Tonight we spent dinner at the house of some nationals we call our "wasfemili"
These visits are intended to help us with our conversational tok pisin as well as get used to forming relationships with nationals. Many people were nervous about the meeting because of all the cultural things you need to remember. Don't step over food, don't ask to see their entire house, don't ask "why". And so on.
We were apprehensive about tonight because our first experience was disappointing. So we had people pray, and tonight was actually enjoyable.
We had memorized some tok pisin dialogues about work and how to make a house which I employed because I could see they were nervous that I might fall through their floor or break their stairs. So I complimented them on the strongpela haus and asked them about how they made it.
Sydney and Calvin are amazing. As we were walking down the road to the house, people were shouting to them "hello sydney!" "oh hi tisa moha!" they'd reply. The kids carried the entire conversation on the road while I hefted the pots of food. I was amazed and thankful because with them around, there is no awkward silence.
The kids played and talked, Sydney read Bible stories, I spoke to the papa about his job. He is a community helper for the police. Basically he's a peacemaker, he helps resolve disputes. He was very friendly. As topics of conversation began to dwindle I noticed a Blues rugby poster on their wall. Suddenly we spent the next thirty minutes discussing rugby and it was a very pleasant evening.
Thanks to God for answered prayer. I was dreading this evening because of our previous experience, but I think being at their home, they were not as nervous and were more hospitable.
The way the meal breaks down is:
-we bring food, as a thank you to them for hosting.
-we serve ourselves, they serve themselves, we bring our own plates and forks
-they have a dish or two to put together with the meal
-we all eat, and then, as quick as the meal is done, they serve the tea we brought.
-we leave all leftovers with them as a thank you.
In return, we've learned more about them, their homes, how they live and how to speak in tok pisin a little bit better. I learned quite a bit and thanks to answered prayer, enjoyed the evening I was dreading.
It is a remarkable thing to see your kids outshine you and even more remarkable that they do so to God's glory. I couldn't be more proud of them than I was tonight.
