LIFE IN PNG

Bridget, in the centre of the front row, with some of the community in Telefomin.

LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE & CULTURE

Story and photos by Bridget Ingham

All new staff arriving in the MAF PNG programme begin their service with two-and-a-half months of cultural orientation, including learning the lingua franca, Tok Pisin (formerly and incorrectly called Pidgin English). Orientation includes three weeks of language lessons in Mount Hagen and two weeks of practice in Kompiam. I arrived in Telefomin, a remote village, on a Thursday for a weeklong orientation to life in PNG. On Friday I was introduced to two sisters, Vero and Joyce. While they understood some English words, they weren’t able to hold a conversation. If I wanted to communicate with them, it had to be in Tok Pisin! We each shared a little bit about our families, then went for a walk around the village, visiting the high school, haus sik (hospital), vocational training centre and community health worker training centre. In each case the story was the same: because there are no roads connecting Telefomin to the outside world and the river is not big enough to allow boats to travel this far inland, they are completely dependent on aircraft to bring everything in, from building materials to books, clothing and food staples like rice. On Saturday I helped carry timber along a forest track as part of a church working bee, and the following day they took me to church. People were so hungry to hear God’s word that we were packed in like sardines. I was invited to sit on a special seat up the front (which I declined) and to share some thoughts with the congregation (which I happily accepted). I chose my favourite Bible verse, Isaiah 40:31, which proved to be a great encouragement to people: “Sometimes we can fly like eagles. If we can’t fly, we can still run. If we can’t run, we can still walk. It is God who strengthens us in our Christian life.” On Monday the three of us began a two-day hike to the village of Feranmin, where there is an airstrip. We followed the road out of town and across a precarious-looking bridge. The further we went, the muddier and narrower the “road” got. Plenty of tramping in the Tararua ranges helped prepare me for

Clockwise from top: Joyce, left, and Vero carrying timber for the pastor’s new house; the man who had the dream, and his wife; Vero sells a Tok Pisin Bible to a lady in the village; beginning the walk to Feranmin; an aerial view of the village.

this. We made good time and arrived at our overnight stop after about seven hours. Arrangements had been made to stay with the local pastor and his family. I had brought some rice, salt, oil and tinned fish, sought after food items in short supply in this area. We also had some Bibles for sale, in both book and solar-powered audio device forms. I gave the pastor a Tok Pisin Bible as a gift from MAF. His wife cooked dinner for us that night; kaukau (sweet potato), taro, kumu (leafy greens), rice and tinned fish.

I later learned that, while I was asleep, a lady came to the house and talked with the pastor, his wife and Joyce and Vero for hours. Her husband had had a dream that a waitman (white man) would come to the village and sleep in the pastor’s house. God had spoken to him, saying, “When you see him, it’s not him but Me that you are seeing—it is Me that is walking to the pastor’s house. Whatever you give to him, you give to Me”. (Matt. 10:40, Matt. 25:40) When we arrived, he realised that the waitman in his dream was actually a waitmeri. I was the first white person to visit the village in many years, and the first to ever sleep in the pastor’s house. That night, unbeknownst to me, they all talked and talked until after 1am about how happy they were that I had come and was willing to eat their food, sit on the floor with them, see how they live, and how I had left my home country and family to serve God by helping the people of Papua New Guinea. I am greatly humbled to think how much my just being there was such an encouragement to people. The next day we visited a school, where I gave a talk to the children. While there I found out that some teachers were planning to walk to Telefomin to collect some much-needed textbooks. Since the MAF plane would be coming that afternoon, I was able to contact the base to see if the books could be sent on the plane. It wasn’t long before a message came back saying the wheels were in motion and MAF would cover the cost of the freight. We said our goodbyes, made our way down the hill, crossed the Sepik river and waited at the airstrip for the plane to arrive. Word had been sent to the school that the books were on their way, and the teachers arrived shortly before the plane did. It was very satisfying to have saved them a 14-hour round trip on foot! The week has shown me first-hand the conditions that people are living in, the “roads” they must take if they have to carry a sick person to hospital and the challenges posed by mountain ranges and rivers. I had learned more about the culture of the people I will be serving, their allegiances to family and clan, their attitude towards hospitality and customs of prayer and worship. It also showed me the great joy that God can bring to people who are hungry for Him. As Joyce told me, “Yumi mekim wanpela wok, em wok bilong God. Kala narapela tasol mitupela i wanpela insait long spirit”—we do the same work, the work of God. We have a different colour (skin) but we are one in spirit.