Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Honorable Ben Micah
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000137A
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00:01 Stay tuned to meet a man who is letting his light shine
00:03 for his people and his Government. 00:05 My name is Yvonne Lewis 00:07 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:31 Hello and welcome to Urban Report 00:34 my guest today is the Honorable Ben Micah 00:37 Minister for State Enterprises and Public Investments 00:41 in Papua New Guinea. 00:42 I met him at the 60th Annual General Conference 00:46 in San Antonio, Texas, 00:47 let's take a listen to his story. 00:49 It is my privilege to be sitting here 00:56 with the Honorable Ben Micah, 00:58 he is the Minister for Public Enterprise 01:01 and State Investments for Papua New Guinea 01:03 did I get that right? Yeah... 01:06 Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you. 01:09 May I call you Brother Ben? 01:11 May I just call you Brother Ben? 01:13 Yes, yes... yes... yes... yes... Okay, great, great... 01:14 Brother Ben, you have such an intriguing story 01:19 I just have heard just a little bit of it 01:22 but I know that our Urban Report Viewers 01:25 want to know... they're very curious people 01:28 and they love these testimonies 01:31 of people that have had strong journeys 01:34 I just want to hear about your testimony 01:37 we want to hear your testimony. 01:39 So, where were you born? 01:41 Definitely I was not born in Chicago, 01:44 or New York, I was not born in the city 01:47 yeah, I was born in a small town called Kavieng. 01:52 Where is that? 01:53 In the Province of New Island in Papua New Guinea. 01:56 So you are a native from New Guinea. 02:00 Yes, I am an indigenous Papua New Guinean 02:06 from a village called Tasitel in an island 02:12 much, much closer to 02:15 the territory of Guam... US Territory 02:18 than to the capital of 02:20 Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, 02:21 my island is further north of Port Moresby. 02:25 I was born on the 22nd of December, 1959, 02:30 to a God-fearing Seventh-day Adventist mother 02:34 called, Moni, and my father was Micah, 02:40 Moni and Micah, and they were missionaries 02:46 for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 02:48 So, Adventism has been in New Guinea for many years 02:54 the message has been brought there 02:56 many, many years ago? 02:57 For more than a 100 years, yes. 02:59 Are there many Adventists in New Guinea? 03:01 Papua New Guinea has got more Seventh-day Adventists 03:06 than any other Country 03:07 within the South Pacific Division. 03:09 Really? 03:11 Of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 03:12 roughly about 300,000 to 400,000 members 03:18 Praise the Lord. 03:19 and another 200,000 backsliders. 03:21 Wow! praise the Lord that the message has gotten there 03:25 and that there are a lot of Adventists there 03:27 that's a blessing. Yes. 03:30 Tell us about yourself, 03:31 you grew up in a God-fearing home 03:33 I was an Adventist in my mother's womb. 03:38 okay, all right, all right, and so, 03:42 did you go to Adventist Schools? 03:45 Of course, I started from Kindergarten 03:50 and Primary and Sabbath School and I went from Grade one 03:59 in Seventh-day Adventist Primary Schools 04:03 to High School and to College at Fulton College in Fiji. 04:09 Wow! and so you went from Adventist Elementary Schools 04:14 to High School to College... Yes. 04:16 did you ever go to a Secular Institution? 04:19 Did you go to a State School or... 04:23 Yes... I taught for one year 04:26 because I went to train as a teacher 04:29 at Fulton College, and then after that 04:31 I decided to change career, 04:36 so I went to the University of Technology, 04:40 a State University in Papua New Guinea 04:43 and took up a degree in Accountancy 04:48 but unfortunately or fortunately 04:52 whichever way... 04:54 I look at the way I have traveled 04:56 unfortunately, because I never really practiced accounting, 05:03 because while I was still at the University, 05:06 I became involved in Student Politics 05:11 and I became General Secretary 05:15 of the National Union of Students in 1985, 05:19 in 1986, I became President of the National Union of Students 05:24 which is a National Student Organization 05:27 for the whole Country, 05:29 and then in 1987, I became a member of the 05:33 International Union of Students Executive 05:37 representing Asia and the Pacific. 