Mills travels in the Pacific: Pacific Propulsion Aussie Project

Happy Friday the 13th!! Today was our fun day. The Aussies leave in 3 days (boo hoo) and the PNGers wanted to give them a great outing. Elton & I made the arrangements on Monday (Day 9), but only were able to secure the bus yesterday. It was a good bus, for a good price. Usually I'm wondering if the bus will come on time (we planned to leave at 10:00), but at 7:30 this morning, Elton came running in my room saying that the bus has arrived already (they wanted money to buy petrol)!

We all boarded the bus and we first went to the National Museum.

Elton & Lillian boarding the bus

It was very fascinating with lots of tools, pots, boats, and model houses from the past hundreds of years. We had a great tour guide who explained everything for us. There were also hundreds of totem poles and strange carvings that different people groups had carved to appease the spirits and to illustrate their desire to find God. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, so here are some outside photos.

On stage in an amphitheater

A very old plane (or what's left of it)!

Naomi & Beautlyn (UPNG students)

We then went to over to the Parliament (on the same grounds). We had a tour guide who would take us around, but we had to wait for Parliament to finish their session. While we waited, we enjoyed the grounds as you can see:

Naomi being interviewed in front of the Parliament building

A wild selfie

The Parliament was gorgeous! It had high ceilings and marble walls. We walked up the steps and went into the chamber and sat in the balcony in soft chairs reserved for dignitaries. Our guide told us of the current government and how they had passed a resolution for the country saying that PNG's foundation is based in God and the Bible. The guide said that the since the coming of missionaries (for the past 120 years or so from all around, including Fiji), the people have turned from their ways of animism and worship of spirits, to Christianity. This September (40th independence), they are replacing great totem pole in the grand hall of Parliament with a new pillar stating that the country of Papua New Guinea is now founded upon God and His Word (scripture). Even though spirit worship and spell casting etc is still very common, the government is taking their stance on God. This is very exciting! Here is a picture of the change coming (click on it to see more clearly):

After Parliament, we went to Bamana War cemetery (for those who died along the Kokoda trail in World War 2). It was very impressive, over 3,800 young men gave their lives defending the Islands and the world from Japanese forces. I was particularly amazed to see so many unmarked graves.