(we're all healthy again...)
The sleepover
What happened:
We were assigned to pack up and walk to the village for one night sleep over. We left at 5:30pm to arrive and setup our beds and mosquito nets in daylight and to locate the bathroom. The liklik haus or toilet, is a shack with a hole in the ground... no seat. I was anticipating this to be my biggest challenge but it wasn't.
We arrived at 5:45 or so, (a short walk) with our backpacks, and we waited to be invited inside. We weren't invited inside. We asked to come inside and they let us in. Then we asked where we would sleep, and they showed us, but told us that we would eat dinner there first which meant we couldn't set up our beds. There was a long period of no communication in which we didn't know what to do so we decided to try and talk. The family wasn't too talkative and there were no men there. After a bit, my wife informed me that they changed their mind about where we would eat and we could go ahead and set up our beds.
We setup 4 beds and 4 mosquito nets. It was a lot of string tying and finding creative places to tie to in this house. It wouldn't be fair to call the house a hut, it was a house, jsut not by any Western standards. The floor was wood, the walls were woven dry grass, and the roof was tin.
We ate a dinner of rice and conversation wasn't that active, but later I taught all the kids a game called "hands up" and they loved that. Dinner was over, and tea was served. The tea had a lot of milk in it, so I sipped it politely but then passed on my leftovers to my son which was culturally appropriate. We chatted for a bit and we turned in I think around 9pm, It was hard to be sure as there were no watches. Sleeping was easy for Calvin, he slept all night as soon as his head hit the pillow. Sydney had a rough night, and thusly so did the rest of us. The rest of the village didn't seem to go to sleep until around midnight... by my guess. I was glad I brought earplugs.
Thoughts on what happened:
While you're laying in bed not sleeping you have a lot of time to think. My devotions for the morning was from 2Cor where Paul discusses having been in prison, shipwrecked, stoned, and all his torments. I was laying in this house thinking "How can I even consider grumbling about anything! It's raining outside and I'm not wet!" The liklik haus I visited was covered in large and small spiders. I have no illogical fear of spiders, but that doesn't mean I like them nor do I like sticking my head in a web. So I took a palm branch and swept out the toilet room of all spiders, because they seem to like hanging out at right about my forehead level.
God gave me a great attitude about this experience and here is why. As I'm trying to fall asleep amongst screaming babies, roosters crowing, dogs barking, dishes clanging, people talking... I suddenly think to myself "why are my kids having so much fun in everything they are doing?" and I remembered when I was a kid I didn't want to miss anything, so I wouldn't try to fall asleep I'd try to stay up and hear everything I could. So that's what I did, I laid there trying to hear all the noises and soak in the sounds and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.
How many people get to experience what we have? How many people can say they have done this? Can say they have used one of the famous "village outhouses"? How many people can say they slipped on the muddy trail to the bathroom and fell hard? How many can say they woke up, had coconut kinas and tea for breakfast, and were given a tour of a garden?
I'm astonished by the lifestyle of the people here. It is hard work. This woman who hosted us, she had cut all the trees in her garden down herself. It was bikpela wok tru.
I learned a new phrase "sutim cad". It means to shuffle cards. One game the adults and kids alike love is UNO so I was asking all kinds of questions, "what do you call it when I do this?" "dispela wok, em i sutim cad".
I asked them how they shuffle... mixim cad. I ask them a lot. They weren't incredibly talkative but the experience was rich none the less and I'm looking forward to next week when I can contrast one family to another.
We're here to learn the PNG lifestyle, to learn the translator's life, and one small sample isn't enough, during POC we'll get several samples, and so I'm looking forward to our first overnight with a different family as well.
All in all, God is so faithful. While we were going into yet another experience that would push us out of our comfort zone, God supplied us with the ability and the attitude required to not only survive it, but to make it a pleasant one. I can not fully explain how much I LOVE the way God works in our lives. I am not the man I am because of Him. I am not a grumbler because of His supply. I am enjoying an experience meant to push you hard and I'm finding that I am gaining confidence more and more that God has called our family here. I was fully sure of that from day 1, but God continually says to us "look, you are excelling in My work for you, My burden is easy."
My heart is overwhelmed during these times when God arrives and gives me something not from myself.
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Our allocation.
Well, in 2 days we go into village living. This is 5 days alone (no other whiteskins around) in a village, cooking for ourselves, living in a village house, speaking only Tok Pisin. It is a final exam so to speak. We've been preparing to hike down to the bathing hole, hike down to the drinking water supply, cook, sleep, all without electricity, refrigeration, or transportation. We've seen pictures of where we are to stay, and what the bathroom we'll be using looks like. And we're ready. Today in our haus kuk, we cooked spaghetti, and macaroni n cheese, and bread, and rolls, and it was a good day, using a drum oven, a fire, a primus and lantern. Soon we'll be incommunicado, learning more about the culture and the language.
We've learned a lot and there are many small things to remember that makes each action you make something you think about. Don't step over food, don't ask to see bedrooms, don't ask why, keep your cooking pots VERY clean or they'll think you're a weak woman, don't slip in the mud, drink lots of water, cook using very little firewood, etc, etc.
As support staff, we're not only gaining an appreciation for the culture and the lifestyle of the people, but we're also gaining appreciation for translators who can live over half a year in the village at a time. 5 weeks have flown by, and as is the case with most challenges in life, the anticipation of the event is often more intimidating than the completion of the event. Which is why, as we go forward, we know already, that we can do it, and do it well.
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We leave for the village in 30 hours or so. We're packing up now, between classes, we'll be hauling in kerosene lantern and primus, a few buckets of food, mosquito nets, and sunscreen. A few more items too. Our challenges will be purifying water, speaking in tok pisin, washing in a river (body and clothes) and more. We feel prepared and are excited to get there. Please pray for a good experience, that we're able to communicate and that we get a good flavor for the culture.
