Hello! My name is Michael Kukne. I'm from Papua New Guinea. For those of you who aren't familiar with my country, I'd like to take a moment to tell you a little about it.
Papua New Guinea is situated just north of Australia. It is an island; in fact, it is the second largest island in the world. Only Greenland is larger. The island of New Guinea was discovered by British explorers in the 1800's. They were in search of gold. The British colonized New Guinea until September 16, 1975 when the territory gained its independence.
The population of New Guinea is about 5 million people. Within this relatively small population, the people speak more than 715 languages. However, the people are not highly educated: public education is not compulsory and 45 percent of the population is illiterate. I will have more to say about the country but, for now, I'd like to describe my conversion to Chritianity.
It must be remembered that my ancestors were not Christian in their beliefs. The population consists mostly of tribes living together in villages. In the tribe from which I came, my grandfather was the tribal chief. My older brother now holds that position. Being a leader, he was entitled to have several wives - polygamy is legal in New Guinea. He was also a great story-teller. My tribesmen had a strange belief {at least, it will seem stange to Western ears} which was passed down from generation to generation. He believed, as did the others of my tribe, that we originated from snakes - to be more precise, a black snake with a red tail! I can remember sitting around the campfire with hundreds of other children listening to my grandfather relate this tribal belief. He told us that, "The Kumga Tribe originated from snakes." Also, he further warned us, "If you see a snake with a red tail, you will die unless you kill a pig as a sacrifice to that snake." That, of course, scared me half to death and , even now, I'm afraid of snakes.
I didn't know the true God because my grandfather brainwashed me when I was only four or five years old. So - what changed my {brainwashed} mind? All I can say is that it was a miracle when the gospel of Jesus Christ penetrated my heart and mind. God opened my mind to understand the Bible and the creation story. The power of God transformed my life completely. Praise the Lord for His miraculous works!
I was saved in December 1990. I had hated the thought of going to church or of discussing religion. I would argue with the local pastors, telling them that there is no God. However, something mysterious happened to me one night in December!
I was lying on my bed but, all of a sudden, I found that I couldn't breathe. I knew that I would die unless I was able to get to the hospital and let the doctors determine what was wrong. But as I lay there, a still, small voice whispered to me: "Michael, you don't need a doctor. You need a Christian pastor!" I rationalized that such a thing was unreasonable. I had never talked to a pastor - at least, not in the way of seeking help!
Nevertheless, in my desperation, I did go to the local pastor and he prayed for me. He thanked the Lord for bringing me to his house and asked God to bless me. I've forgotten everything else he said that night except one thing which he told me. "Lord," he said, "you have called Michael to be your servant tonight." I really hated the way he prayed because I didn't want to be a Christian pastor! I thought pastors were the poorest people on earth! But God answered his prayers.
I'd like to say a few more things about the customs of New Guinea. Ancestor worship and superstition was very prevalent in Papua New Guinea until the 1940's when missionaries brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For example, regarding ancestor worship, our people had a strange practice. The people of the village would get a skull of one of their dead ancestors and place it in a little house or in a cave. When they were in trouble or in need of something, they would go and speak to the skull and make sacrifices to it. They might, for example, kill a pig and pour the blood around the skull. What a contrast to the salvation Jesus Christ's sacrifice made possible for fallen man!
Regarding superstition, I won't take time to recount all of them. It would take too long! I'll just give an example pertaining to birds. Some birds - the owl in particular - is believed to be like spiritual beings. If an owl cries out at night in front of someone's house, it is believed that a member of that family will die. The people also listen to birds in order to make decisions about situations in their lives.
In closing, let me testify that I have a strong desire in my heart to live for God and to do His work. In preparation for my work in the ministry, I attended a Bible College in Papua New Guinea where I graduated with a B.A. in Theology. I then started preaching God's Word on the island of New Guinea.
I felt the need of further education to be better able to preach and teach God's Word. As it happened, the Lord opened a door for me to come to the States to advance my study. I'm very thankful to God for this. It was difficult to study here in the States with the language barrier - but God has seen me through it all thus far! I graduated with honors from Hobe Sound Bible College in Hobe Sound, Florida.
I am presently working on my Master's Degree in Divinity at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. When I finish here - the Lord willing - I plan to get my PhD at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Please pray for me!
If you'd like to write me, I'd be delighted to hear from you! Click on the link below {"Email: Michael Kukne"}.
Thanks for listening to my story. I hope it has been a blessing to you!
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