Martin Samuel Helbig, son of Pastor and Mrs. Paul Helbig, was born on March 25, 1911, at Finschhafen. Being born into a missionary family and spending his childhood and early youth on the mission field, he entered into a lifelong commitment to the Church’s Mission in New Guinea. He was educated at Immanuel College and […]

Martin Samuel Helbig, son of Pastor and Mrs. Paul Helbig, was born on March 25, 1911, at Finschhafen. Being born into a missionary family and spending his childhood and early youth on the mission field, he entered into a lifelong commitment to the Church’s Mission in New Guinea. He was educated at Immanuel College and Immanuel Seminary in Adelaide, South Australia, and at Sydney Teachers Training College. At the end of October 1933, Martin Helbig arrived back in New Guinea as the first ordained Australian missionary on the field, and until sometime after World War II, he held the distinction of being the only ordained Australian in the Lutheran Mission Finschhafen or Lutheran Mission Madang, which later united to form Lutheran Mission New Guinea.

Missionary Helbig was first Stationed at Ulap. Thereafter he was privileged to be in the first group of missionaries who walked in from Lae to found the mission station Ega in the newly explored Central Highlands in 1934. During 1935 he was stationed at Heldsbach. In 1936 he took over the school at Wareo, north of Finschhafen, where he served until the evacuation of missionaries in 1942.

He was married to Frieda Simpfendoerfer in June 1939. Three children were born into this family. Else, Doris and Theodor. After the death of his sister, Mrs Hofmann, a wife of a German missionary pastor, he became the guardian also of her four children. They are Kate, Walter, Heimtraud and Anne.

When war came to New Guinea in 1942 Martin was conscripted to serve with the Australian Army and was stationed near Mumeng and Wau for some months. In September 1942, he was flown to Australia and was released from Army service. A holiday in Queensland, after 9 years of uninterrupted service in New Guinea, helped him to recuperate sufficiently to take on a vacant parish in Goombungee, Queensland, for a year.

Early in 1946 Martin Helbig was allowed to return to New Guinea and was stationed at Heldsbach in order to build up again this important district school which consisted of an Area School and a Teacher Training School. For some time, he carried the responsibility for the rebuilding of the station, and a hydro plant was installed. However, Martin’s interest and special training were in the field of missionary education. His contributions to the education programme of the Mission and Church were all devoted to the carrying out of our Lord’s missionary command and were directed toward the salvation and nurture of human souls.

In addition to his many years of service in the classroom, Pastor Helbig compiled and duplicated many notes and helps for the New Guinean pupils and teachers, especially on geography, science, and Bible stories. His contributions include a Kate Primer and many lesson guides. From 1961 to 1967 he was the Mission Education Officer stationed in Lae. In this office he spent long hours (assisted by his devoted wife) in doing his utmost for the improvement of the education programme of the whole Church. Though his first love was for the Kote language and its schools, he gave himself unstintingly for the building up of the English-speaking schools required by Administration Ordinances.

On October 4, 1967, Pastor and Mrs Helbig went to Australia for a short rest period, as recommended by the doctor. They returned to Lae on January 12, 1968. At his time, he began the work of preparing Kote literature, to which he had already made significant contributions over the years. However, his health failed rapidly, and on March 9, 1968, he was called to his heavenly home. Cardiac failure was the cause of his death. He was buried in the new Lae cemetery on Busu Road, with a host of New Guinean friends joining the bereaved family and co-workers in mourning his departure.

From “The Challenge” Magazine 1969, Lutheran Press

If you would like to consider the opportunity to serve as a volunteer in mission, serving in practical ways, teaching English, teaching in the seminaries and institutions of our partner churches, or in local churches, you are invited to phone LCA International Mission on (08) 8267 7300 or email lcaim@lca.org.au. For more information, go to https://www.lcamission.org.au/join-gods-mission/volunteer/

Read more stories about volunteering at www.lcamission.org.au/category/join-gods-mission/volunteers/