SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST MISSION
International – Papua New Guinea / Malawi Africa
P.O. Box 60150 Ndirande Bt. 6 Blantyre Malawi /
P.O. Box 233 – Mt Hagen (WHP) Papua New Guinea
Tanggi Mission Station – North Koroba, Hela Province, PNG
Missionary / Evangelist: Peter A. Halliman
Email: panagioite04@gmail.com
Website: sgbm-malawi-africa.com
Date: 18th March 2025
Dear Pastor, Church, & All Supporters:
Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Mission Report No. 9 continued from No. 8 (mission patrol) to Mt. Kili
15th December 2024 – (Sunday). With the Bible Conference officially closed, this being the scheduled program, however the fellowship amongst the people, eating, singing of songs and so on, was not over it went well into the night. The two different ‘men houses and the women who had come along there were at least two different houses which, housed the women. I need to take a few lines to describe this lifestyle.
Firstly, the houses which, the PNG Natives construct in the bush are made of bush materials, the roofs are thatched (this is an art) living in a country where there are two monsoon seasons, with a rainfall of 350-400 inches per annum, needless to say it is wet.
If one does not get the roof thatched proper, the inside will not be good. The sides are enclosed with matts woven with bamboo. Many times, the floor will remain dirt with a middle section (of the house) there are no walls or divisions, a fire burns at night to keep warm (high altitude) cooler temps (60’) most do not have blankets thus the fires for warmth. Many of these houses which, are built to house visitors and guests for such occasions will have a small, raised platform some six to twelve inches above the ground level, with the woven bamboo matting. These houses can many times sleep up to twenty- or thirty people. Thus, the housing is contained as explained, the bathing is performed in the rivers (cold mountain rivers), their toilets are simply pits dug into the earth, with a covering of bush material, around and over the top.
I spent the afternoon repacking my things, and of course some things are last minute. I did as much as I could ahead of time. Food was prepared and as the food was served there were several people who wanted to conference with me on various topics. I felt that this long hike, and great effort to reach this corner of the world, even within PNG as a nation, this village is unknown to most, except those who know of these people or know them personally. I felt the LORD had blessed this mission patrol, that His people had been encouraged, for sure His Word had been preached and declared among the people.
There is this sense of great joy when we reach these areas that are hidden to the world, yet GOD knows all about them, and this sense of sadness in thinking we will be departing the next morning leaving them as they are. However the encouraging thought is, the very thing we gave and left them (The Eternal Word of God) is above the price of rubies, or gold, it is eternal and forever.
I retired that evening around nine pm, but with many thoughts on me mind, one was the idea that tomorrow would be an extremely long day, we would not halt halfway in the bush as we had done on our way there. The challenging hike in front of us, the Kili Mountain from the village is pitched at 75-80% gradient, this is not a stretch in fact I might be a bit reserved, when you have one person in front of you, and you’re looking at their feet, a (complete body length) within a foot distance. We had near twenty miles in the mountains & jungles to reach our target tomorrow. Having a good night’s sleep is imperative to performing well.
I had my closing prayer for the day and closed my eyes. 0300 hrs I woke, sending one of the lads to heat up water for me coffee. I packed the rest of my things, was dressed for the hike, had my coffee with some sweet potatoes, (cooked in the hot ashes). For the hike I pack (peanuts-protein, honey- immediate energy, sea salt -sodium plus other minerals) ripe bananas – potassium & magnesium, raisins, figs & dates (Bible food).
I carry my own pack as I have most of my personal things, a water-bladder, which I constantly drink to sustain the proper body fluids, and my food for the hike.
It was 0400 hrs when all the people in our group were assembled for a headcount, we had 104 people hiking back. Being in the night hours, I had my headlamp on, different ones had battery operated hand-held (flashlights), I prayed for our journey, and we set off.
Our accent up Mt. Kili was challenging and adding to that under the cover of darkness, it was muddy, slippery and hazardous in many areas. After two hours I reached a point where we could rest a short while, we carried on and another hour we had reached the top. As we waited for others to arrive, I refreshed myself with some dates, sea salt and water. As the morning woke to a breathtaking sunrise on top of Mt. Kili, I was just over eleven thousand feet elevation, clouds were thick and hung low in the valleys below, it was as though God had pulled the blankets over the valleys during the night.
The moon was bright during the night, and as we had set off early in the morning, we had not noticed the moon for the thick cloud coverings, however…. once on top of Mt. Kili, we could see. I am always amazed (my own way of thinking) no matter how much I see GOD’S wonderful creation, the stars hung in the heavens, the moon on its course, being fully lit by the sun, the earth’ orbit and placed on its axis, a great God we have and greatly to be served.
After a short break, we set off again, usually in PNG, one is either going up or down, very few places that are flat, and if so, not for very long. The hiking is challenging with the daily rainfall. The hours passed, we made several halts to rest, replenish energy with any (kind) of food, mostly the PNG people will cook and carry sweet potatoes, which are high in energy. I have my own remedy for the hiking food and have worked out this over the years. One of the most important ingredients in high altitude is staying hydrated, people often forget the importance of this.
We had just covered fifteen miles, when we took our last break, I could feel the strain of the hike knowing we had another five miles over another mountain and then down its backside. Prayer is an essential part of my physical life here in PNG, if GOD does not help, then who can?
Nearly twelve hours had passed, and we arrived at our destination, it had been a long day, physically I was spent, I was happy to know I had the hike behind me, but also my thoughts turned to those we had left behind. Their lives would continue as normal (for them), the rest of PNG would know nothing of them, BUT GOD had a few souls there.
I was preparing for the late afternoon hours to have my dinner cooked when I was notified that a Policeman (friend of mine) had heard that we had made it to this point (where we were now at), and he had sent word through others that he was coming to assist me with his vehicle, and another vehicle to help some of the pastors also.
There is a new road being constructed by the Provincial government and is navigational via four-wheel-drive. The rains had started in for the evening when Henry arrived with his vehicle & the second one also (Police vehicles) – Toyota 4X4’ Land Cruisers. We loaded up as many pastors as could squeeze in the two vehicles and set off for the Tanggi mission station, with heavy rains already in for the night, by the time I walked up to the house I was completely drenched, but with my mind on being home I really hadn’t noticed.
I had my bath water prepared, cooked a quick dinner and prepared for the evening; it was good!!! To be home, I could sleep in me own bed, knowing the long bush patrol was behind me. I felt that GOD had blessed this trip, that HIS people had been encouraged, and His Truth had been sown amongst many. Only GOD knows and heaven itself will reveal what fruits will come from all this effort.
In His Name,
Missionary Peter Halliman
To be continued….
Some pictures along the way: Part of the hike back from Mt. Kili


One of the rivers in crossing. You will notice the bridge is constructed from (cane, poles).

A clearing on top of a mountain in hiking back.

The last evening of the bush patrol, (GOD graced the skies) and gave HIS signature!