“My name is Roland, I’m a doctor and also a staff member of the Baliem Mission Center. The Baliem Mission Center is a non-profit organization that desires to spread the Gospel and help mankind.
Right now, we are in a very, very small village in Papua. We are very happy to serve here and help the community. It’s especially important that we can be here to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Right now, we are teaching many things. We run a clinic and serve the community here. We have a doctor and a nurse who live here. In addition to running the clinic, we also have missionaries who are sharing the Gospel. We are happy to continue serving the community here.
We are also teaching the children here to read, write and do arithmetic. We know that all of this work is not easy, but it’s the Lord’s work. We are happy to keep working and serving here.
We are greatly helped by MAF. Because of MAF, we can continue serving here, until these people really believe in Jesus Christ. We know that if these people believe, they will be saved.
We are working towards building the Body of Christ. We’re building a church and a school to teach the children. We’re also building some houses for the community to live in.
We are building with several things in mind. Our vision has several aspects: spiritual, education, and medical. We’re building a church, a clinic and a school.
People here also are learning how to work. We’re teaching them how to sell Massoia bark. This has already been running for a little over a year.
We’re very happy to work with MAF to serve this community. We are working together with MAF so that this community can come to know the Lord, and that these people can grow as a community, that their lives will be better off than they were before.
In 2011, this community was discovered by Petrus, a pastor who surveyed the area. He traveled from Nabire to the lake, and came to this community.
There weren’t too many people in the first place. Once we found this area, we decided to set up a post here, because there were more people.
From the first place to here, it’s about 6 hours by canoe, or 5 minutes by helicopter. This is why we’ve opened up this place here. Because of Petrus’ survey, that’s why we’re serving here.
The only way to get to another village is by canoe. First, about a day by canoe, then two days by foot, then another day by ship. This area is very isolated from the rest of the world. We are greatly helped by MAF to be able to serve here.
From 2011 until now, we have seen many changes in the community, both spiritual and physical. We can see it in those who have accepted Jesus as their savior. Almost 90% of the people have received Jesus.
When we first came, many people suffered from skin-related diseases. There are very few people who are sick now. What a difference from before. The community is healthier, the children are receiving better nutrition. They’re healthier than before.
Before we came here, the children did not know their ABCs. But now they know their alphabet, they can study counting and writing. This is the biggest change that has happened here.
Even though it’s not easy serving here, we continue to hope that the people’s lives will get better day by day.
The cost of spreading the Gospel is high. It requires the teamwork of many organizations. We as Baliem Mission Center can’t work alone. We need MAF, we need the church, we need other organizations, to reach this place, the surrounding villages, and others in Papua.
We can partner together so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be well-received, that they will receive Jesus Christ as their savior and that they will be saved. We hope that we can keep working well together until Jesus comes back again. Thank you.”