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 What's Growing in Papua New Guinea? Papua New Guinea, land of –– gourmet coffee? No, I didn’t know that either, and now that I have been there I still don’t (not being a coffee-drinker), but those who received some of the packages I brought back declared it was in fact true. The highland region of PNG is full of coffee plantations, and other parts of the island country are known for palm oil and lumber. So things grow well there, with a warm and rainy climate most of the year. The palm trees produce the year around, and there are always piles of palm nuts beside the road, waiting to be picked up.
By Glenn Kerr |
Papua New Guinea is not just rich in plant life; it is the most linguistically diverse country on the face of the earth. Over 800 languages are spoken in an area slightly larger than California. Does that explain why Bibles International would be sending me there and having a Bible translation project among the Kaulong people? I went to check the work of Craig Throop, one of our field translators, and to travel with Eric Elmer on a survey of other places in the country that might need our help in Bible translation. While we were there, we saw the baptism of 12 believers into the Baptist church Craig is planting on the New Britain island, and we worked with a translation and review team to check several chapters of the Kaulong New Testament. 
After spending a week on New Britain, we flew to the main island and traveled over many winding and climbing roads to visit other parts of the country, meet other Christians, and talk to nationals and missionaries about other possible needs in translation. We saw the coffee plantations, preached in several churches, and shared the Gospel along the way as we had opportunity. We talked to national missionaries who are reaching their own people and need Bibles in their languages to help in their work. I believe God is at work in Papua New Guinea, and that the Bible as it is translated and used is producing spiritual fruit, as abundant and valuable as the fruit of the farms and plantations.