Leader visits countries, meets prime minister

 LEADER of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Ted Wilson has visited countries in the South Pacific meeting with government leaders and participating in an evangelism series.

With wife Nancy and a delegation of local church officials, Wilson visited Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji. 

The three countries comprise about 75% of the South Pacific division church membership.

The delegation met Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, Opposition leader Belden Namah and Speaker Theo Zurenuoc.

Namah, a SDA church member, said he was moved by the Bible verse from Romans 12, which Wilson quoted during their discussion. 

The verse encouraged Namah and his Opposition MPs to refrain from a negative spirit in their work and to instead “overcome evil with good” as they work with the Government for the good of the country.

Zurenuoc explained to Wilson his decision to remove traditional carvings from Parliament House. 

He said he was concerned that the totem pole in the Great Hall represented immorality and witchcraft.

Prior to Wilson’s arrival, a series of evangelistic meetings at Port Moresby’s Jack Pidik Park had attracted daily crowds of more than 15,000. 

The main speaker, Chris Moses, secretary of the Central Papua Conference, offered the pulpit to Wilson for the final three meetings, which included the Sabbath morning service.

“It’s good to see that when our world leader comes to Papua New Guinea, he opens the word of God,” Central Papua Conference president, Pastor Kove Tau said.