Darkness to Light
The street has been nicknamed Dark Street for many years. Lost in the slums of Papua New Guinea, locals knew Dark Street for its nightly gun battles between young people and the police. Mothers would lay awake listening and wondering if their older children would come home, and how many more minutes before the baby woke again from the noise.
Recently, Pastor Magi shared how for generations clans fought against other clans, passing on their hate for the individuals and families of the rival clans. The hate is so deep that the children grow up believing that if they talk to their enemy they could be killed themselves.
But… “When we got the boxes, we brought all the kids together, put them into age groups, gave them boxes, and make them swap them around because we want them to know that they are friends. Then we let them open them. And we teach them that now you have shared a box it means that you can share everything.
“The boxes lay down a good bridge for us and they have brought down walls in the
community.” says Pastor Magi, “Since the first shoe box distribution here in 2006, there has been a growing community of believers. And we installed a well behind the church that first year…
“For many years this was called ‘Dark Street’ but I said ‘no, it’s not a ‘Dark Street’ anymore –we have to call it ‘Light Street’. So we asked the government to put electricity in. The government said ‘no’ but I said, “It’s no more Dark Street’’. It took three months of advocacy for the community and then the government put electricity here.”
“Now the mums say, I can sleep well. The baby can sleep well until the morning.”
We praise God we are able to partner with faithful believers like Pastor Magi who work hard to bring light into the darkest places – replacing crime and neglect with joy and reconciliation. And your partnership with us is helping with these incredible changes.
