Adventist Mission

Photo of the Week

An Adventist Aviation pilot snapped this photograph on one of his mission runs in Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea is made up of the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous islands surrounding it, including New Britain, New Ireland, and Bougainville.

The main island is comprised of rain forests covering steep mountain ranges, creating a wild and forbidding landscape. Much of the coastal regions is lined with swamps and tropical growth.

New Guinea remained largely unexplored until the 1930s, and much of the more remote regions was not entered until mid-century. Because of the rugged terrain, many of the rural villages are accessible only by foot (which can take several days to walk) or by small planes using dirt landing strips.

Because of intensive mission efforts by various Christian organizations, most of the people of Papua New Guinea consider themselves Christian, although many, especially in difficult-to-reach areas in the highlands, still maintain their tribal religions, including animism, black magic, and ancestor worship.

A mainstay of evangelism for the past 40 years has been the aviation program that provides transport for church workers to enter the more isolated areas of Papua New Guinea. Health workers and teachers also benefit from the aviation service, and the sick or seriously injured can be airlifted to a hospital in minutes rather than days.

Adventists are well known in Papua New Guinea, with 236,000 members. That’s one Adventist for every 27 people.

Photo courtesy of Adventist Aviation.

Photos of the Week: album 1, album 2

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