During my recent time in Papua New Guinea I had the pleasure of meeting a number of amazing people. Two of these people where Wil and Trina Muldoon.
Wil and Trina are a missionary couple from America. I met them when our ship visited the Gulf province village of Baimuru on the Pie river. Wil is a retired Baptist minister, he and his wife Trina run a bible school in Baimuru.
The couple spent a few days onboard the MV YWAM PNG whilst getting a lift with us to Port Moresby where they could restock on supplies. During this time I had a good opportunity to talk with them and hear a bit about their mission work in PNG.
Wil and Trina’s mission in PNG
Wil and Trina were called to PNG by the Lord in 2012. They have been living there ever since and are committed to sharing the gospel to the unevangelized villages of the Gulf province.
They have established the Baimuru Baptist Bible Institute where they run a three year family based program. The focus of their program is to disciple and teach families about the true and living God and empower them to be able to develop and organize churches of their own.
Before coming to PNG Wil had spent 16 years as pastor of the Fellowship Baptist Church in Cheyenne Wyoming.
Trina told me how the couple had for so long been passionate about mission work. She said that they had always wanted to go into the foreign mission field but the Lord had kept them in Wyoming.
It was not until the couple had abandoned the idea of going overseas for mission work and were content to stay in the United States indefinitely that the Lord called them to go to PNG.
Village life
Baimuru is a lovely place to visit. Its natural beauty and hospitable culture make it very alluring. It is by all means a great place to spend a few days, but to live there is a different story.
Village life is a long way from the creature comforts of a western life style. There are no soft beds, easy meals or public transport there!
The locals of Baimuru live on a basic diet of fish and home grown garden vegetables. They contend with a constantly mud soaked landscape and a myriad of tropical diseases.
On top of the harsh natural environment, black magic and witch doctors are prevalent with many dark forces at work in the province.
It is a lot to contend with for a couple nearing their 70’s. I talked to Trina about how she deals with the challenges of village life year after year.
She said that in many ways they have become accustomed to this tough way of life. God has strengthened and equipped them to be able to deal with these adversities.
It is however not village life that challenges this couple the most. As devoted parents and grandparents, living in isolation from their family and missing the opportunity to watch their grandchildren grow up is Wil and Trina’s greatest struggle.
Living for eternity.
As Trina was telling me about the adversities of living in Baimuru and the hardship of being away from their family she made a statement that had a profound impact on me.
She said “I am at the point now where I think that if something does not impact eternity then it is not worth doing.”
I could instantly see that this point of view has driven this couple to their place in Baimuru. It has enabled them to follow God’s leadership and surrender to his will.
It takes a heart softened to the Holy Spirit in order to lead people to graciously surrender their worldly desires and focus solely on the eternal kingdom of God.
The future for the Muldoons
Wil has been burdened with the knowledge that a number of the villages in the Gulf province have not heard of the goodness of the living God.
Wil and Trina are committed to the people of the Gulf province and are set to stay on in Baimuru for the remainder of the foreseeable future.
It is Wil and Trina’s mission to teach and disciple the people of their bible school, to go forth and evangelize throughout PNG.
In the week following our visit, the youth of the Baimuru Baptist Church embarked on a mission trip funded by the church’s own missions fund. The trip saw the youth travel by canoe to another village on the river where they preached the word of God.
For more information on the Muldoon’s and their ministry in PNG or to give your support you can visit their website theunfinishedtask.com