During the 2025-2026 holiday break, 28 youths from the 9 Mile Seventh Day Adventist Church Choir group in Port Moresby, travelled to Indonesia to share the gospel and help build two churches in a country densely populated by Muslims.
Representing the Central Papua Conference (CPC) and the entire PNG SDA Church, the youths were acting under the Global SDA theme, “I WILL GO.”
The initiative began early in 2025 when the youths met to brainstorm ways to uphold the theme.
When the idea was pitched, it focused not only on sharing the word of God but also on establishing church foundations in countries classified by the SDA Church as part of the 10-40 window.
These are nations where Christianity is a minority and other religions dominate, such as Pakistan and Indonesia.
After careful planning, Indonesia was chosen as the destination. This was suggested by their pastor, Shanghai Mara, who could leverage family connections to support the mission.
Pastor Mara’s wife, Natalie Mara who hails from Indonesia, stated that her family ties became a bridge for shelter and assistance during the youths’ work.
The primary goal was to raise money for the establishment of two churches: one in Sarmi District and the other in Sentani, Jayapura District, in which both were to be maintained afterward.
The effort was supported by churches across the CPC zone, whose choir groups performed and helped raise over K5, 000.
In addition to the group fundraiser, every individual had to cover their own travel expenses. Originally, more than 50 youths from four 9 Mile churches were involved, but the number was reduced due to financial constraints, as many were not employed.
To meet these financial challenges, the remaining youths split into small groups of 10 to 12 members.
Over the next nine to ten months, they carried out fundraising activities, such as selling lunch packs to offices and participating in events like PNG’s 50th Independence Anniversary.
Some sponsors provided further support. Notably, NCDC awarded the church a contract to clean Nile Market, which generated significant funds for the trip.
One of the major individual challenges was obtaining passports, which caused delays and added stress for many of the youths.
The group departed Port Moresby on December 15th, crossing the PNG-Indonesia border on December 18th after a brief stay in Vanimo.
They stayed for two nights in Vanimo before crossing the PNG-Indonesia border on December 18th and arriving in Indonesia on December 22nd.
Most of them were traveling abroad as missionaries for the first time, and nerves were high until they were warmly welcomed by locals in Sarmi District.
Even with different beliefs, the locals listened respectfully to the youths as they sang and shared the gospel.
Outreach was conducted privately, as public evangelism is restricted by law in the area.
They spent one week laying the foundation for the Sarmi church before traveling to Sentani to spend a second week maintaining an existing church and continuing their ministry.
After completing the work, they prepared to return home.
The group departed Indonesia on January 5th, stayed two nights in Vanimo, and returned to Port Moresby on January 9th.
Upon their arrival, PNG HAUSBUNG met with Dillon Narry, a representative of the 9 Mile SDA Youths, to discuss the mission.
He stated that the mission is not yet over in which they have built the foundation, and are now looking forward to helping Christianity grow in Indonesia, who is PNG’s neighbouring country.
When asked what the group learned from the experience, Dillon added, “Now that we are back, we will plan even better, involve more youths, and I am looking forward to returning to Indonesia.”
“I pray that when we return, there will be more Christians in Indonesia.”
