PNG Mission 2014 Jan 5th - 18th, 2014

For Jesus Youth Australia, the mission trip to Papua New Guinea was a dream that bore fruit after years of relent-less prayers. It was in 2012, that we got the contact details of Fr. Thomas Nedunkanal CST, who was working in the diocese of Mendi, through an article from Sunday Shalom. Fr. Thomas intro-duced us to His Grace Donald F. Lippert, O.F.M. Cap., the Bishop of Mendi, who was extremely supportive and encour-aged us to initiate a mission. Thus, in January 2013, with the Bishop’s invita-tion and blessings, Rajesh T. George and Shibu Varkey visited a few places in the diocese of Mendi.

In January 2014, Rejimon Joseph, Gavin Besterwitch, Sojin Sebastian, Ebin Joy and Shibu Varkey, Shaan Joseph Gomez and Elvis Kottooran visited the Diocese of Mendi for two weeks. The objective of the mission trip was to initiate some-thing for the young people in Mendi, and to get a taste of real mission experience. We were overwhelmed by God’s provi-dence throughout our mission trip. Our Lord’s footprints were visible at every step of our journey. Our first stopover was at Berande, a mission station in Magarima parish.

Despite the heavy downpour, we were warmly welcomed by the parish priest, Fr. Mathew, and around 450 youth and families of the parish – in their tradi-tional attire and dance! We lived in huts at this station. We conducted spiritual talks, adoration, skits, healing services and anointing of the Holy Spirit for around 200 youth, with Fr. Mathew who helped us with the translation to Tok Pisin (local language). After spending two days at Berande, we left for Harriba, another mission station in Magarima parish.

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From dream to reality

Lying just south of the equator, 160km north of Australia, Papua New Guinea is part of a great arc of mountains stretching from Asia, through Indonesia and into the South Pacific. An island composed of several small islands, highlands, plains and valleys, the land is a good resource of oil, gas, gold and copper. There is no seasonal change of climate. Quite fitting to the phrase “Land of the unexpected”, it is almost impossible to predict how the day would be.

PNG FACTS

“Lord, how good is it that we are here!” (Lk 9:33) In some ways, the young people in the Diocese of Mendi are like young people everywhere. They share some of the hopes and dreams as well as the confusions and chal-lenges of young people the world over. In other ways, the young people of the Diocese of Mendi are faced with blessings and challenges that are not experienced by other young people. Theirs is a society in the upheaval of rapid transition from the Stone Age to the Post-Modern Age. The first contact with West-ern society and the first announcement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ occurred less than 60 years ago. Their grand-parents would have used stone axes to cut firewood, now most of their grandchildren are carrying mobile phones – even in the most remote areas. Vestiges of cargo cults and sor-cery still linger amidst a population that is professedly Christian in the majority. And tribal fighting still erupts all too frequently. Still, in the hearts of the people, the universal thirst for spiritual reality is pres-ent and the profound openness to the Spirit of God has not been extin-guished by the incessant waves of consumerism, secularism and individ-ualism.

This was the reality en-tered into by the mission team of Jesus Youth that came from Australia and India. They came first to immerse themselves in the lived reality of the people. They braved rough travel on rocky roads in the back of pick-up trucks; they walked for hours over challeng-ing, mountainous terrain and visited people in rural villages. The people welcomed them with their characteristic enthusiastic simplicity.

After this immersion experience, the Jesus Youth mission team formed into two smaller groups in order to conduct retreats in the western end of the diocese and at the main mission station in Mendi where over one-hundred youth had gathered. There was much anticipation in the young people who assembled and from the moment when the team began to speak (and sing) the Good News to them, it was like life-giv-ing rain falling upon parched earth. The young people responded with sincere joy, with repentant tears, with renewed faith and with rekindled love.

The young people did not want the experi-ence to end. They felt like Peter, James and John on the mountain of the Transfigura-tion. They wished to remain together in the

joy and strength of the Holy Spirit who had called them together for this life-changing experience. But as in the Gospels, it was necessary for them to go down the mountain to carry the Good News to their villages, families and friends. There were many tears as the young people expressed their thanks to the Jesus Youth mission team and bid them farewell. Since this unforgettable visit, the young people who had experienced the ministry of the Jesus Youth team have maintained their fervour and have not allowed the flame of faith and love to grow dim. Lives were transformed in this encounter and the Diocese of Mendi is forever grateful to our brothers of Jesus Youth who came as ambassa-dors of Jesus Christ and instruments of His Holy Spirit of love. + Donald Francis Lip-pert,OFM Cap.Bishop of Mendi

BISHOP’s Message

With a vibrant and colorful Papua New Guinea culture, more than 600 islands and 800 indigenous languages out of a population of just under 7 million, PNG is made up of 4 regions with 20 provinces, each with their own distinctive character and Papua New Guinea cultures. The national language is Pigdin, which owes a lot to English.

