Church group walks Kokoda Track to attend national youth conference

 By DELLYANNE ILAI

ONE girl and 10 boys walked for four days along the Kokoda Track to attend the National Lutheran Youth Conference in Port Moresby last week.

They were from the Mamba Lutheran Church in Popondetta.

They began their journey at the Kokoda station with their travelling gear at 9am last Thursday.

They have arrived safely in Port Moresby in time for the Southern region church conference.

The conference started early this week.

“Our first day ended around 6.30pm at Allola village because everyone was tired after crossing the Yora River two times and two small mountains,” team leader Allen Otto said.

Otto, an experienced trekker, said their faith kept them going.

He said the third day was tough going before they reached the Owen Stanley Range because they had little food left.

They crossed the rivers Yora, Naduri and Brown, climbed mountains, before finally reaching their destination.

Noreen Poma, the only girl in the group, said they were committed to serving Christ as ambassadors and experienced the spiritual challenges as they travelled.

On Saturday, they had to survive with the little food they had while crossing the border between Northern and Central because most of the villagers along the way were Seventh-Day Adventists.

Poma said the final day was challenging because they were tired.

“But we thank God for His constant divine protection and strength,” she said.

The 11 youths safely reached Port Moresby at 7pm on Sunday.