05:39 So that was the beginning of your political journey 05:42 in College. Yes. 05:44 Yes, so, I've been in politics now for most of my life 05:48 without a Political degree. 05:50 Wow! wow... 05:53 I went to University to study to be an Accountant, 05:56 I did not work as an Accountant only for two years 05:59 the rest of my life has been in politics. 06:01 Isn't that amazing, 06:02 so, what did you find was the difference 06:06 between Adventist Schools and the State School, 06:09 did you find that there was a big difference 06:13 in the education, in the educational experience 06:16 between the two? 06:18 I learned a lot from the Adventist Education System 06:21 for which I give credit 06:22 because I started Boarding in an Adventist Primary School 06:32 when I was ten years old, can you believe? 06:35 You started doing what? 06:36 When I was ten years old, I went into Boarding 06:39 in an Adventist Primary School away from my village. 06:42 Boarding? 06:44 Boarding School, where we live in the School, 06:46 Oh, Boarding School, yes, yes... 06:50 so I learned a lot of things how to take care of my clothes, 06:57 At ten, you were in Boarding School? 07:00 correct... yes... Wow! 07:02 and all the way up to College, and I think, you know, 07:06 we had Work Parades at the school 07:09 where we worked, when I went to High School, 07:11 for four years, at Kambubu High School 07:13 we had a farm and so, for the four years I was there, 07:19 I worked on the farm, I worked in the poultry, 07:22 I worked as a janitor, I also worked in the gardens 07:31 cleaning up flowers and 07:35 doing beautification and things like that, 07:38 and then when I went on to College in Fulton, 07:41 I also worked on the farm, I learned how to milk cows, 07:46 I learned how to ride a horse, 07:47 and I worked in the Fruit Department, 07:52 on pineapples and oranges and so I learned a lot of things 07:58 hands on... once I was learning things economically 08:02 in the classroom. Yes. 08:03 So I credit the Seventh-day Adventist System 08:06 because I think that education system 08:08 still continues in a lot of our schools, 08:10 Yes. and it teaches holistic 08:13 approach to training to a lot of kids 08:18 much more than State Schools, 08:20 where the Government pays for everything 08:23 and they only sit in a classroom to learn 08:25 so, I... 08:27 I must credit the 08:29 Adventist Education System for, let's say, 08:34 preparing me for a lot of the things 08:37 in my leadership to this day. 08:38 Yes, while we were talking, I was thinking 08:42 about what you were saying 08:46 because one of the things that we know about education, 08:50 is it's not just about academics 08:52 it's about developing character, 08:55 it's about developing a work ethic 08:57 and so what was happening with you was 09:00 in addition to the academics, you were learning a work ethic 09:05 you were working in the garden with the cows 09:08 and, I mean, as a janitor and all of these different things 09:11 developing character. Yes. 09:13 One of the things that... 09:15 there's an author that I interviewed once, 09:17 and he wrote a book about how children succeed, 09:21 and the most successful children 09:24 are the children who have developed their characters 09:28 in addition to the academics 09:31 and that is what it seems that happened to you. 09:35 You developed character and your academics. 09:39 Yes, you know, the Minister for Finance 09:42 of Papua New Guinea, 09:44 the man responsible for looking out for the money of our Country 09:48 also went to Adventist School, he's from a missionary family 09:53 The Honorable James Marape, 09:55 I believe he will be here next weekend, 09:57 he will be interviewed also, 09:58 the Minister for Communication, The Honorable Jim Miringtoro, 10:02 we went to the same High School, 10:04 he's a Minister for Communication 10:06 of the Government of Papua New Guinea, 10:09 we have the Minister for Environment, 10:11 the Minister for Lands, the Minister for Education, 10:15 all Seventh-day Adventists. 