Leta From Papua New Guinea

Coral Reef wea Stap Long Maunten

HEM faev klok long Tuesday morning long Lae, Papua New Guinea (PNG). Mi and waef bilong mi redi for go long Lengbati wea stap long Maunt Rawlinson long Morobe Province, for visitim wanfala grup bilong Olketa Jehovah Witness.

Mifala flae for samting olsem 30 minute nomoa long wanfala smol plane wea garem wanfala engine. Staka taem mi sidaon witim pilot long front, and mitufala savve story tugeta long wanfala hed phone bikos noise bilong plane hem big tumas. Hem showim and storyim olketa samting insaed plane and hem savve mekfani and talem sapos eniting happen long hem, mi nao mas flaem plane. Datwan mekem mi for tingim story bilong wanfala traveling minister bilong Olketa Jehovah Witness long hia long PNG. Taem olketa gogo long plane, seknomoa pilot hem haf dead nao, so plane hem gohed for flae seleva go kasem taem pilot hem gud bak, and then hem mekem plane for land. Mifala hapi bikos no eni samting happen long mifala.

Mifala gohed for flae saed long olketa maunten, then taem cloud hem klia lelebet mifala katkros long top bilong wanfala maunten wea hem klosap tumas, maet hem samting olsem 100 meter. Taem mifala luk go daon, mifala lukim Lengbati vilij wea garem olketa leaf haos wea olketa wakem ruf bilong olketa from grass. Taem mifala flae ovarem air field, pilot hem lukluk sapos datfala field hem gud and olketa pikinini no plei soccer long hem. Lastaem hem kam, pigpig digim samfala hol long air field, so hem lukluk sapos eni niu hol moa wea pigpig maet digim. Taem plane tane raon moa hem sei, “Hem olraet nomoa iumi savve land.” So mifala land nao long wanfala short air field wea olketa long vilij wakem from olketa coral ston wea olketa digim from maunten wea stap klosap.

Long olketa nara taem wea mi kam bifor, mi savve lukluk long olketa coral ston hia and ting raonem haomas year nao olketa maunten hia stap. Tingim, bigfala paoa wea mekem disfala coral reef wea kamaot from sea staka handred kilometer long, for mekem wanfala maunten wea hae bilong hem kasem 4 kilometer! Taem mifala kamaot from plane, mifala standap long samting wea mi nemim, hem coral reef wea stap long maunten.

Olsem olketa long vilij savve duim evritaem, evriwan ran kam taem olketa herem plane hem kam for land. Taem pilot offem engine, wanfala man wea standap witim evriwan hem kam long mifala. Nem bilong hem Zung. Hem wanfala long olketa man wea kasem assignment for lukaftarem teaching program evri week long datfala ples, wea Olketa Jehovah’s Witness duim evriwea long world.  Staka savve long hem olsem man wea klin, honest and pipol savve trustim. Hem sei, hem lane for duim datwan taem hem followim wanem Bible talem. Bihaen mifala sei hello and sekhand, Zung witim olketa nara Witness wakabaot witim mifala go daon long maunten. Samfala young wan tu followim mifala, and olketa gohed for raoa abaotem hu nao for karem olketa basket bilong mifala.

Mifala kasem wanfala smol haos wea olketa wakem for traveling minister wea savve kam for visit samting olsem evri six month. Nomata PNG hem wanfala hot kantri, bat long hia hem cold bikos hem stap hae long olketa maunten. Taem mifala laetem kerosene lamp bilong mifala long naet, mi lukim cloud isisi kam insaed long olketa spes long floor timba long haos. Hem fani for werem ski jacket and olketa jean for mifala no cold, bikos taem mifala long saedsea tu-thri hour go nomoa, mifala barava hot and swet.

Long olketa year bihaen 1980, wanfala man long disfala ples hem study witim Olketa Jehovah’s Witness long Lae. Taem hem kam bak long vilij bilong hem, hem witim olketa narawan wakem wanfala smol haos for meeting, wea olketa barava hapi tumas long hem. Bat then pastor bilong Lutheran church witim olketa narawan wea sapotim hem, olketa bonem nao datfala haos for meeting. Olketa wea bonem datfala haos sei, disfala area hem bilong olketa Lutheran nomoa. Start long datfala taem, nomata olketa kasem persecution, olketa Witness wakem moa nara haos for meeting. And namba bilong olketa gohed for kamap big go kasem samting olsem 50 wea gohed strong for talemaot gud nius. Distaem, samfala long olketa wea againstim preaching waka, olketa kamap Witness wea gohed strong for duim datfala waka.

Distaem, pipol long vilij staka taem welkamim Olketa Jehovah’s Witness wea kam for visit and teachim olketa abaotem Bible. Nomata samfala long vilij nomoa savve read, klosap evri Witness long datfala ples olketa lane for read, mekem olketa savve sharem Bible message witim olketa narawan. Samting olsem 200 pipol nao savve kam long olketa meeting wea kamap long Kingdom Hall evri week.

Olketa no garem electric paoa. Long olketa evening mifala savve sidaon raonem fire long kitchen. Mifala kaikai, story, and laflaf tugeta. Hapi wea pipol bilong Jehovah garem long datfala ples showaot klia taem fire shaenim feis bilong olketa. Then taem hem gogo for big naet, samfala tekem bombom (palm leaf wea olketa laetem), wea olketa tingse bae laet longtaem for torchim road taem olketa ran go bak long haos bilong olketa.

Taem mifala wakabaot go bak long haos, hem barava kwaet fogud, bat olketa samting long bush nomoa mifala herem. Bifor mifala go sleep, mifala luk ap long skae and sapraes for lukim staka star.

Kwiktaem nomoa week ia finis nao, and mifala weitim plane wea bae kam bak tumoro. Wanfala cold naet moa stap for mifala long olketa cloud long maunten long Lengbati, and then mifala bae go bak nao long hot ples bilong mifala long saedsea.