EASTERN HIGHLANDS PROVINCE, Papua New Guinea – Fifteen years ago, a young Ukrainian couple left everything behind to follow what they believed was God’s calling to one of the most remote places on earth.
They arrived with little more than faith, a dream, and no idea how profoundly their lives, and the lives of countless others, would be changed.
Ira and Jenya Konstantinik arrived in the rugged highlands of Papua New Guinea in 2011. Far from their home in Ukraine and far from modern conveniences, they stepped into the jungle believing this was where God had called them to serve.
“For the first week, it was so romantic,” Ira recalls. “Everything was so exciting, here I am a missionary in Papua New Guinea.”
The romance, however, didn’t last long.
“And then we all got sick. So, romantic period was done,” Ira remembers. “I had to wash clothes. I had to get up in the morning, make a fire. I have to grow my own food, which I have no idea how to; I have a toddler, and I don’t speak the language that people here speak.”
There was no electricity, no running water, and no toilet. Their home was a simple hut made of bamboo and leaves.
“We were so poor as missionaries, we didn’t even have the money to buy a mattress,” Jenya says.
The couple arrived with their two-year-old son, Matviy, and settled near Yonki Dam in the Eastern Highlands Province.
Their home, which was basically a hut made of bamboo and leaves, was right around the bend of a lake. That first year as missionaries was no walk in the park.
“Rats were crawling under our blankets, on our legs, bellies at night,” Ira says.
Then came a moment Ira says she’ll never forget. She woke up in the middle of the night, lit a lantern, and looked at her son.
“I saw that his face was covered in ants,” Ira exclaims. “They were coming out of his nose, his ears, his mouth, everything. His white face. I couldn’t see his skin. It was all completely covered in ants.”
Long before that night in Papua New Guinea, a teenage girl in Ukraine had a dream. “I felt the Lord speaking to me. You have to leave your place, Ukraine, Kyiv and go on full time missionary,” Ira says.
She had one more prayer.
“I told God, ‘Lord, either you give me a husband who is a missionary or I won’t be married,” Ira recalls. “I wanted a husband who’ll be so crazy for God as I am, or even more.”
A year later, she met Jenya. At the time, his life looked very different.
“Before I met Christ, I was living a very troubled life. I loved to fight, smoked, drank alcohol, sold drugs, stole, and was involved in gang activity,” Jenya says.
Then everything changed. The former street fighter became a missionary and then met Ira.
“I really, really, really liked her for who she was, both inside and out, and that same day I knew she was the woman God had brought into my life,” Jenya says.
“Oh, man, I couldn’t speak. He looked so handsome with his curly hair and blue eyes and dark skin, and I couldn’t speak,” Ira adds.
They first served in Russia before sensing a new calling – Papua New Guinea – a place neither had ever seen.
“I didn’t even know where Papua New Guinea was,” said Jenya.
Not everyone supported their decision. “They told me, ‘Look at yourself. What if you fail? What if you get sick? What if you get eaten, you know, in Papua New Guinea there are people who eat people?'” Ira says.
After the birth of their daughter in Ukraine, Ira found herself questioning whether she could return.
Then something changed. She says her love for the Papua people had grown deeper than she ever imagined.
“For the first time in my life I could feel just a tiny bit of God’s love for them, how God feels for them, how God’s heart is broken for them,” Ira says. “In that instant moment, I knew, I’m going back, and not only that I’m going back, but I will also never call Ukraine my home again. I will call Papua New Guinea my home.”
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Fifteen years later, that decision still shapes every part of their lives.
The family now lives on land known as Promise Land.
Years ago, local businessman Bumo Garu donated the property after believing God told him to give it to the missionaries.
“I’m so glad I did because I’ve seen how God has used the land to bear so much fruit,” Bumo Garu tells CBN News.
What was once an overgrown field is now home to a thriving ministry.
The Konstantiniks opened their home to children with nowhere else to go.
“So, when we moved to the Promised Land, we took in 11 boys from the street,” Ira says.
“It just feels like home,” she says. “We’ve been here our entire lives.”
Her brother Matviy shares the same confidence. “God will always provide for those who serve Him.”
Their family includes biological and adopted children, plus countless young people who have passed through their doors.
“We bought clothes for them, paid their school fees,” Ira says. “They started to call us for the first time, Mom and Dad.”
Life at Promise Land is rarely boring.
During our visit, homeschool lessons briefly stopped when Matviy stepped outside, killed a snake with his bow and arrow, and then returned to class as if nothing had happened.
The Konstantiniks have watched countless lives transformed over the years. “There is a girl right there. Her mom tried to kill her three times. She tried to abort her three times,” Ira says.
Years ago, another young woman named Elina came to Ira and Jenya after her mother could no longer care for her. Today, she is part of the family.
“If it wasn’t for them, I would not be a Christian today, I would not be where I am now,” says Elina Lupi. “Mama Ira has taught me how to be close to Jesus, how to read the Bible, how to hear His voice.”
“We used to hang out as little children, now we’ve grown up, and we still hang out,” adds her best friend, Myrosa.
They started a church on the property and planted others in remote parts of Papua New Guinea.
“This place has become our home, and we are truly happy. We are grateful to live here and serve God by serving others,” Jenya says.
His ministry often takes him far beyond the church walls.
During our visit, I followed him to a local jail where he distributed food, handed out Bible tracts, and shared a message of hope.
We also traveled deep into the jungle to meet the leaders of two rival tribes once locked in conflict.
Along with supplies to help rebuild damaged homes, he brought a message of reconciliation and forgiveness.
“Our two tribes had been fighting each other for a long time,” said Jab Tapo, a member of the Takio tribe. “Then Jenya and the pastors from Promise Land visited us and encouraged us to stop the conflict and reach a peace agreement.”
Although Papua New Guinea is now home, Ukraine is never far from their hearts. It’s on their vehicles, on their clothing, and in their prayers.
“Our church faithfully prays for Ukraine on a regular basis,” Jenya says.
“I pray, I cry, I text my mom, I check on her. It’s hard,” Ira adds.
Whether she’s leading a Bible study for young people, ministering to women in the community, or like on this day, stitching up a man’s injured finger, Ira is always finding ways to serve.
But if you ask her, her most important ministry is caring for her family at home. And around Promise Land, she’s known for more than her servant’s heart, her cooking and baking have become legendary.
“People need bread. Not just spiritual bread, but physical bread,” Ira tells CBN News. “Ask people who’ve lived with us. They remember our bread, they remember our ice cream, they remember our pizza.”
Now, after years of worshipping in a small open-air structure, a larger church is rising. It’s a visible reminder of how far this journey has come – from a hut with rats and ants, to a thriving ministry serving families, children, and villages across Papua New Guinea.
For Ira and Jenya, the lesson learned over the years is surprisingly simple.
“True happiness doesn’t come from living a comfortable life, it comes from giving of yourself, serving others, and witnessing the transformation that takes place in their lives,” Jenya says.
“Jesus is enough, and he is everything,” Ira adds.
Fifteen years after leaving Ukraine, that faith and the love story that started it all continues to carry them forward.
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