Mission to Papua

A scientific expedition to the jungle of Indonesia's Papua province has discovered dozens of new species of frogs, butterflies and palms, and documented mammals extirpated elsewhere. The team flew by helicopter to a boggy lakebed surrounded by forests in the Foja Mountains.

The news sent me scrambling for an atlas, but the western half of New Guinea, also known as Irian Jaya, shows a mostly untracked space. Wikipedia didn't help much either. The Foja Mountains aren't marked on any maps.

I'd like to visit places like that, but must satisfy myself for now by reading the adventures of friends like ironbark, currently exploring the Mekong River.

This brought to mind Jim Elliot, an American missionary martyred in 1956 in Ecuador while attempting to preach to the Aucas. Years ago I read his biography, In the Shadow of the Almighty, by Elisabeth Elliot. Evangelical Christians believe Christ will return when the Gospel has reached every tribe on earth. Like the Amazon rainforest, Irian Jaya was considered a frontier for conversion, and Christians likely perished in the effort there.

Fifteen years ago I dreamed of doing mission work like that. Now I would rather go on a mission of discovery than persuasion.