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Bro Jack Gene, wife Josefa (holding Hannah), and their children, saying Goodbye to us as they get ready to leave to begin their Home Mission work in Daru, Western Province.

Home Missionary goes to Daru

November, 2011

Uploaded: 21 December 2011

Story by Richard Carver (Jnr)

This November was yet another milestone for the church in PNG. PNG is such a large country, extremely challenging, inaccessible in many areas, and many obstacles both culturally and physically.

One area of the country which has never been reached is the remote Western Province, accessible only by small aeroplane or by boat. This is flat mangrove land, with the large Fly River running through the dense tropical rainforest. Australia is only a few kilometres over the water, and Indonesia (West Papua) just over the land border, and it is one of the main points for illegal trade and guns for drugs between the countries. We have heard reports from our brothers in the Torres Strait Islands (part of Australia), that there are churches and pastors in the Western Province, but who they are and where they are is unknown to us.

The Southern Region has the responsibility of targeting this area, and after successfully starting a new work in Alotau (on the other end of the country in Milne Bay), they wanted to do the same in Daru, main centre for Western Province.

The problem of course was finding a man. God is always seeking for someone willing to stand in the gap.

Bro Jack's parents, Gene and Puau, one of the first couples in the church back in 1973. They have the distinction of having a western-style wedding in the village, unheard of back at that time!

God moved upon the heart of a young man in Goroka, Jack Gene and his family. Bro Jack is in his 20s, with a lovely family. His history stretches far back in the church, with his parents being some of the first members in the church and first people baptised back in the village in 1973 when my parents first arrived in PNG. Also, his parents have the distinction of being the first and one of the only couples in PNG to have a western-style wedding, complete with white bridal dress and suit! This was a phenomenon in the village, while other village members were still walking around in traditional dress (that is, undress)!

After much prayer and fasting, Bro Jack and his wife felt that God was calling them to "fill the gap" in Daru. We held a very moving service for them at 4-mile church in Goroka, where both family, friends and church members showered them with prayers, tears, and blessings. It reminded me so much of my own coming to PNG; the tears, the heartaches, the sadness mixed with excitement and anticipation of going to a new place and doing something for God.

This is the latest in a series of mission outreaches around Papua New Guinea. In the last year we have established churches in Alotau, Rabaul, Kokopo, Kavieng, Manus and Buka. This is thanks to the hard work of the Missions Directors and the churches giving toward the mission work, and of course the young men willing do give their lives to go. This is no better illustrated than in the trip by the Northern Missions Director to the Island of New Ireland. It was their first visit there, and while in the main town of Kavieng, they found a pastor there who no-one knew about. No-one else in the country knew that there was a church there, but this man had faithfully been pastoring a UPC church there for more than 10 years. He had never had a visit, never received a letter, never been recognised for his labours, yet continued faithful all that time. And a few months later, he sent his young son to attend our National Youth Leaders Training conducted in Goroka, when we all got a chance to meet him for the first time ever!

Please pray for Bro Jack and family in Daru, as well as all the other young men around PNG working in remote places and challenging situations. God bless PNG!

- Richard Carver Jnr

The location of Daru and other new World Missions outreaches in the last year

- 19 Jan 2012

• Carver Snr's 2011 4th Qtr Newsletter [more]
• Carver Snr's 2011 3rd Qtr Newsletter [more]
• Richard & Andrea's Dec Newsletter [more]
• Andrea's Family News [more]
• Youth Department comes alive! [more]
• Home Missionary goes to Daru [more]
• Bible School Teacher Training [more]
• Mt. Wilhelm Climb and Crusade [more]
• PNG gets new Missionaries! [more]
• Creation of a Print Room! [more]

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