10:16 They're all Adventists, They're all Adventists... 10:18 and they all went through the same System 10:20 the Director for Customs, Mr. Kowuropa 10:22 who is also here at the session, 10:24 the Deputy Chief Justice whom you met 10:26 is Seventh-day Adventist, 10:28 the Director of the Internal Revenue Commission 10:30 Ms. Betty Palaso also went through the 10:33 Seventh-day Adventist School System 10:35 so there you are, 10:36 the Country of Papua New Guinea 10:38 is benefitting a lot 10:41 from people 10:42 who have gone through the 10:45 Seventh-day Adventist Education System... 10:46 Yes, yes, amen, amen, so, you went through this System 10:51 you were an Adventist, you went to the State School, 10:56 what happened when you went there 10:57 in terms of spirituality? 10:59 The State University was completely different. 11:02 How so? 11:03 There's really no control, 11:05 here, I was coming from a managed, controlled, 11:08 coordinated environment from education school 11:11 and then I was just like... thrown into the deep end 11:14 where so many things were thrown at me 11:17 especially, I learned to associate with people 11:20 my roommate smoked, 11:23 he drank alcohol, 11:25 my roommate at Fulton College was just like me 11:28 we got up in the morning and had devotion 11:31 and it's a different environment. 11:34 Fulton College was an Adventist School? 11:36 Yeah, but in the State University it's different, 11:37 they put you in a room with somebody completely different. 11:40 Right... 11:42 You see, then, you've got access to everything there 11:47 so, you just now... 11:49 have to swim, 11:52 spiritually you've got to survive 11:55 in the kind of environment with so many new things 11:59 being thrown into your face, 12:02 and so, we begin to also learn about new things 12:09 and associate with professors who are telling us new ideas 12:13 you know, political, philosophical, 12:15 and all kinds of new concepts 12:19 are beginning to come into my head 12:22 and then also the power, 12:23 of standing in front of a microphone 12:25 and speaking so that students can go on strike 12:28 or they can go on a protest, 12:30 and then you see the impact of the power of your speech 12:35 influencing people, telling them to do things, 12:39 you know, face the police and then... 12:44 and so power gets a bit into your head 12:48 and then my time is now divided between 12:52 the things that I learned from my parents, 12:56 from the Adventist School, I hardly prayed anymore, 12:59 I hardly studied the Bible, I was now more into politics 13:06 I was more into discussions on... 13:09 and then I started traveling around the world 13:12 when I became involved with 13:14 the International Union of Students, 13:15 I traveled to... mostly to Eastern Europe, 13:18 the International Union of Students during the '80s 13:21 was mostly financed by the Soviet Union 13:26 and so, I mostly did my travels to Russia 13:31 and the Headquarters of the Organization was in Prague, 13:35 22nd November Street, I can't forget, 13:38 in the former Czechoslovakia which is now the Czech Republic 13:45 so I spent a lot of time there 13:47 and then I began to be introduced to the ideas 13:50 of thinkers and writers like Karl Marx and Engels and Lenin 13:56 and you know what they call the Dialectic Materialism 14:00 and they then told me that, 14:03 "You're wasting your time on this religion, 14:05 God is just an old man in the sky 14:08 how can you believe in such a God 14:11 that allows so much suffering to happen in the world 14:14 so many unemployed people, the hungry people... " 14:17 and so they took me to 14:19 some of the big places in the world. 