` `We have come to the temple with joy and appreciation to our Heavenly Father. It has been a truly spiritual time for us."

Vabia Rome, Papua New Guinea district president, spoke these words in his native "Pidgin" English to express the thrill of a historic trip to the Sydney Australia Temple.In two groups of 18 families each, 138 members from Papua New Guinea visited the temple for the first time recently. Prior to their visit, only Pres. Rome, his wife, Mauveri, and a few of their countrymen had received their endowments. The two groups flew from Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, on consecutive weeks to spread the workload at the temple.

One member, the father of Pres. Rome, summed up the experience for all when he said: "This is a beautiful and peaceful place." Pres. Rome was asked by the temple president, Donald Cummings, how his mother and father could understand the ceremonies. He replied, "By the Spirit."

Such a simple faith and intense spirituality were witnessed by 50 Australian member families who housed the Papua New Guineans or associated with them during each group's week-long visit. The hosts in Sydney remarked that their guests took their religion very seriously. Though young in the Church, the Papua New Guineans had a demeanor that suggested a real commitment to the gospel and an avoidance of frivolity in sacred matters.

Pres. Cummings noted it was a delight to be with the members from Papua New Guinea. "I couldn't help but come out of the sealing room emotionally and spiritually drained," he said. "I saw these very humble people, with their beautiful children, sealed for time and eternity; it was a most inspiring experience. Great sacrifices were made by many people for this to happen."

Sacrifice was the case for almost every member of the two groups. For example, Gabriel Meta's employer wouldn't allow him time off from work. Knowing the Lord would bless him, he resigned from his job to be able to bring his family to the temple. A member just 14 months, Brother Meta is an elders quorum president; his wife, Lusi, is branch Relief Society president.

Avara Vivia baked scones and sold them at the market to pay transportation costs to the temple for her herself, her husband Kauri, and six children.

When Pres. Rome joined the Church in February 1981, there were just 50 members of the Church in Papua New Guinea. The majority of those members were children from just a few families. Since then, the Church has grown in the country at an astonishing rate. There are now 2,600 members and 15 branches in the district, which is part of the Australia Brisbane Mission. Ten of the branches are located in Port Moresby, while the remaining five are in remote locations some distance from the capital.

Despite the growth of the Church, there was one thing missing from the lives of the members. Two years ago, Hori Harvey, president of the Australia Brisbane Mission, felt that the saints in Papua New Guinea needed the blessings of the temple in their lives.

Pres. Harvey said: "Over the last 24 months, we have been carefully making the saints ready for this opportunity. We took them through temple preparation classes and familiarized them with Western customs, such as dress, food preparation and eating. Just one week before they were ready to leave for the temple, a ton of clothing - which had been donated by Australian saints - was distributed to the Papua New Guinean members."

Prior to gaining independence in 1975, Papua New Guinea was a protectorate of Australia. Sharing the island of New Guinea with the Indonesian-administered Irian Jaya, the country is just 150 miles across the Torres Strait from the tip of northern Australia.

Papua New Guinea is a rugged, mountainous nation with a hot, tropical climate. Its population of 4.7 million are primarily Melanesians, hence, they have the same forebears as indigenous Fijians. There are some 10,000 white inhabitants who are mainly expatriate Australians who have been assisting in the country's administration since independence.

The indigenous population is spread throughout the nation, with the capital, Port Moresby, having a population of only 200,000. Many town-dwellers are from villages located in the highlands, and they often return to their homes during holiday periods. It's through this natural and regular movement from town to village that the Church is now spreading from place to place.

The branch now located on the island of Daru is an example of the phenomenon. Members of the Church from Port Moresby told one of the "onetalks" (family, friends, or people who speak the same language) who lived on the mainland near the island about the Church. Local villagers then began requesting for the missionaries to come and teach them the gospel. At the same time, Pres. Harvey felt that missionaries should be sent to the island.

They arrived last July. Just three months later, the Daru Branch had 160 members. During this short time, two full-time missionaries, Elders Brian Mott of Washington and Benjamin Lish of Ohio, were involved in the conversion of approximately 100 of the new branch members.

District Pres. Rome reports that there are a number of other villages just like Daru where villagers are asking for the gospel to be presented to them.

Although Papua New Guinea's national tongues are English, Pidgin English and the indigenous language, Hiri Motu, there are 830 different dialects spoken by the population. Such an abundance of languages creates difficulty for Church administration. Pidgin, a combination of English, German and Motu, is probably the most common of the three national languages, and is the one into which the scriptures are soon to be translated. The only Church literature in Pidgin at present are "Joseph Smith's Testimony" and "Gospel Principles."