Last Wednesday morning I headed out from POC for five nights of living in a remote village. The little area where I stayed is known as Dogea, which is about an hour or more from POC and right on the coast. There are about 400 people scattered out in the area. It was quite an experience, it was quite challenging at times. I don’t even know where to begin. The whole POC course has been leading up to this very experience. The weeks prior to village living were very busy and stressful, especially the week before going. This was due to having so many assignments to do prior to finishing the course on top of all the other work.

I spent the six days with my Wasfamili, who hosted me for my stay. I became known as their son’s big brother. Their extended family is quite big, so there were plenty of relatives and people in the village coming to see this very tall white man and hear him speak. I would constantly have visitors coming and wanting to hear me tell stories. It was a great opportunity to keep practising my Tok Pisin, which was all I could use to communicate. And again was encouraging to see the improvement.

During my time in the village I was exposed to their daily living. I learnt a lot more about their culture, from cultural observations or experiencing it myself. And I was able to teach them a few practical skills. At night I would have around a crowd of twenty adults and children come to see me. The men would want me to tell stories and everyone one else would listen. I was able to share my testimony in Tok Pisin a few times. And my goal is to not just be able to communicate in Tok Pisin, but also communicate the Gospel and be able to disciple in Tok Pisin. I was able to develop a few really good relationships while in the village. It was not until Saturday afternoon that I really felt settled in the village. And I think was mainly due to relationships that were formed.

There were plenty of experiences I had, but my highlight would be playing volleyball Sunday afternoon for almost three hours with all the single guys. I had not really be able to get out and about as much as I would have liked prior to this. I met a lot of guys around my age and it was really good to bond with them. They thought that it was my first time playing Volleyball and that I was really good. I didn’t tell them that it wasn’t my first time. They really did play really well and loved me to be up at the net, so they could set up the ball for me to spike it. It was really hard to communicate while playing, because they spoke in their Tok Ples (village language) as their primarily language. I really wanted to spend more time with them after the game, but I had to head back to my house for a farewell dinner with the whole extended family (called a bung kai).

My experience in village living with my Wasfamili was not one that met my expectations or that of what I have been taught exactly about a host family. Neither was it easy, even though I was able to communicate well enough in Tok Pisin. It was very difficult at times, but at the same time a valuable experience. I was greatly tested with my patience. I walk away from the experience not knowing why they acted a certain way or said what they did at times. But it was possibly a once in a lifetime experience opportunity. It is a real blessing to experience, but to know that I can survive in a village if I ever get stuck somewhere. It was an exhausting time as well and plenty of stories to share from all the experiences. But I will leave it there for now.

Share on Facebook

Last Thursday it was planned for me to spend the evening and the night at my Wasfamili’s village. But that did not happen, due to a young woman passing away Wednesday night in their village, which was quite sad. This meant that the village had her funeral on Thursday and I was not able to visit my Wasfamili. But a great opportunity arose due to this. One of the national workmen here at POC, who is an awesome guy, was asked to take me and another single guy to his haus gaden (house garden) and spend the night there with his eldest son. That may sound a bit strange, but all gardens are normally some distance from their houses on this mountain. They have a small open house close to their gardens so they may have shelter there or a place to camp if need be. So this would cover our learning requirement of spending a night in a village.

We left POC in the afternoon, I had little idea of what to expect. All I knew was that it was some distance away and the house garden roof leaks and requires repairing. We had all our supplies and equipment for the trip ready. It had been raining that morning and our national friend was not keen for us to go, due to the trail being so wet and slippery. But we assured him that it was okay and we were keen to go. We hiked for about forty minutes down a very steep and slippery descent to his house garden. It was one of the hardest descents I have done in some time and sweated quite a lot.

We arrived at the house garden and setup camp to rest and cook dinner. It had started to rain as we were hiking. The whole time we were together we spoke in Tok Pisin. For the next several hours we told stories in Tok Pisin while having dinner. Some of the stories I have heard here are quite amazing, some funny and some not so funny. We also played Uno too. It came to bed time and we had to put a tarp over the roof just in case the roof leaked. We also had to setup our mosquito nets which were time consuming. I did not fall over at all while hiking the whole trip. The only time I fell over that day was trying to get into bed. I had a little hiking mat to sleep on with a cover sheet, but the incline of the ground was steep, not flat or straight. So for me not to slide down my bed, I had to hold myself up against a support beam of the house with my feet. I had not slept on such an incline or such an uncomfortable place since my scouting days. I woke up thinking it was surely 0500 in the morning, but it was only five minutes to midnight. It was a difficult and long night to try and sleep through. At 0200 in the morning our friend lit a fire to warm himself up, since it was pretty cold that night. That night I struggled so much to sleep, even though I have been really tired from the course.

