In PNG safe and sound!

Emily's News:


Hello from Papua New Guinea! We arrived here on Sunday morning around 10:30 AM (6:30 PM Saturday in Illinois). The trip was exhausting, but everything went smoothly and it is wonderful to finally be here in PNG.

We have been waiting for e-mail access until today, but I should be able to update more regularly now that it is up and running.

It's a different world here. The Interface Staff have kept us isolated on campus the first few days so that they can teach us about the culture and prepare us for what we will experience. I'm really thankful for that; we have a lot to learn and we don't want to make any major cultural mistakes.

The campus is beautiful. The facilities are well-maintained.Our cabin is very simple -- wood floor, bunk beds and a few shelves on the wall. Even though the walls are very thin and we can hear dogs barking, roosters crowing and lots of other strange noises, I've been sleeping like a rock. Probably jet lag :)

We are back in college again, with classes 6-7 hours per day. We are learning about the PNG culture, chronological Bible teaching, and Culture and Language acquisition among other things. They are serious about using our time productively while we are here. We will begin learning Melanesian Pidgin (Tok Pisin) tomorrow. It is the trade language of PNG and it will enable to us to speak with the nationals here.

Today was our first visit to the village. It is a short walk up the hill to reach Yamalayo, and we headed up this morning. It is the rainy season, which means the trails are muddy. Very, very muddy. When we reached the village it was quiet, with only a few people here and there. But since 15 white people in a small village creates quite a spectacle, soon there were plenty of nationals standing around. How I would love to be able to talk to them! Other than a simple greeting and a smile I could only communicate with a teenage girl who spoke some English. It was a good motivation for me to learn Tok Pisin as quickly as possible.

We have another class soon, so I need to wrap up. There is so much more to say, but it is hard to put this experience into words. Please continue to pray for us that we will be listening and learning as much as we can. I hope to update again tomorrow.