Port Moresby is the administrative capital and largest city (population estimated to be nearly 400,000) of Papua New Guinea. As such, it attracts a general attention and acts as a magnet for those all over the country looking to improve their life. As a port city it has attracted both positive (commercial) attention as well as negative (military target) attention over the last 200 years or so. It has developed rapidly, and while building is brisk throughout the city there seems to be little in terms of actual industry in the city. PNG exports much in terms of natural resources, something which brings money to the government but doesn’t develop industries in-country where locals can get work.
We were met at 10am by the delegation which greeted me the day before. We were able to get good rest the night before after 24-hours of non-stop travel, and were feeling far more human! We visited three churches through the day, talking with local members and clergy at each. At each we were warmly welcomed and honored – myself as representative for the LCMS, and Gena as a native daughter (she was born on the mission field of PNG).
First stop was Concordia Lutheran Church. Pastor Minato has served this congregation for roughly 30 years since his graduation from Timothy Seminary in the Highlands. His long tenure came because of the division which racked the Gutnius Lutheran Church-PNG (GLC) for over 40 years, and prevented him from being Called anywhere else. But his long tenure has also brought the blessing of stability. They have a church, a Sunday school building, a home for Pastor Minato and his family, and the skeleton of a new, larger facility they are in the midst of building.
GLC-PNG is a partner church with the LCMS. We have sent scores of missionaries to PNG over the last nearly 80 years, and by the Holy Spirit’s work through them PNG boasts hundreds of GLC-PNG congregations, a seminary, and multiple Bible colleges that act as preperatory feeder schools to Timothy Lutheran Seminary in the Highlands.
As with most Asian countries, formality is essential. Official pictures and gifts are de rigueur and so there was much of that everywhere we went. Although a poor country by Western standards, people are rich in what they do have, which is often the result of a local garden! Bella also gifted Gena and I with traditional PNG attire. Gena is wearing a meri blouse, the traditional attire for PNG women. I’m wearing the bright red shirt, which is all the rage in PNG because of their 50th independence day celebration in two weeks.
After this we head south and west, close to the coast, to visit Zion Lutheran Church. We are greeted there also and shown their sanctuary, Sunday school building, and hopes for the future. While there, one of the elders of the congregation informs everyone his youngest son will be attending Timothy seminary to become a GLC-PNG pastor. This is exciting news, as it would be result in one of the few non-Engan pastors of the church body.
The final stop of the day is back in town at New Jerusalem Lutheran Church. Here we are treated to a lunch and refreshments – welcome after a day of rocking around the bumpy roads of Port Moresby in a pickup truck with Pastor Minato!
In the evening we meet again with Bella and Gibson for dinner. This time we treat them, though we may have erred in our selection of restaurant. We opted – because we were tired – to just eat at the hotel restaurant, which is actually pretty good. However the menu caters to Western visitors, primarily Australians and New Zealanders, and doesn’t offer much in the way of local fare. They both opted for a Caesar salad and we aren’t sure they enjoyed it, but they appreciated the gesture!
The Nelson Family Indonesia 