Frank's News

I was talking with a couple missionaries about the poor infrastructure in PNG (roads, bridges, electricity, etc.) and the possible reasons for it such as the inadequate attempts of the government. As we shook our heads and complained, I thought about how that is probably what has kept this culture of tribal people so unique from our western culture. Because of my limited exposure to the culture, I don't want to comment about the good, bad and uglys of the culture here, but I do know that NTM is not here to change the culture but to bring hope to the lost.



Wednesday we had two hours to work in the garden with our language helpers. Doing practical things with the nationals is part of the Culture / Language Acquisition methods that we are learning about. It didn't take long for 8 guys to plant a 10 yard swath of kau kau (sweet potatoes). It was fun to learn how to plant kau kau because I have not done much gardening, and it was also fun to be instructed in Pidgin. It's also cool that what we planted will help to feed them in the future. After we finished planting kau kau they showed us around the rest of the garden. We found a tree that has seeds that make red paint, and we painted our faces to look like real tribal warriors. We followed that by some picture taking and hanging out with our language helpers. It has been great getting to know my language helper. His kindness to me and clear love for his family makes me hope for his salvation.