Polish woman returns after PNG stint

 IN Papua New Guinea, an independent nation where more than 840 languages are spoken, Emily Els got by on two: English and Tok Pisin.

Coshocton Tribune reported that Els, 24, of Warsaw spent six months in PNG last year, serving as a missionary for Cru, a Campus Crusade for Christ. 

During her stint here, she worked with students at UPNG in Port Moresby. 

During her stay, Els and her team partner Danika Mathews, of Brisbane, Australia, worked on the college campus and lived on mission property. 

They were not allowed out after dark and they took taxis or were accompanied during shopping or brief day trips.

Despite the challenges, Els hopes to return some day.

“There’s just so many opportunities for the Gospel to move forward there,” she said. 

“They’re just such spiritually developed people there. I could walk up to anyone and ask ‘Is Jesus your saviour?’ And they’ll say, ‘Yes, why do you ask?’ Or ‘Tell me more.’ I can’t do that in America.”

Els joined Campus Crusade for Christ in her freshman year at the University of Cincinnati, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology. 

“The interdenominational ministry focuses on the basic Christian teachings of salvation, eternity and the Holy Trinity,” Els said.

“During my freshman year, I had a vision. God gave me a dream I was in some island country doing a mission.”

Her parents Jon and Lynn Els had given money to missionaries when Emily was much younger.

After her senior year, Els began an internship at the University of Cincinnati, sharing the Gospel on campus and mentoring students. 

She wanted to go to PNG but the Campus Crusade for Christ did not have a mission partnership there. 

A posting in Brisbane, Australia, was cancelled, but the Australian arm of the Campus Crusade for Christ had a relationship with PNG and it had two openings. 

Els flew to Australia in January 2015, and waited until April for her visa to PNG. 

In PNG, Els shared the Gospel and she taught students how to read and study the Bible and to share their faith before sending them out on their own ministries.

“For some, that means full-time ministry or being a mum,” she said. 

“Or in the workforce, wherever they end up.”

Els’ stay wasn’t for as long as she would have liked. She returned to Ohio last October.

Back in Coshocton County with her family since December, Els is weighing her options for the future. 

She is working for a communications services company, transferring voice to text for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. She is considering more schooling to become a physician’s assistant.