1957-1959 District Report 1957. Seven years of work among one of the most isolated and primitive peoples in the world has not yet reached the stage when converts can be listed. In the persons of the missionaries, European and Pacific Island, the church is there. But it is there in order that an indigenous churchContinue reading “22. Slow progress, 1957-1959”
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20. New Beginnings in Mendi 1956
It is peaceful around the Mission area now. In the remote areas the way of these people is to settle all disputes by fighting. When the Government steps in, it helps with problems and gradually these are solved without bloodshed. Gordon Young 1956 “This work of true consolidation in the area has been a hardContinue reading “20. New Beginnings in Mendi 1956”
19. Progress in Tari, 1956
1956 New interest in church activities By 1956, the work of the Methodist Mission in Tari was becoming well established. The staff team was a strong international group with pastors from New Guinea, Papuan Islands and the Solomon Islands and ministers, teachers and medical workers from Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Germany. The ministers wereContinue reading “19. Progress in Tari, 1956”
17. Drama and death among the people of Mendi, 1955
The people of Mendi were busy with their own lives, their own ideas, traditions and beliefs. They saw that the foreign Methodist mission people, and the Government patrol officers, were living in their valley and making some changes, but most of the Mendi people were more interested in their own activities. The mission staff atContinue reading “17. Drama and death among the people of Mendi, 1955”
15. Life in Mendi, 1954
People who liked to fight By 1954, it was clear that there were many challenges for both the Australian government administration and for missions working in the Southern Highlands. Tribal fighting was one of many problems. When some people asked why missions were there at all, the MOM General Secretary Cecil Gribble replied. “But behindContinue reading “15. Life in Mendi, 1954”
14. A Visitor to Tari: 1954
November 1954 The General Secretary of Methodist Overseas Missions (MOM) in the 1950s was Rev Cecil Gribble. He was very interested and encouraging of the new mission work in the Southern Highlands and began to visit Mendi regularly from 1951. In 1954 he came from Sydney to visit the new work in Tari for theContinue reading “14. A Visitor to Tari: 1954”
13. Laying foundations in Mendi: 1953
Mendi 1953 Bit by bit, the mission team in Mendi were getting to know the people, the language and the customs of the place. The nurse Joyce Walker, the teacher Elsie Wilson and the agriculturalist David Johnston each wrote of their impressions. They knew that the work would be slow and that they needed toContinue reading “13. Laying foundations in Mendi: 1953”
12. The First Church Building in Mendi.
Mendi, 1953 The people at the new Mission in Mendi were very excited when the first church building was opened. Gordon Young wanted to build a church as soon as he arrived in Mendi, but they had to wait until they had houses to shelter their workers. The new building was opened on 27 SeptemberContinue reading “12. The First Church Building in Mendi.”
11. Tari Beginnings, 1953
Tari, 1953 Roland Barnes was very keen to start his new work in Tari. He and his wife Miriam were on furlough in their home State of Queensland at the end of 1952 when they found out that he was to start a new mission in Tari. The government officers said that Mrs Miriam BarnesContinue reading “11. Tari Beginnings, 1953”
09. Letter from David Johnston, 1952
Mendi, 1952 David Johnston and his wife Beryl arrived in Mendi late in 1951. The other missionaries in Mendi were people who had already been working in New Guinea for a number of years. David and Beryl Johnston came straight from New South Wales as a young married couple. David was an agriculturalist who workedContinue reading “09. Letter from David Johnston, 1952”
Margaret Reeson 