The people of the Lutheran churches in Papua New Guinea (PNG) hold a special place in the hearts of many LCA/NZ members. In fact, our history cannot be fully told without constant reference to our mission partnership in PNG and the many LCA people who have served there since 1886. What began as a mother-child […]
There are 7361 known living languages, including sign languages, in use in the world right now. However, readers of only 683 of these languages have the complete Bible available, with another 1534 languages having just a New Testament translation. While there is translation and/or linguistic development happening in 2658 languages across more than 170 countries, […]
Just over 500 years ago something happened. Many would say this something was the Reformation but I beg to disagree. Just over 500 years ago, a man realised that something was not quite right in the church and decided to do something about it. The Reformation led to the church we know today. I have […]
Several key Australian missionaries and their families recently went back to Papua New Guinea to celebrate the 50th anniversary of St John’s Lutheran Church, West Goroka. The anniversary celebrations took place over three days from 27–29 September, which included a service, a one-day seminar and a cultural show featuring traditional dancing. Pastor Brian Schwarz and […]
South Asia is a captivating place that overwhelms the senses with its vast crowds, loud noises, vibrant colours, spicy food and overpowering smells. There are thousands of distinct groups of people, who speak hundreds of different languages in this region. The majority of people follow Hinduism or Islam, meaning that most people have not heard […]
One day, a lady from a small nearby language group, called the Kambaira (kam-BY-ra) people, came into the Summer Institute of Linguistics Papua New Guinea (PNG) Office, with her granddaughter. She was an unfortunate victim of some local fighting, which is not uncommon, and her thatched roof, bush material house was burned down by people […]
In Acts 16 the apostle Paul had a vision where the ‘men of Macedonia’ appeared before him and said, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ Concluding that God was calling him to go and preach the gospel there, Paul immediately packed up and went to serve in Macedonia. Not many of us have such […]
‘Who’s taken my life?’ That was the question Papua New Guinea mother Mary recently asked her children. She was asking about her AudioBible, onto which her Kamano-Kafe language New Testament had been recorded. ‘It is my life!’, she said. ‘God speaks to me when I listen to it. I put it on the table this […]
When I told Marj and Clarrie Schutz that I wanted to write a brief account of their involvement in Stamps for Mission, Marj’s immediate reply was ‘it’s time consuming’. Marj has been involved in cleaning/sorting and bundling stamps since I spoke at a women’s fellowship meeting about Stamps for Mission. So, for more than a […]
‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8). A modern-day take on this well-known verse may read ‘and you will be my witnesses to your neighbours, to […]