14:21 I went to Mumbai, 14:23 I went to places like Jakarta, 14:27 I went to some of the big cities in Asia, Manila, 14:30 and to go deeper into those kinds of places 14:35 where you see human beings living below the poverty line 14:37 and then you see ten people sleeping in a little room 14:41 that in America... a baby sleeps in 14:46 Yes, yes, and... 14:47 and I began to see, 14:49 "Oh, you know, this could be the reality of life" 14:54 you know... 14:55 Isn't it interesting that during the first part of your life 15:00 right, you were settled into the missionary mindset 15:06 a Biblical mindset, 15:09 but when you went into the Secular Schools, 15:13 you lost the connection 15:16 and by losing the connection, 15:18 you were able to drift into something else 15:21 because you weren't reading your Bible, 15:24 anymore, Yes. 15:25 you weren't praying... praying anymore... 15:27 so you lost your connection to God... 15:30 But I was reading the Communist Manifesto 15:33 yes, Karl Marx, you were reading Karl Marx, 15:36 you were reading all these other Lenin and Stalin and whatever... 15:39 you were reading all of this 15:41 and not reading the Bible. 15:43 In 1987, I went to Cuba and I met Fidel Castro. 15:45 How was that? 15:48 What was that like? 15:50 Well, you know, see... I idolized Fidel in my mind 15:54 and as a student, I was wearing Fidel Castro wear 15:57 and all these things at the University, 16:00 it was a mark of respect in the Student Movement 16:02 in the '80s... if Fidel was your hero. 16:07 You shake his hand... 16:08 I didn't wash my hand for one week. 16:10 Wow! 16:14 Isn't that amazing how... when you're... again... 16:17 when you're in the world, 16:18 the people of the world become your heroes. 16:21 I met Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 16:24 in Moscow when I attended a huge 16:26 International Student Festival 16:28 and I also met 16:32 the late Kim Il Sung of North Korea when I went there 16:35 I went to places that no people from the free world used to go, 16:40 Vienna and Kiev. 16:41 And they welcomed you there. And they welcomed me there. 16:43 So now how did... wait, wait, wait 16:45 like... I can't believe how time is... 16:47 It's almost scary, because all these Heads... 16:48 these are people in the Student Movement 16:51 these are people we idolized, they were gods to us, 16:54 and I was touching them in the flesh, 16:57 and there you are... Isn't it amazing... 17:00 Yes, so, how did you come back to the Lord? 17:06 We were having this function 17:08 I was just telling you 17:09 and I was at the Travel Lodge at that time 17:17 now it's the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Papua New Guinea 17:20 it used to be the premier hotel 17:22 we organized a fundraiser, 17:25 to raise funds for somebody 17:28 and I was sort of... in charge of this Fundraiser 17:32 and I invited the Prime Minister of the Country 17:36 some leading business people, and diplomats and there we were 17:41 and in that cocktail sort of a standup cocktail party 17:47 Like a Cocktail party... 17:48 I was holding a glass of whiskey with coke 17:51 and I was drinking the thing 17:54 and then talking to the Prime Minister, 17:57 Sir Mekere Marauta at that time with some other people 18:00 and a Filipino-looking guy walks up 18:04 and excused me from the Prime Minister 18:06 and we walk over to the side and he said, 18:09 "Hey, you don't know me but I know about you 18:11 you are the most influential person 18:14 to that guy there... " 18:16 he was saying... that guy... to the Prime Minister, 18:17 "listen, the Lord has a work for you 18:21 I know that you're a Seventh-day Adventist" 18:23 Wow! 18:25 "I know that you're a Seventh-day Adventist 18:27 and God has a work for you" 18:29 It was on a Sunday afternoon and then he says, 18:30 on Monday evening, 18:33 I am inviting you for dinner to my house at the Embassy" 18:36 "Oh, you are the Philippines Ambassador, 18:40 Excellency, okay, okay, I'll be there" 18:45 and when I went to see him, 18:47 amongst other things we discussed 18:49 he was telling me, "You know, Brother Ben, 18:51 we have been having problems now for two years 18:54 trying to get a license so we can introduce 18:57 a Christian Broadcasting Television Network... " 18:59 and so, that was it, that was my introduction 19:05 to 3ABN, to Ambassador Tejano who has 19:08 become a lifelong friend and brother to me, 19:11 and he's been my mentor in my spiritual life 19:15 and also to 3ABN that I continue to support 19:18 with all my heart and with all my soul 19:21 and with all my strength, Amen... 19:23 in Papua New Guinea Amen. 19:24 and my road to come back to the Lord. 19:28 It's was just an accident, unplanned, unprepared, 19:34 but you know what? 19:35 When God decides to give you a work, 19:38 Come on now Brother... you have no... 19:40 That's right... 