Part 1 of 2 from Lembena Team in Papua New Guinea

Micah and Laura Myers minister among the Lembena people of Papua New Guinea. “Greetings from Lembena! These last few months we have been going deeper into Lembena language and culture. One of the areas of culture that we have been diving into has been the justice system, which is very different from our justice system back home. Every few weeks, leaders in the village who have been chosen as ‘judges’ meet and hear complaints at the village court. These court sessions have been very eye-opening for us as to how our people view justice and what things are important to them. One such court was particularly interesting.

“Piwa has become a good friend of mine over the past year. Piwa does not speak any of the trade language, so our only way to communicate is in the Lembena language. As my ability to speak in the language has grown, so has my relationship with Piwa. He is a skilled hunter and is often killing wild pig in the thick jungle in the mountains surrounding the village. At the village court one week, Piwa was accused of killing and stealing a pig from someone's camp in the mountains. The argument at the court became very heated with Piwa claiming that the pig he killed was wild and that all of his clan had eaten the pig with him and can verify that it was wild. The judges at the court decided that Piwa was not at fault and cleared him of all charges. At this point, the man accusing Piwa became furious and threatened Piwa and his clan. I remember Piwa coming to me after the court, very worried, [and] he told me not to go up to his pig house because he was afraid this man would follow through on his threat. Because of the threats of violence, Piwa purchased a 1,000 Kina pig (about $300) and gave it to his accuser so the man would not do what he threatened. Even though he was ruled innocent, he decided that in order to keep peace, he should compensate the man for his loss. It's important to note that there is no law enforcement in Lembena, so when the court gives a ruling, there is no one to make sure that ruling is kept. Those who are known to be violent almost always get their way so that peace can be maintained in the community.” Pray that soon Jesus will be known to be Truth and Peace among the Lembena people.