That morning we got up around 0500. We walked to his new garden that he is preparing to have breakfast there. Most gardens around here are on the slopes of a mountain (this photo above does no justice) It has an awesome view of the coast but also of the mountain ridge. After breakfast we went off trail through the bush to find an unexploded bomb from WW2 on his land. We walked up the mountain cutting through bush to find the bomb. I had been informed that it was a 500 pound bomb (which is huge), but when arriving realised how big it was. It is only about a 100 pound bomb, which would do a lot of damage if it goes off, especially if you are around.

After our visit to the bomb, we walked back to the house garden and packed up. When hiking I always love walking up so much more than descending. I can get into a rhythm and climb up quickly. And I was really looking forward to walking back up this steep track. But it rained all night and it was quite evident that it was going to be a difficult walk. On the descent I used my umbrella as a walking stick, but this time I needed a real walking stick. I would NOT of been able to walk this track either days without a walking stick. There was one part of the track that was so steep and slippery that I needed to be pulled up some of it. So I was in not able to get into any sort of rhythm. I sweated so much on that climb, probably more than I have ever done. We arrived safely to the top and returned to POC. It was quite amazing to see the national guys to do all this bare foot and hardly raise a sweat. After our experience out in the jungle for the night and the hike, it was really nice to come back to our basic living conditions here at POC. Especially a cold shower, was so refreshing. I am really grateful for the health I have. But it was a great experience and even though it was quite difficult at times, I really enjoyed myself. It would have to be one of my highlights of POC. So things here in PNG are so unpredictable, every day whether things are planned or not, there are always changes taking place without much or any notice.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff (stick), they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

Share on Facebook

Being the first MAF staff member to attend the SIL POC course in Madang has left some people envious since I’m coming to a location that is normally a holiday spot for missionaries. But funny enough we are not living in luxury and are not on a holiday. But like anything, there are pros and cons with being in the tropics. Besides the heat and humidity, there is always a health problem with the tropics. Because of the heat, things are able to live and grow that wouldn’t be able to survive anywhere else. And your body takes more time to recover from injury or sickness. There are several tropical diseases here that are not pleasant; most which are transmitted through mosquito’s (known as Natnat in Tok Pisin). One of these diseases is Malaria, which kills 1.5 - 2.7 million people per year and infects between 300 - 500 million people per year worldwide. Malaria continues to be a major problem in Papua New Guinea and about 40% of the world’s population, most which are living in developing nations. But interesting enough it can only be spread by one type of mosquito, the Anopheles mosquito. But I won’t go into a science lesson, enough with that; malaria is a problem here in Madang. There are several things we have to do to protect ourselves from it. The first one is to be on some sort of medication, which is an anti-malarial to prevent the disease to develop if you get infected. Different strains of the disease have built up immunity to different medications for Malaria. The second is sleeping in a mosquito net where ever you go, as above. At first it was weird to be sleeping in something that was restricting especially for me. But I am use to it now and stretch fully out now, even though you are prone to be bitten while up against the net. The last step is wearing plenty of Rid or anything that has DEET in it. So prevention from mosquito bites is the best way to deal with the problem and reduces the chances greatly. And like with anything, awareness is very important. My dislike for mosquito’s has grown while being here, but thankfully I haven’t had any problems. But despite any of this, I am grateful that I can be a guest here. It is such a beautiful and unique place.

Share on Facebook

Every Thursday night we have an evening meal with a local family. Each family or single have their own Wasfamili (which means foster family in Tok Pisin). There are many benefits in these evenings, allowing us to develop relationships with nationals outside of POC, practice our Tok Pisin (which is all we are allowed to use), learn more language, learn more about the PNG culture and experience life within a local village (preparing us for our village living). Some families have a 30 minute walk in the dark to their Wasfamili’s village and others have about five minutes. Our Wasfamili’s are from different villages all over the Nobnob community. I share my Wasfamili with another single guy and we have a tiring walk of five minutes to the village next door.

Two weeks ago was our first evening meal with our Wasfamili’s. They were our guests at POC, where we met them for the first time. My Wasfamili have four pikinni (four children), ranging from three years of age to early high school. Our first evening I really struggled in conversation, as I could understand what was being said, but I struggled to construct sentences to keep a conversation going or initiating a new one easily. But they are very helpful in teaching Tok Pisin and very patient. We talked about what we do, where we are from, family and friends, what we are doing here after POC, state of origin, politics etc. We ate our evening meal the way Papua New Guineans do and that’s seating on the floor. It was a good evening and an interesting experience.

Last Thursday evening was our second visit, but this time we were their guests in their village. This visit was even better than the first. We spent our first hour outside talking to different people in the village, but mainly to our Wasfamili’s son (I don’t know how he is related, extended family can be referred to [brata] brother or [sista] sister). This was really encouraging as we were able to communicate well and being able to see a big improvement with my Tok Pisin since the previous week. We had an evening meal inside their house (photo above, but my Waspapa was still on his way home from work) and had some really good conversations. We talked about several different things again and I was able to tell a few stories and made them laugh by being funny in Tok Pisin.