19:41 you can't stop it, He will get you 19:44 and you have no excuse to run away. 19:47 That's right, well you know, it's funny because 19:50 I always say on this Program 19:53 that we talk about Jeremiah 29:11, 19:56 God has a plan for every life, 19:59 every life has a very important work to do for God 20:04 and so, you didn't realize it but all of your experiences 20:09 were getting you ready to do what you're doing now, 20:12 Yes. God was getting you ready 20:14 and you didn't even realize it, 20:16 you thought you had put God aside, 20:18 you had thrown Him aside but He never threw you. 20:23 So, this is the first invitation by God 20:29 through Ambassador Tejano and then later... Danny Shelton 20:34 Yes... yes... 20:35 and Moses Primo and all these lovely people 20:37 that have become my lifelong friends 20:39 Amen... and then, that was not the end, 20:42 I helped them... in one of the ways... 20:45 in my position to get the license for 3ABN 20:48 next, another invitation... 20:50 So, wait, wait, wait, now, you just went past it, 20:54 so you helped to get the license for 3ABN for New Guinea? 20:58 Yes. Praise God... and that's... wow! 21:01 you see how God... God is so good 21:04 He used you to get the word out to the millions of people 21:09 there in New Guinea. 21:10 It was very difficult, Really? 21:13 it was very difficult to get a license 21:14 Why? because, at that time, you know, 21:16 there was only one channel in Papua New Guinea 21:22 a telecommunication regimentary... what you call... 21:27 spectrum... this is the pipe that transmits 21:33 the signals... right? Yes... yes... 21:35 it's the terminology for licenses. 21:37 Spectrum, it's the space that they allow 21:40 for broadcasting channels. Okay. 21:42 Only three... one is reserved for the Government, 21:45 one is private, which a private company 21:49 called MTV already... was issued, 21:51 there was only one for churches that was left and 21:54 ten... twenty different churches had been vying for it 21:58 Wow! and the former Prime Minster, 22:01 Bill Skate, had already committed it to Benny Hinn 22:05 Benny Hinn, you know, the Evangelist who visited 22:08 Papua New Guinea... Yeah... yeah... 22:10 he had committed it to him, 22:11 but... so... it was very difficult. 22:14 Only when the Government changed, 22:17 and Sir Mekere Marauta became the Prime Minister, 22:21 he appointed me as his Chief of Staff 22:24 Oh... you see... 22:26 see, now I feel like you're "Joseph" 22:28 I feel like you are a "Joseph," in the Government, 22:32 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 22:34 Except now you're a "number one. " 22:36 Yes, I became a Civil Staff, 22:37 and later he appointed me to become Executive Chairman 22:41 of the Privatization Commission 22:43 the Commission that the Prime Minister set up, 22:46 to privatize State investments, so all the State Companies 22:49 that I am now Minister for I actually privatized them 22:53 and Corporatized them ten years ago 22:55 so I've just come back to take them to a higher level 22:58 but when I was in the position all these things happened 23:04 and it's a long story but 3ABN got the license 23:07 That's tremendous... 23:08 and has been broadcasting for how many years now 23:11 impacting the lives of many people 23:13 Amen. creating positive change 23:16 Amen. in the spiritual message, 23:19 in the health message, the exercise programs, 23:23 kids' programs, your program 23:24 Praise God... 23:26 amazing how so many people are touched 23:28 and so many people are 23:30 now being encouraged to live positive lives 23:32 because of these Programs Amen. 23:34 and I played a small part. 23:35 Well, I think you're being modest though 23:38 we praise the Lord for you Thank you. 23:40 and for people like you who have the vision 23:44 to do something great for God 23:47 because God is great. 