Change is good March 7, 2014 – Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea – Written by Tim Scott “Change is painful but it is good. It is a necessary pain. If you don’t want pain, don’t worry about change. Just be happy and keep on dying.” – David Sode, keynote speaker of the fundraising dinner at the commissioning service for Tony Kotauga. Kotauga has been selected to be the next director of the PNG Bible Translation Association. Kotauga has been a member and leader of the Cassowary Road United Church in Lae, Morobe Province, who hosted the gathering. The church was excited to extend its influence as a partner in the Bible translation movement. At the same time, they acknowledged they would feel the loss of one of their active leaders. Pastor Jacob Harry addressed the audience with strong emotion. He stated, “It is encouraging to realise our loss will be somebody’s gain, that in losing Tony we will gain more. When we see value in the call of God, we must forfeit everything else to realise God’s call upon us. Missions is something this church lives for… it recognises that we must equip and train people, and send them for God’s mission. Tonight is the commencement of that call and the fulfilment of our mission statement.” Besides the speeches, children from Milne Bay and from the church’s youth choir sang for the congregation. Both the Tokarara Christian Fellowship and the hosting church provided music teams which led the group in a time of worship. There were additional presentations from the Gulf and New Britain Fellowships. The following day, the church celebrated with Tony Kotauga by commissioning him to fulltime service with BTA. Kotauga will become the next BTA director in July 2015, after a transition period with the current leader. Kirk Franklin (Wycliffe Global Alliance executive director) presented a challenging message to all attendees. David Gela (current BTA director) and Paul Minter (SIL-PNG director) also spoke and praised the church for its bold commitment in supporting Tony Kotauga and his family in this endeavour. Kotauga acknowledged his gratefulness to the Cassowary Road United Church and the all the weekend participants. “I am thankful that I am part of this church which has now become a global church. It was not a difficult decision to go into full-time missions because of every one of you.” For more information on this release, contact ThePNGexperience, PO BOX 413, Ukarumpa, EHP 444, Papua New Guinea Phone: 011 + 675 + 537-3544 ext. 4431 or Email: thePNGexperience@gmail.com
Pictures do not always depict actual event, activities or people. “Tok Save” is the PNG “Tok Pisin” term for announcement or “For your information”. The English spelling conforms to Commonwealth English spelling.