Early Days
I
was born in Port Moresby on the 8th of February, 1989. I became the
third child of Henry Aria Arua from Yule Island and Boio Heni from Porebada
village. Both places are located in the Central Province of Papua New Guinea.
I
grew up as a Christian as my father was a devoted Catholic. My mother was United but after she got
married to Dad, she was converted to Catholic. Conversion is just a Catholic
Church law that is upheld every time a man (catholic) marries a woman
(non-catholic) to allow for the marriage to take place. Anyway, this is
religious staff and I don’t want to get deep into it.
Though
I was a Christian and knew there existed God in those early years of my
childhood, my knowledge about God was limited as I had grown up with all the
traditions and systems of the Catholic Church. I only knew God as creator and
protector and not anything else. I remember the days when Dad would rush us
every Sunday mornings to go to church when coming back would remind me to say
the Rosary and pray.
My Father
My
father was a typical Kairuku man from Koaekupuna village on Yule Island. As any
other native man of the area, he was initiated into the culture and traditions
of that place. He was a very strong cultural man and believed and practiced all
the rituals that were taught by his father and ancestors. Cultural beliefs were
like a religion to him and he believed in them.
Though
a Christian, he still had a deep connection with his culture. This is a major
misconception I have noticed about my people and it is that though they are
Christians, they still have with them and practice their cultural beliefs and
practices. This is not wrong and as a Melanesian and Papua New Guinean, I
believe in retaining and making sure my culture does not die away. There are
some that are good and even biblical but my concern is with those cultural
practices and beliefs that are evil, bad, satanic and ungodly. Those are
practices that do not glorify God and do not have any biblical backing. These
are the ones that I am totally against. It is now becoming one of my life’s
goals to go back to my people and help them understand that life originated out
of God and not from dead spirits or some unknown source. We are supposed to be
living the godly and kingdom culture of God on this earth.
Anyway,
after completing his education as a grade ten student from Mainohana Secondary
School, He got a job with a local fisheries company from the island and began
his career. That was when he moved to the city (Moresby) and met mum. Together,
they got a house in the surburb of Gerehu and that was when I came alone. Dad
was a great man. He was a loving father that was always there to put food on
the table. Like any other father, He was the provider for the family. He was
the one responsible for providing me with the education that I now have.
My Mum (To be continued).....................
