They came night after night. Some walked miles from their homes; some came crowded on the back of a large lorry. Each night they came, 2,000 to 3,000 strong. They sat on the wet, grassy field of Eriku Park on pieces of cardboard cartons, plastic shopping bags, banana leaves, and rocks that provided a dry platform for them. Attendees listened for two hours each night to various local choirs, a health talk, and the Word of God preached forcefully in Pidgin, their native tongue. Some nights the mud was ankle deep and it took some negotiating not to get stuck, but everyone had joy in their hearts.

A group of eight youth from Avondale College and the Avondale Memorial Church, along with their senior pastor, Adrian Craig, conducted the two-week evangelistic meetings in mid-July in Lae, on the eastern seaboard of Papua New Guinea. Lae is the second largest city in Papua New Guinea, and home to the Seventh-day Adventist Union Mission headquarters. The theme of the nightly meetings was "Baibel Itok" (The Bible Says). The Avondale youth provided music, puppet items, and audiovisual support for the meetings. Adrian Craig preached from Daniel and Revelation.

Temperatures hovered around 80 to 85 degrees night and day, with very high humidity. It usually took two to three days to get washed items dry. July is a very rainy month, and tropical rains in this region normally fall during the late afternoon and evening. However, in answer to the prayers of the team members, the weather was different during the two weeks of the meetings. Heavy rains fell after midnight and also during the morning hours, leaving the fields soaked, but the skies were mostly clear during the early evening for the meetings. Only on the first night did the rain fall, as if testing everyone's faith. However, no one left, and a few umbrellas were launched to provide a few dry spots on the field.

I had the privilege of providing a ten-minute health talk each evening before the sermon. Topics presented included malaria, good nutrition for the family, the harmfulness of smoking and chewing betel nut, alcohol, and using colas and other sugar-laden soft drinks.

At the end of the meetings, more than 300 people responded and came forward in commitment to Christ. Two dozen people were baptized the last weekend, and others were being prepared for September. A large majority of those attending the meetings and responding at the end were young people. All looks very promising for the future of the young church in Papua New Guinea. Out of a population of 5 million people there, about 300,000 are Seventh-day Adventists.

As a show of love and appreciation, all members of the evangelistic team were presented with a native bilum (hand-woven bag) and a large mounted native butterfly at their farewell.

Winston Craig, Ph.D., R.D., is a professor of nutrition and wellness at Andrews University.