Dear Brother Wal & Sist. Betty,
Hello and good day to you. Greetings and Christian loves from ONG laymen. Hope you are fine down there. I’d like to extend greetings from the fellow brenthren and the L.M. Kainanatu, to you and your family and the Brethrens. Thanks for your good companionship and encouragements at the Loudcry Camp last year at Brisbane. What a good time.
Well, it’s a busy year for me and our laymen and fellow workers. We are busy getting things organized in our Lay Ministering. The Laymembers Association of S.D.A. Church—PNG has already sponsored seven permanent workers. Two evangelists, Pr. Livingston and myself and five missionaries who will be pastoring about 25-30 churches. We’ve also sponsored 60-70 volunteer lay missionaries over almost 15-19 provinces or states. There are about 5-7 churches (new ones) under construction and more churches are splitting up from the organized church because of the shaking going on here.
We’re under threats from the Conference. The pastors and church leaders have given commands to stone us. This was been announced thru their preachings in the past weeks on the rostrum during the service. Commanding them saying we were “the Achans” and are to be stoned. Last week the pastors and church members mobilized the heathens to stone me in the public preaching in Geroka town and this week they captured me with bush knives while I was running an evangelistic meeting in one of the big villages. The Lord put me out of their way and they just came and destroyed the pulpit so we have to build it again, and continue with our meeting. It may sound to you as an early persecution, yes! Please pray for us.
The biggest project is also underway amidst such disturbances. The L.M.A. Office Complex which will contain the printing press, the library, the bookshop, the main office, the guest house, the pastors house, and the computer room. We are still short of funds to start and complete the project. As an Interium Secretary and Treasurer, I’m busy writing letters for appeals and doing some secretarial work for the churches and most of my time I’m preaching here and there with Pastor Livingston side by side, and the laymen. Hope you don’t mind the long stories I’ve told. So far we’ve dedicated two new churches and we’re looking forward to dedication of 15-17 new churches this year.
Well, may God bless you. Hope to hear from you sometimes. Thank you for your attention. Bye Bye.
Please don’t forget that: “It’s our duty to do all in our power to avert the threaten danger . . . a vast responsibility is devolting upon men and women of prayer thru out the land to petition that God may sweep back the cloud of evil, and give a few more years of grace to work for our Master.” Review and Herald, December 11, 1888.
Your brother in Christ,
Harold S. Peiko