"I was raised in the Bia River district of Papua New Guinea within a pagan family and I left school before completing my education," Turi Minimoa explained. "I was one of the bad boys."
In this predatory environment in which he was fast becoming a leader, Turi assumed he was destined to become one of the 'hopeless men', and just gave up hope of leading a respectable life. The only pathway he saw was headed for a life of crime
That was 'then'. In the 'here and now', Turi Minimoa has recently been one of the Papua New Guinea delegates at the recent Baptist World Alliance Living Water Australasian-South Pacific conference in Cairns where he gave a video testimony for Australian Missionary News IPTV.
This IPTV channel is a courtesy of SafeWorlds IPTV, which provides a Christian channel within their commercial IPTV network. It is run by Well-Being Australia's 'Basil Sellers Press Service International'.
"When that Lae Baptist preacher came, and for whatever reason I went and heard him speak, I found a new and fresh hope in Jesus Christ and I accepted Jesus as my Lord and personal Saviour," Turi Minimoa explained.
Turi's life was so turned around, and he became so passionate for Christ, that somehow a way was opened for him to attend Bible College at the CLDC.
"I had a lot of catching up in my education, to which I dedicated myself. I was rewarded by my graduation with a Bachelor in Theology degree," Turi Minimoa told Mark Tronson of the Australian Missionary News IPTV.
Subsequent to graduation, he pastored the Lae Baptist Church for three years and then relocated to Port Moresby at the Pigin Speaking congregation of the Boroko Baptist Church, which also has an English speaking congregation.
"My passion now is to see my whole family from the Bia River also come to the foot of the Cross and take Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour," Turi Minimoa concluded. "I was called out of that deteriorating situation, and my prayer is that they too will see Jesus in a new light."