PNG FACTS

Ebin Joy, Perth:

The PNG mission was nothing compared to what I had expected. I was 9 days into my marriage when I left for this mission,

and when I submitted to His will and made Him my priority, he took control

of my life and did wonders through this mission and brought out the best in me.

I really learnt that if we take one step forward for our Lord, he will take the

remaining 99 towards us to make his plan work in and through us. I learnt of the

hardships these youth face, but I also saw the wonders the Holy Spirit did in their lives, the healings, gifts and blessings

that He showered upon them.

Rejimon Joseph, Brisbane:

This trip was an extraordinary experience that enriched my faith in the Lord. When

I had to rely on Him, I saw miracles, specially the second week when we had

to do the teachings with nothing to refer to or hold on other than the Holy Bible.

And the Lord’s works were awesome. The simple faith of the people was another

factor that opened my eyes. Those people had very little and they are happy with what they have and thank the Lord for

what they have. I am grateful to Lord for His lessons and blessings.

Prayer to St Peter Chanel, first martyr of Oceania and the Pa-

tron Saint of this region

St Peter Chanel, you left your homeland to proclaim Jesus, Saviour of the world,

to the peoples of Oceania. Guided by the spirit of God, who is the strength of the gentle, you bore witness to love, even laying down your life. Grant that like

you we may live our daily life in peace, joy, and in love. May your prayer and

example call forth from our midst many workers for the Gospel so that God's

kingdom may reach to the ends of the earth. Amen.

Mary, Help of Christians, protect us!Bright Star of the Sea, guide us!Our Lady of Peace, pray for us!

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As Harriba is located at cer-tain altitude, we had to walk up the mountains for over four hours, in challenging conditions. The climb was steep, it was raining, and the track was quite wet and muddy that our feet sank into the ground at every step. There were many rocks and bridges that we had to cross by walking on logs of wood. Towards the last hour of our walk, it got extremely dark. But we reached our destination with the help of the local inhabitants, who provided us light. We were again welcomed with the traditional Houli dance. They dressed us up also in their traditional attire and painted our faces! We con-ducted similar sessions in Harriba as in Berande, and there were great healings by the Lord. We, on the other hand, continued to feel our resolves tested. The night before we left from Harriba, it rained throughout and we were worried about our return journey. But the Lord

was with us in the form of our local friends who walked ahead of us and kept cutting the grass and placing it on the slush to prevent our feet from sinking. The next day, we visited three parishes and took sessions at each of the stations with the help of the Light House skit. We expressed our faith in a talk and an action song – God loves me and I love you.

During the second week of our stay in PNG, we conducted two main events – a youth retreat at Mendi, and discipleship training program at Komo. Elvis, Shaan, Shibu and Ebin coordinated the retreat at Mendi, attended by around 100 youth, in the presence of His Grace Bishop Donald. In the meantime, Sojin, Reji and Gavin led the retreat at Komo, attended by 25 youngsters from five parish-es, who were chosen spe-cially by their parish priests. These youth were led into a silent retreat for three days and discipleship training for the remaining two days.

Most of the youth trained were at leadership roles in their respective parishes, some of them are planning to be priests, catechist and youth co-ordinators. Both the retreats were Spirit filling experiences for the youth. The work of the Lord was truly evident in the lives of the youth transformed before us.

As a whole, our mission trip was a humbling experience for each of us. We truly experienced our Lord and his Holy Spirit, as He worked in us and in the youth. The priests and religious we met were warm and loving, who took a lot of effort to ensure that our stay was memo-rable. We are extremely grateful to the Lord for the miracles we witnessed all through the mission. We are indebted all those who prayed for us and supported us in many ways.

Prepared by Gavin Bester-witch, Melbourne & Shibu Varkey, Brisbane

Gavin Besterwitch, Melbourne:

I went to Papua with no phone, watch, internet or training material. All I had was my bible and rosary. I was told that the mission trip was for me to experience the life in PNG, but God had a different plan and He revealed the need and desire the youth had for experiencing His love. I had to give teachings, teach songs without the help of training materials, power point slides for songs, or the internet to search bible verses. We relied on our God, the Holy Spirit, our fellowship with each other and our prayers to bring out the best in us and preach the Word. And it was the best of experiences. I built such strong friendships with the youth, that I was extremely sad to leave them behind.

