Our Stories
Our Purpose
5 more days to go for the Manus Project BCT.
In my closing remarks on graduation day I shared about a computer and a chicken. Both are items for us to use in our daily life for food and work.
Depending on our workplaces, the computer and a chicken may play a very different role but we don’t spend much time and even bother to ask if they have something in common.
They both checked in at Lae’s Nazab airport destined for Momote Airport on Manus Island and rode in the cargo bay of the Air Niugini’s F100 aircraft as “consigned” passengers. Now, relax and enjoy inflight entertainment story about a computer and a chicken.
Laptop boxes consigned for Momote.
Day old chicks also consigned for Momote.
During the flight the chicken asked the computer, “Say, how many of you are in that box?” The computer replied, “There are ten of us in this box and another ten fellows in the other box.” “So, there are twenty of you, wow! So how are you planning to spend your time in Manus?” the chicken asked again. “Oh this is a two week routine and we do this almost every month in different parts of Papua New Guinea, we do a lot of traveling.” “That’s great!” “So are you ready for this one?” “Actually, we are a bit nervous as we have discovered that each of us will be serving about two or three people at the same time. We are not young any more and we are not sure if we can survive the coastal heat and humidity for the next two weeks.” “What about you fellows? This seems like a regular run to me, isn’t it?” “Yep!” “We do this routine on a weekly basis and most of us will find work in Asian shops, the Harbor Side Hotel, the town market, and if we are lucky we get to see the nice sandy beaches in other parts of Manus and the surrounding islands.” “By the way, we know most of the kitchens in Lorengau town.” “Well, it’s great talking to you, the captain just told the cabin crew to prepare for landing, good-bye then.”
The computer and the chicken both play significant roles to address the needs of man (bible definition) because man is the cream of all creation. God blessed the man to have dominion over other creatures (Genesis 1:26 – 30).
The Psalmists describes the glory of God in Psalms 8 as, with every other creation in the expanse of the universe and the dignity that God bestowed to man in the whole tapestry of creation.
Part of the graduands, with Pastor Davis, who missed out in Goroka BCT Training with ABWE.
No wonder the adversary of all mankind did everything to disrupt the plan of salvation, as a case-in-point (Luke 4: 1- 13).
Now toward the end of the chapter, after defeating Satan with the temptations Jesus announced the year of the Lord’s favor as prophesied by Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1). The year of the Lord has already come and the adversary continues to wage war against man.
This particular part of the beach was where the first missionary landed, a strategic spot to reflect on the purpose of ministry.
Being in Manus for the last two weeks has been a good reflection time for me; looking back at the number of training done by MAF Technologies’ (formerly CRMF) Tek Ministri (LTPNG) team for the last five years. The five year stats look great and we give glory and honor to God for such a ministry. But you see, I was not focusing on the stats and the testimonies of how needs are being met in this kind of training but rather on the ultimate purpose of what we do.
For me and the small ripple of impact that the team is involved in, I ask myself – is it worth it? I miss my wife and children due to constant traveling for training and so it was an important time for reflection.
Participants doing their presentation under Lina’s supervision.
I did not reflect on any particular scripture but took a branch and started to write on the sand, the number of days remaining to tie up the Manus training. As I wrote, I my thoughts carried me back to the current training, to the 50 participants, scanning out the different participants and finally resting on the two inmates.
These are men God created as His master piece. Why are they behind bars? Why are they separated from their loved ones and missing out on the daily routine of life in a community? Is there hope for them after their term ends?
Can our little ministry make an impact in today’s communities who are experiencing social issues, corruption and crime? As iron sharpens iron, how can we equip the Churches so that Pastors, Ministry Workers and Christians become good role models for Christ and not just stats for denominations? God did everything in his power to save man from eternal condermation and so likewise we do our little bit to in our day and time to save this master piece – man.
Two happy inmates at graduation day with their female Warden officer.
I thank God for the numerous Organizations and Ministry groups around the globe whose goal is to bring His Word to the lost in various ways in this age and time. MAF Technologies’ (formerly CRMF) Tek Ministri (LTPNG) has this wonderful God given vision to be the “Technology for the Church” in the area of providing basic computing skills to pastors and ministry workers.
The Manus BCT has given the team a glimpse of a wider purpose of the impact of its training and the importance of a good partnership with a Church.
We praise God for the partnership with Evangelical Church Of Manus (ECOM), its leadership and Manus Bible Translation Organization (MBTO) for the opportunity to work together to give hope to all man. Our prayer is that an on-going relationship would be established on Manus Island so that we can be part of the ultimate purpose for God and through this partnership we can serve the different churches on Manus Island.
Excited participants with their certificates. The background is the Admin office for ECOM.