God is our Creator. We are His people. He walked with our ancestors, and He continues to walk with us today and for all time. He wants us to be a holy people, to be one with Him, with each other, and with …nature.

When we are baptised, we come into God’s family. We are his sons and daughters. So, we are also brothers and sisters to each other. Jesus saves us, and the Holy Spirit keeps us together as one.

We meet as God’s people to share the Word of God and to receive the Eucharist, the Bread of Life. Mary, our Mother, walks with us on this journey. We work to make the Good News of Jesus known everywhere.

We are proud to be Papua New Guineans. We respect each other and work for unity and peace.

We are a Community

We do not live one-one. We live in many kinds of groups: families, clans, tribes, parishes, diocese. We try to live in all of these groups in a spirit of love and peace.

In our Families:

· We care about each other and love one another;

· we listen and speak to each other;

· we serve each other;

· we pray together and share the Word of God;

· we worship with the village or parish community;

· we help others around us;

· we live by the teachings of Jesus.

In our corner of village groups:

· We come together to pray, to celebrate, to help one another;

· we choose good leaders who help us to grow in our faith;

· we read the Gospel together and try to live what it teaches us;

· we worship together as one people;

· we share what we have with others, and we help them when they are in need;

· we witness to the Message of Jesus, we participate in the life of our community and we share responsibilities.

In our parish and in our diocese:

· We live in unity as the one Body of Christ, in our diversity of tribes, politics and cultures;

· we come together to pray, to evaluate and plan the activities that bring us together;

· we serve one another in faith and love;

· we come together regularly for worship and celebration;

· we provide formation and help to those who are chosen to lead us;

· we promote peace and justice in the way we live.

The Diocese of Daru-Kiunga has a well set up youth ministry. It is called ‘DYS’ (Diocesan Youth Services). We have a youth coordinator, assistant youth coordinator, and a youth chaplain who form the team of DYS. Since the church is young, the main task of the DYS is to form youth groups which we call Parish Youth Coordinating Teams or PYCT in all the parishes. This formation is in its final stage. Apart from the formation of the youth groups in the parishes we also conduct various awareness programs including environment awareness and AIDS awareness. AIDS awareness is conducted with the youth groups at each parish since 25% of the total population of the Western Province is affected by the HIV virus and statistics indicate that if the problem is not addressed 50% of the population will be eliminated in 10 years. As a result of the dismal projected statistics the DYS takes AIDS awareness very seriously. We also conduct bible workshops which help them know the basics of the bible and the teachings of the Church.

In the villages most of the youth are uneducated and find the information difficult to understand. As a result the DYS has to adopt simple methods to teach them and help them to grasp what is taught. The young people in the diocese are bubbling with enthusiasm but there are very few opportunities for them to develop and grow in life. Many youth from the remote villages, looking for ways to make money, walk days to come to the town. They are very often disappointed because their illiteracy keeps them from being hired. As a result, these youth resort to vandalism and petty crimes.

The diocese is trying to involve the youth in parish as well as the diocesan activities to help them feel a part of the community and also take credit for having done something for the community. The youth programs are planned for three years according to the diocesan pastoral plan.

One of the major difficulties in carrying out the youth programs is transportation. Due to the lack of roads and difficult landscape it is very difficult to get all the youth together. DYS spends a lot of money on travel bringing awareness programs to the parishes as well as bringing youth participants to attend workshops.

There is a lot to do in the diocese especially with regard to youth ministry but we have very limited resources. The young people in PNG lack motivation and self confidence. They have a desire to do more but there is no one to help them. Since experiencing the Church’s interest many are becoming very active in Church related activities. We all consider this a positive sign.

A Prayer

Eternal and loving God, it is in your world we live, move and have our being. We praise you for your goodness and thank you for all those who have helped us on our life’s journey. We ask you to be with those we love, and entrust to your care those who are most in need of your healing, comforting presence.

May your Spirit enable us to be true messengers of your Son in our homes and community.

Mary, our Mother, we pray for all who spread your Son’s message of love throughout the world on our behalf. We entrust in your loving care the missionaries in Papua New Guinea and pray for all who generously support their work.

Maria, Mama bilong mipela: pre long helpim mipela.

(Mary our Mother, Pray for us)