23:49 Where do you see... 23:51 we only have about a minute or so left, 23:54 where do you see God taking your ministry... 23:57 you're doing so many different ministries, 24:00 tell us about some of the other ministries you're doing. 24:02 These days... that's why I was... 24:04 because that is the climate zone Yes. 24:06 this transformation 24:07 where they invited me again to attend a prayer breakfast 24:12 by an Evangelist called, Pastor Mark Finley. 24:16 Yes. Now, I hardly knew for 20 years 24:19 who was the President of the General Conference, 24:21 who was this... who was that... 24:23 I was completely in the dark, 24:25 I knew more about Fidel Castro and Mikhail Gorbachev 24:29 and all these other people, right? 24:30 Hmmm... hmmm... 24:32 So, they invited me to this Prayer Breakfast 24:35 and Mark Finley opened to me the Word of God 24:38 especially the story of Daniel, that story touched my life 24:42 I'm now living the kind of life that Daniel lived. 24:47 I read Daniel's story, especially of his diet, you see, 24:50 Yes... yes. the diet, water and vegetables 24:52 okay, that's the health message Yes... yes... 24:55 plus uncompromising values and principles 24:58 Godly principles in Government, 25:00 that story about Daniel from Pastor Mark Finley in 2000 25:05 transformed my life and put me on the road 25:09 to where I am today and that is the life that I live. 25:12 Praise God, we praise God for you. 25:15 Thank you so much, thank you for taking the time 25:18 to be on this Program and to share your story. 25:21 So, I got re-baptized in 2002, yes, I got re-baptized again. 25:24 Praise God, we are so thankful, 25:28 we're thankful for you, your ministry, 25:30 your service to the people of God 25:33 and for your time, coming here, 25:36 thank you so much, may God continue to bless you. 25:40 Viewers, make sure that you support... 25:43 if you hear about Brother Ben Micah anywhere 25:47 doing any kind of missionary work, 25:50 please support him. 25:51 God bless, thank you. 25:53 Oh! it's so great to see people 25:59 that are letting their light shine 26:01 in the work place in their personal lives, 26:04 we have to do that too. 26:06 You know, Matthew 5:16 says, 26:08 "Let your light so shine before men, 26:10 that they may see your good works 26:12 and glorify your father which is in heaven. " 26:15 We can all let our light shine and we all have to do that. 26:19 We want to thank you so much for coming up to us 26:25 during the General Conference Session 26:27 and letting us know how Dare to Dream 26:29 is impacting your lives. 26:31 I heard great stories about people 26:33 who are coming to Jesus through Dare to Dream, 26:36 people who are going to their local church, 26:39 and saying, "We want to get baptized 26:41 because we're watching Dare to Dream" 26:43 and those of you who are supporting us 26:45 through prayer and financial support, 26:47 we couldn't do it without you, 26:50 so you are an intrinsic part of this whole thing. 26:53 Thank you so very much for helping us 26:56 and for standing in the gap with us 26:59 and for those of you who haven't given yet, 27:01 please ask the Holy Spirit how you can help Dare to Dream, 27:05 what He would have you to do to assist us 27:08 to get the gospel out to the whole world. 27:10 Our address here if you want to send us a donation is 27:16 Dare to Dream, PO Box 220, West Frankfort, IL 62896 27:21 or you can call, 618-627-4651 27:28 that's 618-627-4651 or 3abn. org 27:34 or D2Dnetwork. TV 27:38 There are a whole bunch of ways to reach us 27:42 but pick one and again, pray about it and ask the Lord 27:46 how He would have you to help us. 27:48 Thank you so much for tuning in 27:51 and we so appreciate you, we love you, 27:54 and we ask that you just continue to watch. 27:56 Join us next time because you know what? 28:00 It just wouldn't be the same without you. |
Revised 2015-11-23