens “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
OUR STORY
OUR PASSION
Our passion is to provide a welcoming hospitality guest experience for missionaries, pastors, Christian non-profit leaders, and their families who come to The Refuge and The Sentinel Cabin. We handle guest registration, reservations and correspondence with guests prior to and during their stay. Our favorite part is meeting guests and hearing their God stories. Knowing that the standard of excellence is important throughout our ministry, we try to uphold that value in everything we do. Rob & Heather Allen, are experienced hospitality hosts as well as debriefrers. They understand the many unique challenges of working cross culturally and pastoring, They are able to provide perspective, support and encouragement to pastors, missionaries and Christian non-profit leaders helping them process where they have been and empower them to get to where they want to go. Rob &/or Heather will graciously offer what’s needed for these kingdom workers to personally dig deeper and discover the riches of this significant season while enabling them to effectively move forward.
OUR BACK STORY
Rob (South African/Naturalized US Citizen) and Heather (Canadian-American) met in a mission’s context while serving in Australia. They have four daughters ranging in age from 30 to 16. The Allens have served in ministry these past 35+ years, most notably making an impact in Sierra Leone and Nigeria as well as Australia, England and the USA. Other ministry ventures included Thailand, Japan, China, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, Pakistan, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Having earned their stripes through being bruised and battered on the mission field, they then spent 12 years training and debriefing missionaries through Mission Training International. In addition, Rob has served for several years as a pastor in rural Colorado. In 2017, The Allens assumed the Directorship of Christ In The Canyons Ministries that included stewarding The Refuge, a retreat center and The Sentinel Log Cabin that is set apart for hosting those wearied by their Kingdom endeavors. In 2016, Rob and Heather Allen founded Mission Lyfe, which focuses on debriefing and equipping of cross-cultural messengers of the Gospel, home-based mission organization personnel, and pastors to effectively navigate life and ministry's challenging transitions. Their goal is to see these Kingdom workers thrive in life and ministry whether on the mission field or here in the USA.