Fruit of a relationship

FAITH

Abau man Inilesi Iburi becomes the first from his district and province to become a Lutheran pastor, following his ‘conversion’ 12 years ago.

By LULU MAGINDE
INILESIE Iburi, the first Papuan to be ordained a Lutheran pastor in his home province and respected man of the cloth, says he never would have seen himself having a relationship with God 12 years ago.
“Before I became a member of the congregation, I felt like a complete outsider, so I first became an ‘observer of the church’ for some years, before I decided to became a fully committed member,” says Iburi.
He states that the church was not a very present part of his life growing up, as he never attended church nor was he ever involved with any church youth groups.
His decision to join the Evangelical Lutheran Church PNG (ELC PNG) in 2011 was due to his close relationship with the Lutheran pastor stationed in his wife’s village of Markham, Morobe, who would later become his biggest inspiration.
He recalls walking two to three hours to the church, only to take the same amount of time to return home, just to share the preaching of the gospel with his United Church family members.
Born in Merani village to parents from Cloudy Bay in the Cape Rodney area of Abau electorate, his highest level of formal ducation is a grade six school leaver’s certificate from Cocoalands Primary School. Now the 38-year-old father of three, is an ordained pastor waiting instructions for his new posting.
“There was a pastor who lived next door to my wife and I didn’t know at the time of meeting him, that I would become a Christian,” said Iburi.
“Because of the time I spent with that pastor, he would always preach and counsel me on the ways of the Bible, in a sense preparing me for my current path,” he adds.
He describes his new status as both a blessing and a burden because he worries of being away from his village and parents living with disabilities, in order to take up his new role of preaching the Lord’s word.
“My family and I had no idea of the outside world or the thought of getting on a plane, so I trusted him in making the choice for me to send me to seminary and I now I have become someone the community can depend on,” says Iburi.
For three years, he searched for sponsors to put him through seminary and was only able to secure funding in 2015, supported through the efforts of the Marimari Lutheran Church in Port Moresby.
“I enrolled as a new student at the Lutheran Early Seminar in Western in 2015 and did my vicarage at the Goroka College in Bena, graduating in 2019,” said Iburi.
After joining the church and becoming a member of the congregation, he felt like it gave him a purpose to encourage young people in his village to also go to church.
He recalls witnessing young families attending church for the first time and how rewarding it was to experience it.
“There are a lot of youths who are not part of the church, so to encourage them I will go with them to the garden or into the bush, to go fishing just to share with them the message that was shared with me,” says Iburi.
“Along with bible study and preaching, I educate them on social issues, bringing awareness to violence against women and drug use. They listen to me because they see me as a representation of the church, someone to revere,” he adds.
He mentions, people from his village initially criticizing his decision to be a Lutheran because they were under the impression that only those from the New Guinea Islands region could be members.
“They weren’t happy with the thought of a man from Central joining the Lutheran church. I was told my church is United, so I should join them instead,” said Iburi.
Which is why, when he told his family that he was going to be ordained and wanted them to be present with him at the 33rd Synod, the community realised how big of a deal it was.
During his ordination, he was accompanied by a large group of 62, joined by family and friends from Cape Rodney, extended family from his wife’s side as well as members of the Marimari congregation in the capital who have supported his journey from the beginning.
Welcomed by the first pastors from the Papua district, from Milne Bay, Western, and Gulf, he felt particularly proud to have been accompanied by Central Governor Robert Agarobe on his special day.
Iburi states that going forward, there is a need for translators and translation services within the rural communities and villages that have not yet been reached along central coast and has been advised that the church might need him to fill that position in the future.
“In the future, I would ideally like to work within Central or the Papua district if I can because I have seen that there is a need for Pastors who can preach and translate the bible into aroma because I’ve seen the impact a church has on the community,” says Iburi.