And The Word Came With Power

During school break, I had the opportunity to meet Jo Shetler. She is well-known in the missions world as she translated the Bible in the Balangao language group located in the Philippines. She came to PNG to teach a Culture Meets Scripture workshop (which I wrote about in my last newsletter) and also spoke to our community on multiple occasions. Listening to her stories of God’s work in this language group was so inspiring and such a blessing. It was good to be reminded that God does the impossible, that He uses us in ways we can’t even imagine, and that His Word is full of power.

One afternoon, Jo had tea with me (along with a group of friends) and shared more about her journey with the Lord. This is a woman with experience. She started translating in 1962, dedicated the New Testament in 1982 (that’s 20 years!), and continues to travel the world as a missionary. The work is not easy, but the God that guides us is so full of goodness and grace.

This weekend I finally tracked down and took the time to read Jo Shetler’s book, “And The Word Came With Power.” I was not disappointed. Although I had heard the stories first-hand from Jo herself, it was so refreshing to read the testimonies she has written.

The Balangao people were head-hunting, spirit-worshipping people when Jo first arrived in the Philippines. As I read the pages of her book, I saw amazing transformation in these lives. It was like I was right there living it with them. As Jo built relationships with the Balangaos and translated Scripture with them, God was working.

• He showed them that He had power over the spirits they had been worshipping.
• He healed people and saved lives.
• He sent Jesus to die on the cross for them so they could have eternal life.
• He showed them His love and grace in very real ways.
• He taught them how to pray.
• He taught them how to love their enemies.
• He challenged them to go out to other villages and become missionaries themselves… and they did.

God’s Word changed their lives in a powerful way. How else could one go from a head-hunting, spirit-worshipper to a Christian missionary?! Only by the powerful grace of God.

This is why I’m here in Papua New Guinea. I long to see lives changed and impacted by God’s Word – that includes my own life. There are still about 300 language groups in PNG alone that don’t have God’s Word in their heart language… and many, many more around the world.

Please pray with me that God’s Word will continue to change lives around the world in a powerful way. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Pray for God to raise up more missionaries to go out and share the Good News with those still waiting to hear it.

Transition

“Change is always a death of something we have held closely for a time and a beginning of something unseen, untested, or unknown… All beginnings are hard. Change hurts even when we choose it. It is frightening, even when we boldly push forward. It undoes us, and we never know what we will be like when the pieces are put back together again.”     -Dale Hanson Bourke, Turn Toward The Wind

A lot has changed in my life over the past year:

• I boarded a plane and left my home culture, friends and family, a rewarding job… essentially my comfort zone.
• I moved to a new country, started a new career, made new friends, adjusted to living in a new culture, learned a new language, tried new foods, and learned a lot of new things about myself.
• I’ve had to wrestle with my worldview, say good-bye to the new friends I made here and make more new friends, experience the rollercoaster of emotions, miss out on family events, fill new roles, and continue to learn and adjust.

Missionary life is a life of transition. I’m convinced that the transition period never ends.

Most days I really enjoy being immersed in PNG culture and see so much richness in cross-cultural living. God is moving in this place and changing lives right before my eyes! It is truly amazing and I’m blessed to be part of it.

But sometimes I just want to wear my jeans and a T-shirt and go to Walmart at midnight to get icecream and frozen pizza. Instead of living in my fantasy world (which was a reality one year ago)… I put on my skirt, get up early to go to the market, and buy fresh produce.

So much of “who I am” has had to change since coming to PNG in order for me to be culturally sensitive and thrive in this context. I may not feel comfortable walking around center in jeans (and choose to wear skirts, which are also not comfortable)… I may not be able to function as a night owl… I may not have the convenience of treating myself to comfort foods… I may not be able to effectively communicate with people I love…

But I am confident of this: “Who I am” isn’t wrapped up in these worldly circumstances. “Who I am” is deeply knitted in my identity in Christ. I’m still a beloved child of God, covered by His grace, and surrounded by His presence. God is stretching me to become more like Jesus every day as He leads me through the unknowns. I’m thankful to have these truths to cling to.

