In the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, many remote people thirst for biblical teaching and someone to guide them. Yet this region is so huge that pastors can only practically reach these communities with a MAF plane.
Story by Aquila Matit
“I fly to remote communities to preach God’s Word,” said Pastor Pasama Saliki.
Pastor Saliki is a long-serving pastor with the Evangelical Church of Papua New Guinea, who now serves in Kiunga. He flies with Mission Aviation Fellowship to the remote communities of Western Province to strengthen and encourage isolated churches and people through his preaching and teaching.
“This is my second year in Kiunga. Before that, I was in Balimo, which is where I am from,” he said. “I have served a total of 17 years.”
Pastor Saliki shares on how his pastoral ministry is made possible through the support he receives from MAF.
“When a remote church wants me to go to their church for special occasions like Christmas or Easter worship, I fly there to preach God’s Word,” Pastor Saliki said. “The local church who invites me pays my airfares andMAF gives pastors a subsidised rate, which enables me to reach those locations.”
A vast landmass, Western Province is the largest province in PNG. While its northern end features rugged mountains, the majority of this region consists of endless rainforests, swamps, lakes and low-lying river plains. Its lack of roads, huge size and winding watercourses make travel on foot extremely difficult and make boat travel a laborious time-consuming affair.
“Our place is swampy,” Pastor Saliki adds. “Many of our people live in very remote areas.
“We can travel by motor canoe or speed boat, but that’s a bit costly. Like, if the church in Wawoi Falls wants me, then I would take a canoe from Balimo, travel on a river to Kamusi and then I’d have to walk all the way up to Wawoi falls. This would take two days on foot, but the whole trip takes roughly 30 minutes with a MAF plane.
on foot, but the whole trip takes roughly 30 minutes with a MAF plane.
“For the ministry to move forward – for God’s word to move forward – without MAF, we would find it very hard to get to those locations. MAF is very vital for our ministry,” he said.
While there are established churches in the region, it is important that pastors and churches support their remote congregations.
Pastor Saliki is passionate to see people clinched to the old ways of living be transformed by Jesus.
“Our people, they are still attached to our traditional beliefs. They still think the ancestral spirits are alive, active and powerful – and they become weak in their faith,” he said.
“When I go and share with them, to the wives and their husbands especially, they begin to realise that God is real. And they begin to leave those practices gradually, and then they come to Jesus.”
For the ministry to move forward – for God’s word to move forward – without MAF, we would find it very hard to get to those locations
In this 75th year of MAF’s operations in Papua New Guinea, Pastor Saliki reflects on different generations of mission in his family.
“My grandparents had been using MAF to reach these places to preach God’s Word,” he said.
Saliki’s grandfather, Pastor Danaya Baila, was the stepson of Pilisa, one of the first Christians from the Gogodala people. When Pastor Danaya preached, many were moved by his humble sincerity.
A Bible teacher for many years, Pastor Danaya’s leadership in the church was greatly respected. In 1966, he became the first president of the Evangelical Church of Papua (now the Evangelical Church of Papua New Guinea), and his legacy continues today through the church and through his grandson’s continued ministry.
“People still need us today,” said Pastor Saliki. “And we’re still using MAF to reach these remote places and save lives spiritually.”