Light on the Mountains Pioneer Mission in Papua New Guinea Light on the Mountains © Geoff Waugh, 2009, 2013. Quotations and photographs reproduced from Global Interaction publications are used with permission. The light shines in the darkness (John 1:5). There’s a light upon the mountains, And the day is at the spring, When our eyes shall see the beauty And the glory of the King: Weary was our heart with waiting, And the night watch seemed so long, But His triumph day is breaking And we hail it with a song. Hark! we hear a distant music And it comes with fuller swell; ’Tis the triumph song of Jesus, Of our King, Immanuel! Go ye forth with joy to meet Him! And, my soul, be swift to bring All thy finest and thy dearest For the triumph of our King!1 ISBN: 104392-5542-3 1 Henry Burton, 1910. 2 Pioneer Mission in Papua New Guinea To pioneer mission staff and Enga friends with grateful memories and thanks to God. All one in Christ Jesus. Renewal Journal Publications Brisbane, Australia www.renewaljournal.com Logo: lamp & scroll, basin & towel, In the light of the cross 3 Light on the Mountains PNG map with pioneer mission locations 4 Pioneer Mission in Papua New Guinea Light on the Mountains Pioneer Mission in Papua New Guinea Contents Endorsements Introduction Part 1: Pioneer Mission History 1. Beginnings of the Baptist New Guinea Mission 2. The Church is Born: first baptisms 3. The Church Grows: community transformation Part 2: Pioneer Mission Teaching 4. Trails and trials: mission life in the highlands Conclusion 5 Light on the Mountains Detailed Contents Endorsements 8 Introduction 10 Part 1: Pioneer Mission History 13 1. Beginnings of the Baptist New Guinea Mission 15 First Enga baptisms 16 A church springs to life 19 A vision is born 26 Historical background 27 Baptist action 28 Chairman’s field visit 35 Missions in Papua New Guinea 38 Pioneers 40 Home support 45 2. The Church is Born: the first baptisms 51 Baiyer River 52 Kompiam (Sau Valley) 73 Lumusa 75 Telefomin 77 An indigenous church 83 3. The Church Grows: community transformation 85 Pioneer mission centres 86 Baiyer River 86 Lumusa 98 Kompiam 105 Lapalama 116 6 Pioneer Mission in Papua New Guinea Pioneer mission development 119 Medicine 119 Education 125 Industry 128 Church Growth 130 Part 2: Pioneer Mission Teaching 139 4. Trails and trials: mission life in the highlands 141 Pioneer missionary teacher 142 My first village service 144 Schools 149 Baiyer River 150 Lapalama 155 Tekin 162 Sauanda 163 Bible Schools 167 Pinyapaisa (Lumusa area) 168 Kompiam 169 Lapalama 171 Kwinkia (Baiyer area) 172 Return visit 175 Conclusion 177 Enga revival 177 Min revival 182 Historical summary 190 Photographs and maps 193 Books and booklets 193 7 Light on the Mountains Endorsements By Tony Cupit No one speaks more authentically about a mission situation than one who has experienced it. That is one reason, among others, why Geoff Waugh’s latest book, Light on the Mountains, will be such a valuable resource. It was my privilege to serve in Papua New Guinea with Global Interaction at the same time as Geoff. I greatly appreciated his genuine love for Jesus the Christ and notable contribution to and love for the Enga people during the seven years we served together. These are reflected in this fascinating book. Geoff writes with deep personal knowledge and insight about the joys and challenges of mission life. He has collected valuable original source material and used it creatively to convey historical and missiological insights that needed to be unearthed and made available. Anyone interested in learning about the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit of God in Papua New Guinea, and of discovering reasons why people engage in cross-cultural and linguistic mission work, would be well rewarded by studying and absorbing the insights this book provides. Rev. Dr. L.A. (Tony) Cupit, formerly the Baptist World Alliance’s Director of Evangelism and Education. 8 Pioneer Mission in Papua New Guinea By Don Doull This book describes those exciting days when Australian Baptists began a new missionary enterprise in 1949, the Baptist New Guinea Mission. We were motivated by a desire to fulfil our Lord’s great commission and reach out to those people just to the north of our country who had not yet heard the name of Jesus. As you peruse the pages of this book, which records the beginnings of that missionary challenge taken up by the Post- War churches of Australia, you will sense again the spirit of adventure and dedication which drove our churches in what has proved to be a wonderfully rewarding missionary task. Geoff Waugh has done a wonderful job of drawing together the many threads which have been woven