These truths will never change.

God will never change.

Ukarumpa Unique

There are a lot of unique things about living in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea. Here are a few of my favorites lately:

This very necessary tool.

I lovingly call it the “light the oven without burning yourself thing”

Lighting the oven in that particular house was always an adventure. Here are the 3 simple steps:

1. First, you light a match… except usually the match would run out of pink stuff before it would light, so you go through like 10 matches and eventually light it with a lighter.

2. Clip lit match to the clothes pin.

3. Open the oven door, turn the gas on, and put the match close the place where the gas comes into the oven. Listen to the “whoosh” sound, see the nice blue flame, and the oven is successfully lit!

When it is 40 degrees (which is freezing here!), I can wear this and not stand out.

The picture really says it all… I don’t think more words would help 😉

Random things to do. 

I knew this was the land of unexpected… One day I was chopping my veggies and got a phone call. About an hour later, I was riding in the co-pilot seat of a helicopter for a scenic view with some friends! Certainly didn’t expect that! What a pleasant surprise!

There are so many roles you can fill!

I came here to be a missionary as a band director. Now I’m also a middle school head teacher, librarian, youth minister, prayer warrior, friend, animal care-taker, house-sitter, babysitter, hostess, chaperone, and who knows what else…

Sing Sing

One of my highlights of village living was learning about traditional Papua New Guinean music, which is called sing sing! Music was a major topic of conversation and activity, which suited me well as a music teacher. There are sing sings for several occasions. Most represent everyday life, like finding fish and putting them in a bilum (string bag) or mocking animals. Kids are taught how to sing sing as they grow up… by listening and watching. There isn’t sheet music or written choreography. Our host family taught us some of the basic moves…

Me dancing and playing a kundu (traditional drum)

The last night we spent in the village was a big celebration. Our host family had spent a lot of time preparing gifts for us and presented us with traditional sing sing bilas (costumes used for sing sings). This was the culmination of all that we had learned about PNG culture and, in a sense, being initiated or accepted into this PNG family. Traditionally, the bilas is passed on to the next generation when the owner dies.

All dressed up in traditional bilas               (costume / decoration)

All of the bilas can come from the bush… However, now there are stores and some modern conveniences, so making things is a bit less complicated.

• Grass skirts: made of grass and traditionally colored with seeds (now they can buy paint at the store)
• Arm bands: made of fresh leaves and flowers
• Bilum around the neck: made with bush rope and various shells, bones, teeth (now you can buy string in town)
• Headdresses: made of feathers and sticks and bush rope (now they can use string from town and a chunk of foam to stick the feathers in)

It was such a blessing to listen to our host family sing night after night. I especially enjoyed the worship songs they would sing in their heart language and translate into Tok Pisin so I could understand. It was also a blessing to share some songs in English with them! Music really does bring people together. I’m grateful for this gift God has given me.

PNG Resources

People are so resourceful here! They work hard and practically everything they need is in the bush or garden. I’m fascinated by the different ways you can use natural resources and love this aspect of PNG culture.

Where do you wash your dishes? Do your laundry? Bathe? Get a drink of water? This is where we did all of the above during village living… down a steep hill and in a creek, the natural water God gave us!

Leaves are used for a variety of things – medicine, “bush band-aids”, wrapping food and cooking it over the fire, eating on top of it like a plate (which you don’t have to wash – just throw it outside), washing dishes (getting soot off with “bush steel wool”). Honestly, these leaves work better than steel wool!

Houses and other buildings are made of bush material. Pictured below are a bunch of guys cutting bamboo to use as a wall for the school.

 

Sugar and flour are generally unneeded ingredients in the coastal area of PNG – you use coconuts to milk for sweetness and root vegetables to use as “flour.” We’ve had sac sac cakes and tapiok cakes which are somewhat comparable to pancakes, but shaped like hot pockets. Greased coconuts are used to boil / cook with almost everything. You may also scrape the coconuts and eat the meat or give it to the chickens / pigs. Coconut husks and shells can be used for fire wood… or you can cook things in the shells / use it as a serving dish! Again… the options are endless.

