Preparing for village living

We’ve been keeping busy the last few weeks at POC. We have, of course, been learning more Tok Pisin (mostly by interactions with local people), but have also done a lot more.

Avigail exploring the world

carrying Avigail in a bilum, PNG style

 Over the course of our time at POC, we have had several opportunities to get together with a wasfemili (host family) and eat a meal. We have eaten meals both at POC and at their house, and have also had the opportunity to spend a night at their place. A great introduction to what it’s like to live in a village house! Last night was our last official get-together with them, but we’ll probably get together with them after our five weeks of village living as well, and share stories of what it was like.

waspapa shows us his garden

 Last week, Tim went on a three day group hike while Francine stayed back with Avigail. During this hike, we got to stay in two different villages and learn all about life there – all in Tok Pisin of course. It was great to enjoy a good time of camaraderie with our local guides on the trail as well. 

crossing a river

we came across this crab on the trail on a rainy day

On Friday we hope to leave for our five weeks of village living. We’ll be in a village called Waliyaksor up the north coast, about 60 km from Madang (and no, we won’t have electricity there, let alone Internet access). We are really looking forward to this time – especially now that we have some idea of what to expect in a Papua New Guinean village. We hope that being surrounded by Tok Pisin every day for over a month will boost our confidence in the language even more and enable us to express more and more. Please pray for good health, safety, and learning.