Shaan Gomez, Brisbane:

This trip was one of the best experiences in my life - something which I would treasure in my heart, as the greatest

opportunity to live the call as a Christian. I could really feel the Spirit moving in the hearts of each per-son who attended the retreat. I was greatly in-

spired with the tireless commitment of some gallant priests there, who had to walk miles in adverse conditions to meet the sacramental needs of the people. I am

so thankful to God for using me in His mission for this country and I request everyone to sup-port the mission activi-ties and bring meaning to their Christian life.

Tribal fights are also quite recurrent in some parts of the island. It is not uncommon to see warring people lying in bush or marching forward with their home-made weapons as if out on a stroll. Anything of little importance can ignite and trigger tribal fights. People have very deep–rooted superstitious beliefs in the power of magic and sorcery. In spite of all these tensed situations, missionaries remain unaffected and at peace. In key areas of fight, the only surviving buildings belong to the Catholic Church and other missions.

Some of the primary foods are Kaukau (sweet potato) and Pig mummu (cooked in a fresh earth pit togeth-er with kaukau, vegetable and edible herbs from the forest)

PNG FACTS

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Sojin Sebastian, Darwin:

I believe that this mission trip changed me much more than the people in PNG. The day I started from my home onwards Jesus was pouring

His Holy Spirit in a special way and whenever I trembled,

He was strengthening me with Word of God. I just relied

on Him and He was working through me miraculously. He was refreshing me and using

me as His instrument. He was underlining the conviction in

me that He is the same Yester-day, Today and forever in my life (Heb 13:8). The mission

team and people in PNG were simply awesome. The love and

laughter we shared, the time we spend in prayer and all the small steps we did in PNG will

be cherished for my lifetime.

Philip Kusa:

“Your teachings help many of us to prosper our Chris-tian life. I was praying a lot because I don't want to commit same old sin again. I started to feel that I don't want those things anymore, so love my GOD! Hallelujah. Whatever seed God has given you guys in order to plant in us has been growing, I see that many of us are trying our very best to grow. Johnny:

During this retreat my heart filled with joy and happiness. I will not live in sins anymore.

I will lead a good life. In my parish I will spread the good news and I will do God’s will and follow him. Evilin:

I was not confident about speaking about God even though I was a Christian. I didn’t know who God is. In the past 4 days, I learned more about God. The greatest thing is that I experienced God’s love and happy to know that He loves me just the way I am. I want to go out and show everyone this love of God. I want to thank God and praise Him for cleaning my heart and nourishing me with

His presence. I would like to invite all of my friends to this experience. Gary:

Before attending this retreat I had so many doubts in my mind. I was confused should I follow Jesus or not? During this retreat Holy Spirit himself spoken through the people came from India and Australia and all the doubts cleared. My life is changed. When I go back to my parish I will proclaim the experience of Holy Spirit and how my life is changed by removing all doubts from my heart !!!!!

PNG Experiences:

Participants

People live in bush houses with the exception of those in the cities. We can still find Haus Man and Haus Meri houses exclusively built and set apart for men and women. Even after marriage they continue to live in these houses. Rarely do we find a child going with his father, because children always live with the mother. It is customary that a man’s relations or clan buys a wife for him. Man has to pay the “bride price” to get married. The bride price can be pigs or kina or both. Therefore, men remain obliged to their relatives or clan.

PNG FACTS

Challenging you to have a new perspective on the way you see life and others, Mission Trips give you the opportunity to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are in desperate need of Him. God is inviting you to join with Him for a different Journey!. If you have a desire to spend a week / few weeks for a Mission experience, kindly start praying for that.

You can also contact the JY Australia Mission Team at missionteam@jesusyouth.org.au

Do you hear Him call?

www.jesusyouth.org.au /JesusYouthAustralia /JYAustralia

Papua New Guinea has approximately two million Roman Catholic adherents, approximately 27% of the country’s total population. In 1995, Pope John Paul II declared Peter To Rot, a cat-echist and New Guinea native Blessed who was martyred in 1945 by the occupying Japanese forces because of his refusal to embrace polygamy. In 1984, Pope John Paul II visited Papua New Guinea and praised the early missionaries and catechists who established the Catholic Faith. PNG has 324 Parishes, 336 Priests, 869 Nuns, 588 Religious brothers, 252 Churches & Chapels and 1599 Educational Institutions.

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