NESTOR AND AMEE BELEN
Twenty years ago, with only a single suitcase, we traveled as husband and wife to Papua New Guinea (PNG).
After celebrating our first year of married life, we arrived in Port Moresby on 8th June 2006 as a Catholic missionary couple of Couples for Christ (CFC). Our going into mission is a thanksgiving to the Lord for the immense love that He has given us through the CFC community – a journey that started when we met as Youth for Christ in UP Los Banos, Laguna.
We would like to share the meaningful experiences and discoveries that have strengthened our faith in our 20 years of mission life in PNG.
Papua New Guinea, with a population of 15 million, is a rugged but beautiful country where most provinces are only accessible through air travel. Even in its capital Port Moresby, enjoying stable electric power and constant potable water are only for the privileged few. The roads are so terrible, that one friend quipped “they are as if the moon’s craters have descended to PNG”.
We had traveled to faraway provinces via ship, air, land and sometimes, even by foot. We’ve had the privilege of being deeply immersed in a Catholic diocese witnessing the day-to-day activities of bishops and priests. We were inspired to witness how the parish priest serves with passion and humility.
A parish priest in rural PNG is not just a pastor looking after the spiritual welfare of the parishioners. He is also the mediator for warring tribes. He is the pharmacist who dispenses medicines when the sick knocks at his door. He is also an ambulance driver who brings mothers in labor to a nearby clinic because he is the only one in the village who owns a vehicle. And most often, that “nearby” clinic is hours away through deteriorated roads with a possibility of meeting rascals along the way.
As a priest assigned in a remote area, one needs to be entrepreneurial as the collection basket is not enough to sustain the needs of the parish. He has to cultivate the land to produce vegetables, raise chickens and other livestock.
During pastoral visits, the priest will have to trek mountains and cross rivers for days before reaching a Catholic station. One priest shared that he once complained to God, after walking for five days he said that the mission that He gave him was miserable. That was until the village leader came running towards him and shouting with joy, “At last God has answered my prayer after 30 years!” It took that long for a priest to reach the remote area. The priest then realizing his mistake, humbly apologized to God for his lack of trust. In the next few days, he joyfully baptized hundreds of villagers (of course naming them after himself, his mother or after all his of friends and relatives), heard confessions which lasted for days, did confirmations, said Mass and provided Holy Communion.
Another diocese took a different approach to reach the lay faithful in isolated areas – it bought its own light aircraft with the bishop as its very own pilot!
These stories allows us to take our being a Roman Catholic seriously.
Our life as a missionary couple is not without challenges. Early in our mission, we do not have our own accommodation – we lived with a family. They were very welcoming and loving but as a young couple trying to develop its own family culture, we were not able to do so.
Finances were tight but we made do with what we had. Our brothers and sisters in Christ took care of us and saw to it that we had enough – we learned to simplify our lifestyle.
We survived numerous hold ups whilst going about our daily missionary routine. We have been hog tied, guns pointed at us, and personal belongings stolen. In the midst of all these, we were kept safe by the God’s angels.
After two decades, the mission continues for us here in PNG albeit in a different capacity.
The arrival of our daughter after 12 years in our married life, added a deeper dimension when we share our pastoral experiences with the youth, couples and other families.
Last weekend, we were asking ourselves, how have we contributed to God’s mission here in PNG?
The answer was when we saw the music ministry being led by the Singles for Christ and the Youth for Christ as they are the children and the grandchildren of the very first couples who said YES to serve Jesus through Couples for Christ almost 30 years ago. It is the priest who was from Singles for Christ who is now serving in the Catholic Diocese of Lae. It is a couple who after two miscarriages are still faithfully looking after the community in the province of Bougainville. It is a family of three who after twenty years, still find joy in serving the Lord together as Youth for Christ couple coordinators.
