Description of Picture: The front row in this picture is the SSD and EIUC officers plus Mr Johnny Ibu (Center front row) Mr Ibu is the speaker of the house for the Papuan Provinces Autonomous Parliament. The back row is the Papua Mission Officers, directors and staff at my office. I’m the white guy on the back row.
Since I’ve arrived as a missionary in Papua. I’ve learned that Papua Mission is dreaming of becoming a mission. They made formal application to become 2 missions and actually want to become more than that. On August 27 there was a large delegation from the East Indonesian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Churches (EIUC) and the Southern Asia Pacific Division of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (SSD) to evaluate to see if there was financial as well as leadership ability to divide even more. The territory of Papua Adventist Mission Indonesia (PAM) is roughly the size of the state of California. There are about 21,000+ Seventh-day Adventists in this territory but our challenge is great.
Travel: There are no roads that connect the various cities in Papua or if they do its not usually the best of condition or the tribes that one has to drive through to get from point A to Z want financial “contribution” for using their lands. With 280 some minorities melting into the Papua and West Papua provinces there is vast reasons for making travel challenging.The only practical way to travel with any kind of speed is commercial or charter flights. Fortunately there are many 737’s traveling to each of the following cities: Jayapura, Nabire, Biak, Manokwari, Sorong, Fakfak, Kaimana, Tamika, Agats, Merouke, Wamina and perhaps some others I’m not aware of yet. Many of those cities are located within easy range of the ocean so you can travel by ferry or ship to all but Wamina. But when it comes to the interior there is simply no easy solution.
Papua x 2: It has been determined that subject to vote at the SSD year end meetings and some relatively minor changes there will be two Papuan Missions come early 2013 and a vote by the constituents of PAM. The picture at the top was the evaluation team formed to study this option. There are still a lot of details to work out. But in 2013 there will likely be constituency meetings called of PAM to basically disband and reform ourselves into two.
My Job: My job will likely remain the same except I will be assigned to the EIUC to oversee evangelism between the two new missions.
My Dreams: It is my hope that we can use Radio and TV to help share the gospel. Even now plans are being made for this. Our communication department at the EIUC and at the SSD are excited about this area too. It is my prayer that leadership all across the board can support getting audio and visual materials in place to help speed along the already small but mighty army of Pastors and church members who are praying for their neighbors. We pray that there will be businessmen, churches, the missions, Unions and division of Seventh-day Adventists that can support this both financially and otherwise.
Closely connected is a team of Pastors and church members who have committed to pray for and develop written and audio material in the heart languages of the people for sharing basic fundamental believes from the Bible. Many times the full depth of Bible doctrine is not understood because the trade language (Bahasa Indonesian) is written far more formally than the market language. We need materials that are inherently Papuan. Papuan pictures, video, graphics, language style and things they can relate to.
Yet another area is leadership development. There is vast needs to train and hold one another accountable to being better and more effective leaders. Many of my challenges lie is learning not one but many cultures in this area and then finding the most effective means of helping to shape that culture into God’s culture. I’m still learning God’s culture myself. So each day as I worship Him I pray for new and penetrating insights into this culture that is our home away from our heavenly home. Teach me Lord to know the most effective way to motivate and move people by Your Spirits plan. Pour out on me Your Spirit, Oh God.
And still further is a vast group of Muslims who are my friends. We’d like to deepen that friendship to help each of them see this Adventist movement as something they want too. Isa (Jesus) is coming and this Gospel changes hearts and whole Muslim communities by the Authority invested into Isa. Adventists share distinctive beliefs with millions of Muslims and yet we often fail to capitalize upon the common points of interest. Many Christians fear Muslims but they forget the last words of this Commission are: “Low I am with you always even to the very end of the earth. Amen!” Jesus promises His presence even in groups that are not naturally going to easily change. It has been said that more than 50% of the Papuan provinces are Muslim now. This minority is now the majority but non of them are from Papua most are moved to Papua on a government program to work in government lands, jobs, etc. Coming from crowded urban territories they find this a land of opportunity. There is never an easier time than when people are in transition to arrest their attention by the power of the Holy Spirit. The vast majority of these Muslims are young and curious. The vast majority are away from their original roots and while they may be somewhat involved with their Mosque they are more open than ever. Now is the opportune time to be friends at minimum. Strategy must be built to reach these precious souls for Jesus.
Finally, there are vast unreached territories for this Message that burns within our hearts. Each time I fly over the wilderness of Papua I fly across hundreds of villages most of which are unseen from above due to the dense jungle over head. But puffs of smoke here and sudden clearings there remind me there is an Interior to Papua that’s far from fully reached. The transforming power of the Gospel still has not penetrated tribal wars that rage back and forth for years. But then again have the sophisticated verbal battles between politicians really been penetrated by the gospel too?
The master prayer dream is for resources for financial, leadership, Audio-Visual and Spiritual development to come into place so that as Papua Mission becomes 2 missions they can be set to grow. Pray for me as I try to work behind the scenes to develop in others a hunger for this Gospel of the Kingdom going to all the world.
