LCMS World Mission Blog

“Dennis made his first trip to Papua New Guinea (PNG). In many ways PNG is quite an underdeveloped country, yet it has an abundance of natural resources. Most of the people are very poor, but the cost of living is quite high. Dennis was able to spend time with the head bishop of the Gutnius Lutheran Church (GLC), the LCMS partner church in PNG, and some of the teachers in a few of the GLC schools. The GLC is located in Enga Province in the interior mountains of the island.

“The GLC schools are some of the best schools in the province, but most of them have little or nothing in their school libraries, no teaching aids, and no teaching equipment other than an old chalk board. At each school that he visited, Dennis was asked to provide training for the teachers and administrators, library resources, and materials that the teachers could use to teach the Bible. When asked to identify the number one priority, it was encouraging that at every school the teachers said, ‘Materials for teaching the Bible.’ The teachers and church leaders are eager to provide a solid foundation of Bible teaching to the children in the church.

“The Provincial Education Board (PEB) is eager to help all of the schools in the province. If someone can provide a way to get education materials for the GLC schools and do teacher training, the PEB is willing to help with funding. Since more than 95 percent of the people in the province are Lutheran Christians, local government leaders are happy to assist the GLC schools.”