Mission celebrates 50 years

Faith, Normal
Source:

The National, Thursday February 6th, 2014

 THE Christian Union Mission Church in Papua New Guinea celebrated its 50th anniversary last Friday at Embi village in the Nipa-Kutubu district of Southern Highlands.

Church pastors and members flocked to the village dressed in different colours representing the provinces and districts they came from.

To make the celebration more joyful, missionary Don Seymour and his wife, founder of the church, travelled from the United States to reunite with the Christians.

Present at the celebrations were World Global Mission president Hubert Harriman and Ruth Hilton, the woman who interpreted the Bible into the Heneng-angal language.

“I am so proud to be with you. Many fathers whom we have worked very hard to make sure the good news reached the people have all died but their sons and daughters have continued with the work,” Seymour said.

He said he was sorry for the fathers who had died as they had not lived long enough to meet him but he would meet them in Heaven.

He said he came with three children when he first entered the country and his fourth child was born in PNG while doing missionary work.

“Today, we have good roads, good clothes, we are living in a civilised world but if some had lived long enough to see how changes took place over the years, you would have shed your tears with me,” he said.

He said many other churches in the country did so much to bring development and change to the people.

“I am getting old and would die soon, but this missionary work must continue so that it changes the lives of the people,” he said.