 

Even games kids play are simple and they use whatever is around… tin cans to play 3 tin (a cross between bowling and tag) or bush rope to jump rope. Climbing trees is not only entertaining, but a way of life in PNG! The bush and the ocean provide us with a lot of fun stuff to do!

 

 Instruments are made of natural material – wood, lizard skins, bamboo. Traditional sing sing bilas (dance costumes / jewelry) comes from the bush – grass skirts, feather headdresses, face paint from seeds, pig / dog teeth, shells, coconut rattles, etc. Stay tuned for a future blog post about traditional sing sings.

Who needs 24-hour department stores when you have the bush?!

Cultural Cooking

Ironically, all of my village living blogs have been about food. You may be thinking that all I did was eat. Now that I think about it, a lot my life really did revolve around food! If I wasn’t eating, I was washing the dishes from meals or gathering more food to eat or preparing food or thinking about food. So, here is some more insight about how I’m amazed by the ways people cook in PNG. 🙂

Many things are simply roasted over the fire (without a grate) or boiled in a pot of greased dry coconuts. However, I’m very impressed with the resourcefulness of a mumu and aigir. Both of these cooking methods use super hot rocks to cook food. You make a big fire, put rocks in it to make them really hot, and they’re ready for cooking.

A mumu is basically a leaf oven heated with hot rocks. We made tapiok cake on a mumu a couple times. You wrap the tapiok mixture in giant leaves with the hot rocks and keep the fire going. It cooks for about 4 hours! Then you take it off the fire, let it cool, cut it, and eat it.

The aigir is a bit different. You prepare the rocks and bring a big pot of greased coconuts, spices (salt / bouillon cubes / curry), and aibika (an edible leaf) close to the fire. Another bowl of water is used to rinse off the rocks. Use tongs to remove the hot rocks, dip rocks in the rinse water, put rocks in the pot of food. The soup mixture instantly boils! Keep putting rocks in until it is too full. Wait a few minutes and take them out because they are cold, then put more hot ones in. Repeat until the food is cooked fully.

Many people help with the process of making food. It is hard work and takes time, but many hands make light work.

Garden Adventures

Gardens are a way of life in Papua New Guinea. I even learned that villages are often times built around good garden locations! Throughout my time living in the village, I had the opportunity to go to 3 gardens.

• One was right behind the house.
• Another was about a 5-10 minute walk up the hill.
• The other one was about a 30 minute hike through the bush.

Each time I went to the garden, I was surprised. I expected nice neat rows of produce and a lot of dirt to space out plants. Instead, we would walk through the bush and get to a garden that still resembled the bush in my mind. Plants seemed to grow in random places, but the Papua New Guineans knew exactly what they were looking for and where it was. I would simply stand in awe, wondering how people can climb coconut and popo (papaya) trees… and find their food under the ground that is covered in leaves and vines. They found tulip (an edible leaf) everywhere – I would point to something that I thought was tulip, but they would inform me that it wasn’t. Working in the garden was a very humbling experience. Usually my job was scraping dirt off the produce and putting it in the bag.

However, one day I got to plant a yam garden!

First, the men mark out an area for the new garden. Then they clear out the weeds and trees with a bush knife and burn it. This takes several days. Once the area is cleared, they dig up the dirt to make it nice and loose for easy planting.

 

The women generally do the planting. We dug holes with our hands and occasionally had to use a bush knife to get rid of some roots in the ground. Then we put the yam seeds in the hole and covered them with a mound of dirt.

 

This is our final product: a garden full of yams!

 

When we finished planting, we harvested taro (an edible root, kind of potato-like) and cooking bananas. I carried a bag filled with garden produce on my head and a bush knife in my hand every time I came back from the garden. I’m amazed at how much of a heavy load people carry in bags/bilums. Garden food is free money-wise, but it certainly is a lot of work.

Sac Sac

I learned the process of making sac sac. It is hard work and several people are involved in each step.

Step 1:

Cut down the tree. We’re sitting on it in this picture.