This Thursday we will all be staying overnight with our Wasfamili’s. But because I am a yung pela man (young single man) I will be sleeping in my own house. It is quite normal for yung pela men to have their own little house for themselves until they get married. So here is a photo above of where I will be staying this Thursday night with a few single guys (it is quite a flash looking village house from the outside). Again it should be an interesting experience and looking forward to getting a grasp on Tok Pisin. But it has been a real beneficial experience and a blessing so far with my Wasfamili.

Share on Facebook

My first Sunday in PNG was Mother’s Day. For lunch several MAF families and I went to a special cheap buffet lunch at a hotel on the mountain outskirts of Mt Hagen. To get to this hotel, it is quite a drive up this mountain outside of town. To start with, it involves crossing a river at the bottom of the mountain. Across a wooden bridge cautiously that creaks, that has seen better days. The last couple to come to lunch, felt the bridge move laterally (side to side) as they crossed the bridge. They witnessed people moving planks of wood and repositioning them to get across.

We had a great time together and coming back down the mountain, our car was the first to leave. As we reached the bridge we came to a stop to visually check out the bridge. There were plenty of gaps in the bridge and planks missing, but it looked as safe to cross as it did previously. We started to roll over the bridge very slowly and cautiously. Before long the front of the car dropped suddenly through the bridge. My heart sank as I thought we were going straight through the bridge into the river, as one of the planks collapsed and shifted. But thankfully, the 4WD caught on several parts of structure of the bridge.

The four of us got out of the vehicle to inspect the damage done. There was quite a big gap between planks and the front of the 4WD had completely dropped. It seemed if we were to get the 4WD out safely, we might have to travel a fair distance to another bridge. Before I could get a photo of the incident, people started to appear from the other side of the river. Once this crowd had gathered, people started taking initiative on how to get the 4WD out. Even the more as other vehicles started to line up behind us.

The first attempt involved quite a few national men trying to lift the front of the vehicle enough, so it could be reversed out. But it would not go. Then it was said that more ‘bigger’ men will come. Before long, more guys turned up and on their second attempt, they were able to lift the front of the car up enough to reverse it out. Once the 4WD was out safely, there was no real damage to the vehicle.

Now came the challenge of getting back across the bridge. So planks were removed and laid across the gap to drive on. But his made the gap even bigger.  As I watched the driver proceed carefully over narrow planks and heard the bridge creaking, I was glad I was not the one driving back across.

Now we were back across the river safely, we thought we would wait to see how the rest of the traffic goes. Behind us was a PMV (Public Motor Vehicle) containing at least twenty people. Not one person got out of the PMV for it to cross the bridge. But yet the PMV slowly crossed the gap in the bridge on these few planks. After watching that, we returned to our vehicle and drove back to our various compounds. Leaving us with some action and adventure for a Sunday afternoon after lunch.

Share on Facebook

Last weekend at POC was our first haus kauk weekend. The first of three for me. You may be asking yourself what’s a haus kauk? A haus kauk is pretty much an outside kitchen made out of wood and bamboo. In PNG traditionally people prepare and eat their food in their haus kauks. The only time they spend in their houses/huts is to sleep at night.

So last weekend, we had to fend for ourselves and prepare and eat all our meals at our haus kauks. I share one with the two other singles, Daniel and Esther. We could only use fresh food or anything that could keep, so very bush style. We spent half a day earlier in the week travelling into town to buy food supplies. The biggest challenge for me, besides the extra time in preparation, was cooking on the open fire while controlling the fire. Which I really enjoyed, but meant that I couldnt simply set the fire to 200C and walk away. On Saturday night we had a pot luck with all the other families, we cooked beef skillet lentils and rice, plus a chocolate cake for dessert. I cooked the cake in a drum oven, which took about an hour, having to constantly be watching and controlling the fire. It turned out really good and because we had marshmellows over a fire for dessert, the cake was protected and there was several pieces left over for me to polish off.

We built the haus kauk the previous weekend, on the Saturday. It took the three of us, around nine hours all up to build it in the heat. The only non-traditional items on it, is obviously the tarpolen roof. Normally the morota (woven roof) is made out of a leave from a tree called ‘pur-pur’ which is a very timely job. Plus we used synthenic string (normal string) to tie it all together, but traditionally they use a string made from an interior bark from a tree. We watched a few national workmen build a haus kauk a few days prior, leaving us to build our own. The minimum requirement was to build the structure and a table with chairs. But of course we added more items, a preparation bench, washing up area with two basin’s, a drying rack and a hanging rack. I was thinking of a guttering system to catch rain water, saving us having to boil the water. But good thing the wet season is over. I will have a video of us building the haus kauk to upload once I return to Mt Hagen. So that’s a brief summary of a haus kauk and a haus kauk weekend.

Share on Facebook