From diplomat to missionary – Perpetua’s life journey

The National People

By PETER ESILA
AFTER 41 years in the public service, including stints as a diplomat, Perpetua Haiveta has retired – and plans to dedicate more time to ministering the Gospel.
“I spent my life working. What I want to do now is to make people understand Jesus and meet him. You cannot know about him or talk about him unless you meet him in person.”
Perpetua, 66, was farewelled by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade employees last month.
The mother-of-five is from Malalaua in Gulf. Her husband has passed away.
She met him when she started working with the Civil Aviation Agency on Feb 25, 1975. He was training to be an aviation operations officer.
She was 20 and had to leave work when she became pregnant.
She had attended the Sorgeri National High School and the University of PNG.
She was later trained to be an internal auditor by Australians.
“I became the senior internal auditor. So eight years of my working life, I was trained by Australians.”
She later applied for a similar position at the Foreign Affairs and began working there in 1983.
She was moved from auditing to looking after communications and administration. She was also trained to be posted to diplomatic missions.
So, in 1992, she was posted to Sydney.
“I saw how Foreign Affairs overseas mission operate. I was there from 1992 to 1997.”
She also served in Cairns and spent three months in Wellington, New Zealand.
“We are based in Sydney but Australia is a mission. The head of the mission is in Canberra. Then we have consul- generals in Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns. The work we do covers the seven states of Australia.
“So I was moving here and there.”
Her children moved with her.

“ I spent my life working. What I want to do now is to make people understand Jesus and meet him. You cannot know about him or talk about him unless you meet him in person.”
Retired Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade officer Perpetua Haiveta with acting secretary Elias Wohengu at a farewell reception in Port Moresby recently. – Nationalpics by KENNEDY BANI

“It was a challenge having to manage the children. Most of the time they were own their own. But that gave them the opportunity to root themselves in education. They all became confident and are doing well now. That exposure was very good for them.”
She also served in the PNG embassy in South Korea, then Jayapura in Indonesia.
“In that line of work, you get to meet a lot of people, rubbing shoulders with the (elite) of the nation.”
Now at 66, she wants to spend time with the family and of course her missionary work.
“That is life – one door closes and another opens. The door at Foreign Affairs closes, another door will open for the glory and purpose of God.”
She also plans to start something to help people in the community.
“I want to form a cooperative society for youths, for people who are looking for something interesting to do. Maybe we will fish, farm together, make sago together, plant tapioca together. In that way we make life interesting for people who do not have goals in life.
“You cannot have meaning in life if you are not with God. So first of all you must meet God, you must meet Jesus Christ because he became one of us. That is where I want to go.”