Our first Seventh-day Adventist church in Netherlands, West New Guinea, is ideally situated on the only highway of Hollandia Harbor and the Airstrip. Nestled against the heavy tropical foliage, this simple brick and corrugated iron-roofed structure gives a pleasant impression. Its furnishings are very humble and simple, the floor being of concrete and the walls lined with hard board, but it is a house where God's last message is being preached to a race in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Construction on this little chapel was begun in 1954. Lack of skilled labor and material slowed up the work considerably, but a year and a half later it was completed. It was almost entirely built by native help under the supervision of the writer.
Dutch and Malay services are held in the church every Sabbath. Since there is no local worker in Hollandia, the Papuan members conduct their own Sabbath school and then have a joint service with the Dutch membership. The Missionary Volunteer Society also holds its meetings there, and on Sabbath afternoons and on Wednesday nights the Papuan group meets for Bible study and prayer.
A children's Sabbath school room and small living quarters for Papuan boys who are in training to enter the work have been erected at the back of the church. This building is a credit to our work, and we have received many favorable comments from the people of the town. Of course, it is only a modest structure, but it serves the purpose well and we hope it may be a haven of rest for many seeking souls.
