badi vila

Badi Vila

 

My name is Badi Vila. I was born in a small village called Siviri in the Kerema District, in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea. I am the third daughter born to Kahi and Margaret Maipa Vila. I have two older sisters and four younger brothers.

 

As far as education is concerned, I went as far as  year ten (10). I did my 6 years primary education at the Gerehu Primary School and four years of high school education at the Gerehu High School. I was not able to continue further education through the normal official education system due to my grades in Maths that disqualified me for further studies.

 

I was very disappointed. The first year for me was a very difficult year, been a young person and with all my dreams now fading before my eyes. It was my worse nightmare, without any hope and anything to look forward to, I withdrew from the rest of the world for the first three months, not wanting to go out of the house. I stayed in door most of the days, praying and complaining to God, why? Why? Why? He did not allow me to do well in my maths.

 

After three gloomy months, my pastor paid me a visit and asked me to assist him with teaching Christian Education at my former primary and high schools. They were in need of teachers. We'll, I refused and that was the last thing I wanted to do. After three attempts from the pastor I gave in and felt at peace to face the world again. They were the first embarrassing months of my life, with my juniors asking why I was not accepted to further my education, and was I doing teaching Christian education in the school instead of pursuing a career which will pay me well. At this time I was 18 years old.

 

This was the turning point of my life. I begin to see and believe that education does not stop for a person, when they failed, or when they do not make it to further education institutions, are are labeled as drop outs, etc. I realized that people continue to learn until they died. This encouraged me to make use of my life by been involved in purposeful activities, either it be community activities or Church activities. So, my life in the service of God's Mission has been long and varied.

 

My long term call to the service of Mission's was in 1989 after attending my first ever mission's camp. At the mission's  camp I heard so much about missionaries who came and died in PNG. I was so challenged by the hardships they faced and also about how some of them died. These testimonies and mission history really impacted me. During the times of reflection, I thanked the Lord for the sacrifices made by these early missionaries who came to our soil to tell share the Good News of Christ with us. I thought if they had never come, then we'd be still living in total darkness and will die in our sin and will have to face God's judgment. This led me to a personal commitment to be part of the 'Great Commission” in Matthew 28:18-20.

 

1989 – 1999 I served with Operation Mobilization (OM) both locally and Internationally. Internationally I served with one of the OM's international Ship ministries with MV Doulos (three years) and locally served with OM PNG mobilizing PNG Churches to be involved in world missions and also did recruiting and Training PNG Missionaries for both local and overseas mission service.

 

1999 – 2002 I went for some Bible School training with the Christian Leaders Training College (CLTC) graduating with a Diploma in Theology.

 

2003 the Lord called me to serve with the PNG Bible Translation Association through the ministry of Scripture In Use (SIU). I am currently based in Ukarumpa, in the Aiyura Valley (Eastern Highlands Province).

 

2.    Write something (a short para) about why you are doing what you are doing.

When I was studying at the Christian Leaders Training College, I discovered God more and begin to enjoy the person in the Bible more. The Old Testaments Books became more meaningful as I clearly understood and saw its connections to the New Testaments. I also saw the need for people to really know God personally and intimately. There was so much treasure in the Bible, and I desired that so much for those who did not really understand the English Bible the way I did (at least). My hunger and  desire  to know God more in the Bible School also gave me another hunger, and that was for my people in PNG who lived in remote parts of PNG and who were illiterate to also know this God the way I did. But more than that was for the people in PNG to hear God speaking to them in a language which they understand thus giving them a new spiritual hunger and thirst to know Him better too.

 

I wished for them to see God and His Son – not as the Christ for only white skins but also that he was my Melanesian Christ and even deeper than this, He was my own Tairuma and the only perfect Tairuma Christ coming to me. He understood my sufferings and my pain. He was not a foreigner but a tribesman. He was not an outsider but a native, an insider, whom I can trust my entirely for everything.

 

My prayer for what I am doing in PNG BTA Scripture In Use is to see lives and communities transformed because Papua New Guineans truly understand what the Bible says about God, Sin, Satan, Salvation, etc, when its brought to them in a language they can understand.

 

3.    How did God call you to the work. If you have previous articles/newsletters you have written that has some of these information, that would be good.

 

It was this inspiration and hunger that led me to work with PNG BTA, as they dealt with languages in Translating the Word of God in the different ethnic languages, and I knew this was the place I could make this possible for my own Tairuma people to hear God speaking to us in our own mother tongue, and this not just for my own language group but also for many other Papua New Guineans as well.

 

Watching DVDs on a Bible dedications, or a literacy workshop or a SIU workshop always encourages me to keep serving the Lord with the aim to help people know God more personally and that they are growing and maturing spiritually.

 

4.    What is one specific item that God has done in your life that you would like to share with others - something that stands out profoundly for you.

 

One profound thing that God has done for me was giving me purpose and meaning in life. Twenty Three years ago, when I did not make it to National High School and University, I almost gave up hope that my life amounted to nothing and that I would not make a difference in this nation. One of the Scriptures I read after the three months of my own personal isolation camp was Isaiah 49:15-16  ignited hope in me. Isaiah 49:15-16 says “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me”.

 

For me at that time, I felt like God wiping my tears and assuring me that He has not forgotten me and that He has better plans for my life. I felt this heaviness lifting off and I walked out by faith entrusting my unknown future into God's hands. And it all started as I took that step of faith to go back to my former schools to help my pastor and other Christian Education teachers, teaching Christian Education to the students. Like I mentioned before, I was prepared to face the world again despite the embarrassing situations. No pain, no gain.

 

God took me back to my old schools and helped me work my way up to where I am now. I also thank God for my parents and my sisters who gave me their moral support, encouraging me to do what I was doing and they continue to do so now. God also brought many different people who played a very significant role in my life and ministry. Without them I would not have had the motivation and the drive to do what I am doing no

 

I am forever grateful to the Lord for Isaiah 49:15 -16, that gave me hope for the future, and I know ultimately that God had been with me all the way, and He will and will always be there for anyone who is struggling in life and may be at the verge of giving up hope for the future. God is our everything. Trust Him to lead and guide you. He knows where he is taking you too, and you'll be surprised where you will end up in. Just keep trusting Him to lead and you step out in faith.

 

Now when I look back, I stand in awe of what the Lord has done for me.

 

 

4.    What does God's Word mean to you personally.

 

Simply these:

  • God's Word reveal to me the Person of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It helps me strengthen my relationship with God and people as well.

  • God's Word is the lamp to my feet and the light for my path as the Psalmist says in Psalm 119:105. It shows me how I should live my life each day and the path that I should walk each day in the light of His commands.

  • The Word of God is eternal.

  • It has the power to create and transform lives. It gives me life – not just the physical but eternal life. The Word of God is like a road map, to show me and guide me to my home or safety when I am lost. The Word of God can be trusted. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God – breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may b throughly equipped for every good work”.

  • God's Word is food to my soul and spirit. If I do not read or feed on his Word, I feel so weak in my Spirit that it also affects my body and soul too. It keeps me alive in the things of God. It keeps me in  a right relationship with my  heavenly Father and also my fellow brothers and sisters.

 

There is so much to say about the Word of God, what it personally means to me. But the above are just to mention a few of them.