together to make the fabric of what we are able to stand back and marvel at as we now are aware of the activities of the Baptist Union of PNG. Many hundreds of missionaries and many thousands of faithful Christians from our Australian churches have contributed to this modern missionary endeavour which has now exceeded the vision of those who commenced the task. We can now look back over these past six decades with much gratitude to God and see a vital indigenous church functioning in PNG in a part of that country still emerging from “The Stone Age” when we commenced our task. Our world has now changed almost beyond belief over these past decades, but the task still remains of reaching the multitudes of people who have never heard the name of Jesus. My prayer is that God will use the story Geoff has documented to challenge our 21st Century fellow believers, to move into our modern world with a similar faith and dedication as that which was demonstrated during the second half of the 20th Century by our Australian Baptists. Rev. Don Doull, pioneer missionary in PNG from 1949. 9 Light on the Mountains Introduction Amazing stories of God’s grace fill church history and national histories. The story of the Baptist mission in Papua New Guinea is one. Following the devastation of World War II in the South Pacific, Australian Baptist mission outreach began in Papua New Guinea from 1949. Baptist pioneers saw the church established, grow strong and transform the communities in which they worked. This book recounts a little of that fascinating story. I had the great privilege of establishing vernacular and Pidgin Bible Schools among the Enga tribes of the central highlands, as others did also. These accounts combine my previous publications, edited for this book with some of the language updated from 40 to 60 years ago. Tony Cupit and Sheila Draper made valuable suggestions to improve the book. Chapter 1, Beginnings of the Baptist New Guinea Mission, and Chapter 2, The Church is Born: the first baptisms, are edited from “Beginnings of the Baptist New Guinea Mission” published in the April 1966 issue of Charinga, the Journal of the Australian Baptist Historical Society. That article was part of my ordination thesis. Chapter 3, The Church Grows: community transformation, is modified from a duplicated booklet I produced in Papua New Guinea in 1969 to celebrate two decades of pioneer mission history there. Chapter 4, Trails and trials: pioneer teaching in the highlands, is adapted from my autobiography, Looking to Jesus: Journey into Renewal and Revival (2009). I am thankful I can publish this book 60 years after the New Guinea mission began and 40 years after I was part of that story. 10 Pioneer Mission in Papua New Guinea The story is worth telling, and retelling. This book is not an official history, but my own account of community transformation through the birth and growth of the church in Papua New Guinea (PNG), particularly among the Enga tribes of the central highlands. Political names used for the three regions (now two) of New Guinea are confusing, even for those who lived there. They keep changing. A Spanish explorer named the island New Guinea in 1545 because its inhabitants reminded him of the people of Guinea in West Africa. The north east region was called German New Guinea from 1884 to the end of World War I in 1918. It then became a mandated territory of the League of Nations, administered by Australia, called New Guinea. The south east region had been called British New Guinea until the name Papua was adopted in 1904 for this British protectorate, administered as a territory of Australia. Papua is a Malay word referring to the people’s frizzy hair. Following World War II, both of the eastern regions of the island became the Territories of Papua and New Guinea, administered by Australia until independence in 1975, when the country became Papua New Guinea. The western half of the island had been called Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea until annexed by Indonesia in 1969. Then it was called West Irian until being renamed Irian Jaya in 1973, and renamed Papua in 2002. It is often called West Papua (‘Papua’ was also the name of the south-eastern region of the island until it became part of Papua New Guinea at independence in 1975). Australian Baptists named their mission the Baptist New Guinea Mission. Generally I use the current name, Papua New Guinea (PNG), but retain the former name New Guinea in quoted documents from that era. I quote 11 Light on the Mountains original sources extensively, but have updated some of the language. A few key dates describe the unfolding story: 1949, June 24: Baiyer River chosen among Kyaka Engas.