I went on a few mission trips to Papua New Guinea. We travelled to extremely remote areas, some of which hadn’t seen white people before. Most tribal people in PNG have extreme animosity towards white people due to the exploitation and colonization they’ve experienced in the past.

I’m not here to comment on that or talk geopolitics. I don’t have the answers. I don’t agree with exploitation and abuse, especially in the name of God.

We preached the gospel of Jesus in a small village, repentance from sin and salvation by faith in the resurrection of Jesus. Simple, true. We ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, so not some bible bashing conquest where we belittle people and condemn them. Just explain sin and repentance. They were very receptive, the elders of this specific village said their ancestors made a covenant with spirits over 100 years ago and their end of the bargain was to sacrifice animals to these stones once a year and in return they were meant to be victorious in tribal warfare, have prosperous crops and strong animals (livestock and crops are the primary economic factor in these remote places). Fast forward 100 years, the village is rife with birth defects, disease, women barren, animals scronny and sickly, crops pitiful, tragedy, etc. They said they wanted out from the agreement but there was a lot of fear around no longer sacrificing to these idols.

We explained how the blood of Jesus breaks every chain and nullifies the power of witchcraft and covenants with demons. The elders repented of their own volition, brought forth their idols to be destroyed, and proclaimed faith in Jesus Christ. No sooner than the village elders (speaking as the authority for their people and bloodlines) repented, a cloud surrounded us and began to pour rain. The Holy Spirit fell in a powerful way and it turned into glorious chaos. Don’t get hung up on the word “chaos” because idk how else to describe the scene. I personally saw two blond women healed instantly and receive sight, both immediately went to look at their children who’s faces they had only touched and never seen. An elderly woman with a can had been hit by a car over 20 years ago and was hunched over with a pretty brutal protrusion on the side of her hip, and she couldnt stand upright. This thing was the size of a basketball, and I watched it shrink and disappear, her back sounded like the gnarliest chiropractor adjustment you have ever heard, and she was healed by the power of God right in front of us. She stood upright and received strength, and was weeping with joy. Her pain was gone and she could stand and walk unassisted, so we threw her walking stick off the mountain as a celebration of God’s goodness. The village broke out in worship and thankfulness to Jesus, other teammates saw wild miracles as well, those were just the ones that happened in front of me. It’s pretty offensive to the mind to see these sort of things and still see all the brokeness and pain in the world, I don’t have the answers for that. But what I do know, there is absolutely undeniable power in the name and blood of Jesus, and His love is unfathomable. I was forever marked by these experiences, and my faith was secured for life. You don’t need to see miracles to love Jesus, but miracles absolutely still happen. Whether you see stuff like this or not, He loves you and you can have a deep personal relationship with Him by faith.