Trip Cost: $3,200.00Papua New Guinea is cradled by the radiant blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. It spatters itself along several islands that dot the sea while holding claim to half of the island of New Guinea along with neighboring Indonesia. Australia sits below to its south, only a three-hour flight away. A poor nation, though rich in natural resources, Papua New Guinea is a clash of Melanesian, Polynesian and Micronesian cultures, where over 850 languages are spoken among the country’s population of six million people. It is a land that overflows with the natural beauty of palmed forests meeting sandy beaches, with mountainous heights contrasting coastal plains.
Though wealthy Australia is a short flight away, the two nations are a sharp contrast of one another. An estimated 80% of Papuans live without access to clean drinking water. The country is steeped in government corruption while foreign investors exploit its natural resources. All of these things have worked to further impoverish the island nation, spurring on the rise of violence among the youth of the land. As with many other poor nations throughout the world, the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic threatens to consume an estimated 10% of Papua New Guinea’s population by the year 2012.
Although predictions of Papua New Guinea’s future seem grim, the seeds of God’s Word are yet rising, pushing their way upward in spite of rocky soil and a harsh environment to form a firm foundation of the gospel. One offshoot of these precious seedlings is Hope Kids, a ministry founded by missionaries Bill and Corrie Page of Living Light Church. Hope Kids is an orphanage and feeding program supported by ChildCry that cares for girls and boys who have been orphaned, abused or infected with AIDS. In addition to Hope Kids, Bill and Corrie Page oversee a medical ministry with two clinics that treat over 7,000 people a month who otherwise cannot afford medical care. They perform surgeries, dental work, and care for those suffering from AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.
Hope Kids is currently constructing three more homes to house youth in need. Medical professionals can also volunteer with OnCall: Medicine With A Mission, serving the local population through clinics and medical outreaches. Take a trip to one of the “four corners” of the earth and work alongside local missionaries and church leaders, who are physically and spiritually building upon the foundations of the Church in Papua New Guinea.
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