Tyler and Emily in PNG

A couple weeks ago we left town and headed to the village of Ono. It is about 1 hour 15 minutes drive on the Ramu Highway. The Ono Church of the Nazarene is situated along side the dusty, bumpy highway. We were drawn to this church because one of the PBT workmen, Frank, is from this area. (He actually lives about 2 hour walk from Ono on another mountain ridge.) The Ono church resides inside on of PBT’s language groups, Somau Garia. We not only used this chance to visit and encourage Frank but we encouraged the people to use vernacular scripture and hand out a few books of Mark in their local language. It was a pleasant trip to meet the people, pastor, and worship with them in Spirit and in song.

Pastor Titus is the church pastor. He is not from the area but from the Southern Highlands Province. He is a recent graduate from the Nazarene Bible College and has been at the Ono Church for five months. As I anticipated him asking me to preach I politely declined replying I wanted to hear his message. He did give Emily and I a chance to speak following the message.

Pastor Titus like most Papua New Guineas gave an illustration relative to their culture to that of Biblical reference. He referenced the story of Joseph when the King of Egypt granted Joseph permission to take the King’s wagons and bring Joseph’s family to live with him in Egypt. (Gen 45). The imagery in Tok Pisin was a car or perhaps a bus. He stretched the story to tell about the Holiness Bus is coming. Not a Greyhound bus or school bus or some kind of taxi, but a bus destined for Kingdom of Heaven. This bus is one way, direct, and without any stops. The best part is there is no fee for the bus ticket. The ticket can be found within scripture and anyone can ride the bus. “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life” John 5:24.

It was a joyful day to see a village church with over 90 people (men, women, and children) worshiping the Lord. Emily and I both shared the ministry of PBT and encouraged the use of their local language. They currently have the book of Mark and have drafted portions of the New Testament. Please pray for the Somau Garia people that their lives will be transformed through God’s Word.