Step 2:

Strip off the bark and hammer away at the inside until the whole tree is transformed into little pink slivers of wood. Carry it over to the next station.

Step 3:

Wash the sac sac. This is a contraption made of bush materials and something similar to a cheese cloth to strain out the food part of the sac sac from the wood of the tree. You put a pile of the woody substance on the cheese cloth, pour water on it, and squeeze the sac sac wood several times. The water filters the food and slides into a pool of pink water. The sac sac settles to the bottom, so you drain the water and have sac sac ready for cooking.

Step 4:

Put it in a pot, pour hot water on it, stir it, and cook it over the fire!

Step 5:

Eat it. It turns into a soft jello-like substance with virtually no flavor. You can eat it several ways. Sup sac sac, which is this pink glob mixed with garden produce, noodles/rice, some type of meat, and coconut milk or some sort of flavored watery substance – this one is very flexible. You can roast it over the fire and eat it plain. You can fill it with grubs or greens or whatever you feel like throwing in… and roast it over the fire. You can make it into cake. The options are basically endless!

Food PNG Style

During my time in village living, I ate several new and interesting types of food. Here is a little taste of PNG kai kai (food)!

#1: Abus bilong sac sac (Sago grubs)

This was by far the most interesting food I ate. These grubs were wiggling when she put them on the sac sac. Then you fold it up, roast it over the fire, and eat it. Stay tuned for another blog devoted to sac sac.

#2: Mumut (bandicoot)

We were in the garden one day and the dogs started running and barking. They had been chasing a mumut! A couple guys followed them and collected the little rodent. They brought it back, roasted it over the fire, and we ate it with bananas (which were also roasted over the fire). Wherever you go, you can start a fire, go find some food, and cook when you get hungry.

#3: Urita (octopus) and fish

We went to the ocean often. We caught and ate a lot of fish, plus 2 octopus during our time there.  When you get hungry, you start a fire on the beach and roast whatever you find to eat. There are several ways to catch fish. You can use a net. You can use a make-shift fishing pole. You can use a spear gun. The net seemed most effective.

#5: Kulau (young coconut)

Coconuts are a staple for the diet in this part of PNG. Kids climb up coconut trees to harvest kulau, which you drink and you can eat the meat inside. Dry coconuts fall off the trees, so you collect them, shell them, pour out the water, and scrape the meat out so you can grease it and cook with it. Coconut husks and shells are also used to burn in fires.

#6: Kakaruk (chicken)

Many people have chickens. They kill them and cook them for special events.

#7: Garden Kaikai and rice

Papua New Guineans in this area cook everything in greased coconut. The daily diet consists of a lot of produce from the garden: yams, sweet potatoes, taro, cooking bananas, greens, and pumpkins. Fish was generally served with it. And we ate quite a bit of rice cooked in the greased coconut soup, which was delicious!

#8: Bread and other miscellaneous dishes

Everything was cooked over the fire. We even made spaghetti, mac and cheese, and brownies a couple times!

Wokabaut

Yumi go wokabaut! (Let’s go walk). Walking is a way of life in PNG. I got a lot of experience hiking through the bush (aka: the jungle).

Our guide is cutting open kulau for us to drink. They are young coconuts filled with electrolytes and good stuff to re-energize us as we finish our hike. The all natural super drink!

Another beautiful view of the deep jungle!

Fording one of the many rivers.

The culmination of our hiking training was an over night hike. We hiked through the jungle with 2 national guides and packs for the day/night. Each step in the jungle takes a lot of concentration. I’ve gained a great appreciation for people that walk through the jungle daily and do it very quickly… wearing flip flops or no shoes! Amazing!

About half of our over night hike was walking through the water and maneuvering slippery rocks and branches. The other half of our walk was in the rain. All of our walk was in the mud, which is very slippery. All of us fell down a few times 😉

Gufpa village! We hiked about 6 hours 1-way and this was our final destination. We stayed over night in this village and hiked back the next morning. There is one student in this village that walks to school near POC every day. It took us 6 hours to arrive and it takes him about 2 hours every day!